CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery: Kari Arienti of Symrise + Calypso St. Barth Bellini Perfume Draw

 

Kari Arienti  of Symrise

 

When people ask me how I got started in as a perfumer, I tell them the truth: I answered an ad in the Bergen Record for a QC Chemist. Growing up in New Jersey, I lived across the street from my Grandma. She was a very beautiful woman; her white hair was always pulled back in a chignon, and never left the house without her lipstick, or L'Air du Temps. She was equally as smart and valued education highly. While in college, studying Chemistry, I thought I would become a cosmetic chemist, like Estee Lauder. I would create those creams, lipsticks and make up products that I learned to love at my Grandma's. As I didn't know anyone in the industry, finding a job in that field was very difficult. In the end, I took a job with Roure Bertrand Dupont as a QC Chemist. I didn't know that the fragrance industry existed in the US, let alone in New Jersey! As fortune would have it, I fell in love with perfumery.

 

  

Working as a chemist, I must have been a royal pain, as I would ask so many questions. The perfumers would take time out of their day to explain more and more about perfumery, and to smell with me. Rene Morgenthaler became my mentor, eventually sending me to the Roure Perfumery School in Grasse. It was so much fun to learn how to create scents. Today, I cannot imagine doing anything else.

 

 

I love being able to tie in seemingly random influences when creating. Some days I am inspired by music. Radiohead has a depth and richness to their music that can be breathtakingly beautiful, or a messy cacophony, much like fragrance. If my ear buds are in at work, I'm usually in the zone, using music to help guide creativity.

 

Tasmania

 

I also love to travel, using those experiences as inspiration. During the last year at Symrise, I've travelled to Oman and Tasmania for work. Oman was inspirational; meeting my colleagues from around the world and creating with them was great. Going to Tasmania was a high point for me. I've been to Costa Rica, California and other places in search of scents, but Tasmania was so different.

 

 

Tarkine Rainforest

 

Traveling with our guide through the Tarkine Rainforest was a life changing experience. I wanted to be able to truly capture the unique scents of the indigenous plants, so that other perfumers could use them, and ultimately create finished fragrances that would allow consumers to share my experience.

  

 

 

My other passion as of late has been skiing. When my son, Lars, was 5, he started skiing with my husband, Per, and his mother. Lars convinced me to try skiing one more time… That was 10 years ago. We ski and do NASTAR(next generation of skiing and snowboarding) races as often as we can during the winter. I like to push my limits to ski faster and better each year. Last year, I qualified for the NASTAR nationals. It's the kind of sport that always has room for personal improvement, yet is still really fun!

 

 This week, the kitchen in my house was finally completed. I've been a bit off kilter for the past few months as I love to cook, and eat and make drinks. So many times I find a great combination in a recipe, and wonder how this would work in a fragrance. I also love the smell of my house when I bake. Creating fragrances for candles takes much inspiration from cooking and baking. I'm always thinking of balancing the fragrance materials as you would balance the flavors/ingredients in a recipe for the most authentic scents. Looking back on the ability to connect work and home lives, and to do something I really love doing, I think my Grandma would be happy!

 

 

 

 

My favorite American artist is Norman Rockwell. Norman Rockwell spent most of his life in New England, especially Stockbridge, MA, where we have a house.  Rockwell could make beautiful art out of every day scenes, and use his art to tell stories from a different perspective.

 

On American Perfumery Being an American perfumer, I felt less conventional constraints to creativity.  Although we study the same classic fine fragrances, our market is so diverse that it allows for a broad range of tastes that stray far from the classics. 

 –Michelyn Camen, Editor In Chief

 

For our draw we are offering  8 oz of  Kari's most well know fragrance- Calypso St Barth's Bellini. To be eligible please  leave a comment on what you found fascinating about Kari by January 11, 2012

 

 We announce the winners only on site, our new www.cafleurebon.com page and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and www. cafleurebon.com use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume

Editor's Note: Fragrance creations by Kari Arienti:

Bath & Body Works Cucumber Melon

Yankee Candle – Be Thankful, Ocean Blossom and Pink Lady Slipper

Victoria’s Secret: Almost Nude and Wild One

Calypso St. Barth Bellini

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfumeWe announce the winners only on site, our new www.cafleurebon.com page and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and www. cafleurebon.com use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume 

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29 comments

  • I’ve said it before, but I do love this series. I love her passion to share her personal experiences with her customers with her creations. Lovely article and so nice to learn about Kari!

  • I find Kari’s passion for cooking and baking fascinating – as an avid home cook myself, I can really relate to the creative juices that get flowing in her head for perfumery as she creates something edible and fabulous, how she can translate some of those flavor and scent combinations into a wearable or home fragrance work of art.

    I would love to win this scent, thank you so much for the draw and scintillating profile read! 🙂

  • New England! I loved the time I spent there for college and married a Rhode Island native. If you have ever lived there you know there is something romantic about it. the smell of the air the cold weather and the weathering of the old historic homes. Rockwell, always got it right in my book too. Jovial and obscure in a well portrayed idelic way. the way you see things to be in in your imagination at its most engaged level of euphoria.
    Closeness of family and skiing I married into a huge skiing familyfrom New England. I have never sskiied myself its on my bucket list though. Good for Kari! A well rounded active family life.I can relate with the questions I amust annoy everyone with all my quest for truth and answers but thats in my personallity once I get it I got it but getting there can take some time and alot of patience on the behalf of others.
    And her granma was so elegant to never leave without her lipstick and L Air du Temps. I have a special place in my heart for LADT. I got my first bottle and milled soap from France when I was about 17 and it changed me. I felt special and cultured. I still get that feeling from scents from time to time and its exhillaerating!
    I have only smelled the Calypso St. Barth scents I have never tried any however, not quite sure why? I think when I smelled them I was on a quest and I stunk from all the others I doused myself in that day:) But I had Bellini on my must try list
    I am familliar with cucumber melon from BB. Loved it in my teens in the splash it was so refreshing. Yankee candle Pink Lady Slipper was a college roomates favorite I know that one verty well. Ocean Blossom sounds familliar but I can not place it.
    This was an excellent read and I feel like I have some things in common with Kari and we both are the mommys of five year olds:)
    Thanks to Cafleurebon and Michelyn and of course Kari. If I win I will be very excited to use Calypso St. Barths Champagne when I go on my vacation this March to the Virgin Islands seems appropriate:)

  • I enjoy hearing the stories behind all these perfumers. What surprised me when I entered the world of loving perfume is that most perfumers had a chemistry degree. I never knew! I hated chemistry in high school and would never have imagined it leading to such an artistic career.

  • What a refreshing, direct person Kari is! I loved reading her story – and the reference to a chignon, a hair style a stylish aunt of mine wore, and the word has seemed to fade from the lexicon – and her accidental career choice that got her on her path. How amazing to fall into a job that leads to becoming a perfumer – in America, as she states. Who *knew* there were American perfumers? 😉

  • Taffynfontana says:

    I love that she finds inspiration being able to tie in seemingly random influences when creating. I would love to sample her creations.

  • oh, i love the idea that kari’s breakneck skiing!
    sounds like such fun…

    and anya, yes, isn’t that the truth!
    before cafleurebon: who knew there were american perfumers?
    well, now we do (know, i mean.)
    and thus being put in the know, we know that you are one of them 🙂

  • Thanks for the great interview with yet another American perfumer. I though it was interesting her comment that she became a perfumer through chemistry. This must be a very common entry way into the world of perfume making.

  • Definitely skiing – that’s also my hobby (not surprise here in Switzerland ;-). Thanks for drawing.

  • I found Kari’s career as a chemist in NJ interesting-and I’m glad she found her love in fragrance. L’air du temps is also part of my fragrance history, as it was my mom’s signature many moons ago. Thanks for the draw!

  • I love how having a kitchen back is important. Mixing food and drinks is everyday chemistry for the non-scientists. A real joy of life comes from the interview.

  • I loved chemistry as a child but as I went through the years studying it, the classes became boring to me and I never pictured an exciting or creative future in it. Later as an adult I met the chemist who designed the recipe for Mountain Dew! It never occurred to me that could be a chemist’s job. And now in this beautiful world of perfume, chemists get to be so creative with scent while using their chemistry knowledge.
    If only more of my teachers could have inspired me by incorporating these various futures into their lessen plans, i might have stuck with the subject. Thank goodness Kari did! I enjoyed hearing her story, especially the skiing!

  • Michelle hunt says:

    I am always fascinated to learn of a female relative who inspires a young child and I enjoyed reading about Kari’s grandmother.

  • I enjoyed reading about Kari. Who knew that there were perfumers in NJ? L’air du Temps was one of my first signature scents. PLerase enter me in draw, as I would like to sample this fragrance. Thanks.

  • This was a fun write up….i find her passion fro skiing fascinating and the fact that she qualified for the Nastar nationals. I am not a great fan of winter sports, even though cross country skiing appeals to me. Down Hill skiing is a bit too dangerous looking for me. Thanks for the fun draw.

  • I love that Kari became a chemist. Not so easy for girls when we were in school. I remember being top of my class in Chem, then 2 boys I tutored were picked to go to the Chemistry Careers Conference; I was not allowed because I was a girl, and my teacher said, “Well, you won’t be a chemist, but at least you can be a chemistry teacher!” Obviously, I haven’t forgotten that….So good for you, Kari! And a perfume chemist, what a dream career!

  • She seems a very nice person. I admire her passion for perfumes and for travelling. I also love travelling. I have not beenTasmania yet, but I would like to be there, following her steps.

  • I find Kari’s interview very warm and touching. I loved reading about her grandmother. It reminds me so much about mine.
    Also it was interesting reading about her creative process.
    “So many times I find a great combination in a recipe, and wonder how this would work in a fragrance. I also love the smell of my house when I bake. Creating fragrances for candles takes much inspiration from cooking and baking. I’m always thinking of balancing the fragrance materials as you would balance the flavors/ingredients in a recipe for the most authentic scents.”
    She makes it sound so simple …

  • As a trained musician and budding perfumista; I love the fact that Kari uses music to both get in the zone and guide her creative process.

  • Lovely personality, multidimensional always trying new things!! As I would like to think of myself!!

  • Great article Kari! Its so nice to know that brilliant people dont just live in the world of computers and books. Your love for life and your amazing desire and ability to capture that essence and share it with the world is very exciting to me. I have never looked at perfume or fragrances as an experience. But as you describe your grandmothers looks and her ways, a fragrance came to my mind! Wow!! Then memories..I’ll stop there!
    But now I’m excited to close my eyes and breathe in deeply and savory the fragrance that is before me. Whether my kitchen candle or an exotic perfume ,I will forever smell them differently . Thank you for opening my eyes to your exciting career and home life. It’s been a joy to get to know you and your profession better. Cheers !!!

  • I love this series! I find it fascinating how Kari uses music to sometimes guide her work, and that she references Radiohead. If there’s one band that will help ignite a creative spark, it’s Radiohead!

  • Scentual healing says:

    I am another fan of the American perfumer series
    What an interesting woman,perfumer and mother. Kari is a role model for women in perfumery. Answering an ad as a chemist in the Bergen Record immediately got my attention as did having another woman mentor Kari and encourage her to go to school in Grasse
    Thank you for an inspiring piece and please enter me in the drawing for for calypso st Barth Bellini

  • I love how she creates fragrances not just for consumers but for other perfumers as well. She captures the true nature of what a fully productive human being should be. She supports others in the same field as her, and this sort of collaborative thinking is exactly what will continue to push our world to the next level. She is an inspiration.

  • Marie Gartshore says:

    I loved how down to earth Kari is and how she draws her inspiration from her personal experiences. She is a true artist.

  • just breathe says:

    Fascinating how she stumbled into her field by answering an ad! Would love to try Bellini 🙂

  • Two smaller bits jumped out at me from Kari Arienti’s profile: the comparison of scent to sound, and the wish to capture the botanicals she encounters in her travels so that others can share the exerience. These two aspects of perfume really resonate with me as a consumer and enjoyer of fragrance, so it was interesting to see a trained chemist/perfumer look at scent the same way!

    I love reading about perfume journeys–both the travels across the globe, and the experiences of composing and wearing perfume which evoke passionate images, memories, emotions, historical and cultural references….I really do experience the journey vicariously.

    Also, I enjoy music, and sometimes it can help me focus or elevate my mood. But, if the song is flawed or just not a good fit for my mood/activity, it can feel like a jangling cacophony that irritates instead of enhances. And, scent often feels the same way. I can occasionally go in for chaotic but beautiful, but I need to choose carefully. This bit felt like she was again experiencing what I do but from the composer’s end:
    “Radiohead has a depth and richness to their music that can be breathtakingly beautiful, or a messy cacophony, much like fragrance. If my ear buds are in at work, I’m usually in the zone, using music to help guide creativity. ”

    I also love how so many people (inc me) are inspired to a love of scent or beauty generally by their stylish grandmas!

    And that she went into the study of chemistry with an eye to developing beauty products and just kind of happily happened upon fragrance after some trouble breaking into that part of the industry. It’s a lovely combination of planning and hard work, combined with a touch of serendipity. I kind of wish I had taken chemistry (I skipped it to take art).

  • Rene Morgenthaler became my mentor, eventually sending me to the Roure Perfumery School in Grasse. It was so much fun to learn how to create scents. Today, I cannot imagine doing anything else.
    Kari . Thank’s ! the credit for your successful career is all yours. I just pointed you in the right direction.