ÇaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery: Terri Bozzo of Kyse Perfumes + Scent and Salon Draw

Terry Bozzo of Kyse Perfumes

I grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Northern CA. I had 1/4 mile walk to the school bus stop each morning.  I remember spring mornings where the smell of rain and woods would envelope me, every morning similar yet different.  I could pick out grasses, flowers blooming, the smell of wet dirt, and fungus. Then fall mornings where the sun has just risen, the air is warm and humid bringing up the delightful smells of summer dried grasses and weeds.  The slight sweetness of vanilla like you get from old paper hiking in the woods near sugar pines.  Everything was an olfactory experience to me, and I never considered it was different for anyone else.  Scent was everywhere.

Terri as a young girl

My mom’s perfume was always quiet, you never smelled her unless you got very near or went in for a hug. If she smelled particularly good you stayed there to hold on a little longer so you could breathe in her comfort and love. She taught me this which elevated scent from an accessory to a quiet sensual thing. I had many little girl scents from my earliest days.  One of my favorites was Sweet Honesty.  My first Chanel came in grade school, and I had quite a collection on my mirrored tray before I was 10.  Almost a decade ago I discovered niche perfumes.  Before that I was blind to the possibility of “perfume” as a total olfactory experience, outside of smelling good of course. Serge Lutens Chergui reminded me of the walk to school on the fall mornings…others reminded me of different periods of time in my life.

Terri with her children enjoying a snow day

The realization that there were so many ways to enjoy scent led me to researching notes rather than whole perfumes.  It wasn't long before was ordering oils, accords and extracts just to experience the singular aromas.  I started blending, but looking back I think my nose hadn't experienced enough to know which direction to go, or what notes might play well with others. Later, when my nose was a bit more educated, I started creating in earnest. I worked on a few formulations before creating Sucre et Fleurs, my first release.

Now there are 14 scents in my line, and ideas are constantly growing. I'm a gourmand nut at heart, though I love florals, leathers and woods, so I branch out when the muse strikes.  It could be a feeling, a person, or just a mood.  People send me ideas and I write everything in my journal for the moment the passion is right for creating. Honest feedback from close friends allows me to cultivate and bring ideas to their full potential; oftentimes mistakes take me in a lovely direction!  Each experience is a chance to learn what works and what doesn't.  I’ve even found notes I think I don't like, when added in tiny amounts can make something round and full…like salt in cookies makes them sweeter!  It's fantastic getting to work with what I love every day.  I'm reveling in every minute of exploration and creation along the way!  I never knew the road would lead me here.  I'm doing everything I love all wrapped up into one!  My BS and graduate studies are in Nutritional Sciences.  I used to work in a lab researching the chemo preventive properties of soy.  Mixing, measuring, and recording in my lab book are second nature.  Doing it while being able to smell, test and explore perfume is constant enjoyment! I still work in nutrition as well, doing health and wellness counseling as my “day” job. 

Terri formulating perfume

On American Perfumery: Being an American perfumer for me is all about independence and also interdependence.  I’m a mom of two young boys and I work outside the home as well, but there is no limit to what I can do with the pieces of extra time and energy I can find in the day!  I am allowed to be everything I am and not cast into a category, they are all me. There seems to be an openness about creativity, and expectation that whatever you want to do with your life is possible in America. Dream it, live it! And of course, the relationships with other perfumers has been instrumental in moving forward. The whole community is inviting and helpful, and inspiring to each other.  I feel like I can forge ahead with new ideas and be judged not on only on the backbone of what has come before me, but also on the absolute value of the creation itself…your only limit is imagination.

King Harvest "Dancing in The Moonlight"

Favorite American Artists:  Oh too many to single out one. King Harvest, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Jefferson Airplane, England Dan and John ford Coley, Seals and Crofts, The Eagles…  I was born in 1967 so this era of music speaks of the time in my life when everything was good and my entire world was love and fun.  If you were to come and sit in my studio while I’m working, I’m generally singing along with all the hits from KFRC coming out of San Francisco around the mid 70s.  Everything in my life, my mindset, my ideals, the mellow mood of the era are all inspired by this music which I consider to be my one of my biggest comforts.  I think that’s why I am drawn to gourmands as a category of perfume; they are so full of comfort, love, and happiness!

-Terri Bozzo, founder, owner, and perfumer at Kyse Perfumes

Editor's Note: Terri is our 120th American Perfumer in this series which began July 4, 2011

Thanks to Kyse Perfumes we have a draw for a registered reader in the USA or Canada for a either a sample set of all 14 scents, or a 30ml bottle of your choice from the Kyse Perfume line.  To view perfumes and notes please visit www.kyseperfumes.com To be eligible please leave a comment with what you found fascinating about Terri Bozzo’s path to perfumery, where you live, which fragrance you think you might love and your choice should you win.  Draw closes 4/24/2017.   Please like CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery and your entry will count twice.  Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebon and check out Kyse Perfume on Facebook.  

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page so like CaFleureBon and use our RSS feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume

 

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20 comments

  • What a wonderful childhood Terri had! I love that she gets to do everything she loves. All of her creations sound wonderful to me, especially Confit de Rose. So I would love the sample set. I live in the US.

  • ntabassum92 says:

    Wow, so cool to learn more about Terri. I love her fragrances. I think it’s amazing that she has a day job and does this for fun – she has so much energy! So impressive. I”m in the US. I think I would love Crema di Lime e Cognac, so that would be my choice should I win.

  • I love that Terri has been in love with fragrance from such a young age- so amazing that she loved Chanel in grade school! I live in the US and although there are several fragrances that sound intriguing, I think SUCRE ET FLEURS sounds like a winner. Thanks for this opportunity! ❤️

  • Its always interesting to see how people come to the fragrance world. Terri seems to always have had an olfactory orientation. I think I would like Elegance Sombre or Crema di Lime e Cognac which is why i would prefer the sample set. Thanks for the draw. I’m in the USA

  • I love how Terry turned the scents of nature that surrounded her into her delightful line of fragrances. That is truly a gift to be able to interpret those everyday smells into a wearable fragrance.

  • RoseMacaroon says:

    I love how much of herself the perfumer conveys here, it’s not everyone whi’s so willing to share in this heartfelt wsy. I’m basically all about comfort scents, which is why i would love to sample the whole line. Thanks for the draw, I’m in the US!

  • cardinalmind says:

    I like how it all started from a discovery of different scents and no she’s known for her gourmand scents. I also live in California now which is a great state to pursue your passion. I think I’ll love Sucre et fleurs since it has almost all of my favorite notes in a perfume. As I haven’t smelled any of Terri’s fragrances, I’d go for the discovery set. Who knows, I might find my signature gourmand scent.

    Thanks for the draw and the generosity! Have a nice day! USA

  • I found it fascinating to find Terry had what seems to be such a large collection before she was 10 years old. If I’m chosen to win I’d love the bottle of Vanille Debauche. 🙂 US

  • hotlanta linda says:

    We chuckle because yt started that young too! 🙂 No one understood then, save my grandmother`s friend Marge, who got me started down the rabbit hole – lol! A full bottle of Vanille Debauche would be my hard-to-decide pick. We are in the USA – and thank you for the good reading, as always!

  • I love the opening paragraph. It seems that many of us interested in scent can trace the interest back to a keen awareness of the very air around us at a young age. I also am impressed that being a perfumeer is not her full time job, but that she works elsewhere and is a Mom, very busy lady! it makes me wonder what I do with all my time! I own a very pretty gourmand lavender from the days before she changed the name of her company. I would love to have a sampler of all the fragrances. Thank you for an interesting interview. USA

  • Thanks for introducing me to a new perfumer! I’d love to explore the sample set. I’m in the US, thanks for the draw!

  • Hikmat Sher Afridi says:

    Great read! Thanks for the introduction and Terri’s realization towards researching the notes rather than whole perfumes is fascinating. Bois de Santal et Terre and Terreno Dolce are tempting and my choices to win of any these two. Already liked CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery.
    Thanks to Kyse Perfumes for the generosity and Cafleurebon for the opportunity to participate in the draw by letting my relative address in US.

  • Very honest personal story. I admire you because you did what I am still thinking about to put the first brick of creation your own perfumes.
    Regarding Chergui I still love and live with it. One of the best for ever.
    Thanks to Cafleurebon for giving this opportunity of knowing more and more perfumeries around us.
    I have never smelled any perfumes from the house. but I guess I will love J and Terreno Dolce more. Live in the US.

  • Terri is a gourmand queen! Her fragrances that I’ve tried are so wonderful and incredibly realistic in such a way that honesty leaves me disappointed I can’t eat ’em. As for her path to perfumery, it’s always great to read about people who got their degree in a completely different field, and yet they ended up working in the fragrance world as well. As someone also from NorCal, it’s very inspiring!

    I have and adore Vanille Debauche and Oui Plus, but I would love to try all her other fragrances in the sample set! In the US, thanks for the draw 🙂

  • doveskylark says:

    I love Terri’s taste in music. England Dan and John Ford Coley, oh yes! Comfort in hearing those old songs. I also know what she means about gourmand notes bringing comfort.
    I would choose the 30ml of Vertigo Cuir.
    I live in the USA.

  • I found Terri Bozzo’s path to perfumery very interesting. She seems to be such an uplifting and optimistic person and her choices in music resonate. I enjoyed reading that she “drawn to gourmands as a category of perfume; they are so full of comfort, love, and happiness!” I live in the US and think I might love J and Bois de Santal et Terre and would choose the sample set of all 14 scents.
    I Like CaFleureBon Profiles in American Perfumery on Facebook – Cynthia M Richardson

  • Awww what a great childhood! Such a talented woman. I haven’t heard of this house before but those are some creations. My choice would be Creama Di Lime E Cognac. I’m in Canada and thanks for the draw!

  • Samantha Reed says:

    I also love Terri’s scents. They’re such a wonderful, interesting twist on gpurmands. It was great to learn more about her life and to hear where she gets her inspiration from.
    I would choose a bottle of Sucre et Fleurs. It’s the bottle I was going to treat myself to from her line next! 🙂