Perfume Book Review: The Diary of A Nose A Year in the Life of A Parfumeur by Jean Claude Ellena

"As I see it, perfume whispers to our noses, speaks to us intimately, makes connections with our thoughts.

In order to express this, I bend the market rules by breaking away from women's versus men's dogma.

I do not like the terms 'unisex' or 'mixed'; usage does not define a genre.

Which is why I make perfume for sharing, novel-perfumes, novella perfumes and poem perfumes."

Jean-Claude Ellena, Cabris, Wednesday 30 June 2010

The Diary of A Nose -A Year in the Life of a Parfumeur is the journal of a year (October 19, 2009- October 13, 2010) in the life of one of Modern Perfumery's Maestros -Jean-Claude Ellena. As I sit in front of my keyboard to "share" with CaFleureBon readers my thoughts on the second book written by Jean-Claude Ellena, the self proclaimed "writer of smells", I realize that the diary was written six months after my interview with M. Ellena and answers so many questions that I would have asked and ones that would not have occurred to me.  

Hermes - Jean-Claude Ellena @ Richard Schroeder

When corresponding with me, he called himself a "quiet, smiling man, who prefers to listen than to speak"; that sense of humility is present on every page. Often he refers to himself as a craftsman and struggles with the idea of being an artist; when asked by a journalist if he knew he had a gift, M.Ellena says no. He experiences perfumer's block (especially when working on constructing a mint accord) and is often tired, glum and filled with anguish, but trips to fruit markets, a friend's home, a beloved book or listening to jazz and classical music renew him. He may pen his thoughts in a moleskin diary but he is no stranger to technology as he relays his experiences with the iPhone app Shazaam. M. Ellena is more comfortable meeting  orange farmers in Southern Italy than answering questions at a seminar in Paris.  He is perplexed by the success of Terre d'Hermes and baffled by the unpopularity of Un Jardin Apres Le Mousson, which  he considered one of the "most beautiful floral compositions I have ever written".

Like his fragrances, his 117 page journal is a study in "simpl-exity"; rather than focusing on daily activities each entry reveals his thoughts on subjects that matter to him. The opening quote, is from the entry Resistance. Each date and place entry is subtitled… Craftsman & Artists, Sixth Sense, Standardization,Quality, Beauty, Mint Again are examples. Past and future compositions  are  fragrant threads that run throughout the book, whether he is writing about creating a complex fragrance with only ten components, as in the case of L'Artisan Parfumeur Bois de Farine, ruminating about the abstract nature of fragrance over the concrete liquid in the bottle or as in the entry Princess and the Pea, realizing his dream to create the ultimate feminine fragrance with pear as its central accord (which he names "Nebulous", a word he learned from Mobius the designer of the Voyage D'Hermes flacon).

His views are often controversial, perhaps not to indie and niche Houses, but certainly to the Industry. When he attends a trend presentation by a well known flavor and fragrance company, he was "shocked and disgusted…too many perfumes smell alike and are variations of best sellers". In his entry, The Pygmalian Myth, M. Ellena does not have much respect for Marketing Directors who are making the decisions on what is made and by whom (although I am quite sure it was a marketing director, not  M. Ellena  who chose the hot pink jacketof this book).  He believes that too many  Project managers are playing Pygmalion with young noses who they identify as gifted noses, while paradoxically relying on market trials, "they exhaust the young creators by asking for more and more daily samples, not respecting the time needed for evaluation and reflection."  M. Ellena also believes that multi-perfumer collaborations, unless freely chosen, do not succeed.

One of  the discoveries from my 2009 interview was that Paul Cezanne was M. Ellena's favorite artist. In the entry from Suggestions 22 September 2010, Cabris; M. Ellena remembers a conversation he had with the painter Emile Bernard on how Cezanne approached his watercolors. Bernard explains Cezanne starts by painting shadows and layers color upon color but if you look closely all the areas of color do not completely cover each other but are juxtaposed.This creates a remarkable harmony. "I proceed in a similar fashion when modeling a perfume by freeing myself from the mindset of proportions…It is the raw materials that shape a perfume; when they are juxtaposed they set up resonances. When I try to establish harmony, the proportions establish themselves".

Hermes - Jean-Claude Ellena @ Richard Schroeder 3

The casual reader of A Diary of a Nose will be excited by the generous glimpses into Jean-Claude Ellena's life… from his IKEA work desk in Cabris (Grasse) to his fascination with China and his travels to Japan while composing Iris Ukiyoé. There are insights into his perfumes, the ones he has created and those he has yet to finish, his childhood, his teacher Edmond Roudnitska (who once dreamed of being an Opera Singer), his frustrations with IFRA, and his admiration for Chanel' s "rewriting" of No. 5 with Eau Premiere.

For the perfumer or those who aren't aromachemically challenged there are accord formulas; how to create "olfactory illusions" such as the aromas of green, yellow and red apples, hyancinth, mango, cherry and candyfloss.

And yes, he reads perfume blogs.

.-Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief

Disclosure: an Advance Copy of A Diary of A Nose was given to me by Rizzoli Ex Libris the U.S. publisher. All photos used with the permission of the publisher

diary of a nose jean claude ellena

Thanks to Rizzoli New York we have an advance copy of The Diary of A Nose A Year in the Life of a Perfumer to giveaway to one reader. To be eligible leave a comment on anything that resonated for you in this book review by January 9, 2013. The winner will be announced by the January 15, 2013 so that a copy of the book will be there before the January 22, 2013 publication date.

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 spilled perfume

 

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47 comments

  • I must say I resonated with the fact that he is comfortable “meeting orange farmers in Southern Italy than answering questions at a seminar in Paris” The people who are at the ground level, coaxing the Oranges, the vanilla and the oils to depart from their vessels are very hard workers of the fragrance industry and hence interesting on a different level. More real, they often suffer at the hands of their industry, battling climate and natural disasters and are truly inspiring. I like his inspirations, the friends dinner, a fruit market, perhaps a piece of music..I think I’d enjoy meeting him and the book sounds like a great read! Well done Jean-Claude.

  • I liked this quote: “When I try to establish harmony, the proportions establish themselves.” Harmony in painting, perfumes, or life … what an perfect idea!

    Thank you for the great review and for the draw!

  • I would like to read about his “insights into his perfumes, the ones he has created and those he he has yet to finish” especially.

    Thank you!

  • Amen to M. Ellena!

    As an industry perfumer, much of what he says resonates with me, especially this part about relying on market trials, “they exhaust the young creators by asking for more and more daily samples,not respecting the time needed for evaluation and reflection.” M. Ellena also believes that multi-perfumer collaborations, unless freely chosen, do not succeed.

    It was only years after leaving the tutelage of my mentor and master perfumer that I understood what he meant when he would often say, “Observe your work” Perfumery is not about instant gratification, but rather striving to reach a place of perfect balance. And this takes time.

  • I found it so funny that mint gives him “perfumer’s block”, lol. I do see how it could be a complicated note.

    Interesting that he resonates with Cezanne, and I will have to go look at some of the aforementioned watercolours to see what he means about the layers of colours not touching each other — however I can smell what Ellena means when he describes this in his perfumes. His fragrances come to my mind also as musical, a chord.

    Thanks for the article! 🙂

  • I find it interesting that Ellena is so generous with his inner thoughts on perfume and non perfume subjects, I look forward to reading the book.
    How to achieve olfactory illusions? Arcane information indeed!

  • I think it’s sad that he struggles with being called an artist and doesn’t believe he’s especially gifted. When you can craft beautiful creations and most of the world just categorizes perfumes as good or bad- you are an artist, and I hope he realizes that perfume aficionados see him as such.

  • I think more people should be like Mr Ellena… a “quiet smiling man”, including myself sometimes. There’s defineteley more to learn when listening 🙂

  • I love his take on perfume and gender I agree wholeheartedly. How can I scent be masculine or feminine this is just a matter of opinion.

  • Here is a person with whom I can relate. Something inside of me clicked into place, resonating, vibrating, and joyfully exclaiming, ” Yes! This is art!”. I truly think that scent is free from gender, even if I sometimes do bend to the public viewpoint of feminine. The juxtaposition of scent and colors is what makes the piece beautiful, vibrant and unique. Add in the human element and art is living and breathing.

  • I totally agree with this part: “When he attends a trend presentation by a well known flavor and fragrance company, he was “shocked and disgusted…too many perfumes smell alike and are variations of best sellers”.

  • “I make perfume for sharing, novel-perfumes, novella perfumes and poem perfumes.”

    This book is on my Amazon wishlist and I’m definitely buying it! Love Mr. Ellena’s works!

  • I like the idea of olfactory illusions and would love to learn more about that. It would be great to win this book, or else I’ll probably get it one way or the other to find out more about how to create olfactory illusions.

  • “Oh, I am a lonely painter, I live in a box of paints. Frightened by the devil, drawn to those who ain’t afraid. I remember the time you told me that ‘love’ was ‘touching souls’… surely you’ve touched mine. Part of you pours out of me, in these lines from time to time….” (A Case of You by Joni Mitchell)

    When Jean-Claude speaks of the Master Cezanne, the father of abstract Cubist Expressionism, and of the tender way his hands would layer the elements of color on his canvas…not to cover, but to juxtapose, my mind immediately fell into my own paint studio. The smell of my paint, the smell of the wooden handle on my horse tail brush, and the way they all mix together and form a certain fragrance of creation. Each paint color seems to have a different “accidental” fragrant tone. With this knowlege I am bound to the perfumer as I paint.

    And for the first time I now see that the perfumer is bound to me in his creative process, and this both thrills me and connects me.

    Although I am a painter, I have long held that fragrance is the truest paint we can imagine on this earth, and the mixing motions of the master as he uses his nose as a type of “paintbrush”is the act of painting.

    His fragrance aromas glistening in the bottles on his perfumer’s organ are his pallet of color.

    I reach my brush to my pallet as he reaches his hand to the tiny bottle.

    Just as Cezanne uses his eyes to place a color on the canvas…the perfumer uses his abstract sense of mystery with smell to place a fragrance droplet in a bottle, destined one day for the canvas of skin.

    The only difference, is there is little mystery in the painter’s work as he can see the colors immediately, and so can those who view it. There are absolutes…blue is blue to everyone. But do we all smell the exact same aromas?

    This Nose Meistro must work within this field of mystery, and then he must patiently wait for his work to be complete as it finds appreciation…once it finds the skin of canvas.

    The painter, he immediately gets to touch his colours to canvas, and his only remaining mystery is who will love his creation.

    The art of perfumery is broken up into long suffering segments during the process of creation, and the reason for this is because perfume taps into the heavens unlike any other art form, and it demands that time stand still all along the way.

    Just my random thoughts.

    Sandra

  • Ah JCE is one of my favorite perfumers! I can’t wait to read this! I really like his view of perfume and gender and making novel and poem perfumes – I think he has really accomplished that! Also very cool to learn that he is a fan of Cezanne!

  • Thanks for the draw!
    “As I see it, perfume whispers to our noses, speaks to us intimately, makes connections with our thoughts.”
    Thanks Mr Ellena!

  • I like that Ellena compares the way he creates a perfume with how his favorite artist Cezanne places paint on a canvas so that the colors are not completely layered, but are juxtaposed to create harmony. I would love to win this book.

  • I don’t think it is possible to be an artist without being a craftsperson. It is wonderful to hear him own his craftsmanship. But certainly he must be an artist otherwise how does he create something new in the world. His endorsement of No 5Pemiere has me interested and also want to and sniff Le jardin apres Mousson.

  • “When I try to establish harmony, the proportions establish themselves”…the key to life, as well as perfume.

  • I look forward to reading his book! I love the ideas of “olfactory illusions” and the non sex genre of perfume! I loved Après le Mousson and I agree with him not understand why this was a failure!

  • mariotgomez says:

    In my early introduction to the fragrance world, I was purchasing a certain style. Some of the scents I bought were Acqua di Parma Colonia Assoluta, Bvlgari Parfumee au The Vert Extreme, Cartier Declaration, L’Artisan Parfumeur Bois Farine and The Different Company Bergamote.

    Once “Noses” were brough in to the limelight, I found out the scents I have come to love were created by Jean-Claude Ellena. I continue to follow his creations and look forward to any new releases from him.

  • This was already on my list to read this year. I love that he shares so much of his inner life, his personal thoughts. And I find his humility refreshing and honest. I think for many people age brings wisdom, but it also brings humility. It’s that old adage about how the more you learn about something, the more your realize there is to learn. I am really looking forward to reading this.

  • As a person who travels quite a lot, I’ve always found it interesting how Mr. Ellena is influenced by his travels and has tried to capture some of the places in scent.

  • I like the idea of layering scents similar to the way Cezanne painted, by painting shadows and layering color, and the way both paint and scent are not covering each other but are juxtaposed.

  • I was most struck by the statement that Ellena is most comfortable “meeting orange farmers in Southern Italy than answering questions at a seminar in Paris”. It says a great deal about his love of the perfume-making process. I’m very interested in learning more about him. Thanks for the draw!

  • I find it sad that young perfumers are not being given time to develop their scents. It would be interesting to see what environment Ellena feels has given him the proper surroundings and work situation for his creative pursuits. I’m looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for the opportunity!

  • I liked that he called himself a “quiet, smiling man, who prefers to listen than to speak”. I consider myself the same type of woman.

  • I love that he considers himself a craftsman. I believe that one can be both a talented artist as well as craftsman. I always look forward to a new JCE release. Thank you for the draw.

  • I have diary of a nose in my shopping cart on Amazon
    This is such a well written review and I really want to read the book
    For some reason the fact that his work desk is from ikea made me think JCE is definitely a perfumer I would love to meet
    He strikes me as a man who assembled it himself

  • Ah, I’ve been looking forward to this book (even though it’s coated in that hot pink jacket…) I appreciate Ellena’s frustrations with marketing directors amongst other things. I often wonder what kind of masterpieces are ruined by market analysis, never to be smelled outside the lab by the world at large. Perfumery can, despite it’s frequent debasement by mass marketing schemes, be quite full of pretension, so I deeply appreciate what seems to be an air of humility around this olfactory artist. Many thanks.

  • It makes me happy that Mr.Ellena considers Un Jardin aprės la Mousson as one of his best fragrances because I love it and enjoy a lot wearing it.

    Thanks for the draw!

  • I adore the way he describes himself “a quiet man..who prefers to listen than to speak”-my kind of guy!
    I am also fascinated about his “accord formulas” as I am often one to experiment freely with blending natural essential oils. This book sounds like a must read for me!

    thank you so much for this draw!

  • I would love to read about that marketing presentation in Paris for further knowledge about how fragrances are made to appeal to the greatest number of people based on a bunch of suits conducting focus groups
    Whether its a new Hermes fragrance or this new book I look forward to the works of Jean Claude Ellena
    How fortunate you were to interview him; its a great interview btw
    A perfume of the wind sounds quintessiantally Ellena

  • What I ‘ve discovered in this review has been a revelation to me: Ellena’s favourite painter is also mine: the great Cézanne. Someone who likes Cézanne is normally a person with the sense of the humility and the sense of the landscape’s beauty . Someone who admits reading perfumes blogs .

  • I like the fact that he “tells it like it is”..too many perfumes smell alike….No kidding..copys of copys..and also his frustrations with IFRA.

    He sounds like an all around great perfumer and a person I would love to meet. As a perfumer myself I relate to more of his character..I also would rather talk to citrus growers..

    I would love to own this book…sounds fascinating.

  • It’s so hard to find well written books about fragrance, but I’ve heard good reviews about this book look forward to reading it.

  • I am just as excited to read intimate tidbits and travel reflections of Ellena–and to read entries such as “The Princess and The Pea”. Art, fairytales, Edmond Roudnitska dreamed of being an opera singer–what wasn’t captivating?
    Thanks for this draw Michelyn! I need this book!

  • I love his thoughts on Cezanne. I have a wonderful book “Cezanne in Provence” that really illustrates the technique M. Ellena describes. I suspect Cezanne would’ve very much liked M. Ellena’s work.

    xoxoxoA

  • I am so happy to hear of his love for Apres le Mousson. It is probably my favorite of his scents for Hermes and I am always perplexed why it does not get much love! In fact I have wondered if something was wrong with my nose. So happy to read that.

  • I’m sure it is a book I would enjoy to read a learn a lot from it. It is interesting how Mr. Ellena found similarities between apstract painting and creating perfumes. Reality is not important but illusion is. It is like a dream and dreams are always nicer than reality. So perfumery is an esoteric art-this is his point of view. BBC 4 has series called Perfume and there is a part(in second episode) with Jean Claude Ellena where he explains his thoughts in similar way we can read in this very useful review.

  • What resonates for me is here is a gentle man who does not let expectations stymie him: Expectations of what a artist should be, what kind of company one should prefer, whether a perfume should be for a man or a woman, or the role of marketing trials. That he does all this with humility and a quiet nature is really very beautiful and not often seen. I am certainly looking forward to reading the book.

  • Seemingly a humble man with wonderful character!

    I too have have issues describing fragrances that bend both ways. I have always felt that the majority of them are made for all the enjoy. The problem being the term, unisex. Gender-less is not satisfactory either. Help!

    It is not clear what to make of his opinion of the success of Terre d’Hermes (a fragrance I own and love). Hey , what do I know!

    I am so looking forward to reading this book.

    Thanx Ms. M.!