Fragranze's Proust Questionnaires - Vol. 3
News
Edition 18
12.11.2020
Chandler Burr's questionnaires: With a nod to Proust, it’s all about perfumes. Discover the protagonists of the third episode.
Our journey to discover the artists of International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), the American firm that is a global leader in the development of scents and perfumes, continues. In this new episode of the column, Chandler Burr – perfume critic and artistic director of Pitti Fragranze – asks some of the most famous IFF perfumers about their dreams, fears, and quirks. Read the interviews.
 
Jean-Marc Chaillan
Jean-Marc Chaillan is a perfumer with IFF. He loves more than anything the South of France, perfume, his children, and truffles. He does not use his nose to find truffles.
 

1 What quality do you most admire in other people? 
Loyalty

2 What do you consider the most overrated virtue? 
Heroism

3 What is your greatest strength? 
Bringing people together

4 What do you dislike most about yourself? 
I can’t let go of things easily

5 What makes you happiest? 
A nice meal with my family

6 What is your greatest fear? 
I am claustrophobic

7 Which living person do you most despise? 
My 6th floor neighbour

8 What is your greatest extravagance? 
Shoes. I love shoes

9 When do you lie? 
Rarely and very badly

10 Why did you choose to create in the art medium of scent? 
It’s powerful, emotional, secret, seductive, beautiful, and invisible

11 Who are the architect, the musician or group, and the film director whose artistic style and aesthetics most closely resemble yours?  
I don’t like to compare art forms. Each is unique

12 Which scent raw material can you not live without? 
Patchouli

13 Which scent raw material do you never use? 
Natural tonkin musc. It’s forbidden today for good reason. (It was a beautiful material)

14 What is your favorite perfume of your own? 
Aqua Herrera

15 What is your favorite perfume not your own? 
Shalimar

16 If you had to choose in another person: bad breath or bad body odor? 
Interesting question. Body odor

17 Which city or place smells the best? 
The Mediterranean, by far

18 What do you most want that you could get if you had enough money? 
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GT. Or the 1995 F50

19 What do you most want that money cannot buy? 
A life filled with happiness



 

Julien Rasquinet
Julien Rasquinet is a perfumer with IFF. As a child, scents made a strong impression on him, but he was often unable to pinpoint them. At 25 he solved one 13-year mystery by identifying his 6th grade biology teacher’s perfume

1 What quality do you most admire in other people? 
Loving the pursuit of aesthetics
 
2 What do you consider the most overrated virtue? 
Self-confidence. It helps neither thinking differently nor finding solutions
 
3 What is your greatest strength? 
I am a really hard worker 
 
4 What do you dislike most about yourself? 
I can be a bit stubborn  
 
5 What makes you happiest? 
My kids   

6 What is your greatest fear? 
Public speaking
 
7 Which living person do you most despise? 
My car mechanic

8 What is your greatest extravagance? 
Explosive fragrances   

9 When do you lie? 
What is a lie?  

10 Why did you choose to create in the art medium of scent? 
Because until I met my wife, my love for perfume was even stronger than my love for women, and the perfumes never dumped me

11 Who are the architect, the musician or group, and the film director whose artistic style and aesthetics most closely resemble yours? 
Magritte

12 Which scent raw material can you not live without? 
Ciste labdanum 
 
13 Which scent raw material do you never use? 
I’ve never used narcissus, but during the lockdown I worked with it and now I’m willing to do a good narcissus    

14 What is your favorite perfume of your own? 
القمر (The Moon)
   
15 What is your favorite perfume not your own? 
Habit Rouge. My first love   

16 If you had to choose in another person: bad breath or bad body odor?  
Bad body odor - I don’t know why people with bad breath always want to talk so close to your face
 
17 Which city or place smells the best? 
Arabian nights when the scent of food, saffron, cardamom, shisha, burning oud, oud on people’s skin, and frangipani flowers are perfuming the air

18 What do you most want that you could get if you had enough money? 
I am really into properties and restoration. So a castle 

19 What do you most want that money cannot buy? 
A good planetary ecological balance

20 Of all your time at Fragranze, what aspect has most surprised or interested you? 
The passion of the people who are handling their projects and the amount of crazy ideas you get there
 

Juliette Karagueuzoglou
Juliette Karagueuzoglou is a perfumer with IFF. She doesn’t need to drink coffee because she fell in a pot when she was young

1. What quality do you most admire in other people?
Sharpness  
 
2 .What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Efficiency
 
3. What is your greatest strength?
Resilience 
 
4. What do you dislike most about yourself?
Nothing. Happiness is an inner job
 
5. What makes you happiest?
Experiencing life 
 
6. What is your greatest fear?
Boredom 
 
7. Which living person do you most despise?
I don’t waste time on that
 
8. What is your greatest extravagance?
My sensitivity to the world
 
9. When do you lie?
Here 

10. Why did you choose to create in the art medium of scent?
Scents chose me 

11. Who are the architect, the musician or group, and the film director whose artistic style and aesthetics most closely resemble yours? 
I’m not sure my work resembles his, but I love the work of Franck Gehry. A lot of emotions, real technical work, very precise, always a touch of craziness

12. Which scent raw material can you not live without?
Patchouli 
 
13. Which scent raw material do you never use?
Never say never, creating is about trying! 
 
14. What is your favorite perfume of your own?
 My kid’s perfume
 
15. What is your favorite perfume not your own?  
Why should we choose?
 
16. If you had to choose in another person: bad breath or bad body odor?
None of them OMG 
 
17. Which city or place smells the best?
The smell of the ocean by the pine trees on the French west coast
 
18. What do you most want that you could get if you had enough money? 
An un-ending olfactory journey across the world

19. What do you most want that money cannot buy? 
Ideas

20. Of all your time at Fragranze, what aspect has most surprised or interested you?
The constantly changing environment

 

Natasha Côté
Natasha Côté is a perfumer with IFF. In the year 5000 she will be elected president of the United States to make the world smell better
1 What quality do you most admire in other people? 
Uniqueness  
 
2 What do you consider the most overrated virtue? 
Pride 
 
3 What is your greatest strength? 
Optimism 
 
4 What do you dislike most about yourself? 
Excessive flexibility
 
5 What makes you happiest? 
Traveling with my family
 
6 What is your greatest fear? 
Being left behind 
 
7 Which living person do you most despise? 
Jair Bolsonaro 
 
8 What is your greatest extravagance?  
Eating two pieces of cake
 
9 When do you lie? 
To protect someone else
 
10 Why did you choose to create in the art medium of scent? 
It feeds my endless curiosity
 
11 Who are the architect, the musician or group, and the film director whose artistic style and aesthetics most closely resemble yours? 
None 
 
12 Which scent raw material can you not live without? 
Jasmine Absolute Sambac LMR 
 
13 Which scent raw material do you never use? 
For me all raw materials have their time and place
 
14 What is your favorite perfume of your own?  
Sudbury 
 
15 What is your favorite perfume not your own? 
Polo Blue For Her 
 
16 If you had to choose in another person: bad breath or bad body odor? 
Bad breath 
 
17 Which city or place smells the best? 
Bol, Croatia 
 
18 What do you most want that you could get if you had enough money? 
Clean water and nutritious food for everyone
 
19 What do you most want that money cannot buy? 
More time!!!
Nicolas Beaulieu
Nicolas Beaulieu is a perfumer with IFF. When he started his IFF apprenticeship in quality control in 1997 he broke a sample of costus oil on his brand new shoes. Not his favorite ingredient since
1 What quality do you most admire in other people? 
Contentment

2 What do you consider the most overrated virtue? 
Grace. It’s considered a virtue, but you’re either born with it or you aren’t

3 What is your greatest strength? 
Kindness

4 What do you dislike most about yourself? 
My kindness

5 What makes you happiest? 
Sharing a good meal with friends

6 What is your greatest fear? 
Snakes

7 Which living person do you most despise? 
Some World leaders, especially during this difficult period

8 What is your greatest extravagance? 
Eating 42 oysters

9 When do you lie? 
Never. (This is a lie)

10 Why did you choose to create in the art medium of scent
It lets me express in raw emotions.

11 Who are the architect, the musician or group, and the film director whose artistic style and aesthetics most closely resemble yours?
Renzo Piano, David Bowie, Cédric Klapisch

12 Which scent raw material can you not live without? 
Sandalwood oil

13 Which scent raw material do you never use? 
Aldron

14 What is your favorite perfume of your own?
Bataille

15 What is your favorite perfume not your own? 
Chanel 19

16 If you had to choose in another person: bad breath or bad body odor? 
I can’t answer that

17 Which city or place smells the best? 
Sevilla at Easter

18 What do you most want that you could get if you had enough money? 
A trip around the world in first class

19 What do you most want that money cannot buy? 
Time travel