Perfumer

A perfumer is a term used for an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a Nose (French: le nez) due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist who is trained in depth on the concepts of fragrance aesthetics and who is capable of conveying abstract concepts and moods with fragrance compositions. At the most rudimentary level, a perfumer must have a keen knowledge of a large variety of fragrance ingredients and their smells, and be able to distinguish each of the fragrance ingredients whether alone or in combination with other fragrances. As well, they must know how each ingredient reveals itself through time with other ingredients. The job of the perfumer is very similar to that of flavourists, who compose smells and flavourants for many commercial food products. The practice of perfume-making has recently attracted academic interest among major research funding agencies.

Most past perfumers did not undergo professional training in the art and many learned their craft as apprentices under another perfumer in their employment as a perfume technician (in charge of blending formulas) or chemist. A direct entrance into the profession is rare and those who do typically enter it through family contacts. Such apprenticeships last around 3 years.

Until recently, professional schools open to the public for training perfumers did not exist. In 1970 ISIPCA became the first school in perfumery. The candidates must endure a demanding entrance examination and must have taken university-level courses in organic chemistry.

Since 1998 PerfumersWorld's perfumery school has offered formal and informal perfumer training through university courses at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi Biotechnology faculty, at Chulalongkorn University Pharmacy faculty and through on-line courses and private workshops in the USA, UK, Dubai, New Zealand and Bangkok.

More recently, in 2002, another perfumery school was born, the Grasse Institute of Perfumery (G.I.P). Similarly here, the ideal candidates must have a foundation in chemistry or pharmacy in order to be accepted as student perfumer (élève perfumer).

Givaudan, International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) and Symrise have perfumery schools as part of their companies, but students must be employees of the company and must be recommended by their superiors for acceptance into the school. The University of Plymouth (UK) offers a BA (Bachelor of Arts) course in Business & Perfumery.

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Wikipedia