As a creator of CHANEL Perfume, Jacques Polge dedicated to the search for a scent which responds to the needs and desires of women today, and helps them to achieve their own individuality.

 

 

                                                                 
　                                                              

 

   Perfumers, who are known as "Noses", are chosed in various ways, each company having a different procedure. Of course, the major criterion is a good nose and this is determined by a seris of odor evaluation tests. Prospective perfumers are given a series of identified chemicals, numbering from 20-30 and is asked to study them for a short time. They are then given the same chemicals coded and asked to indentify them. There are differences of opinion regarding how manya potential perfumer must identify, but 75%-80%, would be considered appropriate.

 

   The candidates remain apprentices for a minimum of 6 years and may never make the grade at all but, if they do, they become full-fledged perfumers and then can move up the ranks, depending on the success of their creations.

 

  Perfumers are held in the highest esteem in the perfume industry and there is the final say as to whether or not a fragrance is acceptable. The premary requesite for becoming a Nose is a keen olfactory sense. It is not enough for the perfumer to be able to distinguish between the fragrance of a rose and a tulip, but his sense of smell must be so acute and he can detect in a mixture of 100 or more ingredients the precise amount of the various substances that have contributed to the formula. He must not only be able to recongnize various raw materials but must have the capacity and srtistry to blend them harmoniously. He must be able to tell, for instance, whether the labdanum is from Greece or Corsica; whether the oil of ylang-ylang comes from Madagascar or Manila; tell the difference between oils of the same species of plant cultivated in different countries, and which type will achieve a particular result. The Nose has his counterpart in the wine industry where the shilled expert can tell in an instant the region, type of grape, and vintage of the wine he is sampling.

 

   A truly great perfumer is not created in a hurry. Massproduced fragrances may be blended from a standard formula in a short time, but the original creation of a beautiful perfume may take years to accomplish. If the Nosehas a picture in mind that he wishes to translate into secent he will spend many weeks and months over it, surrounded by myriad of bottles, vilas, jars, each filled with precious essential oils and other materials.

                                                                              
　

   During the blending he is constantly testing his formula. As he works, he dips long slender blotters into the solution and puts them aside to try. At intervals these trips are sniffed, to determine what should be added to perfect the composition and to round out the fragrance.

 

   Just as a painter spreads paint over his canvas and then steps back to view it critically chekcing upon whether more light is needed in an area, or a bit more blue needs tov e added to the purple, so does the prefume artist make his tests. Perhaps a minute quantity of jasmine to give smoothness, or slightly heavier note to add more character to an otherwise too light scent.

 

   During the buliding of the perfume it is tested frequently, and under varying conditions. Is it the same in the early morning as it is in the dusk of the evening? Is the scent altered by weather conditions? There and many other checks are made before the prefume is considered a finishe product.