Accords et Parfums. For the Sake of Perfume Art.

The House of Accords et Parfums is isolated, far up on a hill and separate from the busy perfume production centre of Grasse and I can tell you the reasons why. The choice is both historical and intentional; Edmond Roudnitska chose the location for its stunning beauty that he dedicated to perfumery, and his successor faithfully continued its legacy by nurturing its specificity and its unique vision of independence in the world of fragrance.

Since 2004, Accords et Parfums stands firm in its dedication to the ‘the art of composing perfumes’; I had the unique chance of interviewing its founder, a man who does not like to be in the ‘light’ but rather serve the art of perfumery, reverently, persistently and quite secretly. If you search for Olivier Maure, you will not find much, a few lines in an old newspaper interview, but surely a strong reference to Edmond Roudnitska, an intense collaboration with Michel Roudnitska, the son of Edmond, who in 2010 decided to leave Accords et Parfums for other non-perfume related projects.

When he was only 19 years old, Olivier started working for Edmond Roudnitska and by his side he happily ‘grew and blossomed’ in the shadow of the master and his wife Thérèse. He does not need to read the book of ‘A Life of Perfume’ as he knows already Edmond’s thinking and his famous quotes ‘Perfume is Magic’; he was there all along and worked for more than twenty years for Art et Parfums, the company established in 1947 by Edmond Roudnitska on the very same location where Accords et Parfums is located today. The estate “Domaine Sainte Blanche” is the name that Mr. Roudnitska chose in honour of his mother, whose nickname was Blanche.

An estate away in the distance. With its own way for fragrance.

As a fierce independent actor dedicated to perfumers, it will come as no surprise that Accords et Parfums is off the beaten path, 7,5 km away and above the lively noise of the hub of Grasse. It also is coherent with the fact that the company is not actively marketing or recruiting new ‘clients’ or perfumers; as an illustration, the information available on the company web site is succinct to say the least, or enigmatic, or both really, and this is done intentionally.

Edmond was the first independent nose in the history of French perfumery, working for different houses and behind the perfume masterpieces such as Femme de Rochas (in 1943), and Diorissimo Dior (in 1956). Accords et Parfums follows Edmond’s approach and every member entering the ‘family’ must be an independent perfumer but also wholeheartedly adhere to the House values.

The first value is respect of equality and confidentiality, keeping the secrecy of who belongs to the family, refraining from quoting the names of the perfumers or producers is absolutely key; likewise for the perfumer it is essential not to publicly divulge one’s membership. The idea is to grant all talented perfumers’ equal status and rights.

The second value is to nurture the human relations with the perfumers seen as artists, and to fight against the perfume standardization; Olivier explains his intention as follows:

‘With Accords et Parfums, I wish to cherish the uniqueness of an increasingly homogenized world so that every perfumer can express themselves as an artist in all their distinctiveness,’ Olivier Maure, Director of Accords et Parfums.

The third value is the passion for the beauty of raw materials, for finding new original routes and for keeping the high quality, in a never-ending quest for excellence.

An independent house dedicated to independent perfumers.

It is time to have a peek inside the stunning house of Accords et Parfums. While being surrounded by silence, the house is alive with fragrance. With a business expansion of 40% last year, no wonder there is a bubbly activity, full of lively perfume discussions, smelling ingredients, formulas, macerations, making decisions, and having daily telephone conversations with the perfumers. In fact, the matter at stake is so high, that belonging to the family entails a never-ending discussion on the evolution of the market, of the improvement of the perfume formula, or the search for new stunning ingredients…

Belonging to a Family with a Strong Sense of Unity.

Accords et Parfums is unique for its respect of perfumers as artists that own their perfume formulas. The prestige of the house does not belong to the past, in fact Accords et Parfums continues to welcome perfumers from all over the world, famous or not, with different styles, from diverse schools, or ages, as old and young cohabit together in harmony. Amongst the 64 perfumers belonging to the family, I could speak to a very young one who entered recently and asked him why he wanted to join and how he possibly managed to enter; his answer was straightforward ‘the excellence of the House made it an evidence’ and ‘for me it was also clear that Olivier considers the promotion of the young generation with talent as his own mission’. The young perfumer carried on the discussion marveling at the choice of gorgeous ingredients, of precious scents like gems.

A Center of Excellence for Fragrance Production.

As an artist, the perfumer has an aim of excellence in fragrance creation. To help him achieve this high goal, Accords et Parfums shares his own manufacturing excellence in the know-how of where to find the most beautiful raw ingredients, how to partner with local producers to maintain a stable and high quality over time, how to anticipate climate changes, how to precisely extract the best scented material with the most advanced technology and at the right time, how to adapt the formulas with the constant changing regulations…On this complex topic, Olivier and his small but efficient team of 10 prepare a monthly newsletter targetted to perfumers, explaining the new regulations that will require adjustments.

A World with Special Patience for Fragrance and Freedom for Creation.

My impression is that Accords et Parfums is enlightened by two schools of philosophy, the perfumers and the manufacturers, in a modern representation of a ‘Greek’ agora. Sitting in distinct locations, with total freedom, each school has the best position to perform its unique skills in its search for perfection.

It seems to me that the stunning beauty of Domaine Sainte Blanche is the perfect setting for olfactory excellence. What an evidence!