PORTRAIT
Daniel André is a creative p e r f u m e r who works for several luxury brands and changes horizon with each order. We meet with him in his laboratory in Geneva.
The one that immediately comes to mind is a childhood memory: the smell of cut
What is your first olfactory memory?
grass when I was playing on the lawn as a child. I can also remember the smell of my grandmother, yet I really didn't know her very well. Of all our senses, the olfactory memory is the most precise and conveys the most emotions. It immediately places us in a very specific sensory and emotional context. We all have our Proustian madeleine cake... Having the chance to open bottles in a perfumer's laboratory is like a session of psychoanalysis and brings back moments of life that have touched us to the depths of our being. It is reactivating memories that belong to us alone, that have marked us in a positive or negative way.
Yes, it can convey a message a n d e v e n v a l u e s i n a completely different way to traditional marketing. By
Does the smell of a brand, its olfactory signature, also address our sensitive being?
appealing to our sense of smell, emotion is guaranteed. For Elite, the smell had to evoke realities such as the well-being that results from a good night's sleep and also comfort. But I immediately noticed that what was also important for Elite was the way of receiving people, the kindness... respect for the customer. It was also necessary to convey the work of the artisans behind these beautiful products; I was inspired by all of this.
In olfactory language, floral notes, for example, evoke wel l -being and nature.
How do you translate such ideas or values into smells?
Woody notes can convey the notion of traditional manufacturing. Then it's like a music score: the formula has to sound good... and everyone has to feel good about it. And then, of course, you have to add a bit of character so that it is recognisable... The most important thing is that the smell should not be aggressive or overpowering for the recipient; it should be subtle, refined and very soft ...
Lavender is known for its relaxing properties. For my daughters, mandarin worked
Can smells help us fall asleep?
very well. We can also imagine olfactory alarm clocks by designing a scent for the end of the night, when sleep is lighter, which would allow us to wake up gently.
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