Interview With Quentin Bisch: “Perfumery Is An Absolute Part Of Myself”

2018 could very well be the year of Quentin Bisch. The 35-year-old perfumer has signed a number of high-profile fragrances this year. These include: Azzaro Wanted by Night EDP (pictured below), Boucheron Quatre en Rose EDP, Bottega Veneta Parco Palladiano XV: Salvia Blu EDP, Chloé Nomade EDP, L’Artisan Parfumeur Mandarina Corsica EDP, Parfums de Marly Delina EDP, Paco Rabanne Pure XS for Her EDP and Zadig & Voltaire Girls Can Do Anything EDP.

Even before this prolific year, Quentin Bisch was producing stand-out fragrances such as Mugler A*Men Ultra Zest EDT (2015) and Etat Libre d’Orange La Fin du Monde EDP (2013).

The first Quentin Bisch fragrance I smelled was Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Essence de Parfum in 2016. At the time I didn’t know he had created this supremely sexy scent with its creamy take on notes of cardamom, lavender, leather and cinnamon.

Not bad for someone whose dream to become a perfumer was ridiculed by a teacher because he wasn’t any good at high-school chemistry. Now, Quentin Bisch is one of Givaudan’s hot talents.

I contacted Quentin Bisch via Instagram and he agreed to answer some questions about his fragrance style, niche vs designer and his latest creation for L’Artisan Parfumeur.

What fragrance are you wearing today?

A trial for a huge project I’ve been working on for the past three years. It is the final round and there are two candidates left. In a few weeks someone will be selected for it. When I wear a fragrance, which is quite rare lately, it is Hermès Kelly Calèche EDT.

Is perfumery a profession or a calling for you?

Both. But I definitely admit that working with such a passion may change the rules of typical “professions”: you barely can stop, because you always create perfumes in your mind, while watching a movie or sleeping at night. It is an absolute part of myself and takes up the main part of my life.

You made your fragrance debut in 2013. Has your style evolved since then?

Difficult to say… For my personal research, yes, as I keep discovering myself every day. I feel that with increasing confidence, I tend to go straight to the point. My formulas are bolder and shorter.

But the main part of the job is connected to the brands. Hence my “style”, as you call it, is clearly connected to them and adapts to answer each one. I totally get to dive into the brand’s DNA and become like their internal perfumer. I am not the same perfumer when I work for Chloé or for Paco Rabanne.

You are very active on Instagram. How does it benefit you as a perfumer?

Am I (laughs)? Must admit it is quite new to me. Two months ago I was not part of any social network. And you are right, now I dedicate more time to it. As a perfumer the benefit is a communication matter: you are closer to a lot of people, showing your work as you choose to, for instance, the inspiration behind the fragrances. It gives another access to the perfumes, in the way of its creator, which completes and add to the brand’s communication.

“Two months ago I was not part of any social network. It gives another access to the perfumes, in the way of its creator.”

How do you like to work? For example, Is a very specific brief important to you?

Of course, some briefs are more important, because they speak to you in a particular way. I remember when the Chloé Nomade brief arrived, I was crazy. I wanted to be the one who would win it. It became very emotional, because I adore this brand. Sometimes it’s niche briefs that keep you up at night with ideas. I take most of it pretty intensely. I am like that. It is quite tiring, but life is short, so I play it hard.

2018 has been a very busy year for you, with a number of your creations on the market. Do you work on one project at a time or do you juggle a few?

I work on many projects at the same time. But the rhythm and level of finalisation varies from one to another. So it is rarely every project at the same time. Yes, “juggling” is a good word.

You’ve created niche and designer fragrances. Is there any difference for you in the creative process?

Not that much. I work with as many creative and bold accords for niche as I do for designer fragrances. The main difference is the target. When you want to appeal to a larger audience, you need to include it in the deal. That’s why designer fragrances often are so faceted: a bit of fruit to be joyful, flower notes for fluidity, musks for comfort, and gourmand for addiction and youth… In that situation, we are far away from a niche perfume featuring only amber or spices. You don’t aim for the same result.

Tell us about your new fragrance for L’Artisan Parfumeur, Mandarina Corsica. I haven’t tried it yet, but it sounds delicious.

For the first time I could design an accord I had in mind for years: a caramelised mandarin I tasted in Corsica a long time ago. I remember biting into the little candied fruit and feeling a symphony of sensations. Firstly, you feel the caramel, cold and hard, its bitterness almost burnt brown sugar. As you break it your teeth get into the peel of the mandarin: zests! Then the fruit explodes and it is all about juicy, acidulous, pulpy delight.

“For the first time I could design an accord I had in mind for years: a caramelised mandarin I tasted in Corsica a long time ago.”

Givaudan’s new mandarins (coeur and intégrale) allow one to feel a lasting freshness and juiciness, as well as the texture of the fruit. Normally citruses are top notes, meaning they burst at the head note of a perfume, but barely last. Caramel notes – more oriental – do last.

I needed a lasting citrus, bold and textured, to give the illusion that you experience this delight with all its facets evolving altogether, and that you do not end with a caramel topped by some blinking citruses. It became possible to render all the feelings and sensations of my emotional childhood memory!