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“Following Your Intuitions Is The Key To Create Newness”
Alexis Dadier has more than 25 years of experience in perfumery, with a unique career path from marketing to creation. After working at Mane, Symrise and IFF, Alexis joined the Robertet team in 2019 where his passion for natural raw materials could be expressed through his new creations
Alexis Dadier finds his inspiration by strolling through the gardens, visiting museums, art galleries; as well as music and architecture and much more. Let’s get to know him better.
25 years in the world of fragrance... Do you feel like a veteran in the field, or do you still feel young and new and still have a lot to explore?
I am glad to feel that I still have a lot to create, and the best is yet to come. As a perfumer, you learn new things every day all along with your career and that is our chance. And the more experience you have, the more you can express your ideas with the accurate formulation. A perfumer is like a good wine, enriched with time.
When and how did you decide to become a perfumer? Could you share your first olfactory memory with our readers?
Becoming a perfumer has been a happy coincidence for me: working as a marketing manager for Parfums Christian Dior, I discovered the world of fragrances and it has been love at first sight! Then I decided to focus on fragrance composition and I had the chance to be offered a perfumer trainee position at Mane in Grasse. That‘s how everything began.
My first olfactory memory as a small child is when my mother used to kiss me goodnight before she went out, beautifully dressed, and perfumed with Jicky from Guerlain
Though you are a perfumer, you say you go about your life as a painter, an architect. What exactly do you mean by this?
When I create a fragrance I act as a painter or an architect would do: I first find myself an idea, then I create a small accord (a “sketch” for the painter or the architect). And if I’m satisfied with it, then I start building the fragrance stone by stone, raw material by raw material.
You also go on to say that you never disobey your intuitions when it comes to making decisions or taking actions in your life. How has this principle moulded you and your life?
This motto first led me to change my career from marketing to creation, starting again from scratch, although it wasn’t an easy path. I felt I had to do it. It has changed my life and I never regretted it! As far as creation is concerned, following your intuitions is the key to create newness.
As a perfumer, I am supposed to create tomorrow’s olfactive trends, and intuitions help you to dare in the right way to meet this challenge.
How has your taste/perception evolved over time? Are there any outstanding unique features in the perfumes that you create?
Since the beginning of my career, I have used a large amount of naturals in my fragrances. I love them and this has never changed! I’ve been trained in Grasse, the very cradle of perfumery, where you can smell and use the best naturals in the world, and it has shaped the way I create a perfume formula.
That is also one of the reasons why I wanted to join Robertet, the number one company worldwide for the variety and quality of naturals.
Alexis Dadier, Perfumer From Robertet
Your proudest moment as a perfumer?
The first time I smelt, in the street, someone who was wearing a fragrance I had created.
Do you remember the first fragrance that you bought for yourself? And the first fragrance you created?
The first fragrance I bought for myself was Grey Flannel from Geoffrey Beene. It was so different from the existing masculine fragrances at that time! It was very floral and that’s what I loved. The first fragrance that I created was Eau d’Azur de l’Occitane
Any favourite ingredients? Why?
Naturals for sure have my preference compared to synthetics but I love them all. Each one is unique, mysterious, each one is a world apart and tells a story by itself. More recently I had the chance to visit the Ajmal family and they made me smell the most beautiful agarwood ever. I totally fell in love with oud since then and I regularly use it in my fragrances.
Which brands do you admire or if there’s any perfume that you wish you had created?
I admire Hermes, this family-owned luxury brand, for the style of the perfumes, the true stories behind each creation, the coherence over decades with the family history. Real luxury has something to do with truth.
Is there anybody that you would like to credit for your growth as a perfumer over the years?
I guess my grandfather, who was a pharmacist. As a child, entering his ancient pharmacy full of smells and old beautiful bottles everywhere was like being in a magician’s spot. This is how I want to feel when I work today: surrounded by magic and mystery. I try to keep my ‘amazed child eyes’ when creating perfumes, thanks to my grandfather.
Rapid Round
Must have perfumes in a wardrobe
One perfume who tells who you are. And one perfume tells who you would like to be!
Perfumes in my travel bag
The fragrances I’m working on at that time
My layering secrets
Layering your favourite fragrance with the one of your lover should be a perfect recipe for a good mood all day long.
Caring for perfumes
Keep them in a fridge
The best perfume I have been offered
The first fragrance that I’ve been offered at 10 years old is still the one that I wear every day: Eau d’Hadrien d’Annick Goutal
My signature perfume
Parco Palladiano II Cipresso, Bottega Veneta
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