An interaction with Giorgio Armani’s latest perfume Rouge Malachite‘s perfumer Pascal Gaurin
A new chapter in the Armani / Privé story, ‘La Collection des Terres Précieuses’ gathers the artistic olfactory creations conceived by Giorgio Armani during his travels. The first two creations in this new line are a tribute to Russia, each named after the legendary malachite stone. One of the two fragrances, Rouge Malachite created by Pascal Gaurin, pays homage to the beauty of Russian women and the strength of their temperament. We talk to perfumer Pascal Gaurin about the fragrance and more…
Question (Q): For Rouge Malachite, Mr Armani was inspired by his personal piece of Malachite and the colour red, creating a design that doesn’t exist. How were you able to use these two elements as inspiration for this fragrance?
Pascal Gaurin (PG): Starting from an object that doesn’t exist in reality is a great opportunity to play with the symbols attached to it. In this particular case I decided to focus on the colour. Red has some very strong emotional references attached to it. It is the colour of desire, passion, anger, sex, danger, power. It is also a colour that is not gender specific. An object can be very restrictive, on the other hand when you start to play with emotions you have more chances to touch people at a much deeper level.
Q: How would you describe this fragrance?
PG: I always wanted to explore the possibility to create a fragrance that both men and women could wear based around one of the most iconic and expensive flowers: the magnificent ‘tuberose’. It is a fragrance about passion, contrast, duality and harmony.
Q: In what way were you influenced by Russia?
PG: I always kept in mind Giorgio Armani’s own words to describe Russia “If I think of Russia, I imagine strength, decisiveness and opulence. I imagine an attitude which is simultaneously bold and conscious, and always considerably sensual”. I had to create a powerful and sensual fragrance with a memorable signature.
Q: The tuberose is traditionally a feminine flower. How did you interpret this ingredient?
PG: The fragrance is built around two poles: tuberose absolute and ylang ylang heart for the feminine side. The sage (absolute and oil from the south of France) and vetiver for the masculine side. I used an ambery ingredient called ‘operanide’ to create the link between the masculine and feminine poles. This is a very strong captive ingredient used in conjunction with tuberose and sage creating a very sophisticated and unique fragrance.
Q: What is the Armani/Privé signature present in this fragrance?
PG: Armani/Privé represents true luxury with 3 essential elements:
-The best ingredients
-The best craftsmanship
-Time to create
