Julien Rasquinet was instrumental in the alchemy that brought our vision to life. His expertise with Tunisian Neroli and Orange Blossom revealed the radiance of sunrises and sunsets we sought to evoke. With an astute focus on the inversion of the Orange Flower, he unveiled its deepest facets first. The afterglow of his composition radiates with warm rose and jasmine, later accented by crystalline resins and a heady vanilla — a triumph in the realm of spice and amber. Today, we honor his visionary artistry through Verdades.
MdE Can you tell us when your interest in fragrance began?
I started collecting my first perfume when I was 14 years old. After studying business, I went to New York for an internship at one of the biggest perfume companies in the world. This is where my exploration of raw materials started. I was amazed by this endless spectrum of scent. That’s when I realized that my dream was to become a perfumer.
I also had an extraordinary encounter with master perfumer Pierre Bourdon, who changed my destiny. He allowed me to start my career as a scent creator.
MdE It takes a great effort to support and foster talent. Do you have any rituals that help prepare you for the creative process of starting a new fragrance?
I don’t have any standard ritual per se, but I cannot start my day without a morning coffee. I live in Neuilly-sur-seine, which is very close to Paris. It’s one of the few places where you can feel the presence of nature, as the rest of the city is very mineral. In the morning, start with a walk around the lake, I watch the ducks, and inhale the smell of horses. During the season the jasmine is in full bloom and it smells amazing.
My creative process is the narrative itself; I am a citizen of the world and take inspiration from different places, encounters, and discoveries that I make in my daily life and travels.
MdE Is there an elusive quality or effect that you chase in your perfumery? I imagine that the process must take a great deal of patience and compromise to achieve the desired result.
Behind every scent, there is always a story. When I create, I do not imitate nature but embellish it. I think of ways to bring it to life in a romantic and organic form. It’s almost transformative of the story it carries within it.
MdE How do you like to wear fragrance and what do you enjoy wearing personally?
I usually wear my own creations to test the duality between what I’m working on and how I feel about it. I like to make sure that my fragrances diffuse at an optimum performance and have the flair of longevity.
MdE What are your favorite ingredients or accords (to work with or in general)?
As the scent palette is quite rich, there are raw materials that I naturally like to work with more than others, like cistus and leather or other very opulent ambery & balsamic notes. However, I don’t really like the idea of summing up my work in terms of favorites. My choice usually depends on what is relevant to the story I want to tell, the brand I’m creating for, and the brief itself. A part of being creative is also to be versatile!
MdE Art at its best is informed, drawing inspiration from other artists and showcasing new ideas. Who inspires you?
My wife, Irina Rasquinet, is a renowned multifaceted artist. She makes paintings and is one of the few women in Europe who is into monumental land art. Her themes link childhood, surrealism, and nature, but she’s also influenced by perfume. I worked with her on an exhibition she did called ‘Nuit Solaire” at the gallery “La Patinoire Royale - Valérie Bach” in Brussels, where her inner world was expressed through a perfume diffused into that gigantic space. Her inspirations inspire my work every day. She is the best source I can find!
MdE As a perfumer, the olfactive sense certainly plays a role in how you communicate with the world. What do you hope to achieve in your career and is there anything that you would like to leave as a legacy in the history of perfume?
When I am creating, I seek to awaken emotions. My perfumes start with an idea, then take shape and find their way onto the skin. My satisfaction is in being able to create something new and innovative for an environment both serene and ambitious – it’s to have the flame of creativity burn ever brighter around the world.
MdE Outside of Fragrance what brings you joy?
I like being in the countryside, soaking up the greenery. I also enjoy sailing, which is technically challenging but allows incredible adventures and the discovery of the world from a different angle. Joy is a dialogue between land and sea, it’s like floating on tides that decide your fate. you just have to let yourself be carried away.
