“Anything that expresses extreme contrast – that’s what inspires me most.”
At 19 years old, Pascal Gaurin radically changed course to follow his dream. Early on, his fascination with craftsmanship was a way to connect with his great grandfather, a sculptor of bronze, and also gave him the certitude that one day he would work with luxury products. While preparing to enter business school, HEC in Paris, Pascal picked up an issue of Vogue and read an article on the perfume industry and decided that his single obsession would be to create perfume. Pascal began working as a perfumer in Hong Kong. Eventually, he made New York his home. Pascal is most inspired by dense essences, like resins and deep woods. His taste for darkness originates from his grandparents’ home in Creuse, France, where the forests are very dark and it always feels like nighttime. “You can feel the vapors of mushrooms, leaves and bark.” he says, and it only takes the smell of a bale of hay, an uncultivated field or a stable to bring a smile to his lips. “I love frontal materials, those you need to tame like a sculptor does stone.”
