Born in London, but moved to India when she was just two years old, Azzi Glasser grew up surrounded by the wealthy smells of nature – the beach, the ocean air, the echoes of a monsoon. When she returned to England, it was the smell of rain on earth that greeted her. Other smells she recalls from her childhood are those associated together with her mother – a lipstick, her old powder compact cases after she had finished with them, and her perfume. “I’d watch my mother preparing for evening events,” Azzi says. “She would placed on her false eyelashes, throw on her fur coat and spray her perfume on before going out with my father, which was very often. When she kissed me goodnight, the fragrance would linger within the air. I hoped that perhaps at some point I’d own a bottle of this expensive perfume…” Fast forward to now, and Azzi doesn’t just own expensive perfumes, she creates them. They usually’re not only perfumes, they’re exquisite concoctions that aim to capture the essence of the person for whom each fragrance is created. Self-described as a perfume designer, each note is rigorously crafted in cohesion together with her client’s personality, their personal style, and their overall desires. But at £1500 a pop, the scents will not be for everybody, which is why in 2015 Azzi launched the Perfumer’s Story – a group of 11 scents, every one designed to take their wearer on a journey. Old Books, for example, is designed to recall the opening of an old book. Over the course of her profession, Azzi has worked with world renowned brands including Agent Provocateur (she co-founded Agent Provocateur Parfums in 1999), Alexander Mcqueen and Bella Freud. Fresh from her role as Artist in Residence on the Mandrake Hotel, which saw her transform an area of the hotel into an immersive perfumer’s atelier, here we talk over with Azzi in regards to the power of smell and the long run of fragrance.

What made you wish to dedicate your profession to fragrance? How did you get into the industry?
Azzi Glasser: I never imagined that I could be a perfumer. To be honest, throughout my childhood, I didn’t realise that the job of a perfumer even existed. I even have all the time been creative. Once I was 19 years old, through the craze for scented wood chips, I invented the ‘fragrance rock pot pourri’. Cosmopolitan magazine published an article about me and this recent creation that had taken particularly the UK by storm. I then had various fragrance corporations at my door, wanting to work with me. One in every of them offered me a job I could not refuse. When the fragrance house tested my skills, I achieved the most effective results ever. It was from that moment I realised the facility of my nose.

How has your profession evolved since then?
Azzi Glasser: I worked with a British fragrance house as Global Creative Business Director for ten years. During that point, I met Joe Corré and Serena Rees, the founders of Agent Provocateur. While holidaying together in Costa Rica, we discussed launching a perfume. After we returned, we launched Agent Provocateur Parfum as partners. It won quite a few awards, went straight to primary at Harvey Nichols and remained among the many top three at Selfridges for some years. I had no idea it might be such an enormous success, because it smelt so different from every other perfume out there, and the concept and fragrance was the alternative to the industry trends at the moment nevertheless it worked perfectly. I then created fragrances for the likes of Jasper Conran, Nicole Farhi, Alexander McQueen, Laura Ashley, Space NK, Monsoon, and Bella Freud, to call just a few.

Why bespoke fragrance?
Azzi Glasser: I began to create bespoke fragrances around 12 years ago, first for Kylie Minogue, as she was an enormous fan of the Agent Provocateur fragrance, followed by Helena Bonham Carter, Noomi Rapace, Cindy Crawford, and lots of others. My first male was Johnny Depp, followed by Jude Law, Orlando Bloom, James Lavelle, Jonas Akerlund, Rankin, Douglas Booth, Stephen Fry, and a bunch of others. There was an eclectic demand to begin with, mainly because, individually, they found it hard to decide on their signature scent from what was on offer within the fragrance market place. That is one in all the explanations I create bespoke fragrances in another way from most perfumers: I match the person character, personality and their very own unique style to the fragrance composition in the identical way a bespoke dress could be made for them. The difference, though, is that the perfume does change into the love of their life, their bespoke signature scent, they usually enjoy wearing it loyally each day.

Why do you’re thinking that there’s a requirement for bespoke fragrance?
Azzi Glasser: The fragrance industry is swamped. There are greater than 1400 fragrance launches a 12 months, and customers can get frustrated while finding one which suits them. Most individuals who approach me to design their signature fragrance are searching for something that really represents them, their personality and their style. The method I exploit to create these could be very different from the method for other fragrances you possibly can buy, whether area of interest or mass market.

What has creating bespoke fragrances taught you about how we work as humans?
Azzi Glasser: Individuals are individuals, with individual character, personality and magnificence. I match a person’s DNA print into the fragrance – a bit like telling their story through their scent – so the result works as an ideal match for them and in addition for those around them. The happiness that having a bespoke perfume for all times brings – whether you might be a top Hollywood actor, a model, an artist, or the girl or boy round the corner – is a improbable feeling for me to share. I feel that I’m adding some form of value to people’s lives, and it’s why I like what I do.

You’ve been known as a perfume designer, what does this mean?
Azzi Glasser: Once I began as a perfumer, I just created the fragrance smell, the ‘juice’. I soon became unhappy in regards to the way my fragrance creations were packaged and the story that might be told by various marketing departments. I’m a perfectionist. I prefer to listen to the small print in every part I create from start to complete. For this reason I create not only the ‘juice’ but additionally the design of the bottles, the packaging, the concept story, and the way in which that it can be communicated. I feel a responsibility for the full package, not only one element.

How do you go about capturing the essence of an individual after which translating it right into a smell?
Azzi Glasser: I work very closely with each of my clients. Some say it is a bit like a ‘fun therapy session’, but really, it’s all about attending to know their personality and their character and the way they would love to portray themselves to the skin world. When I even have a transparent picture of them – a bit like a DNA print – I then take a look at their very own fashion style. I study their clothing, accessories, and hair and skin, and I match these elements when formulating their fragrance. I all the time explain how I choose the fragrance ingredients. First I choose the important characters, a bit like a movie director chooses his important stars, after which I select the supporting ingredients to assist tell their story. This becomes their signature perfume. I then work on a design that they love they usually feel loyal to. It becomes their scent legacy.

What’s the importance of smell? What does fragrance mean to you?
Azzi Glasser: It is knowing the importance of smell to humans. We’re all animals and you wouldn’t need to be with someone who didn’t smell good. Fragrance could be manipulative; it is vitally powerful if you get it right. It’s, ultimately, the of completion. My very own signature perfume, Sequoia Wood, which is now a part of my collection, gives me a lot joy that it has change into a component of me. I get 5 – 6 comments each day on how wonderful I smell. That is one in all the nicest compliments anyone can get.

What should a great fragrance have the ability to do for you?
Azzi Glasser: It should make you joyful, feel confident and be in contact along with your subconscious in addition to your conscious.

Are you able to tell us a bit about The Perfumer’s Story? How did the gathering come about? Who’s it for?
Azzi Glasser: ‘The Perfumer’s Story’ was born out of the encouragement I received from each Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter and their total excitement about my fragrance creations. I saw an enormous gap out there. No person was creating fragrances that might capture a person’s style and character. Most perfumes are based on fragrance ingredient trends like oud or neroli, rose or a ‘fragrance family’. I wanted my perfume compositions to be based on an individual’s character and magnificence, each with an inventive story and reference. I could see a requirement from people to be more individual and to face out from the gang. My perfumes are easy to decide on, as each of them gives you the fragrance character versus the industry buzzwords ‘fragrance family’, which no one seems to grasp. They’ve this magical feeling, which all the time gets many compliments from others once they are worn and seems to have an almost magnetic quality. They’re adored by others and totally loyal to the wearer, and that offers confidence and empowerment. They’re a bespoke signature for that person, which creates memories for years to come back.

Given you’ve dedicated your life to smells and fragrances, do you ever get bored or numb to smelling things? How do you overcome this?
Azzi Glasser: People all the time recommend smelling coffee beans to un-numb your nose. Well, that’s just ridiculous. Smelling one other strong ingredient just numbs your nose more. The most effective thing to bring your nose back to neutral again is to smell yourself – your arm, your individual skin.

Fragrance is some of the notoriously difficult products to convey online, how do you hope to challenge this?
Azzi Glasser: It is a superb query and one I’m working on at once. It’s a giant challenge, but soon I can have the right answer for you.

How do you’re thinking that younger generations’ demands for natural, clean and sustainable ingredients and packaging will affect the industry?
Azzi Glasser: I’d hope the fragrance industry would take this under consideration more seriously. I like creating fragrances in packaging that you wish to keep ceaselessly and re-use, or which looks so fabulous that it becomes an ornament piece. That makes it more sustainable than if you happen to just throw it away.

What do you see as the long run of fragrance?
Azzi Glasser: The fragrance market has been growing exponentially over the past decade. Within the last five years we have now seen an explosion of brands, or recent fragrances from existing brands and fashion labels, so I’m sure that trend will proceed. When it comes to the posh end of the market, I believe the bespoke side of things will change into increasingly more widespread, because people want uniqueness they usually need to feel that the things they’ve – their homes, their clothes, their cars, their fragrance – all express something individual about them. In much the identical way as you’ll have a suit made for you for a special day, having a scent made specifically for you shouldn’t be just a standing symbol thing. It’s an accessible a part of on a regular basis life and something that reflects the personality of the wearer in a subconscious and subtle way that nothing else can quite match.