Perfume interview: meet the perfumer Caroline Dumur

"A perfume is a relationship. With oneself and with others." - Caroline Dumur

Today, we take you to meet Caroline Dumur, perfumer at IFF who signed 2 eaux de parfums at Bastille : Demain Promis and Rayon Vert.

Passionate and fascinating, discover Caroline Dumur's story, her career path, her inspirations for the creation of two eaux de parfums Bastille and the challenges she faced when composing natural fragrances. Happy reading!

Caroline Dumur's background and inspirations

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your background?

I knew very early that I wanted to do a job related to perfume creation. Since the 4th grade, my goal was to go to ISIPCA and I did everything to reach this goal. I finally entered this school after my degree in Chemistry.

I then discovered the evaluation business at Mane before becoming a perfumer's assistant and then a perfumer at IFF. That's where I met Anne Flipo. I often say that the day I was told I was going to work with Anne was one of the best days of my life... and it's true. She taught me so much: the basics, the rigor, writing formulas in order of evaporation. I trained by working with her for 3 years but also by following the internal school course during which I had the opportunity to work in Singapore, then in Grasse at LMR* but also in New York.

*IFF-LMR is the pioneer laboratory of natural and ethical sourcing of fragrance ingredients worldwide. It promotes sustainable agriculture and allows us to integrate fair trade ingredients in our fragrances.

What finally made you want to become a perfumer?

This passion for perfumes comes from my mother. My mother has always loved perfumes. She worked in a publishing house, and I remember that at home, we always had a lot of books about perfume, the history of perfumery, the raw materials.

I remember the pleasure I had as a little girl to read these books, to discover the stories behind the creations, the account of the quest of the perfumers to find the most beautiful natural. I also remember my mother's favorite perfumes: Féminité du Bois, Kenzo Jungle, Chanel 19... These fragrances rocked my youth.

What are your inspirations?

My sources of inspiration are multiple and diverse.

Nature is an essential source of inspiration for me... Even as a little girl, I loved spending time in my grandparents' garden smelling the flowers, rustling the leaves, tasting the berries. I often evoke these childhood memories when I create.

How do you manage to transcribe words, an inspiration or a memory in a perfume?

This is not an easy process to explain.

I have an idea, a creative desire, and I look for the materials, the combinations, the dosages that will bring me closer to this concept. I explore, I facet, until I get THE formula that perfectly matches my idea.

Do you have an olfactory signature? If yes, which one ?

This is a rather difficult question... I don't think I have an olfactory signature because I like to explore many different olfactory grounds.

Caroline Dumur and Bastille...

What are the challenges of composing fragrances with 95% natural ingredients?

Working on a formula with 95% natural ingredients is a creative challenge for a perfumer. You have to know how to move away from what you're used to doing, find a new balance between ingredients, formulate differently.

The creative palette available to us is obviously more limited. That said, we are fortunate at IFF to have access, thanks to LMR, to extractions of natural raw materials of excellent quality.

Often the natural ones are powerful, so you have to tame them to create fragrances that remain harmonious and beautiful.

What did you like/like about the Bastille adventure?

• The freedom of expression that we have been offered and the trust.
• The team Bastille, super nice. It's a small, nimble team with whom exchanges are pleasant and quick.
• And I like the vision of the brand.

Can you describe in 3 words the fragrances you've signed for Bastille ?

Demain Promis: Enveloping, addictive and cuddly.

Rayon Vert: Joyful, aromatic, and bright.

What did Rayon Vert 's brief inspire you when you were presented with it?

Rayon Vert When Bastille told me about the Rayon Vert project, the team showed me an image of a disco ball in the middle of nature. This immediately made me want to explore the multiplicity of green notes.

Here's the brief we came up with for Rayon Vert :

And we end this fragrant interview with these last 3 questions:

For you, a perfume is...

A relationship. With oneself and with others.

And a perfumer is... 

The one who facilitates exchanges, relationships, a transmitter of emotions.

Finally, what is your motto?

Let's explore !

The olfactory portrait of Caroline Dumur

We now move on to the olfactory portrait. Here we go!

Your personality in 3 words? Passionate, energetic, persevering.

Your first olfactory memory? The smell of my grandparents' house. An old house with a pleasant smell of cold, damp stones and wood.

A smell you hate? None! Even the most detestable smells can reveal wonders.

A smell you love? The smell of the ground after the rain.

A favorite raw material that you like or would like to work with? I like them all, does it matter ???

An original association? Any association can become original, it depends mainly on the way it is treated.

A mythical perfume? Aromatics elixir, Clinique

Natural, synthetic or both? Both!

That's it! Now you know Caroline Dumur inside out.

To discover the perfumed interviews of the other perfumers who have designed Bastille fragrances, go to the "Perfumed Interviews" section of our blog - they're coming soon, so please be patient!

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Photos : Michael Avedon