Perfume interview: meet the perfumer Anne Flipo

"My travels, art, music, food... Ideas are everywhere." - Anne Flipo

Today, we're taking you to meet Anne Flipo, perfumer at IFF and creator (alongside Paul Guerlain) of our eau de parfum which pays tribute to the sensual and mysterious tuberose, Pleine Lune.

Passionate and inquisitive, discover her story, her career path, her inspirations for creating Pleine Lune and the challenges she faced when composing natural fragrances.

Enjoy your reading!

Anne Flipo's background and inspirations

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your background?

When the time came for me to make a choice for my studies, my parents already saw me in a preparatory class for engineering schools.

But I finally chose ISIP, a training program for the profession of aromatician in cosmetics and perfumery. That's where I started to learn how to smell.

Then I had the opportunity to train with great perfumers: Jean-Louis Sieuzac and Michel Almairac. At the beginning of my career, I first favored small structures before joining IFF in the 2000s. Today, I have been a perfumer for over 35 years.

What finally made you want to become a perfumer?

It is difficult to isolate a single factor.

I think it's several elements: the beautiful family garden in the Aisne, always in bloom; the sugar factory that my father ran where I learned to appreciate the smell of sweets; my grandmother and her generosity when it came to receiving; my mother who always tried to develop our senses... 

Smell is a particular sense that can instantly bring back good (or bad) memories. To understand how this sense works and its link with your emotions, go to our article dedicated to Smells and emotions: when a perfume makes your heart beat!

What are your inspirations?

The sources of inspiration are numerous... my travels, art, music, gastronomy... The ideas are everywhere.

You just have to let them in, grab them. I like to give myself a quasi-meditative time where I play with ideas, tracks... then I sort out and keep just what I need.

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

It is a process inherent to my job.

First of all, it's a lot of reflection, time given to the ideas to mature and take place. Of course, I also combine my knowledge of the ingredients and their combinations with each other.

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

No. My signature is the way I use my palette, so it evolves according to my desires and projects.

Anne Flipo and Bastille...

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

Composing perfumes with 95% natural ingredients is playing with new rules of the game and we have to adapt, find new brands.

It's a different kind of gymnastics.

What did you like/like about the Bastille adventure?

The desire to support a new brand with a beautiful project, the creative freedom that was very great and also the creative challenge of composing 95% natural ingredients. I love challenges!

Can you describe in 3 words the fragrance you've signed with Bastille ?

Pleine Lune: feminine, sensual and addictive

What did the Pleine Lune brief inspire you when you were presented with it?

A great freedom of expression!

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

For you, a perfume is...

So many things at the same time... Since the dawn of time, perfume has had many uses. For me it is above all pleasure, a source of well-being, a doudou also, a transformation.

And a perfumer is...?

A magician.

Finally, what is your motto?

Less is more.

The olfactory portrait of Anne Flipo

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

Your personality in 3 words? Free, rigorous, curious.

Your first olfactory memory ? I come from the North of France so it is only at the age of 15 that I smelled for the first time the orange blossom, this so particular flower. These flowers give off an incredible smell, both sweet and powerful. I will always remember this olfactory encounter: between freshness and opulence. Orange blossom gives off a honeyed sensuality that is almost warm. It is surely the flower that I like the most to work with since that day.

A smell you hate? There are some materials that I prefer to work with more than others of course, but none that I hate!

A scent you love? Orange blossom absolute.

A favorite raw material that you like or would like to work with ? Here again I could answer orange blossom but I also like to work with so many other materials... Sandalwood, blackcurrant bud absolute, green notes...

An original combination? Iris and mint.

A mythical perfume? L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain

Natural, synthetic or both? Both!

That's it! You now know Anne Flipo 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