{"id":1262,"date":"2023-04-24T13:30:51","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T13:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/?p=1262"},"modified":"2023-04-24T13:30:55","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T13:30:55","slug":"matiere-premiere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/24\/matiere-premiere\/","title":{"rendered":"The magic of raw materials in Matiere Premiere’s perfumes – in conversation with Aur\u00e9lien Guichard and Caius von Knorring, founders of the brand.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let\u2019s start with a brief personal introduction. I became familiar with Matiere Premiere over a year ago. As I was perusing the shelves of Galilu (one of my favourite niche perfumeries in Warsaw) for a new, fresh and floral scent for the upcoming spring, I was offered Radical Rose to try out (by the way, it was introduced to me by my favourite sales assistant, I ended up getting quite a few of her recommendations!). It was intense, very powerful and rich, almost too rose-y.
I couldn\u2019t get that fragrance out of my head for a few days, so I went back and sampled a few other fragrances from that line. To my surprise, every fragrance was interesting. The quality and purity of those simple-but-elevated composition caught my attention.
It was at my recent meeting with the brand\u2019s own Aur\u00e9lien Guichard, its accomplished perfumer, and Caius von Knorring, the CEO and co-founder, that I discovered the intention behind Radical Rose – an overdose of Rose Centifolia Absolute – and smelled their self-grown iconic rose absolute when everything became clear.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How did you meet?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>Caius was a client of mine, head of Nina Ricci and Valentino perfume. When you create, at the end when a fragrance is ready, you come up with a pyramid (of notes<\/a> – ed.), and we saw the reality of the creation was not reflected in the pyramid. We share a similar vision. Our fragrances are easy to understand – an initial idea, a thought I have in my head before the creation. For example, with Crystal Saffron I found an incredible saffron in Greece. I thought to myself – what if I turn this crystalline saffron into something brighter, resinous? I added some incense, ambroxan, some musk\u2026 I wanted it to last, to be addictive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CVK:<\/strong> It\u2019s one of my favourites in our collection. Saffron is usually a top note<\/a> that accompanies a fragrance, and here it\u2019s the star of the show. For me it makes this fragrance unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having tried the pure oil and Crystal Saffron the juxtaposition is very interesting. It\u2019s somehow similar, yet different. The experience of the perfume is much richer, but true to the raw material.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CVK: <\/strong>What you just said is our philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AG:<\/strong> When I talk about our philosophy, some people don\u2019t get it. But when they smell the raw material and then the finished composition – they get it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Raw
Raw materials used in Matiere Premiere’s fragrances – including their self-grown rose & tuberose absolutes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What is so special about your raw materials?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>The ingredients are a part of my heritage. I am originally from Grasse, and my family has been working in the perfume industry and creation for generations. I trained to become a perfumer, and have worked for many brands – Versace, Narciso Rodriguez, Robert Piguet among others – and had the chance to meet some great designers. As I was looking at how the fragrances were evolving, I saw them becoming too complex, not easy to understand. There was a need to come back to the real beauty of perfume creation. That\u2019s how we (Aur\u00e9lien and Caius – red.) met 15 years ago – we shared this value of true beauty in perfume, a hidden reality. That reality is the work on raw materials – starting from that we focused on creating a brand about incontestable, simple beauty of those very raw materials. I started growing my own roses in Southern France in 2014, and back then I didn\u2019t have the creation of Matiere Premiere in mind, I just wanted to be the only perfumer in the world who grows their own roses. In 2016 I had my first harvest, and as I was looking at those rose bushes in bloom the idea of creating a brand was born. We launched at the end of 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what were the raw materials highlighted<\/strong><\/strong> in the first collection?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>We launched with six fragrances – Cologne Cedrat, Neroli Oranger, Encens Suave, Parisian Musc, Bois D\u2019Ebene, Santal Austral. Falcon Leather was exclusive to Harrods at the time. The first selection was sourced from all around the world with the best raw materials. I wanted to create unique formulations, which is at the heart of Matiere Premiere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CVK: <\/strong>Radical Rose, the first perfume to feature our own raw ingredient, came out a year later. We did not have enough rose oil to launch with it available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Blotters
Blotters with MP’s fragrances – I’m writing this four days after conducting the interview and they all are still very fragrant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You wanted to create fragrances that would feature the main ingredient without overshadowing it with other notes?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG:<\/strong> Exactly. When I dip a blotter into an ingredient – it smells beautiful. But, what if I want to turn an ingredient into a perfume? This way, each perfume is an overdose of one ingredient. I amplify certain facets of that ingredient and diminish others. Let\u2019s take Rose Centifolia – a specific kind of rose we extract an absolute from – as an example. It\u2019s made out of many molecules with many facets – floral, fruity, resiny, woody, green\u2026 So, when I create a fragrance around it I\u2019d take some facets and amplify them to create that feeling of an overdose of rose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes your roses special?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>Our Rose Centifolia smells different than any roses grown elsewhere. Not better, not worse, different. If you plant that rose for example in Turkey, it smells differently than that grown in the south of France. The reality is also that 1 kilogram of that rose absolute from Grasse is about 30 thousand Euro, while a kilo of Turkish rose absolute costs about 8-10 thousand Euro. We are the only fragrance house that uses self-harvested rose, and we are proud of its quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rose
Rose Centifolia grown at the brand’s farm. Source: the brand’s own press materials.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do you grow any other flowers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>Tuberoses and lavender. Our tuberose is special because\u2026 about 99% of tuberose fragrances are made with Indian tuberose. One kilo of tuberose absolute from India costs 12 thousand Euro, which is very expensive, but French absolute costs 250 thousand Euro per kilo. French tuberoses give less oil, and the harvesting methods differ. The flowers are also different. About lavender – we haven\u2019t done a lavender fragrance yet, but it takes time, so expect that in coming years. It\u2019s not some marketing scam when we say we grow our flowers. Every flower in Radical Rose comes from our field. We do not produce everything, but what we do produce is really in the bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Same with tuberose?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>Yes, our French Flower contains only tuberose, unlike most tuberose fragrances on the market that are made with plenty of other flowers – jasmine, iris, ylang-ylang\u2026 And it\u2019s entirely from our farm. When the tuberose is harvested we do two extractions – one is an absolute, and the second is an enfleurage. Enfleurage is an ancient method, where the flowers are placed on a bed of wax, and the scent of the flowers is deposited in the wax. The tuberose absolute and tuberose enfleurage express its facets differently. This is core Matiere Premiere – we want to showcase the raw material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The extraction of tuberose with enfleurage. Source: brand’s own press materials<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do you worry about the effects of climate change on your farm and sourcing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>This consideration is essential. For a quality ingredient you need quality agriculture, to work with people who are conscious about that issue. We do see the effects of climate change.  We water everything with rainwater, we don\u2019t waste anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CVK: <\/strong>What\u2019s interesting is that the farm is between the mountains and the sea. It\u2019s a very good microclimate to cultivate plants. Something that I discovered in this place is that this very old farm has its own irrigation system with its own rainwater reserves, and it\u2019s still functional 200 years later! Right now there\u2019s a lack of water in France, but thanks to this old system we manage to grow our flowers. Water is critical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about the sourcing of your other star ingredients?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>We work with the best suppliers. For example, the sandalwood in Santal Austral comes from a company named Dutjahn, more than 50% of which is owned by local, native Aboriginal people. For every tree cut, they plant three more, and the trees they cut now have all been planted by them 30-40 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s nice to see that you control your supply chain with sustainability in mind, and you have data to back it up. Sustainability is so important!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>Thank you for acknowledging that. We don\u2019t really focus on marketing and trends. Of course, now everybody tells us \u2019you\u2019re so trendy!\u2019 with sustainability and sourcing. Back when we created Matiere Premiere before the pandemic, nobody talked about that, it wasn\u2019t \u2019trendy\u2019. It\u2019s what we believe, a way to a better future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think about the changes in the perfume industry?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>I do not look at the trends, to be honest. I want to see more diversity. People who I know personally , from different industries, sometimes didn\u2019t wear perfume – their perspective was that the fragrances all smelled the same. I don\u2019t agree with that, but there\u2019s a sense of truth when people say that. What if we come back to the basics, easy to read. You can\u2019t confuse a rose with saffron, for example. People like to understand what they\u2019re wearing. Old-fashioned French perfumery was very overwhelming, powerful. We want to promote raw material, simplicity, as something cool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A selection of Matiere Premiere’s fragrances<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What was the most challenging thing about being a young brand?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>At the beginningwe did not know so much about niche distribution. To go with the right partners, we wanted to be with the best, and in relevant spaces with the coolest brands is the most important. Luckily, we got to that quickly, like here at Galilu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CVK: <\/strong>We managed to get to Corso Como in Milan and Dover Street, so we probably did something right! The people that we admired wanted us to work with them. We wanted to make a brand that would be something we ourselves wanted to buy. When we launched, the pandemic began shortly afterwards. We had to find ways to make it easier for people to discover our brand. Our smaller bottles and sets worked really well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>Setting up a style is also important. Now, we are very confident with our style, but at the beginning you don\u2019t know if the people will share your ideas and like what you present. For example, the bottles are inspired by the little ingredient bottles every perfumer works with – very true to my daily life. We didn\u2019t want to make a brand that would be too elitist, unapproachable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your family comes from Grasse. Do you have any perfume memories from your childhood?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>Of course! I remember my father, who also was a perfumer, coming home and spraying my mother with his creations of the day and smelling her skin to see how the fragrance would evolve. I remember my grandparents spending the entire days in the fields with the workers. When I was 5, I would take a ride with the workers to deliver the flowers to the factory, and I will never forget the smell of that car full of flowers. I will also never forget the smell of my grandfather\u2019s hand, his gloves after touching the flowers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dedication to craftsmanship and the legacy must have really influenced your work.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AG: <\/strong>I think that my goal to turn that legacy of quality perfume, French perfumery into something cool, non-arrogant. There is a kind of comfort and understanding that is important when you wear perfume. For me the heritage is quality. I want somebody who doesn\u2019t know anything about perfume to smell Matiere Premiere and feel the quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find Matiere Premiere stocked at many places around the world, the full list is here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s start with a brief personal introduction. I became familiar with Matiere Premiere over a year ago. As I was perusing the shelves of Galilu (one of my favourite niche perfumeries in Warsaw) for a new, fresh and floral scent for the upcoming spring, I was offered Radical Rose to try out (by the way,… Read More »The magic of raw materials in Matiere Premiere’s perfumes – in conversation with Aur\u00e9lien Guichard and Caius von Knorring, founders of the brand.\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,42],"tags":[70,125,181],"class_list":["post-1262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-see-all","tag-fragrance","tag-interview","tag-matiere-premiere"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1262"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1272,"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1262\/revisions\/1272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.skinunmasked.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}