Bottled Memories: How Mothers Have Inspired Perfumers’ Greatest Creations
To mark Mother’s Day this year, our thoughts turn to the special bond between mothers and their children, a relationship that has inspired countless perfumers and fragrances throughout the years. The olfactory connection between parent and child is one of the most profound and enduring, often serving as the spark that ignites a lifelong passion for scent.
Indeed, it’s remarkable how many perfumers cite their mother’s signature fragrance as the catalyst for their eventual career choice. The scent of a mother’s perfume, lingering on a scarf or wafting through the air as she bends to kiss her child goodnight, becomes indelibly imprinted on the memory. These early scent experiences form the foundation of our olfactory preferences, shaping our tastes and influencing our emotional responses to fragrance for years to come.
Take, for instance, Parisian perfumer Violaine Collas, whose first scent memory is simply described as “My mother’s perfume on her scarf.” This poignant recollection encapsulates the essence of maternal love and comfort, distilled into a single, unforgettable aroma. Collas, who trained at Paris’s prestigious ISIPCA school alongside legendary perfumers like Dominique Ropion and Maurice Roucel, has gone on to create acclaimed fragrances such as L’Occitane Cerisier aux Papillons and Amouage Honour Woman.
Similarly, perfume designer Azzi Glasser, recalls watching her mother prepare for a night out, the final flourish being a liberal application of perfume. As Glasser reminisces, “My first ever scent memory is when I would watch my mother getting ready for a party and she would always wear her false eyelashes, put her fur coat on and the finishing touch after was her perfume which she would spray all over, leaving this unforgettable trail behind which smelt so expensive and so non-accessible. I always remember thinking that one day I would love to have my own perfume to wear!”
The power of these scent memories is such that many perfumers have sought to capture and recreate them in their own creations. Bruno Jovanovic, for example, was inspired by the memory of his mother spraying her fur coat with Cabochard before kissing him goodbye. This led him to create ‘Neo Fur’, a modern interpretation of that cherished scent, crafted as a creative exercise at IFF, and without animal-derived ingredients. As Jovanovic explains, ‘I wanted to create an olfactive snapshot of the whole image of her in that coat, with the lipstick, her face powder, everything.’ He describes his creation as a ‘vegetarian fur coat,’ a way of ‘indulging in that past without having access to the materials they used then.’
The fragrance industry is replete with such tender homages. Goutal’s ‘Petit Cherie‘ is a younger version of ‘Ce Soir Ou Jamais’, inspired by the nickname Camille’s mother Annick (founder of the house she took over) gave her. As Camille Goutal shares, ‘Petit Cherie was the name my mother gave me, and I recently found that it was also the name my grandfather called her – I discovered letters to my mother from my grandfather, which all began ‘To my petit Cherie…’ The Petit Cherie fragrance she made for me is actually a younger version of Ce Soir Ou Jamais. They are so important to me, these connections, these threads.’
£94.50 for 50ml eau de parfum johnlewis.com
Angela Flanders created ‘Precious One‘ as a fragrant love letter to her daughter Kate, who would later take over the perfumery, having learned her mother’s perfumery skills literally at her knee. This award-winning scent features a richly blooming accord of fleur des nuits, tuberose and jasmine, resting gently on a base of the softest green mossy Chypre. It stands as a lasting testament to the enduring bond between mother and daughter, even after Angela’s passing.
From £32 for 10ml eau de parfum angelaflanders-perfumer.com
Perhaps one of the most iconic fragrances inspired by the mother-daughter relationship is Lanvin’s Arpège. Created in 1927 by André Fraysse for Jeanne Lanvin, the perfume was a gift for her daughter Marie-Blanche’s 30th birthday. The name ‘Arpège’ was suggested by Marie-Blanche herself, who was a talented musician. The fragrance’s bottle, designed by Armand Rateau, features an illustration of Jeanne Lanvin and her daughter, based on a 1907 photograph by Paul Nadar. This touching image of mother and daughter, elegantly dressed for a ball, has become an enduring symbol of maternal love in the world of perfumery.
£30.99 for 100ml eau de parfum superdrug.com
Even beyond the realm of professional perfumery, the scent of a mother holds a unique power. Many of us can relate to the experience of catching a whiff of a familiar fragrance and being instantly transported back in time, enveloped in memories of childhood comfort and maternal love. As many poignant anecdotes reveal, even years after a mother’s passing, her scent can provide solace and a sense of her presence in times of need.
Perhaps the most fitting tribute we can pay to the women who shaped us is to acknowledge the indelible mark they’ve left on our sensory world.
Whether it’s the elegant waft of a cherished perfume or the comforting embrace of a familiar scent, these olfactory memories bind us to our mothers in a way that transcends time and distance. In the world of fragrance, the influence of mothers on their children – is a testament to the enduring power of love, captured in the most ephemeral yet evocative of forms…
Written by Suzy Nightingale