As lively and curious about everything, the perfumer from Mane creates compositions that evoke the velvety texture of sensuous skin.
The material of Mathilde’s bath mat? Weaved vetiver roots… which exude its many facets with every drop of moisture; a scent she particularly loves. It is also an indication of the perfumer’s personality: determined and loyal when she has an idea or a favorite scent. Her passion for perfume has always been the thread that runs through her life. Her father, of Tunisian origin, instilled in her a curiosity about tastes and therefore smells: «At home, culinary traditions were very important. My father took me to the market and encouraged me to sharpen all my senses.» «And then, at twelve years old, it was a revelation during a visit to the Osmothèque and Isipca.» «There, I realized that the job of a perfumer existed.» From then on, she embarked on a path without a single mistake: a discovery internship at fifteen years old at Cinquième Sens with Monique Schlienger, then studies in chemistry to then join Isipca. «Monique and Isabelle Doyen, my teacher at Isipca, were very inspiring figures. I looked forward to the classes of the latter on Monday mornings: Isabelle was very pedagogical, letting us sense things and describe the material with our own words before explaining it.» Pamela Roberts will be her other "guardian angel".
Mathilde did her internship at the evaluation department at IFF, which at the time was located in Bois-Colombes (92). «There was no better place to learn about the market. Then, during my DESS year, I shared my time between evaluation and learning with perfumer Antoine Lie.» Then, at the age of twenty-four, she became a junior perfumer at Mane, first in Bar-sur-Loup for two years, then on the island of La Jatte in Levallois-Perret. (92) And the first creations arrived: Christmas Flowers 2008 at Yves Rocher, Cédrat de Roger &. Gallet (2007 with Karine Dubreuil) or later Feuille de Figuier.
Like This d’État Libre d’Orange, created and developed with actress Tilda Swinton, won a Fifi Award France in 2011. «As a true Scottish woman, she told me about the sweet potato crumble. Between this vegetable, the actress’s red hair and the last word in the brand name, the orange color prevailed; I combined mandarin orange, ginger, carrot with immortelle and orange blossom. We tried two things and that was it: a brief and a magical human adventure.»
New forms of indulgence
And Mathilde continues to innovate with new forms of indulgence, notably for Pierre Hermé and L’Occitane (Jasmin Immortelle Neroli or Pamplemousse Rhubarbe in 2015) or later with the English Fields collection by Jo Malone (Lauder). «These were limited editions, creative one-shots around cereal notes; since Poppy & Barley has become a permanent reference, I have the good fortune to work hand in hand with Céline Roux (Jo Malone); this relationship of trust is a big driving force for the expression of my creativity.» Since then, Mathilde has been perfecting her notes of seeds and non-sweet additives. As the modern appeal of Zadig8cVoltaire’s This is Us (Shiseido) with a kind of airy «English cream» of cardamom: «At Mane, our Pure Jungle Essence remains very faithful to the seeds. I often use it to give elegance to my creations and remove the too sweet in gourmandy accords.» Food inspirations come from various sources, either through travel or more recently, from her cooking recipes shared with her three daughters, due to the lockdown.
Laurence Férat
