An interview with CPL Aromas perfumer, Mike Parrott

Published on 6th January 2010 02:40 PM

4 Comments

As part of the Basenotes Community Fragrance Project, where CPL Aroma's are going to create a fragrance based on the ideas of the Basenotes Community, we are featuring interviews with the three perfumers who will be creating our fragrances for us.

First up is Mike Parrott, who has been in the industry for thirty years, and worked for CPL for fifteen years. You can find out how you can get involved in the project at the end of the article.

Mike, how did you first get into the perfume industry?

Before I joined the industry, I - like a lot of people - had little idea that the industry existed. I had a chemistry background, and just happened to go for an interview at IFF (International Flavors and Fragrances). I worked in their quality control department and found I had a good nose. I also found I had a love of fragrance and fragrance ingredients. What I enjoy about perfumery is the love of creating things, and surprising yourself with creations - sometimes you know what you're going to end up with, but sometimes there's a little bit of extra magic in there!

What would you create if you had no brief or restrictions?

I often think, because there are so many raw materials that have disappeared from our palette due to regulations, it would be nice to go back in time and re-use some of those old materials, but in reality I guess that's not going to happen.

What are the downsides of working in the industry today?

For me, the regulations are making our job more difficult. You have to adapt and be creative in a different sort of way to achieve the effect you want.

How do you feel about creating a Basenotes fragrance? - They're a very discerning bunch!

I think it could be fun! As a perfumer, you have to learn to accept criticism on a daily basis. If there was no bad criticism, you wouldn't feel the joy and elation of the good comments!

Thank you Mike.

Thank you, I'm looking forward to working on this!

Join The Basenotes Community Fragrance Project Have you ever wanted to create your own fragrance? You can sign up to come to CPL Aromas to have a perfumery day - or you can help evaluate the fragrance by joining the sample program. More information on both of these can be found here.

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4 Comments

Aerandir4 - 6th January 2010, 05:55 PM

Nice to know who one of the perfumers is now. I hope that whatever is created is exciting, bold, avant garde and not minimalist like the current trend of watered down fragrances.
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lilkcceleb - 6th January 2010, 07:34 PM

Originally Posted by ;

How do you feel about creating a Basenotes fragrance? - They're a very discerning bunch! I think it could be fun! As a perfumer, you have to learn to accept criticism on a daily basis. If there was no bad criticism, you wouldn't feel the joy and elation of the good comments!

That Is Very True! I Am So Excited To See The Fragrances Evolve!
- Reply

Grant Osborne - 7th January 2010, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by Aerandir4

Nice to know who the perfumer is now. I hope that whatever is created is exciting, bold, avant garde and not minimalist like the current trend of watered down fragrances.

There are two more perfumers on the project. I think between them they've got about 70-80 years experience at making fragrances. We've posted a new interview today.
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Redneck Perfumisto - 8th January 2010, 02:32 AM

Very cool! And very exciting to hear from Mike. I do hope at some point we get some video, too. I think it would be quite nifty to hear the perfumers, esp. when they start working!
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