Molton Brown & VANITY GROUP

The daughter of world-renowned Master Perfumer, Jacques Chabert, Carla has fragrance woven into her DNA. The creator of Hotel Collection favourites including soul-stirring Fiery Pink Pepper and refreshing Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel, we quizzed Carla on her most memorable perfumer moments and the inspiration behind Molton Brown’s signature scents.

How did you get into perfumery?

My father has been a perfumer since the 1970s, so I grew up in this industry. But truthfully, I had no intention of being a perfumer to start off with. I wanted to be a film director, then became interested in documentary and journalism. But one day, to help my father out, I attended a meeting where we submitted fragrances and it clicked – smelling and talking about fragrances felt natural. It was fun and I realized it was creative yet technical, just like filmmaking. And from then on, I decided to study perfumery.

What’s been your most defining moment as a perfumer?

This is a difficult question to answer. With hindsight, I’d say there wasn’t just ‘one moment’. It’s the daily process: first learning about the raw materials, understanding how to mix them, trialing over and over again with an olfactive palette, having fun throughout the process, and staying enthusiastic despite the repetition.

Do you ever break the perfumery rules?

Breaking the rules sounds rather presumptuous. On the contrary, I find it challenging to have constraints or a framework. We are often given an olfactive universe, with technical limitations, a deadline and a price limit. All these are guided by, be it an idea, a picture or a colour triggers that our imagination. And then the fun is to try and come up with a creative scent that satisfies the client’s expectations, staying true to yourself, your own tastes and likings.

Why does one wear perfume?

To affirm yourself! It’s a form of expressing your style, like wearing clothes. In an intimate way.

What does self-expression mean for you in perfumery?

Self-expression is essential. I think you always end up giving a bit of yourself in whatever you do (creating the fragrance, wearing it and everything else!)

How important is fragrance to you in creating ever-lasting memories?

Smell, like sound, is probably our most instinctive ‘animal’ sense. That’s why a fragrance can bring us back in time and remind us of specific memories with everyone having their own DNA of scented memories. Some are probably cultural (fruit pie for the US), generational (1970s apple-fragranced shampoo), and some are universal (like freshly-cut grass), but everyone’s DNA is unique. As a perfumer, we don’t know if we’ll trigger particular memory lanes. We base it on our own thoughts and hope that it’ll resonate with a wearer or become their new signature scent.

What was the inspiration behind Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel and Fiery Pink Pepper?

For my vision I use colours as a starting point, associating ingredients with moods to trigger ideas. I keep a visual diary of pictures taken every day. They are things that I see, colours, plants, even shoes on the street. Anything that I find pretty.

For Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel, my aim was to interpret this beautiful blue colour through scent; cold and invigorating like the sea. As I wasn’t fond of marine notes, I stayed away from them at first – that’s when you could say I broke the rules! In the end, the final fragrance does have a touch of marine to fit the concept, so I found a new way around this.

For Fiery Pink Pepper, there was no brief. The idea was to give a feminine approach to the iconic Re-charge Black Pepper my father created. We were both working on this. I had the chance to work and deconstruct his formula. As Re-charge Black Pepper was not “my baby”, the process was easier for me. Plus, it’s the type of exercise that I cherish. I took everything that seems more masculine and dark out, enforcing the slight chypre signature. I added a hint of peach for more femininity and opted for tangerine rather than lemon for the sparkling top. And that’s how, technically, both fragrances are affiliated yet unique.

What makes these fragrances unique?

Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel and Fiery Pink Pepper are unique because they do not follow trends. They are genuine creations and have their own signature.

Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel: I think what’s always interesting is to have a little bit of contrast. Cardamom is an essential element and there’s warmth in the background with elegant vetiver. Spice adds a creative edge to this marine-inspired fragrance.

Fiery Pink Pepper: It has this long-lasting ability and changes with time – this is what makes it individual. It starts off very energetic, very zesty and tonic, but has a certain sensuality.

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