Understanding Master Perfumer Daphné Bugey's Perspective of Scent

Nestled within Ngee Ann City is the aesthetically pleasing L’Artisan Parfumeur boutique that looks like something right out of Diagon Alley. There, we sat down with French Master Perfumer Daphné Bugey as she delved into her creative process behind perfumery, the brand, and her rules (or lack of them) when it comes to scent. 

As the mastermind behind the house's La Botanique collection, Bugey crafted seven unique Eau de Parfums that represent the secrets of the night – when sight is reduced and the sense of smell is heightened. With L’Artisan Parfumeur, the artisan is often given the freedom to create. "It's fantastic because it opens up my imagination," she says. "For example, with La Botanique, I think it's really the flora that awakens at nightfall. Never have I ever had such a project where I could think about the beauty of nature at night."

She continues: "This is a point of view that is different and super inspiring. With [the Abyssae fragrance], the brand came up with that name, but I didn't know about the abyss and that 95 per cent of it was still unknown so I did some research. I love it when it forces me to do research and to think differently. For me, it stimulates my imagination and it doesn't imprison me in something. It gives me all freedom for creation."

And much like this writer, Abyssae is also Bugey's favourite fragrance from the collection. "I think it's very original and addictive," she says. "It's fresh, but it has a strong personality."

If you were to study the bottles of the La Botanique range, you'd notice a number on each ranging from nine to 63, representing the number of tries it took Bugey to achieve the final scent. "It's my job to increase, decrease, add, and remove. It's like a recipe, you know, like cooking. Even though I studied chemistry to do this job, I would say it's more like cooking, with more love and everything."

The perfumer was first drawn to L’Artisan Parfumeur because of her familiarity with it, growing up with the brand in France. "For me, it was very exciting to work for them," she recounts. "Since it has been relaunched, the job [the team] have made on the brand is just fantastic as they have premiumised the brand and re-emphasized the true DNA and values of the founder of Jean Laporte."

"I love the team; it was love at first sight," she says. "They have a lot of intuition and passion, so it's a true pleasure to work with them and with such a beautiful brand, especially when you see the results. The bottles and illustrations are so beautiful that it's super exciting for me to work for this brand because I know [my work is] going to end up in beautiful packaging."

Nowadays, Bugey finds herself inspired by her travels. In 2009, the perfumer took a sabbatical to travel the world, making her mark on countries like Nepal, Japan, India and Italy which have since influenced her creations. "The Tenebrae fragrance was inspired by Yakushima Island in Japan, where you have the millionaire's tree, and I was fascinated by it. I went there to embrace the trees and get all the energy."

"At one point, I went to Koyasan, a city with only temples and a huge cemetery. One of the temples was closed, but I got closer and there was a little window where you could see inside. And there, the wind blew the aroma of cedarwood and incense [to my face] and it was so amazing. There are so many [stories]. That's why I love travelling and discovering the world."

Ironically, Bugey does not wear perfume, nor does she have a signature scent. "I don't wear perfume because I wear the perfume I'm working on every day," she explains. "When I'm on holiday, I opt out of perfume so I can get inspired by everything around me and my nose is clean of any other pollution. I rarely wear fragrance just for my pleasure."

"It's for my work. It never stops, but it's a passion," she muses aloud. "I'm like a researcher, you know? I search for the best combination of technical strengths. I have an idea of where I want to bring it and then I have to figure out how to do it. And I need to try, try, try, and search and search. Sometimes at night I wake up and write down ideas to try them in the morning. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s a catastrophe. It's a difficult job because there's no rule."

And as for what else we can expect from Bugey in the months to come with L’Artisan Parfumeur, she had this to say: "I have so many more ideas. It's not planned on being launched soon, but I have already created some accords that I'm starting to share with them now, and I'm super excited. There are a lot of things I still need to explore! It's endless!"