EDMOND ROUDNITSKA
Born in Nice in 1905, this «Perfume Composer» as Edmond Roudnitska defined himself, profoundly influenced the universe of fragrances. Some see him as the «father of modern perfumery», in any case he was certainly one of the greatest «noses» in history.
Roudnitska got started in 1926 at a laboratory at Grasse. There he had access to all kinds of perfumery raw materials, natural and synthetic, which allowed him to acquire an immense knowledge of these products. This knowledge enabled him to develop his innovative stripped down writing, by which he composed his formulas raw material by raw material. He then began working for Roure Bertrand Dupont in Argenteuil and remained there for 13 years.
In 1943 he became a perfumer at De Laire, there he met Marcel Rochas to whom he proposed his first composition. It was immediately accepted in its original state, thus «Femme» was born, and the doors of Haute Couture opened to him.
In 1946, he founded his own laboratory: ART & PARFUM with his wife, Thérèse. Their meeting, several years later, with Christian Dior and Serge Heftler-Louiche (who was Frédéric Malle’s grandfather), was decisive. It resulted in such creations as: Diorama, Diorling, Eau Fraîche, Diorissimo, Eau Sauvage, and Diorella.
L’Eau d’Hermès, which he composed in 1951 for Emile Hermès, is one of his other major creations.
Living in Cabris since 1949, he kept on working until his death in 1996. |
Decorative Cosmetic
A Lab On Fire
