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Today I’m Wearing: Pink Paradise by Lalique

Who: Ane Ayo, Perfumer at Drom. Ane is based in Paris but is originally from Spain, and uses hints of her beach-side upbringing in the beautiful new fragrance she has created for Lalique’s Les Compositions Parfumées. We caught up with her at the launch event in London.

Today I’m Wearing a fragrance I created, Pink Paradise by Lalique, and I’d describe it as a citrus, aquatic, woody scent. When I was first asked to work on this fragrance project, I was deeply moved by a sentence that had been written in the brief we received from the Lalique team, which was that the scent should be “The shortest route to emotion’.

This fragrance is all about that sentence. Speaking personally, I believe that fragrance is all about emotions. Perfumers are inspired by many different things, but I thought it was such a beautiful sentence and it really spoke to me.

So I decided I wanted to lead everyone to an emotion! I kept it a short formula, very simple very clean. Although it’s quite complicated when you’re working in a short formula as you really need to make sure everything is balanced and doing its job correctly, you can’t hide anything.

I tried to work in a very ‘Jean Claude Elena way’, in that I love the way he creates, because it’s very transparent. I also found myself working in a more sculptural way with the ingredients this time. So the top of the fragrance has a citrus accord, with bitter orange, lemon and bergamot. The twist comes with a raw materiel called Calone, which can be a little rough when you smell it on its own, but it has a salty, mineraly note too. It reminds me of the seaside, which for me is the emotional reminder of my home in Spain and being by the beach.

There’s a light, transparent floral note in the heart, working with a molecule Hedione HC and natural jasmine, then the base is a very woody, musky, ambery note, using Iso E Super and Ambroxan. I wanted the clean, woody, mineral effect but also that very addictive note. I also used a little touch of chypre, with patchouli and musk – just a hint – it gives the scent a real sense of elegance and personality.

I really feel perfumers have something in common with artists, although saying you’re an artist sounds a little smug. But we are creating from zero and the process is very related to music, to fashion and also to food.

I’m really inspired by food, there’ s a programme called Chef’s Table on Netflix and when I watch the series I realise there are so many creative processes shared between food and perfumers, we have the same questions, the same insecurities and emotions. For example as a young perfumer, when you are working with a master perfumer you are always wondering how to keep their high standards, but also break out and be yourself. Chef’sTable speaks a lot about this, on how to stand out on your own.

When I wear perfume, I love wearing it in my hair, because when you move it gives a great sillage. That’s also a link to my home in Spain, when you go to the beach you can smell the perfume in everyone’s hair. It’s a nice way to wear fragrance on the beach although wearing it in the sun is not supposed to be so good for you, but I do it anyway!

The smell I like the best is fresh laundry, it’s another smell of home, so I made myself a candle with all the notes of clean fresh linen, with hints of soap and flowers and a slight ozonic note – to remind me of Spain. Now, everyone who visits my house always says ‘what’s that smell, its so fantastic!’