Who: Arnaud Poulain, founder and perfumer of Les Eaux Primordiales. We first met Arnaud in 2018, as the cheery but slightly shy founder of his new brand Les Eaux Primordiales when it launched in the UK. For us it was love at first sniff, his gorgeous creations were full of light and clarity, with a clever use of ingredients and extraction methods, all of which reflected his original background of precision engineering.
His Supercritique collection was our first experience of CO2 extraction in fragrance, and Superfluide Saffron is one of the best uses of saffron we’ve ever tried. Now, some year later and with more fragrances, more experience and a rather beautiful French château housing the brand, Arnaud is shaping up to be the innovator and disruptor we hoped he would be.
He is now based in Domaine Primordiale, close to where he grew up in Arras, France, where he brings in creatives and artisans to work at the château alongside cabinet-making and candle making workshops. His aim is to create a centre of excellence to celebrate modern French luxury. Soon to come from Arnaud will be a new perfume brand (still under wraps until later this year, all we know is it’s called Perroy Perfume) and a candle collection. But watch this space, it feels like Arnaud has big plans to create something really memorable, authentic and beautiful in this creative hub.
Today I’m Wearing Ambre Supermassive, my latest creation for Les Eaux Primordiales. It’s an extrait de parfume as powerful as it is magnetic. It makes me feel good and also attractive!
Smelling perfumes has always been vital to me. I could not go out without wearing perfume, even in the garden. Usually I wear my perfume like an addict and I love wearing strong perfume, with a wide diffusion, so I’m really used to spraying it all day long. Sometimes I change it two or three times a day, it depends on my mood.
My mother died of nose cancer when I was ten years old, so I had to use my olfaction skills very young to help her cook, for example, because she couldn’t smell anything. I remember very well the smell of the hospitals she went to when she was ill. So, when I discovered the perfume universe it was like a reset, something happened, it was a wonderment for me and it still is.
I met a guy when I was twenty, a bit rebellious, and ambitious. He was working for the international fragrance house Interparfum. His passion for fragrances transported me. From that moment, I started to read and learn anything I could about perfumes. And then I met perfumer Amélie Bourgeois, founder of independent creation studio Flair. She was my olfaction teacher and she also became my friend, a mentor and the one that helps me with the technical development of our fragrances.
Of course, I scent my home too, with my new brand House of Serenity. They are amazing candles and room sprays, stay tuned for when this will be launched…
I particularly love the smell of toasted nuts. I put walnuts, almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts in my oven and this smell is incredibly pleasant to me.