THE PERFUMER'S ART* By HENRI ROBERT President, Henri Robert Inc., New York City IT IS with pleasure that I avail myself of the opportunity to present a few personal ideas on the art of perfumery. Such a subject cannot be exhausted in a few min- utes and I do not pretend to do so. Therefore, I am only going to talk about certain facts which I deem particularly pertinent. Having de- voted all my life to the art of per- fumery with firms in Paris and Grasse, I would be happy if, in giv- ing you the French point of view on those subjects I can contribute, in a modest way, to a better understand- ing and co-operation between the technicians of both countries and thereby further the advancement of our marvelous science. The great strides made by the American perfumery industry dur- ing the last few years have resulted in such an improvement in the meth- ods of advertising, distribdting and 'packaging of perfumes, that the success of a perfume is generally credited to these factors. Conse- quently, the part played by the quality of the perfume has remained * Presented at the May 15, 1946, Meeting, New York City. 123 in the background. This is a serious mistake because, the quality is of primary importance. If we study, obj'ectively, the perfume market, we see that if well-planned promotions have been succcessful, on the other hand, the perfumes whose success have best withstood the test of time are those of whlch the quality was decidedly supcrier. The others continue to sell only through a sus- tained effort and their sales fall oJF whenever this advertising and pro- motion slow down. Inasmuch as I am addressing a group of technicians I do not think it necessary to stress that point, ex- cept to emphasize the advisability to make it generally known. I shall endeavor to analyze for you the qualities that a good per- fume must have and how this can be obtained. I will classify these qualities in two groups: the artistic quality and the technical qualities. Artistic qualities: 1. A perfume must be pleas- ant. 2. It must be elegant. 3. It must be original.

124 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY ß Technical qualities: 1. A perfume must be power- ful. 2. It must be balanced. 3. It must be lasting. Let us first deal in detail with the artistic qualities. .4 perfume must be pleasant. This is obvious and will be obtained through the excellence of the prod- ucts used and also through the rich- ness of combinations, or, rather a we say in French, "des Accords" of these products among themselves. .4 perfume must be elegant. It must have "chic," that is, it must be in harmony with fashion although it must not have the temporary character of the latter. .4 perfume must be original. Whether it is based on a new idea, a, new accord, or whether it is a new interpretation of a note already known, it is indispensable that a perfume be original. It will attract not only women who are always looking for novelty but also those who are rather conservative. Let us now deal with the technical qualities: strength, balance, and tenacity. .4 perfume must be powerful. In order to compensate for the increase of price of certain raw materials it is often decided to reduce the concen- tration of perfumes. In my opinion, the result so obtained is just as disastrous as an orchestra heard from too great a distance or a beau- tiful painting poorly lighted. But, if it is obvious that the strength of the perfume is in proportion to its OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS concentration• I must add that the balance of the formula contributes also greatly to its strength, for it is through balance that we will obtain a perfume having body and leaving a lingering fragrance. .4 perfume must be balanced. By balance we do not mean that a perfume must be so well rounded that it will present no dominant note. On the contrary, a perfume too much leveled off or overpol- ished, lacks character just as an overfinished drawing or a too mo- notonous tune. A balanced perfume means a perfume clear and clean cut. A perfume must not be a com- plicated mixture of pleasant odors the total price of which must not exceed a maximum determined by sales considerations. It must be the exact and living expression of a principal idea surrounded and sup- ported by a proper background. Therefore, a perfume formula must not be burdened by useless products which not only render its manufacture complicated and in- crease needlessly the necessary stock of raw materials, but also bring confusion to the perfume instead of making its proper note come out. .4 perfume must be lasting. By •this I mean that the characteristic note of the perfume must not change and that it must continue to effuse for several hours from the person who wears it. I must insist somewhat on this point because if many fanciful tales have been said and written about the technique of perfumes, it is on the subject of fixation that the most