- Valentine Pozzo di Borgo Perfumer:
Valentine Pozzo di Borgo is a remarkable figure in the world of perfumery. Hailing from a family with a rich heritage deeply intertwined with the perfume industry, she has inherited a profound love for scents.
Her grandfather, Xavier Givaudan, a chemist from Lyon residing in Switzerland, left an indelible mark on the history of world perfumery in 1895. He founded the homonymous group and discovered numerous molecules, such as Lila 7. Valentine's childhood memories are saturated with the allure of perfume, from the flasks in her grandfather's office - laboratory to the long walks in the Swiss mountains and the Corsican maquis, and the hours spent in perfumeries exploring new olfactory experiences.
In 2008, she founded Quintessence. Initially, she dedicated herself to B2B clients, creating olfactory identities for those who previously had no access to the perfume world through an activity called Quintessence Lab. This was a way for her to continue her family's almost five - generation - long tradition in the perfume industry, as perfume was truly in her blood. Two years later, in 2010, Quintessence Paris was launched, opening up to a new clientele.
Valentine then embarked on a unique project with Pozzo di Borgo. The idea behind the Pozzo di Borgo brand was to bring her long - cherished dream to life. Her family is filled with diverse personalities, each of which she believed could be incarnated in a perfume. She initially considered using family members' names for her perfume titles but later decided to use their dates of birth instead. This not only indicates the person who inspired a scent but also helps one imagine the epoch connected to that date. For example, her own perfume, 23 janvier 1984, represents her birth year, while 8 mars 1764 pays homage to her great - great - grand uncle, the diplomat Carl Andrea Pozzo di Borgo, who was born on that date. Carl Andrea Pozzo di Borgo was a Corsican politician who became a Russian diplomat, and his character - shrewd, cheerful, persuasive, and eloquent - inspired a contemporary perfume with warm and powerful chords, paying homage to the great classics of masculine fragrances. It evokes the subtle aromas of a drop of cognac poured into a burning coffee, set on a woody backdrop of grand elegance, destined for real men of influence.
The Pozzo di Borgo brand currently has several perfumes in its collection, with each fragrance carefully crafted by collaborating with renowned perfumers such as Sonia Constant, Violaine Collas, Mathilde Bijaoui, and Philippe Bousseton. Each perfume tells a story, creating an olfactory portrait inspired by the unique characters within the Pozzo di Borgo family, and by extension, resonating with the diverse personalities found in people's lives around the world.
