The Story Behind Camomille Satin

Paul Guerlain, the renowned perfumer at IFF, shares insights into his creative process. With the perfume Camomille Satin, he translates Dries Van Noten’s world of contrasts and textures into an unexpected olfactory pairing of chamomile and vanilla — a combination described as both "wise and wild, bucolic and liqueur-like." In this interview, Paul Guerlain explores the artistry, challenges, and inspirations behind this singular perfume creation, co-created with Julien Rasquinet.

The Story Behind Camomille Satin

Paul Guerlain, the renowned perfumer at IFF, shares insights into his creative process. With the perfume Camomille Satin, he translates Dries Van Noten’s world of contrasts and textures into an unexpected olfactory pairing of chamomile and vanilla — a combination described as both "wise and wild, bucolic and liqueur-like." In this interview, Paul Guerlain explores the artistry, challenges, and inspirations behind this singular perfume creation, co-created with Julien Rasquinet.

  • For readers discovering you today: could you introduce yourself in a few words?

    I am Paul Guerlain, perfumer at IFF. For more than ten years, I have had the immense privilege of collaborating with inspiring brands and personalities. My challenge is to translate their DNA, their stories, or their desires into perfume. It is a passionate profession, a true creative journey where, every day, I explore and compose using a unique palette of ingredients — natural raw materials (LMR) and IFF’s proprietary molecules.

  • How would you describe your style or approach as a perfumer?

    I create a dialogue. What I enjoy in creating is making raw materials converse. I like bringing them together; it is in this way that they attract, oppose, and reveal themselves… This is how I work.

  • The perfumer’s craft is often perceived as mysterious. How would you describe your way of composing: more like an artisan, a researcher… or a director of sensations?

    An explorer. Being a perfumer means exploring new ideas, new horizons, and new combinations of raw materials every day.

  • Camomille Satin rests on an unexpected alliance between chamomile and vanilla, a duo described as “wise and wild, bucolic and liqueur-like.” How did this idea of contrast arise?

    Camomille Satin was born from the desire to create an addictive vanilla. As this had already been done several times, we sought something unexpected and thought of chamomile. We then worked around a chamomile infusion that would be woven over noble vanilla.

  • For readers discovering you today: could you introduce yourself in a few words?

    I am Paul Guerlain, perfumer at IFF. For more than ten years, I have had the immense privilege of collaborating with inspiring brands and personalities. My challenge is to translate their DNA, their stories, or their desires into perfume. It is a passionate profession, a true creative journey where, every day, I explore and compose using a unique palette of ingredients, natural raw materials (LMR) and IFF’s proprietary molecules.

  • How would you describe your style or approach as a perfumer?

    I create a dialogue. What I enjoy in creating is making raw materials converse. I like bringing them together; it is in this way that they attract, oppose, and reveal themselves… This is how I work.

  • The perfumer’s craft is often perceived as mysterious. How would you describe your way of composing: more like an artisan, a researcher… or a director of sensations?

    An explorer. Being a perfumer means exploring new ideas, new horizons, and new combinations of raw materials every day.

  • Camomille Satin rests on an unexpected alliance between chamomile and vanilla, a duo described as “wise and wild, bucolic and liqueur-like.” How did this idea of contrast arise?

    Camomille Satin was born from the desire to create an addictive vanilla. As this had already been done several times, we sought something unexpected and thought of chamomile. We then worked around a chamomile infusion that would be woven over noble vanilla.

  • Vanilla is often associated with indulgence, even comfort. How did you work on its more sophisticated, almost tactile facet, echoing the satin suggested by the fragrance?

    I relied on the comforting and gourmand notes of vanilla to facet them with leather, to give them color and golden highlights from chamomile, but also thanks to benzoin. I used orange blossom and sandalwood to round it, giving it a musky, cocoon-like aspect.

  • Dries Van Noten’s universe is one of contrasts, texture mixing, craftsmanship, and the clash of materials. How did this aesthetic influence your creation?

    It was like a leap into an imaginary world, having tea with Dries, in the manner of Alice in Wonderland. We were inspired by a world of patterns with endless possibilities and impossible combinations.

  • Which new material or new contrast would you like to explore next?

    I imagine an accord where cumin, effervescent and fiery, contrasts with sandalwood. In duet with this warm wood, cumin ignites. Together, they reveal the thousand and one nuances of this forgotten spice.

  • And if you had to summarize Camomille Satin in one word, one gesture, or one color — what would it be?

    Enveloping, like the warmth of vanilla and the comfort of chamomile.

  • Vanilla is often associated with indulgence, even comfort. How did you work on its more sophisticated, almost tactile facet, echoing the satin suggested by the fragrance?

    I relied on the comforting and gourmand notes of vanilla to facet them with leather, to give them color and golden highlights from chamomile, but also thanks to benzoin. I used orange blossom and sandalwood to round it, giving it a musky, cocoon-like aspect.

  • Dries Van Noten’s universe is one of contrasts, texture mixing, craftsmanship, and the clash of materials. How did this aesthetic influence your creation?

    It was like a leap into an imaginary world, having tea with Dries, in the manner of Alice in Wonderland. We were inspired by a world of patterns with endless possibilities and impossible combinations.

  • Which new material or new contrast would you like to explore next?

    I imagine an accord where cumin, effervescent and fiery, contrasts with sandalwood. In duet with this warm wood, cumin ignites. Together, they reveal the thousand and one nuances of this forgotten spice.

  • And if you had to summarize Camomille Satin in one word, one gesture, or one color — what would it be?

    Enveloping, like the warmth of vanilla and the comfort of chamomile.