From a field of jasmine to a bottle on the counter: who makes perfume, and from what.
By Shreya S · Last reviewed 15 November 2026
Who actually makes a perfume?
A perfumer, often called a “nose”, who trains for years to recognise and combine thousands of materials. Most designer scents are composed by perfumers working for a few specialist fragrance companies, such as Givaudan, dsm-firmenich, IFF and Symrise, which pitch against each other on a brand’s brief. A few houses keep their own in-house perfumer, including Chanel, Hermès, Dior and Guerlain.
What is perfume made from?
A mix of natural materials (flowers such as rose and jasmine, citrus peel, woods, resins, roots like vetiver and orris) and synthetic molecules, which are just as important. Aldehydes gave Chanel No. 5 its sparkle; synthetic musks replaced animal ones; molecules such as Iso E Super and ambroxan are the backbone of many modern bestsellers. The blend is dissolved in alcohol and left to mature before bottling.
How are scents taken from plants?
Steam distillation for sturdy materials like lavender and rose, producing essential oils. Solvent extraction for delicate flowers like jasmine and tuberose, producing rich “absolutes”. Cold pressing for citrus peel. Enfleurage, soaking flowers in fat, is mostly historical. Natural materials are expensive: it takes several tonnes of rose petals to make a kilo of rose oil.
Why is Grasse so important?
The town in Provence has been the centre of French perfumery since the 17th century, when its tanners began perfuming leather gloves. It still grows the May rose and jasmine used by houses like Chanel and Dior, trains perfumers and hosts the processing plants. Grasse’s perfume know-how was added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage in 2018.
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