Kevin Verspoor, ex industry perfumer now owns his own company PERFUMEKEV
Profile: I grew up in Grand Rapids Michigan and was diagnosed as having Synesthesia when I was very young . My parents noticed that I did not differentiate between the qualities of the five senses. This condition was exacerbated further by the time I was 4 years old when my parents signed me up for piano and drawing lessons. One of the drawbacks of this medical condition was that so little was known about it when I was young; it made me so hypersensitive that I was hospitalized for a nervous break down when I was only seven years old. Fortunately, as I have grown older, I have much better control, which is a good thing because being driven to distraction by one's own senses can be very frustrating and exhausting. I started collecting perfumes at the age of nine and was immediately, inexplicably drawn to the perfumes of Francois Coty who has influenced my style of creating fragrances more than any other perfumer.
Kevin's vintage and contemporary perfume collection numbers over 3000 flacons
I began studying natural perfumery while I was a cosmetology student at the original Aveda Institute in Minneapolis, when Aveda was still family owned. When I completed my cosmetology degree, I was hired to work for the Aveda Creative Team. I spent as much time as I could in the Aveda perfume lab and got an amazing education in the art of natural perfumery. I moved to New York City in 1995 to attend The Fashion Institute of Technology and enrolled in the Cosmetic and Fragrance Marketing program. Virginia Bonofiglio, who was my perfumery teacher, was very helpful in furthering my career . While I was studying at F.I.T., I took a perfumery internship at International Flavors and Fragrances ( I.F.F. ) This is where I met some wonderful perfumers whose expertise helped me in my career. Among them were Jean-Claude Delville, Sophia Grojsman, Ellen Molnar and Christine Baillifard. After F.I.T., I worked for Haarmann & Reimer (Symrise) and Fragrance Resources. I began as a lab tech working behind the bench compounding fragrances while I apprenticed for the position of perfumer. Most recently I was a perfumer at Drom. I also am an avid perfume collector; vintage and contemporary and I lost count at over 3000 fragrances in my collection. So not only am I a perfumer, but a perfumista as well.
Estee Lauder American Muse and vintage ad for Youth Dew featuring Paulina Porizkova, late 1980s
I am constantly inspired by how fragrances are created by nature, These natural smells have created olfactive memories from which I always draw inspiration. I love the smell of Autumn, a crackling fire, the smell of the Midwestern prairies during a summer afternoon, just to name a few. I prefer to use large amounts of naturals in perfumes. I love to study the headspace formulas of flowers and plants and weave those notes with the finest natural perfume materials and the most fantastic aroma chemicals. My esthetic is taken a step further by understanding the beauty of nature and music and decorative arts and taking these inspirations and turning them into fragrance fantasies. I have so many inspirational perfumes in my life I cannot count them. I have always been inspired by the perfumes of Francois Coty and Houbigant and by what those two companies did for the history and for the future of the perfume industry. I am also inspired by many of the women of the 20th century who created great fragrances. I admire Estee Lauder's vision for perfumery and the work she did with I.F.F.'s, Josephine Catapano, who created "Youth Dew" and with Sophia Grojsman who created "White Linen" and "Beautiful".
Kevin working on new compositions
On American Perfumery: America's contribution to perfumery has been very profound. Companies like Estee Lauder, Richard Hudnut, Revlon, Avon, Schulton, Aveda, Caswell- Massey have all contributed to the profile of American perfume. All of these companies have brought unique concepts to the perfume world. America is the democratic country of perfumes. One of the things that makes me think of American perfume is that there have been all people of all different backgrounds that have contributed their vision to perfume. For the past decade or so I have been so happy to see so many independent American perfumers really developing truly innovative and beautiful fragrances. As Americans, we should be proud that we have the opportunity to express ourselves as we choose. After working in the perfume and cosmetic industry for twenty-two years, I have finally come to a point at which I am ready to step out on my own.
Kevin Verspoor is influenced by the works of Francois Coty; from his personal collection
left to right front row: La Rose Jaqueminot by Coty c1902, Miss Dior c 1947, Jasmin de Corse (for Corsica his birth land) de Cotyc 1906 and L'Origan de Coty c1906
Back row: Emeraude Coty c 1921, Le Vertige de Coty c 937
My company is PERFUMEKEV. The name is a modernization of Francois Coty of Parfums Coty, who like me was not French (I am Dutch American and he was from Corsica) and an outsider. I will be working in a similar manner to Francois Coty. I will be creating my fragrances with as much CO2 extracts, Head space, and the most modern aroma chemicals. Coty used Absolutes from the method of solvent extraction, created by The Chiris family where he trained. As an independent perfumer, I am now free to approach my work in such a way that is bigger, brighter and more beautifully than I have ever done while working for a large company. I support American perfumery and want to share my expertise with all aspiring perfumers without the labels defining who is a perfumer, no matter their level -from a weekend perfumer mixing blends for their own soaps and candles, to those who want to want a career as a professional perfumer.
Frank Lloyd Wright Windows
Favorite American Artist: Two American Architects that I have admired since I was young, are Louis Sulivan and his protégé Frank Lloyd Wright. These men had a deep belief in studying nature and turning the forms of flowers, plants and trees into beautifuly decorated architectural masterpeices. "Form follows function" was Louis Sulivan's mantra. They were both from the Midwest, as am I, and loved many of the forms of the Midwestern prairies. Louis Sulivan was so talented at taking the forms of nature and modifying them to showcase his modern view of architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright started his architectural carrier as an apprentice to Louis Sullivan. Mr. Wright took a similar approach to nature as the supreme platform for architectural and interior design. He moved Louis' esthetic and brought it into the 20th century. These two architects were key to launching what we still consider modern architecture today.
–Kevin Verspoor, Perfumer and Founder of PERFUMEKEV, Contributor to CaFleureBon
Editor's Note: Kevin is behind many popular and niche personal and home fragrances for Origin, Marc Jacobs, Jennifer Lopez and Paris Hilton. He has worked for Slatkin, creating the very successful, "Fire Side Collection" for Elton John. During his tenure at Drom, he was the nose for Odin New York 1 Roam , Odin New York 3 Century and co-authored Odin 2 Owari with Pierre Constantin Gueros. The highlight of his career to date was the creation of Odin 6 Amanu for which he won the first Indie FiFi award from The Fragrance Foundation. We are also delighted to welcome Kevin Verspoor as a CaFleureBon Contributor. -Michelyn Camen
Thanks to Kevin we are offering a bespoke fragrance consultation that will include a full 2 oz. of Parfum, 6 oz. Eau de Parfum. plus a body Crème to one U.S. Reader. What a rare treat from such an accomplished perfumer. To be eligible,first you must live in the US and please leave a comment about what you found fascinating about Kevin's career and profile. Draw ends November 7, 2013.
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