Perfumer Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich

I grew up in a family with no direct ties to the world of perfumery, however, creativity was always deeply anchored in our roots. We were raised to be curious, open, and fearless in the face of beauty. My family has always had a deep sensitivity to art, particularly painting, architecture, design, and photography. This artistic spirit shaped the way I saw the world from a very young age.

Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich as a child

Early on, I discovered my own unique medium in the invisible yet powerful art of scent. I decided I wanted to become a perfumer at the age of seven. I had found my language, not in words or images, but in scent. Although I briefly pursued medical studies, I quickly found myself drawn back to my creative spirit, especially through experimenting with scents in my everyday life.

Perfumer Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich with mentor Amandine Clerc Marie at the Fragrance Foundation Awards France

After earning a degree in Chemistry, I continued my education at ISIPCA, graduating in 2014, and later deepened my understanding of perfume marketing at ESSEC. In 2018, I joined Puig in Barcelona as a Junior Perfumer. The following year, I joined the dsm-firmenich perfumery school, where I was trained by inspiring perfumers such as Principal Perfumers Amandine Clerc Marie, Clément Gavarry, and Master Perfumer Martin Koh.

Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich holding her Perfumer certificate

After completing my training as a perfumer in Paris, London, and New York, I asked to relocate to the United States. For me, this was more than a move; it was a personal and creative decision. Being French, I grew up with the codes of French perfumery. I respect them deeply, they’re part of who I am, but I also felt that French creativity, while rich and refined, can sometimes be constrained by tradition.

Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich holding her Fragrance Foundation Award 2023 Sublissme Eau De Parfum

The United States offers a different energy. There’s a wildness to the way creativity happens here, less defined, less coded. Whether in fashion, immersive art, music, or fragrance, I find a freedom to experiment, to challenge form. I didn’t just want to create for this market; I wanted to live inside its pulse. Living here has expanded my palette and helped me break my own creative boundaries.

 Bérénice Watteau in Peru

 Living abroad and traveling have played a profound role in shaping who I am, both as a person and as a perfumer. I’ve lived in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each experience brought me into contact with different cultures, landscapes, and ways of feeling the world. Travel feeds my curiosity and constantly challenges my perspective. Some places have been especially key for me: Ethiopia, Myanmar, India, Peru, Bolivia, El Salvador, Costa Rica. These experiences remind me that creativity doesn’t happen in isolation; it grows through connection, openness, and being present in unfamiliar spaces.

Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich in nature

When I compose a fragrance, I experience a form of synesthesia. Scents appear to me as shapes, colors, textures, even light. I see each formula as an architectural structure, full of volume, contrast, and balance, or like a painting, where ingredients are my pigments and brushes. A dash of lemon or a watery note acts like a touch of yellow or white on a canvas, illuminating the structure around it.

Bérénice at work

I’m deeply drawn to contradictions. For me, creation happens in tension. I love pairing ingredients that shouldn’t work together, elements that are opposite, clashing, or seemingly incompatible. These “impossible associations” are where the magic lives.

This brings me to another important aspect: imperfection is what elevates beauty, the accident, the unexpected. Perfumery isn’t about creating something flawless or symmetrical; it’s about finding the charm and emotion in the irregular, in the surprising twists that give a fragrance its life and character. Those little “flaws” or spontaneous notes become the heart of the creation, turning it from a mere combination of ingredients into an expressive, living art.

Bérénice Watteau’s interpretation of Magritte

I draw constant inspiration from other artistic fields. I believe all disciplines, architecture, painting, music, sculpture, are connected by the same creative impulse.

Le Corbusier’s relationship to light, for example, has shaped how I think about perfumery. His windows and openings were calculated to maximize natural light, complemented by artificial lighting that mimicked or enhanced its qualities. His treatment of light, both natural and artificial, resonates with how I think about scent. A short perfume formula is like natural light. It gives each material space to breathe and lets brightness emerge from within. A longer formula, by contrast, can drown the ingredients, dimming their presence. Citrus, aldehydes, or more transparent floral notes are like artificial light, instantly illuminating a fragrance.

The Waterfall House from Frank Lloyd Wright – drawn by Bérénice Watteau 

The painter Pierre Soulages, with his deep blacks and masterful use of texture, also inspires my work. In his black paintings, light doesn’t come from color; it comes from movement and texture, from the way his brush cuts through darkness. In perfumery, I apply this thinking when working with deep, heavy materials like oud, leather, and dark vanilla. I use contrast and texture to bring light into shadow.

Jil Sander Smoke courtesy of the brand

This duality, shadow and light, is at the heart of Smoke, a fragrance I created for Jil Sander. It evokes the scent of clean laundry drying near a fireplace. Something clean, airy, almost metallic, set against a smoky, warm backdrop. The brightness comes from musks and aldehydes, which bring cold and airy textures. The darkness comes from smoky notes softened by sandalwood and an oud effect. It’s clean and dirty, comforting and sensual.

I’m also deeply inspired by surrealism. I’m drawn to the way surrealist artists dissolve logic and embrace the dream. Magritte, Dalí, Yves Tanguy — they invite us into a world where contradiction becomes poetry. André Breton once wrote: “I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if one may so speak.”

That describes exactly how I see perfume creation, as a surreal meeting point between a dreamlike mental image of scent and the logic of reality. An apparent incompatibility of associations, possible only in my dreams and in my creations.

Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich

Some ingredients have a special place in my palette. I’m fascinated by texture, so iris is one of my favorite ingredients. It’s among the most textural: powdery and comforting yet also dry and almost woody at the same time. I love that tension. Ambrette absolute also holds a special place in my heart. It has similarities to orris but in a more musky, earthy way.

Ambrox is a key element in many of my fragrances. This ingredient is deeply addictive to me. If I were to give it a color, it would be silver. It’s sensual, mineral, and radiates in every direction. Cistus essential oil is another ingredient I cherish. I see it as a spine, a structural foundation for a fragrance. It brings tension, a link between the top and base notes.

And yet, to truly create, I also need stillness. Today, spending time by the ocean has become essential to me. Surfing has become a way to reset, to reconnect with the elements and with myself. The sea is like a blank page. When I’m out there, everything is quiet, and my mind is free. That stillness allows space for new ideas to emerge.

Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich surfing

But surfing, like perfumery, is also demanding. Both require discipline, patience, and endurance. Surfing teaches you to stay focused, to fall, and to try again. In many ways, it mirrors the process of creating a fragrance. Behind every composition lies intense effort, countless trials, and a constant push to go further. Creation is about finding balance between control and instinct, precision and flow.

All photos courtesy of Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich unless otherwise stated

Fragrances by Bérénice Watteau of DSM-Firmenich as of this post

Vanilla Santo- Ellis Brooklyn 2025

Perfumer Bérénice Watteau with Teri Johnson (middle), founder and creative director of the Harlem Perfume Co.

Golden Muse – Harlem Perfume Co 2025

Smoke- Jil Sander 2025

Bonjour Beach – Victoria Secret 2025

Sunkissed Fleur – Victoria Secret 2025

Coconut Passion Bliss – Victoria Secret 2025

Bows & Roses – Victoria Secret 2025

Riz de mangue – Le monde gourmand 2025

Youzu – Skylar 2025

Lilo & Stitch – Zara 2025

Heartstrings – Skylar 2025

Gryffindor – Harry Potter & Zara 2025

Slytherin – Harry Potter & Zara 2025

Ravenclaw – Harry Potter & Zara 2025

Sticky mango – Skylar 2025

Siren Pearl – Skylar 2025

Milk & Chill – Skylar 2025

Juicy Strawberry – Victoria Secret 2024

Blush Amber & Peony candle – Bath Body work 2024

Thailand sweet kiwi and Starfruit – Bath and Body work 2024

Candy hearts – Victoria Secret – 2024

Rock the World – Adopt 2024

Fiery love – Playboy 2024

Tu te calmes – Maison Matine 2023

Tribe intense – Benetton 2023

Sublimissime – Adopt (2022Fragrance Foundation France Public reward)

Au Féminin – Adopt 2022

Harlem Perfume Co. Golden Muse courtesy of the brand

Thanks to the generosity of Teri Johnson and her team at the Harlem Perfume Co. we have a 50 ml of Golden Muse composed by Bérénice Watteau for one registered reader in the USA only. Please leave a comment saying what you found fascinating about Bérénice Watteau’s path to perfumery, if you are familiar with any of the fragrances she signed. Draw closes 9/17/2025

Harlem Perfume Co. Golden Muse notes-Top: Sea Salt, Bergamot Peel, Coconut Milk; Heart; Orange Blossom, Tahitian Monoi, Handpicked Jasmine; Base: Myrrh, Vanilla Caviar, Ambergris

Follow us on Instagram at @cafleurebonoffical @berenice_ watteau @dsmfirmenichfine @harlemperfumeco

This is our Privacy Policy

We announce the winners only on our site and on our Facebook page, so like ÇaFleureBon and use our blog feed… or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

Like our Facebook page: ÇaFleureBon and use our blog feed for new updates and articles.