Gandalf, the Lord of The Rings movie
Meeting a perfumer and spending time talking is a rare, special moment where you feel that you are privaleged; the moments spent with a 'fifth sense magician' will be to remembered for a very long time.
My tete a tete with Marc-Antoine Corticchiato was one of those magical moments, very rare and where talent and generosity are one, the talented "nose” of Parfum d'Empire opened up to me and now to you the doors to his world, nestled in the distant suburbs of Paris, in Louveciennes. The "Bienvenue!" was direct: the Master said "hello', then sat back down at his desk; immediately he gave me two testers.
"What do you think? What do you feel? What differences do you find between those two?" The first one is an mix of leather, spice, cinnamon and cumin. The second one is on the same basis, but with an added note, a fruity osmanthus.
The next creation? "Not necessarily. But that's what I'm working on right now. Marc-Antoine takes two candles created outside of his trademark, one evoking oriental amber, dedicated to the famous Lutetia Hotel in Paris 100th anniversary, the other being a magical and beautiful solar tuberose ("Tubéreuse Solaire") created for Michel Brosseau, a well-known French hairdresser.
Passion, creativity, scented universe … Here we are, at the heart of it…
Early Years
Marc-Antoine Corticchiato is primarily a horse lover. He would have loved to have pursued the bridle path instead he chose an academic path; he headed towards a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry, specializing in the search of plants scents. Then he studied at ISIPCA, the famous school where most of the French "nez" are trained. His specialty?
"I worked a lot on techniques for extracting the perfume from raw materials, then their analysis. I even published the results of my research in many international chemistry reviews", he said.
M. Cortichattio on perfume: A "Perfumer was clearly not the job of my dreams. My mother did not use perfume, she found it disgusting. My fascination stems instead from the perfume of plants, related with Morocco, where I was born, with Corsica ,where I went a lot as a child, and then lived, odors of the famous "maquis" that combines immortal, moss and oak, odors from the horse, hay, leather … In fact, I always wonder why a plant smells like perfume. A very intellectual question…"
Arabian Horse fighting in a Stable: Delacroix
He would have loved to have pursued the bridle path instead he chose an academic road; he headed towards a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry, specializing in the search of plants scents. Then he studied at ISIPCA, the famous school where most of the French "nez" are trained. His specialty? "I worked on a lot on techniques for extracting the perfume, then their analysis. I even published the results of my research in many international chemistry reviews", he said.
M. Cortichiatto began his career in aromatherapy (taking into account the therapeutic effect of olfaction and plants). And what does Marc-Antoine wear as a perfume every day? "I do not wear perfume. When you spend your whole day between raw materials and agreements, you must take a break!"
The Perfumer
Marc-Antoine Cortichiatto lives for Parfum d'Empire. "It's still complicated, it's an everyday struggle because we do not do this to get rich, he says. “Niche" perfumery has seen a proliferation of brands. People will soon be flooded with these offerings which are still growing. But the prices are truly becoming prohibitive. We are one of the least expensive on the market, and again … I wish I could sell my perfumes at more affordable prices."
Even if he doesn't wear perfume, Marc-Antoine still appreciates fragrances and a few in particular:
"I love “Eau du Sud" by Annick Goutal, with the scent of crushed tomato leaves. Also "Dior Homme", “Aromatics Elixir by Clinique, "L'Heure Bleue" by Guerlain and "Eau Noire" by Dior.”
Parfum d'Empire
Egypt the cradle of perfumery
This is a brand that uses a wealth of raw materials. M. Corticchiato states, "I love everything about raw materials- where they come from, their history; always coveted by man, regardless of the era. We fought, we sailed, we coveted these precious substances for their beauty, as a commodity, for their magical powers, their erotic properties and their power of seduction. Each raw material we work on is about its history."
The name for Parfum d'Empire in truth was not conceived in any way as to acknowledge the famous emperor of France – Napoleon, even if several symbols (and the love of Marc-Antoine for Corsica) would have made us believe it. "I like Bonaparte, the Corsican, who was impetuous, romantic and a humanist But not Napoleon, the paunchy, the blood thirsty!"
by the Niobid Painter” width=”300″ />
Detail of Red figure Krater-Niobid the painter
The laurel wreath logo shown is a reference to Roman and Greek civilizations. Empire refers to the empire of the senses….It is important to say that Parfum d'Empire is now one of the few brands no belonging to a group, and running on an artisanal way. A feat in 2011!!
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"Cuir Ottoman" was launched in October 2006 as the fourth creation of the House.
At that time, the leather was not very popular in perfumery. "This is the perfume on which I spent the least time for its creation. Within barely a year, I quickly found the "leather" bottom note, in a very precise way. But the hardest part was to graft the top and heart notes. That was terrible because I needed to calm down that animalic leather! So I "stuffed" it with orris, tonka bean from Venezuela and Jasmin from Egypt. It took a ton to bring the final ‘score’ of leather … and these raw materials are expensive!
Suleiman the Magnificent
Cuir Ottoman, its name and reference is clear: it is a tribute to the Ottoman Empire, whose saga began in the fourteenth century, during the conquest of Byzantium.
The name bring to mind, of course, Suleiman the Magnificent.
A reign unchallenged for several centuries longer been one of the greatest powers of Europe and the Middle East. An Empire that has been marked by artistic and intellectual strength; a reign synonymous with grandeur, cruelty and opulence, the legendary image of harems, enlightenment, warriors and heroes. of course we think of the mythical tales featuring the beautiful Scheherazade and her mesmerizing stories known as the 1000 Arabian Nights .
Essential oils, outside "pure" history, animal skins were at that time tanned with iris … That's where you get the idea of this perfume.
Cuir Ottoman, the composition…Iris and jasmine from Egypt.
A leather base made of craked cyst, styrax, birch, patchouli and crude absolute vanilla.
( Marc-Antoine doesn't like working on ready-made bases… he creates them).
And then, incense…incense….
If the official release was in October 2006, the first bottles were already circulating in June and the launch left an indelible memory on Marc-Antoine: "It was a horror to live through at the commercial level. Buyers had prematurely labeled the consumer profile : "guy, young, urban,homosexual", totally reductive. I had a bad summer, and challenged myself. Perfumer friends told me I could not sell it as a perfume. I must say that I never test my creations on individuals. And finally, everything was back to order. One of our first clients was a middle age "bourgeoise". She bought "Cuir d'Ottoman" with love at first sight. That is to say, there is no typical profile for the fragrance."
What’s next from Parfum d'Empire
2010 was a year without a launch, apart from a beautiful "Ambre" candle in December. "I wanted to have some intellectual rest to work more effectively in 2011."Some fragrances will come out with a Cologne concentration in a 250ml format, "Eau de Gloire" being the first in the series.
But Marc-Antoine will mainly develop the "home" creations:
"We will launch three candles. An Amber Absolute, which will be even more concentrated than the first one, with a new formula for wax, a floral, then a spicy candle.
–Emmanuelle Varron, Editor
(Art Direction: Michelyn Camen)
Dear readers, once again, CaFleureBon spoils you … through Parfum d'Empire. Marc-Antoine Corticchiato offers to one of you a bottle of "Cuir Ottoman", in a 100ml size.
Leave your comment on these three details to be eligible:
The creations of Parfum d'Empire
periods of history that you would like to see bottled
if you would like Parfum d'Empire to launch a Tuberose candle or other home fragrance
DRAW ENDS APRIL 1, 2011
Writer’s Note: A generous man, sharing with great ease his passions, Marc-Antoine Corticchiato is a discreet perfumer, (and does not seek the spotlight as the nose behind Parfum d'Empire). His perfumes have personality longevity, sillage and tell a story on the skin …I thank him for his reception, his talent and humanity!
And I thank Valérie Lenotre, of Different Latitudes, for organizing this beautiful meeting.