A Chat With Perfume Creator, Sylvaine Delacourte

Sylvaine Delacourte, founder of Sylvaine Delacourte Paris launched her Orange Blossom perfume scent last night in Dubai. With her gift of understanding the olfactory memory and having spent 15 years creating scents for Guerlain, she is able to create perfumes that complement different personalities

Sylvaine spent 15 years as perfume Creative Director at Guerlain, where she was in charge of custom designing perfumes for Guerlain’s VIP clients. She created over 70 perfumes that reflected the infinate nuances of personality that makes a person unique.

A a creator of emotions, Sylvanie embraces all varities of perfumes and raw materials that make a good bottle of perfume. Quite simply, she knows how to give soul to a perfume and release its emotions.

Seele Magazine- Did you know growing up that you wanted to be a creator of perfumes?

I always loved the beauty industry and was working in cosmetics for a few years as a makeup artist and in marketing before I discovered the world of perfumes. I was about 30-years-old when I had a perfume training for work, it was like a revelation. I went back to school to pursue perfumery studies and one day, my work was noticed by Jean Paul Guerlain who then asked me to work with him.

SM- How did your time at Guerlain prepare you for launching your own brand?

Thanks to Guerlain, I benefited from the experience of working and learning from a great and true perfumer with high demands on quality, elegance and creativity.

SM- Was it always your plan to launch your own brand? If not, what led you to launching your own brand?

It had always been in the back of my mind. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, it’s as if it’s in my DNA! Then about three years ago, I met with a young and ambitious entrepreneur with complementary qualities to mine and we decided to launch the brand together.

SM- When sitting down to create a new scent, what’s the process like? How do you draw people into the secrets behind each fragrance- from the moment of inspiration to the raw materials that compose a scent?

I have multiple creativity processes.  Before orchestrating a fragrance, I look for a strong idea of association, a new theme. I start with selecting the raw materials and from there I search for inspiration in colors, art, childhood memories, pastries, travels or even from a cocktail.

SM- What inspired your Orange Blossom” collection?

I wanted to explore all facets of the orange blossom. It’s an inspiring, rich and multifaceted flower as it produces the essence of bigarade, neroli, petitgrain, and orange blossom absolute. I orchestrated it in five different ways: sparkling, floral, delicious, juicy and leathery. Each fragrance is unique, elegant and unexpected. 

SM- Is SDC practicing sustainability? If so, in what ways are your products sustainable? 

Yes, creating a sustainable brand is very important for us. We paid special attention to the environment, all our perfumes are made in France, they are environmentally friendly with fully recyclable packaging. Our perfumes are cruelty free and do not contain any parabens, phthalates or dyes.

SM- With so many perfumes on the market, what does SDC bring to the table of perfumes? What makes your brand unique to other perfumes on the market?

It’s a new concept. Each Collection reimagines one iconic raw material declined into five very original facets to offer this raw material a new, unique and unexpected personality. You will discover unique and surprising associations with faceted and refined fragrances. For example, you'll discover a green musk, sesame and orange blossom, sage and vanilla and so on.

SM- What would you tell your 16-year-old self? 

I would say, follow your intuition, stay humble, don’t lose sight of your values and surround yourself with good people. 

SM- Is there anything about your brand that you wished I would have asked and that you would like to share?

We really believe in creating perfumes that make you feel good. Our mission is to help you tell your unique story by offering fragrances that represent all facets of your personality.