Olivier Cresp

Perfumery is an art that men have been trying to master for a very long time. One notably recalls Cleopatra, who liked to take baths filled with rose petals. It must be said that this flower is considered the star of perfumery. It alone symbolizes all the romance and elegance sought in a perfume. As such, the surroundings of the city of Grasse, the world capital of perfumery, are dotted with fields of it. Moreover, the parents of a certain Olivier Cresp were growers of rose and jasmine in this region. In other words, he is a perfumer who was immersed in this world from a very young age.

Olivier Cresp, a child of perfumery

A renowned perfumer, Olivier Cresp seems to have fallen into the world of perfumery from his earliest childhood. He was born in Grasse into a family of growers. His great-grandfather grew roses and jasmine, while his grandfather and his father traded in them. Thus, perfumery is for him far more than a profession, and it resembles more a family heritage. Olivier Cresp therefore trained his sense of smell very early on. The conversations of his childhood revolved exclusively around perfume, and he retains an intact memory of the scents perfuming his house as well as his parents' workshops. He also confides that he has always loved watching the extraction process of lavender and iris. What is more, it should be noted that Olivier Cresp comes from a family of three children, all of whom became perfumers.

Olivier Cresp's career

Olivier Cresp has been a perfumer since 1975. He first spent 12 years at Quest before joining the house of Firmenich in 1992. It was also within this house that he became a master perfumer in 2006. Far more than a simple talent, he owes this destiny to a childhood entirely devoted to learning intensively about raw materials. His first attempt at creating a perfume, meanwhile, dates back to when he was 9 or 10 years old. He had gathered all sorts of flowers before letting them macerate in alcohol. By his own admission, the result was rather mediocre. Fortunately for us, he has greatly improved since that day. Each of his compositions is very different, even though he admits to being utterly in love with cedar. He incorporates it just as much into his perfumes for men as for women, so as to give them more intensity and elegance. This, according to him, is his true signature.

Olivier Cresp is a genius of perfumery. We owe him many celebrated perfumes such as Angel by Thierry Mugler, Cerruti 1881 Acqua Forte, Dune pour Homme by Dior, and Kokorico by Jean-Paul Gauthier, to name just a few. Each of his projects is, for him, a genuine challenge—exciting, creative, unprecedented—which he hopes might one day equal the celebrated Shalimar by Guerlain, his favorite perfume.

Cardamom · Basil