Sonia Constant: Turning Travel Memories into Poems of Scent

“I learn something new every day. In this profession, there is no end to learning.”
Sonia Constant, from an interview with Fragroom

Photographing a landscape on a journey, leaving words in a notebook, bringing home the scent of flowers and plants: for Sonia Constant, each can be the beginning of a perfume.

While creating fragrances for Tom Ford and Narciso Rodriguez at Givaudan, Constant turns memories of travels around the world into creations for Ella K, the perfumer’s own brand. Moving between work that answers the distinctive character of a major house and work arising from within, Constant has broadened the expressive possibilities of scent.

A Life in Perfumery
Perfumery Philosophy: From What the Eyes See to What the Nose Perceives
Major Creations and Their Background
Ella K: Perfumes That Begin with Travel Memories
Incidentally…
Perfume Creations
1. Ella K Creations
References

A Life in Perfumery

A Mother’s Rose and the Smell of Grass in the Garden

Constant was born around 1978–1979. Constant gave an age of 46 in an April 2025 interview and grew up in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris.

Constant’s mother wore First by Van Cleef & Arpels and Paloma Picasso, chypre fragrances containing rose. They remain childhood memories, alongside the smell of grass after Constant’s father mowed the lawn.

According to Constant’s grandmother, one of the first words Constant said was “fleur,” French for flower. A love of visiting gardens and flower shops was reflected in childhood poems in which flowers and smells appeared.

Yet becoming a perfumer was not the plan from the beginning. As a child, Constant dreamed of ballet dancing, and later of becoming an architect or fashion designer. Form, color, and the movement of the body: this attraction to expression beyond fragrance makes sense when one encounters the later work.

The Profession Chosen by a Shy Girl

Constant learned about perfumery as a profession and became interested in ISIPCA, the perfumery school in Versailles, as a teenager. For someone who loved fragrance, no profession seemed a better fit.

The family, however, was not unreservedly supportive. Could someone so shy survive in such a competitive industry? There were no close connections in the industry to open a path. Constant recalled that time in an interview with The Perfume Society.

“I was the only one who believed I could make my dream come true. I thought I should aim for the moon, and even if I did not reach it, at least I would end up among the stars.”
Sonia Constant, from an interview with The Perfume Society

Before enrolling, Constant applied for summer work at fragrance companies to see the profession firsthand. Givaudan offered the opportunity. As a laboratory assistant, Constant encountered Olivier Pescheux’s work and learned how formulas took shape and clients’ wishes became fragrances.

Entering an actual laboratory made the profession Constant had dreamed of a more concrete goal.

Five Years between School and Laboratory

Two years at ISIPCA and three at Givaudan’s perfumery school: by combining classroom learning with experience inside the company, Constant built a foundation as a perfumer.

At ISIPCA, Constant learned from Dominique Ropion and Francis Kurkdjian. At Givaudan, mentors included Pescheux, Jean Guichard, and Christine Nagel.

A memorable class involved Kurkdjian bringing in lily of the valley and asking the students to recreate its scent. A smell that cannot be extracted directly from the flower as an essential oil must be constructed from combinations of ingredients. That lesson would prove useful later when Constant created Muguet en Fleurs for Yves Rocher.

Constant’s career at Givaudan developed from 2001, and s.Oliver’s Sport 1 Female was released in 2006. Work subsequently expanded to a range of brands, including Guerlain, Burberry, Montblanc, and Kenzo.

The transparency of flowers, the softness of musk, the depth of leather: even as the fragrances change, the work of exploring the balance of materials and recognizing the moment a creation is finished continues.

Gradually Making a Place of One’s Own

In a 2025 interview with The Italian Rêve, Constant spoke frankly about the difficulties of working as a woman.

“When I left perfumery school, doors opened immediately for my male colleagues. I, on the other hand, had to work harder on small projects and grow little by little.”
Sonia Constant, from an interview with The Italian Rêve

This is the industry as Constant experienced it. Building a record through small assignments and earning the next commission: that accumulation eventually led to creations known around the world.

Constant is now presented as a master perfumer and, alongside work for Givaudan, is active as Ella K’s founder and creative director. In 2024 and 2025, Constant was named Perfumer of the Year at China’s Golden Osmanthus Awards. Ella K’s Camélia K also won the Extra Ordinary Perfume category at The Fragrance Foundation UK Awards in 2024.

Perfumery Philosophy: From What the Eyes See to What the Nose Perceives

Combining Landscape, Light, and Sound

Synaesthesia is a word that often appears when Constant describes the work. The light and colors of a landscape, the sounds around it, and personal emotions are transferred into the structure of a fragrance.

Constant travels with a Leica camera and a Moleskine notebook. Photographs record the scenery, while words and poems remain in the notebook. Later, when making a fragrance, the two bring back the emotions of the time.

Givaudan’s Scent Trek adds another element. The technology collects scent from the air surrounding flowers and plants without damaging them, for analysis in the laboratory. Constant uses it to learn about unusual flowers encountered on journeys and scents particular to a place.

The analysis is not simply copied into a formula, however. Not every molecule detected is necessarily available for use in perfumery, nor does an analysis reveal the light and atmosphere of the place.

“Scent Trek is not simply about recognizing a flower. It also includes my point of view and the atmosphere of the place.”
Interview with The Italian Rêve, 2025

Clues obtained through technology are reassembled through personal perception. Constant compares this to Impressionist painting because, although nature is the starting point, the work passes through its creator’s perspective.

Ambroxan, Cashmeran, and Floral Textures

Ambroxan is one of Constant’s favorite ingredients. In The Perfume Society, Constant compared its impression to photography.

“It is like a black-and-white photograph. It is very modern and never becomes out of fashion or dated.”
Sonia Constant, from an interview with The Perfume Society

In Cashmeran, Constant senses softness and a slightly rock-and-roll atmosphere. Orange blossom is a flower that seems good enough to eat. Paired with musk, it recalls marshmallow, and Constant says it also goes well with iris.

In iris, Constant sees a suede-like texture and a beauty that is not easily approached. Looking at ingredients not merely as plant names or fragrance notes, but as textures and human figures, is characteristic of Constant’s approach.

Giving Every Ingredient a Role in a Short Formula

While the imagery behind the fragrances is rich, Constant values concision in the formula.

“I try to write formulas that are as short as possible, and to make sure every ingredient has a role.”
From an interview with Everfumed

Reducing the number of materials is not an end in itself. It is an approach to completing a perfume without losing the character of the original idea.

Creation is also a collaboration with the client: listening to comments and making adjustments to give shape to what the brand values. Constant says that continuing to meditate despite a busy schedule helps avoid working on autopilot and leaves room for new ideas.

Major Creations and Their Background

Ombré Leather: Black Leather with Flowers Within

Tom Ford’s Ombré Leather 16 is a 2016 creation. It was followed by Ombré Leather in 2018 and Ombré Leather Parfum in 2021.

At the core is a combination of black leather and jasmine sambac. Layering the glossy facets of flowers over hard, dry leather produces a sensuality that does not rely on weight alone.

In the 2018 version, cardamom, patchouli, and other materials support the contours of the leather; in the 2021 version, violet leaf and other ingredients broaden its green facets and texture. These are not simply changes in concentration, but different ways of presenting the theme of leather.

Pure Musc: Adding More Does Not Simply Make It Stronger

For Narciso Rodriguez’s For Her Pure Musc (2019), the brief was to make the musk at the heart of the brand stand out still more.

Constant had wanted to create a fragrance of musk alone since perfumery school. Yet musks mainly support the base of a fragrance. Adding more does not directly make the impression stronger.

“It is not simply a matter of tripling the musk heart. It is more complicated and more technical than that.”
From an interview with Everfumed

Contrasting floral and woody facets allow the musk to emerge within them. Constant says that realizing this fragrance required skills acquired over about 20 years.

Development took about a year, with Rodriguez and the development team checking the scent at each stage. Showing musk to its fullest, preserving the brand’s identity, and allowing the fragrance to be layered with others in the same range: several conditions lay behind a scent that feels simple.

La Belle and Le Beau: A Paradise Made by Two Perfumers

In 2019, Jean Paul Gaultier introduced La Belle and Le Beau. Both were co-created with Quentin Bisch.

La Belle is a sweet, rich fragrance built around pear, vetiver, and vanilla. Le Beau uses bergamot, coconut, and tonka bean to depict sensuality from another angle.

Rather than imposing one person’s style, the work involves sharing the brand’s world with another perfumer. Such collaborations also hold an important place in Constant’s career.

Angel Nova: A New Face of Rose

Mugler’s Angel Nova (2020) is a collaboration with Louise Turner and Bisch.

Centered on fruity raspberry, rose, and Akigalawood, it combines sweetness with woody strength. Its rose material is produced through a combination of extraction and biotechnology.

Even within the same flower, ingredient technology changes the facets that emerge. As with capturing the scents of flowers on journeys, Constant’s creativity encompasses possibilities arising from new materials.

Ella K: Perfumes That Begin with Travel Memories

Recording Personal Journeys in One’s Own Words

In 2017, Constant founded Ella K with her husband and traveling companion, Olivier Gagliardi. The first seven creations were widely introduced in 2018.

“Ella” comes from Ella Maillart, the Swiss traveler, photographer, and journalist. “K” is the initial of Kučera, the surname of Constant’s maternal grandfather. The name brings together women who ventured freely into the world and memories of Constant’s own family.

Alongside Maillart, Constant has been influenced by the lives of Karen Blixen, Alexandra David-Néel, Amelia Earhart, and others.

“Ella K is, above all, a state of mind. It is about looking at the world in a different, poetic way.”
From the official Ella K website

Travel is not only about moving far away. It also means changing familiar ways of seeing and getting to know oneself. The poems and landscape photographs accompanying the perfumes convey that idea through means other than scent.

The brand’s dragonfly motif was designed by Japanese artist Senjiro Nakata. Symbolizing transformation and courage, the dragonfly takes a shape reminiscent of the letter K.

Sagano, Ha Long Bay, and Florence

One of the initial creations, Poème de Sagano, grew from the bamboo groves of Sagano in Kyoto. Scents recalling yuzu, bamboo, and matcha depict the air experienced among the greenery. In 2024, it was also recognized in the international fragrance category of the Golden Osmanthus Awards.

Inspired by Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, Pluie sur Ha Long evokes lotus, magnolia, and the air by the water. Ambrofix and other materials support its fresh, dewy impression.

Baiser de Florence reflects an experience in Florence. Through iris and incense, memories of the city’s stone buildings, sacred spaces, and sweetness overlap.

Other journeys lead to Khao Sok in Thailand, Pushkar in India, the Altai in Mongolia, and Epupa in Namibia. Set side by side, the early collection reveals the course of Constant’s travels.

Three Winds Crossing the Desert

In 2021, Constant introduced three fragrances themed around winds: Harmattan, Ghibli, and Khamsin.

A dry wind blowing from the Sahara toward West Africa, a hot North African wind, and a wind of the Egyptian desert: their respective images are linked to the textures of leather and suede.

In Harmattan, geranium and cedarwood accompany leather; in Khamsin, orange blossom, dates, jasmine sambac, and other ingredients do so. To turn wind into scent, combinations of materials express coolness, dryness, heat, and softness.

Camélia K and Amber K

Camélia K (2023) was inspired by a red camellia encountered in Vietnam. Ginger and dragon fruit lead into a rich floral heart. Jasmine sambac, orange blossom, vanilla, patchouli, and other materials create a fullness suggestive of vivid color.

Amber K (2025) takes a more personal memory as its theme. It began with a desire, while traveling to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, to keep close the smell of the skin of a lover from whom Constant was apart.

Local tobacco, cigars, and the scent of spider lilies were layered with cocoa and tonka bean. A soft sweetness recalling skin and the depth of tobacco come together in one fragrance.

“It is very simple, and the formula is pared down to what is needed. It is a combination of tobacco, cocoa, and ‘human skin.’”
Interview with The Italian Rêve, 2025

Although it depicts a lover’s absence, the fragrance does not stop at sadness. Constant says it was also meant to include the strength of a woman passing through a difficult time. In the 2025 interview, Constant also revealed that the couple was together again.

Incidentally…

Gagliardi is Christine Nagel’s younger brother, making Constant and Nagel sisters-in-law. Nagel is one of the perfumers Constant admires, but when they meet as family, the two busy perfumers apparently talk about family rather than work.

A favorite film is Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love. Constant is drawn to the way it conveys love and sensuality through images and atmosphere rather than showing them directly.

“His films give me shivers. I want people to feel the same way with my perfumes.”
From an interview with The Perfume Society

In music, Constant names Buena Vista Social Club, and in books, Albert Cohen’s Belle du Seigneur. Other favorites include the Musée Rodin, Rome, and spring when the flowers bloom.

In daily life, Constant values healthy eating, coffee, yoga, and meditation, while also laughing about being clumsy and having a poor sense of direction. Even a perfumer who turns travel into fragrance can get lost. That human quality makes the personal memories behind the creations feel close to us.

Perfume Creations

Major creations are listed below. Versions with different creators, such as eau de toilette and eau de parfum editions, are distinguished.

Year	Brand	Fragrance	Co-perfumers / Notes
2006	s.Oliver	Sport 1 Female
2007	Crazylibellule and the Poppies	L’Olfactive 122, 127, 129
2008	Oscar de la Renta	Fresh Vanilla
2009	Guerlain	Aqua Allegoria Tiaré Mimosa
2010	Guerlain	L’Abeille de Guerlain
2010	Burberry	Sport for Men	Nathalie Gracia-Cetto, Antoine Maisondieu
2011	Carner Barcelona	Cuirs
2011	Les Liquides Imaginaires	Sancti, Fortis
2012	Kenzo	L’Eau 2 Kenzo Pour Homme
2013	Carner Barcelona	Rima XI
2013	Les Liquides Imaginaires	Dom Rosa
2013	Fragonard	Muguet
2013	Yves Rocher	Muguet en Fleurs
2014	Balmain	Extatic Eau de Toilette
2014	Montblanc	Emblem
2015	Lacoste	Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Yellow
2015	Tom Ford	Noir Extreme, Noir Pour Femme
2015	Narciso Rodriguez	For Him Bleu Noir
2016	Tom Ford	Ombré Leather 16, Orchid Soleil
2016	Coach	Coach the Fragrance Eau de Toilette	Nathalie Gracia-Cetto
2017	Valentino	Donna Noir Absolu
2017	Narciso Rodriguez	For Her Fleur Musc	Calice Becker
2018	Tom Ford	Ombré Leather
2018	Narciso Rodriguez	Narciso Rouge
2019	Jean Paul Gaultier	La Belle, Le Beau	Quentin Bisch
2019	Narciso Rodriguez	For Her Pure Musc
2020	Mugler	Angel Nova	Louise Turner, Quentin Bisch
2021	Tom Ford	Ombré Leather Parfum
2022	Narciso Rodriguez	For Her Musc Noir Rose
2024	Yves Rocher	L’Évidence	Marion Costero
2025	Narciso Rodriguez	For Her Intense

Ella K Creations

Year	Fragrance	Inspiration
2018	Baiser de Florence	Florence
2018	Brumes de Khao-Sok	Khao Sok National Park, Thailand
2018	Epupa Mon Amour	Epupa Falls, Namibia
2018	Lettre de Pushkar	Pushkar, India
2018	Mélodie d’Altaï	The Altai Mountains
2018	Pluie sur Ha Long	Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
2018	Poème de Sagano	Sagano, Kyoto
2019	Cri du Kalahari	The Kalahari Desert
2019	Mémoire de Daisen In	Daisen-in, Kyoto
2019	Reflet sur l’Okavango	The Okavango Delta
2021	Harmattan, Ghibli, Khamsin	Three winds blowing through the desert
2023	Camélia K	A red camellia in Vietnam
2023	Musc K
2024	Orchid K
2025	Amber K	Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
2026	Myrrh K