Antoine Maisondieu: Making Beauty and Poetry into Accessible Fragrance

Perfumery Career

Antoine Maisondieu was born into a family of perfumers in Grasse in 1969. Both Maisondieu’s father and grandfather worked as perfumers at Charabot (in Japanese), and Maisondieu’s maternal grandfather was Albert Camus, the famous novelist and philosopher.

Maisondieu initially attended law school, but was absorbed in cinema and photography and had no interest in law. Rather, even a master’s degree in law was not enough to satisfy Maisondieu’s thirst for art.
Because Maisondieu’s father already worked in the perfume industry, it was not a career Maisondieu had considered; perfume seemed less creative than cinema or photography, merely a matter of marketing and chemistry. Part of the background to this may have been the divorce of Maisondieu’s parents when Maisondieu was seven, after which Maisondieu moved to Nice together with Maisondieu’s mother.

However, during an internship at Givaudan (in Japanese), Maisondieu met Jacques Chabert, an acquaintance of Maisondieu’s father. (Chabert is a perfumer for Molton Brown (in Japanese) and Tom Daxon. In 2006, CNN stated that Chabert had created Guerlain’s Samsara, puzzling many enthusiasts and deepening the mystery. The facts remain unclear.) Through this meeting, Maisondieu discovered how perfume could express personal creativity and awakened to the art of perfumery.

On discovering the artistry of fragrance, Maisondieu promptly enrolled at the Givaudan Perfumery School (in Japanese) and began working as a perfumer at Givaudan (in Japanese) in 1989. Maisondieu prefers to compose alone or as a pair and is said to be well suited to collaborative perfumery, not insisting on personal ego when placed on a team to create a fragrance.

I often find niche perfumery boring and overpriced. There are a few exceptions, such as Comme des Garçons and L’Artisan. What I like are perfumes that are approachable for everyone and reasonably priced.

Antoine Maisondieu

A perfumer is a specialist in beauty and poetry. Yet there is also the ever-present aspect of very cruel competition.

Antoine Maisondieu

Read more detailed information about Antoine Maisondieu (in French)

Fragrance Creations

I do not make copies of perfumes, even when I am creating a perfume for a highly commercial brand and the purpose is precisely to do business.

Antoine Maisondieu

Year	Brand	Name	With
2000	Gucci	Gucci Rush for men	Daniela Andrier
2004	Giorgio Armani	Armani Code	Antoine Lie
2004	Giorgio Armani	Prive Eau de Jade
2006	Burberry	London for men
2006–2007	Etat Libre d’Orange	Encens & Bubblegum, Jasmin et Cigarette, Vraie Blonde, Yes I do Don’t Get Me Wrong Baby, Noel au Balcon, Fat Electrician
2008–2016	Comme des Garcons	Monocle Scent One: Hinoki, Monocle Scent Two: Laurel, Monocle Scent Three: Sugi, Play Black, Play Green, Play Red, Wonderoud, Blackpepper
2009	Acqua di Parma	Magnolia Nobile
2009–2014	Van Cleef & Arpels	Collection Extraordinaire Muguet Blanc・Rose Velours・California Rêverie
2010	Lanvin	Marry Me
2013	Bottega Veneta	Pour Homme	Daniela Andrier
2014	Tom Ford	Velvet Orchid	Yann Vasnier&Calice Becker & Shyamala Maisondieu
2014	Victoria’s Secret	Forbidden	Aurélien Guichard
2015	Valentino	Donna	Sonia Constant
2018	Essential Parfums	Nice Bergamote
2019	Montblanc	Explorer	Olivier Pescheux & Jordi Fernandez
2020	Coach	Dreams	Nathalie Gracia Cetto&Olivier Pescheux&Shyamala Maisondieu
2020	Jimmy Choo	I Want Choo	Sonia Constant&Louise Turner
2021	Ferragamo	Intense Leather, Spicy Leather