Henri Sorsana: The Perfume Mentor Who Helped Shape Goutal’s Beginnings

A Life in Perfumery

Fascinated by perfume, Henri Sorsana was given the opportunity to work at Robertet (in Japanese), where Sorsana trained under Johnson Paul, a perfumer who loved the work. They worked together for three and a half years. As Henri recalled, there was an examination every six months, each more difficult than the last.

Once the foundations of perfume creation were in place, Henri soon headed to Paris. In 1967, together with Gérard Goupy, Henri launched Balafre for Lancôme.
In 1978, together with L’Artisan founder Jean Laporte, Henri created Mûre et Musc. It is one of L’Artisan’s earliest fragrances still in existence today.

Henri subsequently worked at Robertet for 30 years. During this time, Henri met Annick Goutal (in Japanese), helped her talent blossom, and together they created perfumes including Eau d’Hadrien, Heures Exquises, Passion, and Sable.

Henri then moved to Haarmann & Reimer (in Japanese), where fragrances for Givenchy (in Japanese) and Valentino (in Japanese) proved successful. After five years, Kao Corporation hired Henri to train young Japanese perfumers and establish the groundwork for perfume sales, laying the foundations for a successful business.

Henri created perfumes for fashion brands such as Lancôme, Ted Lapidus, Cacharel, Fath, Guy Laroche, and Armani, particularly within the L’Oréal group, as well as fragrances for cosmetics, shower gels, soaps, and other products for brands such as Elsève, Obao, Menen, Vichy, Garnier, Mixa, and Eau Jeune.

Perfume Creations