Annie Buzantian

“In fact, I didn’t find perfumery, perfumery found me.”

One of my earliest memories from my childhood in Constanta is the smell of the Black Sea. We lived right by the beach. I remember waking up in the morning and going to the beach before anyone else was there… I could smell the water as it calmly washed over the shore. I loved the smell of the sea!

We left Romania when I was twenty years old. Coming to a new country and starting a new life was an exciting experience, full of new possibilities. Within the very first days after my arrival in New York, I started working as a laboratory assistant in a fragrance company, with the idea that I will very soon leave this job to continue the studies I had started in Romania.

Working in the lab was fascinating… mixing all those ingredients together to see what happened and how it all smelled like, was exciting. It was very much like mixing colors. I didn’t even know I wanted to be a perfumer, in fact I didn’t find perfumery, perfumery found me. Shortly after I started, I was asked to be trained as a perfumer by then Master Perfumer Elie Roger, who believed in me even before I knew I had any such gift. It happened this was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I am often asked where I get my inspiration from. In fact there is not one simple answer for that, at times, an inspiraition could come from a picture, a place, but in most cases from sitting at my desk and trying many different approaches. It takes a lot of time and it all starts with finding the right name for my creation. Many times, the collaboration with my client is a very important element of the creative process. Such is the story of my collaboration with Jan Ewoud of Puredistance. We shared an amazing and similar vision of what was to become my three creations for Puredistance: Puredistance I, Antonia and Opardu.

The story of Antonia is a perfect example of our collaboration. I’ll tell you the story: during one of our meetings, Jan Ewoud asked me for an idea for the next fragrance. I told him I had been working on and off on a beautiful green fragrance called Antonia. He looked at me in disbelief! He said he was already thinking about making a fragrance for his mother whose was Antonia and her favorite color was green. We looked at each other amazing by this coincidence. We started working together on this fragrance and when it was ready, it was launched with this name. It is this kind of moments that make what I do so special for me.

My best advice to an aspiring perfumer is that they need a lot of patience, perseverance and need to follow their instincts, instincts will never let you down. In my own work I do not follow trends in perfumery, I don’t believe in trends, I prefer and aspire to create a timeless fragrance. A timeless and well crafted fragrance will always transcend trends.

Nu eu am gasit parfumeria, ci parfumeria m-a gasit pe mine.

Unul dintre primele lucruri pe care mi le amintesc din timpul copilariei mele petrecute in Constanta este mirosul Marii Negre. Locuiam chiar langa plaja. Imi amintesc ca ma trezeam dimineata si mergeam pe plaja, inainte sa ajunga acolo oricine altcineva.. Inspiram mirosul apei care scalda, calm, tarmul. Adoram mirosul marii!

Am parasit Romania cand aveam douazeci de ani. Sa mergem intr-o tara nou si sa incepem o viata noua a fost o experienta incitanta, presarata cu noi posibilitati la fiecare pas. Inca din primele zile care au urmat sosirii mele la New York, am inceput sa lucrez ca asistent de laborator intr-o societate producatoare de parfumuri, cu ideea ca, in scurt timp, voi parasi acel loc de munca pentru a-mi continua studiile pe care le incepusem in Romania.

Dar am descoperit ca munca in laborator ma fascina… Era absolut captivant sa amestecam toate acele ingrediente laolalta pentru a vedea ce se intampla si pentru a descoperi cum urma sa miroasa tot acel melanj. Nici nu stiam ca imi doream sa fiu parfumier, de fapt, nu eu am descoperit parfumeria, parfumeria m-a gasit pe mine. La scurt timp dupa ce am inceput sa lucrez, mi s-a propus sa fiu instruita ca parfumier de catre Maestrul Parfumier la acea vreme Elie Roger, care a crezut in mine chiar dinainte sa fi stiut ca eram inzestrata cu un asemenea dar. Intamplarea a facut ca aceasta sa fie una dintre cele mai bune decizii pe care le-am luat in viata mea.

Intr-adevar, adeseori sunt intrebata care este sursa inspiratiei mele. De fapt, nu am un raspuns simplu la aceasta intrebare deoarece, uneori, inspiratia poate sa-mi vina de la o fotografie, de la un loc, dar, in majoritatea cazurilor, inspiratia imi vine in timp si totul incepe cu descoperirea numelui potrivit pentru creatia mea. De asemenea, de nenumarate ori, colaborarea cu clientul meu reprezinta un element deosebit de important al procesului creator. Cum este, printre altele, povestea colaborarii mele cu Jan Ewoud de la Puredistance. Am impartasit o minunata viziune similara asupra a ceea ce avea sa se materializeze in cele trei creatii pe care le-am conceput pentru Puredistance: Puredistance I, Antonia si Opardu.

Povestea pe baza careia a luat nastere Antonia este un exemplu perfect al acestei colaborari! Permiteti-mi sa v-o impartasesc: intr-una din intalnirile noastre, Jan Ewoud mi-a cerut o idee pentru urmatorul parfum pe care sa-l cream. I-am spus ca lucram de ceva vreme, cu intermitente, la un incantator parfum verde numit Antonia. S-a uitat la mine neincrezator si uimit! Mi-a spus ca se gandise deja sa creeze un parfum pentru mama sa pe care o chema Antonia, iar culoarea ei preferata era verde! Ne-am uitat unul la altul uluiti de aceasta coincidenta. Am inceput sa lucram impreuna la acest parfum si, cand a fost gata, a fost lansat cu acest nume. Tocmai asemenea de momente fac ca munca mea sa fie atat de speciala pentru mine.

Cel mai bun sfat pe care as putea sa-l ofer cuiva care aspira la cariera de parfumier este ca este nevoie de nespus de multa rabdare si perseverenta si ca trebuie sa-si asculte instinctele; instinctele nu ne dezamagesc niciodata. In activitatea mea, nu urmez tendinte in parfumerie. Nu cred in tendinte. Aspir la crearea unui parfum etern. Un parfum etern, mestesuguit cu gija, se va ridica deasupra oricaror tendinte.