We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrew Everett. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrew below.

Alright, Andrew thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

After deciding I wanted to become a perfumer, I moved to Paris to study at ISIPCA (one of the few degree-granting institutions for this profession). Perfumery training is a long path and unfortunately there isn’t much to be done to speed up the process. I received 10 years of education before becoming a perfumer ( 4 years BA + 3 years MSc at ISIPCA + 3 internal training at IFF where I currently work).

Andrew, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I work as a Perfumer for International Flavors & Fragrances. Not many people think of this, especially in the US, but when you buy fragrance – whether its a perfume to spray on your skin, soap to wash your hands or body, shampoo, deodorant, laundry detergent, candle or even household cleaners – there’s was a person who created that scent. That’s what I do.

I am based in NYC and work primarily in Fine Fragrance (what most people think of when they think of a perfumer). I work for a large company that is referred to in the industry as as a fragrance house. Our primary focus is to create and sell scents to our clients. And though every client has their own way or developing the scents that they eventually launch, they often start (especially for the big brands) with a brief that is given to the different “houses” and then dispersed among perfumers where they begin creating to compete for the winning fragrance. The process, whether competitive or not can last anywhere from a week to several years.

My job as perfumer is to create fragrances. The creation process is composed of 3 main steps and makes up 75% of my working day.

1. Ideation – This is the time where I spend thinking about what I want to create. This process is informal and unspecified – as at any moment I can be brainstorming a fragrance formula and how I would like to create it and sometimes these ideas develop in minutes and other times it can be days (if not longer).

2. Creation – This is the actual time spent formulating, which is short in comparison to the first step. Though it would fair to mention that I usually do step 1 and step 2 in unison as its the most efficient way to work in a corporate 9 to 5 job. Its also the best way to not forget the ideas you just thought of.

3. Evaluation – Once my fragrance is created and applied to the appropriate base (alcohol for fine fragrance, wax for candle, shampoo for haircare, etc) its then time to smell. I generally make 3 mods (or trials) at a time, though depending on the project and progress I may do more or less. This way I can take the fragrance in different directions and see which way works and which way doesn’t. Sometimes I smell alone but often I smell with a person that is assigned to the project I am working on. In fragrance houses there are people employed to smell fragrances (just as I am employed to create them). They were once called evaluators but since they carry many responsibilities that go beyond simply evaluating, they are more accurately called scent design managers. Together the SDM and I will smell and decide on the next step – either we have a mod that is good enough to send to the client or and go further with another round.

The remaining 25% is allocated to meetings.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being able to create something that others are able to enjoy and appreciate.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Before I entered perfumery I was working in the art world. I was running a small gallery in Chelsea, NYC but when I discovered perfumery I knew that was what I wanted to do. I eventually quite my job as gallery director to pursue perfumery fulltime, not realizing it was going to take me 3 years to access the industry (and another 3 to get hired). There were periods when I had absolutely no money and almost gave up on perfumery all together. Needless to say, I am glad I didn’t, It takes a certain person to do what I did. – to give up a decent salary and respected career just to start all over in a field I knew nothing about – but if you’re a creative type you get it. Having money and stability is great but it will never be the driving force in my life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @andrewmakesscents