The last interview of Edmond Roudnitska
 Edmond Roudnitska - the legendary perfumer who studied with Ernest Bo himself and created a number of fragrant masterpieces ever become classics of perfumery. Roudnitska was born in 1905 in Nice and lived to be 90 years. I present to you the latest interview of Edmond Roudnitska taken him Natinal Geographic magazine in 1995.

I meet a man whom everyone believes the greatest perfumer. Edmond Roudnitska, who is now 90, already badly hears and sees, but the nose and good spirits he does not change.

Call Roudnitska perfectionist would be reckless understatement. For nearly seventy years, he has created a total of 17 perfumes were good enough, so he decided to share them with the world. But among these 17 fragrances are some of the most successful in the history of cosmetics, for example, Rochas Femme . Diorissimo . Eau Sauvage   and his "pet" Diorella .

"Anyone can create a sweet scent - he says of modern perfumery. - The trick is to create a fragrance that would have had a soul.   And it's not mixing the ingredients in any alchemy. Most of my time is occupied by reflection and deliberation, during which, and to invent a new perfume. Sometimes, I never smelled anything for months. "

"You can not overestimate the importance of simplicity - suddenly he adds. - Now I'll show you something." With astounding agility he gets up from the table and left the room and returned a minute later with a long blotter - a strip of paper - and waved it in front of my nose, just a little bit, so that I did not feel anything at first. But a moment later my nostril has reached an amazing and delicate scent of violets. " Just five ingredients! "- Says Roudnitska ignited and boyish, shameless pride.

The smell is very persistent and as intoxicating. I wonder if we can expect to see it soon in stores. "Oh God, no! - Laughing Roudnitska. - This is my first attempt at creating a perfume. I still have a lot of work on it."

When we leave, I ask Roudnitska whether his inspiration for the natural scents of Provence. I have heard many times that the luxurious flavors of this province - a long, neat rows of lavender, mimosa luxurious gardens, the soft scent of cherry blossom - the heat affected the creative perfumers in the region. But Roudnitska just grins: "This is what I tell you, I've created Femme   in 1943 in Paris, in the most terrible days of the war, the building, which on one side was a garbage dump, and on the other - a chemical plant. "

Edmond Roudnitska began studying perfumery in Grasse in 1926, moved to Paris in 1927, where he continued his studies. In 1946 he founded the Art et Parfum, perfume private creative laboratory. Edmond Roudnitska is the author of such fragrances as Femme   and Moustache   by Rochas, Eau Fraiche . Diorissimo . Eau Sauvage . Diorella   and Dior-Dior   by Christian Dior.

Original text: National Geographic
Photo source: Art et Parfum
Translation: Ludmila Lavrushina

Author: Lyudmila Lavrushina