English translation included in the rights

The story of the rise of the modern perfume industry, by the perfumer to Hermès.

To insiders, perfumes correspond to fashion trends and reflect their time. They are a matter no longer simply of blending natural substances to find a beautiful scent, but are the stuff of chemistry in highly regulated labs and of manufacturers not just concentrated in towns such as Grasse in southern France, but spread around the globe in a multi-billion-dollar industry. In all this, Ellena explains, the people creating a scent remain true artisans.