Sonia Constant: Freedom Is My Ultimate Luxury

Written by Kristina Kybartaite-Damule

Interviews, awards, new launches, and numerous projects—this is the world of the renowned Master Perfumer Sonia Constant. In a conversation with PlezuroMag, she introduced her new fragrance Orchid K, discussed her work with famous clients, and revealed which perfumes hold special meaning for her.

Sonia Constant / Photo: Olivier Gagliardi

Finding someone who has never smelled a fragrance created by Sonia Constant would not be an easy task. Over her more than 20-year career as a perfumer, she has crafted around 200 fragrances, many of which are very popular and well-known in the fragrance community: a number of scents for Narciso Rodriguez, Tom Ford's Ombre Leather and Noir Pour Femme, Jean Paul Gaultier's La Belle, to name just a few.

In addition to her work with clients, she launched her own perfume brand, Ella K, in 2017, which has become especially beloved by niche perfume enthusiasts. One of its fragrances, Camélia K, was recently awarded the title of Most Extraordinary Fragrance of the Year by The UK Fragrance Foundation.

Needless to say, Sonia Constant is a very busy person, and finding time for the interview was not simple. Currently working on ten perfumes, she agreed to share with PlezuroMag readers insights into her daily life, the creation of Orchid K, and the differences between working for clients and her own brand.

In your career, you have created lots of very popular fragrances. How does it feel knowing that your work has become a part of so many people’s lives?

It's really a pleasure to be able to bring joy into people's lives. And yes, when I smell my fragrances on the street, it's very nice.

Could you tell us your story? When did you decide to become a perfumer?

Actually, I'm not from a family of perfumers. Before becoming a perfumer, I wanted to be a ballet dancer. I wanted to be an architect, fashion designer; I had many ideas but didn't know anything about perfumes. I didn't know this job existed. I discovered it in a book from ISIPCA. I found ISIPCA school and learned that they train you to become a perfumer. I loved to create, I loved to smell, I loved fragrances, so this job combined everything that I liked to do.

Sonia Constant / Photo: Ivan Kricak

I studied at ISIPCA and Givaudan Perfumery School. Then I started my career at Givaudan. I worked with Christine Nagel, who was my sister-in-law at the time. She's now a perfumer at Hermes. At ISIPCA I had a chance to meet good perfumers.

I have stayed at Givaudan since the beginning, and now for more than 20 years, I'm a perfumer at Givaudan.

In 2017, I created my own perfume house. After 20 years of working for my clients in the industry, I felt that I had more to say in my creations. I wanted to share more of my philosophical point of view. I was almost 40 years old, and I think it's an age where you review your life and realize what you have done and what you want to do or where you want to be. At this point in my life, I created Ella K. It gives me more freedom.

I was a huge traveler, and I wanted to share my travels through my perfumes. All of my perfumes tell about my travels. They also come with love poetry because I love to write poetry. They show my philosophical point of view and spirituality.

Sonia Constant / Photo: Aurélie Guisiano

And what do you enjoy most about having your own brand? You can do everything you want, everything you imagine, right?

Exactly. My mantra is that freedom is my ultimate luxury. I need freedom to express myself deeply, and I think it's when I'm free that I give my best work. In this industry, you're not really always free. Of course, when you work for clients, you do a service for the client, and there is also the DNA of the brands. I also love that. Today, I'm working with brands that I really love, especially Narciso Rodriguez, because I love the person, I love his work. He has a respect for the vision of women that shows in his work, and this is why I work so much for him.

I also work for Tom Ford, Gucci, Mugler, Jimmy Choo, and many more.

Sonia Constant / Photo: Olivier Gagliardi

You mentioned travels. Let's talk about the new one, Orchid K. It is about Lake Como, right?

Yes. I was there last summer in July, on my birthday. I was very inspired by an orchid I found near Lake Como. It smells like black vanilla orchid. I also played with the flowers which were next to the lake: magnolia, wild roses. At the end of the evening, because we had beautiful dinners, they served us marshmallows in a very elegant way, like a cloud. So, I added a touch of marshmallow to the fragrance.

Orchid K also has something philosophical, spiritual. It talks about the light and the shadow that you can face in life. Life is not always luminous or dark, of course. It's like the sky – sometimes it's cloudy, sometimes it's shining. Life is like this. There is no light without shadows and no shadow without light. So, Orchid K has very luminous notes like magnolia and roses, and more darkness like wood.

Look at the color of the bottle, which is like the lake at night in the moonlight. I think it makes sense to link the colors with the scent. For example, Musc K was white because it was about freshness and purity. It smells white and clean, so it made sense to make the bottle white.

Ella K Orchid K

And how long did it take to create Orchid K?

This one took six months. Sometimes it takes one year; some fragrances took me three years. This was quite rapid. But I think it's also because I've been a perfumer for 23 years, and I can very quickly find the right balance of what I have in my mind compared to 10 years ago, when creating a fragrance took more time to find the right balance.

Working in a fragrance industry for more than 20 years, could you point out what has changed the most?

We have lots of constraints: norms, costs, and sometimes limited budgets. We have many more projects than before. If you compare today to 10 years ago, there are so many more launches and not necessarily more perfumers in the industry. So, there's much more work. I have to say, the work of a perfumer today is not what it was 10 or 20 years ago. It's really busy.

I think there's also a trend of perfumers wanting to create their own houses, which says something about the industry.

Everything is fast, but it's really a job that needs time.

Do you have a special fragrance, something close to your heart?

When I create perfumes, I create them for people I love, like Musc K. For example, Blu Noire for Narciso Rodriguez is a fragrance I created for a man I love. My fragrances are really linked to something in my life; all of them mean something. Even Camilla K was a fragrance I created to be unforgettable. It's really about passion, a fragrance you cannot forget, that stays on the white shirt of your lover so he could never forget you.

Do you wear fragrances yourself now that you work as a perfumer?

Today, for example, I'm wearing the one I'm working on for the next launch for Ella K. So, I cannot say what it is. It's an ongoing project, not even finished. But I usually wear the future one, whether it is for Ella K or my clients. Wearing them helps me realize if the fragrance is good or not, and if I receive comments on them or not. So, for me, it's very important to wear the fragrance to see if it's finished. But then, of course, I come back to older perfumes. Camilla K, Orchid K, and Musc K are my favorites.

Sonia Constant / Photo: Aurélie Guisiano

Let's imagine how people will smell after 100 years. What will be in fashion?

I think we will have new molecules, new ingredients, and new technologies to capture or extract different smells. Certainly, there will be new families of fragrances.

Is there some perfume note you'd like to explore? Is there something you would like to create that you haven't done yet?

I think I would like to explore the orchid more. Even though I have worked with orchids on Orchid K, I have a real passion for these flowers because orchids have an incredible smell. I first smelled it in Singapore, in a garden with many orchids. With orchids, it's fun because you can smell anything, absolutely unexpected.

What does your day look like? You must be very busy. Do you have some projects you're working on?

When I arrive to work, I smell the bottom notes from the day before, many bottles. I smell them and correct them if needed on my computer. Then I re-smell the top notes and correct them.

The workplace of Sonia Constant / Photo: Aurélie Guisiano

I have maybe 10 projects at the same time. So, in my day, I can change and work on five projects in a day. Sometimes I need to go to the laboratory to smell some ingredients. Basically, I smell, correct, and smell again (laughs).

Of course, I have many interviews, and I work with clients to correct the fragrances according to their creative directions as well. Some clients are more precise in what they want, and some give more freedom.

Thank you for your time.