PERFUMER Q&A:

with Richard Herpin, MANE

How can people incorporate fragrance into their routine when staying home?

Right now we need scents for comfort, for remembering good times and escaping.  Also, working from home may give people freedom to wear scents that they don’t allow themselves to wear as often as they might like.  I hope people are taking advantage of this time to wear whatever makes them feel good—and I don’t just mean pajamas!

What are some ingredients used to promote calm and relaxation, other than the most talked about ones like lavender?

Aromatherapy is part physiology and part Pavlov:  what do you personally associate with an aroma. Any fragrance that makes you feel calm–it can be incense, patchouli, it can be something far from obvious and intensely personal.

How has or will your creative process change due to the current global situation? 

This is a time for simple gestures of kindness, for caring for your loved ones. Being able to enjoy and be grateful now puts me in the right frame of mind. I’m having vivid dreams and memories of the past, so I can dig deeper.  In my work, I’m focusing on what is essential.  I find myself writing shorter, simpler formulas.

Where are you finding your inspiration in the new normal?

I try to focus on some positive things that are happening in the middle of difficult things. The city is quiet; the air is clean; around the world, the environment shows signs of healing. Here in America, you always feel that something new is coming, the way America has reinvented itself, again and again— we’ve all had to adapt, we will continue to adapt. I choose to embrace positive, feel-good fragrances.