I
THE MIND
BEFORE THE
FORMULA
Richard Herpin
Founder & Master Perfumer
The composition exists before it is made.
Long before the first material is weighed, Richard has already formed a sense of the fragrance — its direction, proportion, tension and emotional character.
For Richard Herpin, fragrance begins with direction and takes shape through knowledge, proportion, judgment and time.
II
A STANDARD
FORMED
OVER TIME
Discipline before expression.
Judgment is sharpened over time — through material knowledge, practice and the repeated comparison of one decision against another.
Discipline
Composition demands structure, material knowledge and a clear standard for what belongs — and what does not.
Practice
Judgment is sharpened through composing, comparing and revising — experience accumulated through repeated decisions.
Selected recognition
Recognition follows the work.
Across a career in perfumery, Richard’s work has been recognized by the industry. These objects are not the story of the work; they are evidence of a standard sustained over time.
III
THE PRACTICE
OF JUDGMENT
The work is not finished when it is mixed.
An instrument with thousands of keys.
A piano offers eighty-eight keys.
Perfumery offers thousands.
The work is choosing, combining and proportioning them until the composition holds.
Materials create possibility. Knowledge brings structure. Judgment gives the composition its character.
01 — 04
Materials are understood by behaviour, not by name
Proportion is defined, then tested against itself
Variations are compared side by side
As much is removed as is added
05 — 08
The fragrance is worn, not only assessed
Development is followed across hours and days
Distance is allowed to expose what proximity hides
Revision continues until the character holds
Evaluation
The imagined composition has to hold in the air.
Richard evaluates by comparison — one variation against another, one proportion against the next. What begins as an internal composition is tested, revised and returned to until its character holds.
IV
TIME,
REVISION,
RELEASE
When a composition is ready
We don’t rush to release our creations. We live with them and wait to see whether we love them more over time.
V
CLOSING