Meet Cécile Zarokian: The independent French perfumer breaking outdated norms in the industry.
Scent is power. It possesses the most extraordinary ways of bringing thoughts, feelings, memories, and experiences together into split seconds, as endorphins and emotions rush into our brain, our past and present merging to come together and remind us of life’s small joys - the freeze frame of a moment in time, filled by a spectrum of chemicals. If you have ever experimented with expanding your olfactory senses, you probably have experienced a scent that French independent perfumer Cécile Zarokian has created. Spanning a hefty catalogue and being the master of creation of over 80 exclusive scents, her work has taken on unique contexts across the world, by crafting emotions through capturing memories and nostalgia in the most subtle of ways.
However, starting out in this industry was no easy feat for her. “I kept on pushing myself to go forward, to not stop, and to not give up, as I was one small independent creator racing against giants in an industry that has archaic morals, and still does not allow women into a boys club.” As she trained in ISIPCA (one of the most prestigious perfumery academies in France), she started working with a scent legend Michel Almariac, who was her gateway key to breaking through the industry, and learning about the moving parts of the business.
Now, almost 15 years later since starting out as a perfumer apprentice, Zarokian has carved her own unique spot in the industry - doing it all as an independent creator, on her own terms. Speaking to Perfect, she talks about the importance of trusting your instincts, and questioning everything, and shares her honest truth about making it, shifting outdated understandings of a male-dominated industry from within.
Angel: Cecile, tell me a bit about how you first got into perfumery and this limitless world of scent?
Cécile Zarokian: It was actually pretty unconventional. I first started with medicine, my father was a doctor, and I always wanted to be a pediatrician. So, I went to med school, and at one point, I was done. I didn't want to go further with it, and coincidentally I met a friend of a friend who told me about the perfume school that she was attending called ISIPCA (Institut Supérieur International du Parfum, de la Cosmétique et de l'aromatique Alimentaire), which was founded by Jean-Jacques Guerlain in 1970. I took on a master's degree that also included an internship, which was where you really learn in the tricks of the trade. I was lucky enough to be trained by a senior perfumer where I was able to start working on smaller and more exclusive projects. In big companies, oftentimes you are doing smaller groups like bodycare, homecare, or fabriccare and projects are separated by levels, so only senior individuals were able to work on higher-level briefs, whilst I was able to work across the board and learn the different nuances.
After spending years of learning, the iconic perfumer Michel Almairac offered me a spot at Robertet Paris, and I ended up spending four years there before its merger. As the merger began happening, a lot of people were let go and I knew I couldn't stay. It was right in the middle of a bigger economic crisis, so the market was already quite tough. A lot of the bigger companies during that period turned to a much smaller staff structure, and positions like mine were very rare to become vacant, and when they do, these positions will be filled by the daughter or son of a perfumer, or of a major client, so the reality of breaking through was much harder.
At one point, I started calling every contact I knew and trying to seek advice and find a way through this tough time. What ultimately helped me move forward was the fact that I was given permission to work on a bigger fragrance projects during my time with Robertet, and I was able to specifically work on Amouage's Epic Woman fragrance, and sign it off, becoming the biggest project in my portfolio. I was so lucky to be able to be one of the main creators, because at the time I didn't even have the official title of a perfumer, and I still was able to sign off the scent.
In the midst of looking frantically for a new position, I was just thinking about how I must not let myself stop and I had to keep going, I had nothing to lose. I contacted the perfumeries that were selling Epic Woman at the time, and I pitched myself, presenting my newly started company, slowly gaining each client and beginning to work on more fragrances. It is still quite tough being a woman in this business, because I am not just a perfumer, I am also a CEO and have to look after multiple moving parts.
Angel: You have really seen the ins and outs of the industry, and have worked your way up to the top position that you're in now, but for the first couple of years it was only you operating solely. What was your biggest challenge during that time?
Cécile Zarokian: Back in the day, there were almost no independent perfumers. The biggest challenge was at the very beginning, competing against my previous company. The biggest concern coming into it was that they had their reputation and the resources to develop new scents, whilst I was still small and independent, and I had to charge fees for the creation process, whilst they can do it for free, and make their margin later from selling the bulk of product. I really wanted to prove to myself and the industry, and be taken seriously, because back in the day people looked down on independent perfumers and did not give them the same levels of respect.
Our industry is on two polarising ends of the spectrum - you have giants who have the budgets and the manpower to produce and then you have independent creatives with bigger concepts and ideas, however it is very difficult for them to make money and pay for the creation and raw materials of their work, and developing from that is the biggest challenge I had to face. Luckily for me, slowly but surely my creations got produced and became bestsellers for a few brands, so I was able to grow and have more people interested in my way of working. did some words, and it's not and then it was some bestsellers for quite a few brands that were smaller and then get got bigger with bigger brands. I will always remember how difficult it was to be able to find people who will trust me and my concepts enough to allow me to develop scents for them, as this space is extremely competitive. When thinking about the biggest fragrance competitions, you have to pay millions in order to compete, and nothing is certain.
Angel: The industry has shifted greatly, with more and more attention towards fragrances and specifically niche and custom perfumery. What is your opinion on the industry and the business, how is that changing nowadays?
Cécile Zarokian: One thing that I learned that surprised me tremendously in the way that works was definitely the way of communicating in the industry. As a business I work mostly in a B2B manner with other businesses, so understanding how to put myself out there was definitely a learning curve. Understanding how people search and find perfumers helped me understand how to position myself, and how to create channels of communication where people can see and understand the ins and outs of my work. I now have someone on my team that is responsible for all PR and communication, but at the beginning it was only me trying out new things and learning on the go.
The fragrance business is very similar to how fashion operates, which means that the people tend to move from house to house, and they carry their legacy and name with them across. I was very lucky to be able to interact with people who began following me and interacting with me about my work, getting their thoughts and feelings in something so intimate like a scent, which brings different unique associations to each individual. I think COVID changed the way people interact with beauty, so that opened a big opportunity for me to connect with the customers by hosting workshops, different talks and generally showing my creative process publicly. People crave direct relationships with the creators, and they want to immerse themselves into their world.
Angel: What do you look forward to in the year coming up?
Cécile Zarokian: Well, the most exciting projects I have coming up I can't really talk about! However, I am really looking forward to the launch of a line of hair fragrances with a major brand, and a big project with an Italian fashion house. I am excited that my work has led me to a place where I am able to look into the future and work on long-term projects, and seeing also fragrances that I have developed like Royal Tobacco by Amouage and Epic Woman carrying on a legacy, and being loved by different groups of people for different reasons, it really puts into perspective the joy and love behind what I do.