Jean-Claude Ellena is an illusionist, a characteristic that has served to make him one of the world’s greatest perfumers and, since 2004, in-house composer for Hermès. Where other noses work with a palette of 1,000 or so materials, Ellena uses just 200; where the average modern fragrance contains more than 100 ingredients, his have 20. Alchemical genius that he is, Ellena deploys such small beginnings in ways that have changed the face of his discipline, most recently with the sublimely flinty Terre D’Hermès...
— Columnist Hannah Betts of the UK Times Online visits perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena in Scent of a man.
My husband and I were discussing perfumes and not because he has any interest. This is clearly my interest–he is just forced into a dialogue. Anyway, he thinks that someone like Jean-Claude Ellena doesn't make a lot of money off of the scents he creates because a house like Hermes owns them. I disagreed but then I starting wondering… Do you know? Not that it matters, but I think the he should make a large profit!
i'm pretty sure he is making over a million a year. or close to it.
Yes, Hermes owns the scents, in a way…although I would be surprised if JCE was not very well paid.
Yea he makes good fragrances and all but whats with the media whoring? It seems like almost every month Ellena is talking to the press and showing them his “not 2000 but TWO ingredients only!” scent strip trip. He needs to take a break from the media.
I agree, my wife always says to me: You should have been a nose, so a lot of money we coul earned, it is well payed for sure. I was tolking to the lady in the Via Verri Etro shop (only scents) and she told me that they have a huge laboratory and a lot of people there.
As for Elena, a friend of mine (owing me a lot of favores) surprised me for Christmaswith the Hermessence 4 fragrance set, and above Terre, Orange Vert Concentree, Jardan Med and JArdan sur le Nil now I enjoy those scents, even in TShirt, before going to sleap I feel so luxurios, yesterday I slept over with Ambre Narguile, Bravo Elena…
Savo
If JC Ellena was not well paid then for sure he would not work for Hermes anymore. Thanks to him Hermes has a revival in their perfume sales.
And as for all those interviews: who is interested in whom?
Think it's very nice when perfumers tell us their stories.
I love to read interviews with perfumers, so my complaint is not about how often JCE appears but about how many very good perfumers are almost never in the papers at all.
What a nice set, congrats! I am looking forward to the next “jardin” scent very much.
I agree with Robin. More celebrity perfumers! When Frederic Malle has a show on the Fine Living network we can start to complain (but I'd be watching).
In any case I'm betting its not JCE who is reaching out to the media, but the media who are doing their usual round of chase-the-latest — the stories have a sameness about them.
It is almost like the columnists know a couple of perfumer names, that's all. It is very disappointing.
Also guessing that Hermes goes after the publicity when they can…
Hello there,
I am the author of this interview and, first, I must say what a consummate honour it is to appear on NST.
Secondly, allow me to reassure you that British hacks, at least, are interested in a great range of perfumers, past and present, and that I, for one, have taken enormous pleasure in writing about them over the years. That said, I make no apology for finding Monsieur Ellena and his creations ceaselessly fascinating.
Thank you so much again: life sans Now Smell This would be unimaginably desolate.
HB, how nice of you to comment, and thank you for the very kind words. You certainly needn't make any apology to me, I find Monsieur Ellena endlessly fascinating myself, and anyway, the UK Times does a better job of covering fragrance than any other newspaper I know. In the US, other than the New York Times, we've almost no serious coverage of fragrance at all, and you tend to see the same few perfumer's names in the press over & over.