Jacques Polge was born in 1943. He was raised in Provence and summered in Grasse (see "Selected Quotes", below), and he has said that if he had lived in Paris or the north of France, he would never have become a perfumer or even have been aware of the profession.

Polge took a degree in English and literature before beginning an apprenticeship in perfume in Grasse, after which he went to work for Roure (now Givaudan). He has been the house perfumer at Chanel since 1978.

In 2013, Chanel announced that Polge would retire, and would be succeeded by his son, Olivier Polge.

Fragrances by Jacques Polge

Bourjois Soir de Paris (reformulated version, 1992, with François Demachy)
Chanel 1932 (2012)
Chanel 28 La Pausa (2007, with Christopher Sheldrake)
Chanel 31 rue Cambon (2007, with Christopher Sheldrake)
Chanel Allure (1996)
Chanel Allure Homme (1998)
Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche (2008)
Chanel Allure Homme Sport (2004)
Chanel Allure Homme Sport Cologne Sport (2007)
Chanel Allure Homme Sport Eau Extreme (2012)
Chanel Allure Sensuelle (2005)
Chanel Antaeus (1981)
Chanel Beige (2008)
Chanel Bel Respiro (2007, with Christopher Sheldrake)
Chanel Bleu de Chanel (2010)
Chanel Bois Noir (1987)
Chanel Chance (2002)
Chanel Chance Eau Fraiche (2007)
Chanel Chance Eau Tendre (2010)
Chanel Cristalle Eau de Parfum (1993)
Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte (2009)
Chanel Coco (1984)
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (2001)
Chanel Coco Noir (2012)
Chanel Coromandel (2007, with Christopher Sheldrake)
Chanel Eau de Cologne (2007, with Christopher Sheldrake)
Chanel Egoiste (1990)
Chanel Egoiste Platinum (1993)
Chanel Gardenia (reformulation)
Chanel Jersey (2011)
Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere (2007)
Chanel No. 18 (2007, with Christopher Sheldrake)
Chanel No. 19 Poudré (2011)
Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentrée (1988)
Chanel Sycomore (2008)
Chanel Une Fleur de Chanel
Emanuel Ungaro Diva (1982)
Emanuel Ungaro Senso (1987)
Frederic Fekkai Bouquet de Provence
Frederic Fekkai Eau du Jour
Tiffany Pure Tiffany (2003)
Tiffany Sheer Tiffany (1999)
Tiffany Tiffany for Men (1989)
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche (1970, with Michel Hy)

Selected quotes

I grew up in the South of France, near Avignon. I would go to Grasse for the summer with my family, and go to Cannes to swim in the ocean. From Nice to Cannes, to Grasse was a garden when I was a child. There were fields of rose, jasmine, violets, and orange blossom. It was the birthplace of perfumery. When you approached Grasse, you would smell the jasmine. Now you don’t, because there is much less production here, but then, flowers were everywhere. — From Chanel “Nose” Jacques Polge at Vanity Fair.

A brand only shows it's alive by creating new product. But we don't want to create too many new things because often new fragrances replace the old ones. We want our fragrances to complement each other, and to last. When we create something, we're always looking to the long term, we never do anything just for the short term. — From Channelling Chanel at The Scotsman.

Further reading

See all articles on Now Smell This tagged Jacques Polge.

Read Interiors: the Paris flat of the celebrated perfumer Jacques Polge at The Telegraph.