Amelie Bourgeois
As a little girl, I lived a simple, peaceful life in France between the Landes beaches and the green fields of Picardy, where the air was filled with the sweet scents of cut wheat, Barbour jackets, earth, grease, sand, pine resin, horse dung and sun-dried grass… My nose was already alive, drinking it all in, even if I wasn’t really aware of it at the time.
After 3 years spent studying cosmetology, where fragrance was covered only briefly, I decided I simply had to know more about this. My first proper introduction to the world of fragrance came when I met the founder of Cinquième Sens, Monique Schlienger, in 2002. And something magical happened between fragrance, Monique and myself.
Working as an apprentice perfumer under her guidance for 3 years, I began to create my own “ranges,” working alongside my colleague Anne Sophie Behaghel. Binary, tertiary and quaternary accords were followed by Cologne compositions. Bringing together methyl salicylate, cedar and iris, I was able to recreate the olfactory signature of the fields of my childhood. It was a revelation! Soon, Monique Schlienger gave me free reign to fully express myself through scents. I stayed on at Cinquième sens as perfumer and trainer for a further 7 years. Following an olfactory meeting of minds with Martine Denisot, we decided to create FLAIR. Over and above fragrance, we share the same passion for the history, beauty and sensitivity/delicateness of raw materials.