To their big surprise, ‘Mademoiselle Organic’ doesn’t buy any perfume or cosmetics. Instead, she makes them herself – but only with organic ingredients.
Trained in Grasse, on the French riviera known as ‘la capitale du parfum’, Lily has been able to work with famous perfume makers such as Fragonard and Gallimard to name only a few.
A key question my students posed was: quel est votre parfum préféré?
They learnt that Lily prefers oriental notes, which are rich and exotic like vanilla, or floral notes such as rose or jasmine.
At a young age of 21, because of her very sensitive skin, Lily realised that most of the perfumes available used using synthetic products, and she grew very concerned about what she was going to put on her skin.
My class learnt that synthetic products are cheaper than natural ingredients, and some natural ingredients are banned because they come from animals.
They also came to understand that synthetic materials often offer the benefit of consistent quality, along with a scent that can be longer lasting.
So, Lily decided to create her own make up, skin care and perfume line.
‘Pourquoi êtes-vous venue en Australie?’
It’s interesting to notice that students are always amazed that French native speakers are coming to start a life or a business down under.
Lily came to complete her Master of Commerce at the University of Sydney then moved to Melbourne with her husband.
Students were curious to know about her start up experience in Australia: ‘it was much easier and less complicated to open a business down under than in France’, she replied.
Lily explained to my students that the nose has a very quick level of saturation, therefore it takes some time to create a perfume.
Being a creative, Lily was happy to start her own brand and organise workshops to teach people the secrets of making organic cosmetics and perfumes.
‘Combien de temps ça prend pour créer un parfum?’
Lily explained that the nose has a very quick level of saturation, therefore it takes time to create a perfume.
Very often you have to pause the process and the making of it can take a couple of months.
Also, when the perfume is finished, you need to let it rest to allow its fragrance to fully blend and mature.
Also, she does not use water in her products, which she explained is the secret to keeping the products longer on the shelf.
Students discovered that every year the flowers don’t smell the same, as their scent depends on the harvest and he weather. My students learnt that if perfume companies want to offer customers a perfume which has always the same scent, they need to use synthetic materials.
‘Quels sont les produits préférés des Australiens?’ asked one of my students.
‘Deodorants, shampoos and bath salts.’ Lily replied.
‘In the past, Australians chose organic ingredients to protect the environment, but nowadays, due to the increasing level of allergies in Australia, they take this step for their own health. Their main concern is that it must smell good.’
Finally, Lily finished with these beautiful words: ‘un parfum, c’est un peu comme une peinture mais au lieu des couleurs, on utilise des senteurs.’ (A perfume, it’s a bit like a painting but instead of colours, you use fragrances).
It is also true to say that each perfume is like a music score with different notes that come together as a whole.
These notes are divided into three categories, the first being ‘top notes’ (la note de tête). These are fresh, and the initial scent that you perceive right after application and which last for ten minutes.
Next up are the ‘middle notes’ (la note de coeur), which are the heart of the fragrance and develop after the top notes fade. These last for a couple of hours.
Finally, the ‘base notes’ (la note de fond) enter, the perfume’s lasting aroma that lingers for hours and the scent that remains at the end of the day.
To conclude this feel-good interview, we learnt that Lily is also an opera singer … but it was too late to go into that!
