Jean-Michel Santorini
A Robertet perfumer since a career beginning in 1986, exploring materials and historical themes.
About Jean-Michel Santorini
Jean-Michel Santorini is a perfumer whose career developed at the fragrance company Robertet. His credited work ranges from compositions centred on a floral material to a fragrance portraying a historical figure. He describes perfumery as a meeting of chemistry and alchemy that makes it possible to create a dream.
Career
Santorini began his career at Robertet in 1986. He first worked as an assistant, then moved through an analytical department before becoming a perfumer. This progression gave him experience of materials and their analysis before he entered fragrance creation. His compositions include work for Perris Monte Carlo and Nobile 1942, bringing different themes into the distinctive collections of those houses.
Creative Style & Philosophy
Scientific knowledge of materials and the imaginative possibility of scent are both present in Santorini's account of his profession. His osmanthus composition explores the fruit, flower and leather-like expressions of the material. A contrasting historical portrait draws on the life of a ruler, connecting woods, flowers and food aromas with the culture of a city. These compositions show how a material or a story can provide different starting points for his work.
Signature Works
- *Absolue d’Osmanthe* — Explores osmanthus through its fruity, floral and leather-like facets for Perris Monte Carlo.
- *Nobile 26* — Portrays Charles of Bourbon in Naples through woods, coffee and floral shades.
