Julie Massé
A Tokyo-born French MANE perfumer known for luminous florals, woods, and amber contrasts.
France
About Julie Massé
Julie Massé is a French perfumer born in Tokyo, with family roots in Grasse, the historic centre of French perfumery. She works in MANE's fine-fragrance division, composing for fashion houses and independent perfume brands.
Career
Massé grew up in a family closely tied to fragrance: her father, Philippe Massé, is a perfumer, while the family's connection to the Grasse trade reaches back to a great-grandfather who cultivated geranium in Algeria. She trained with Pierre Bourdon and has worked as a perfumer at MANE since 2010, combining inherited knowledge with the company's contemporary materials and extraction technologies.
Creative Style & Philosophy
Her earliest scent memories come from childhood in Japan: tatami, wood, paper screens, grasses, and tea. Those dry textures still echo in her fondness for woods, while the orange tree—from zest and leaf to blossom—is another recurring source of inspiration. Massé describes working quickly and instinctively, often beginning with visual references or mood boards; luminous white florals set against warm woody amber are a characteristic contrast in her palette.
Signature Works
- *Sì Passione* — a vivid interplay of vanilla, flowers, and fruit, recognised by the Accademia del Profumo.
- *Thé Yulong* — a tea fragrance that balances the brightness of green tea with smoky, spicy black tea.
- *Muschio Mineralis* — a musk-and-amber composition co-created with Mathilde Bijaoui for Gucci's Alchemist's Garden collection.
