Kamila Lelakova
A UK-based perfumer at CPL Aromas whose work begins with materials, ideas and close discussion with evaluation and marketing teams.
About Kamila Lelakova
Kamila Lelakova is a UK-based senior perfumer at CPL Aromas. Her work spans fine fragrance and products for the home, bringing different practical requirements into the process of composing scent.
Career
She grew up among pine forests, mountains and fields of wheat and barley in Eastern Europe. At Aromatic Flavours & Fragrances in the United Kingdom, she began in fragrance evaluation and went on to train internally as a perfumer. Her training moved from the smell, composition and origins of natural and synthetic materials to accords and fragrances for different applications. Alongside that apprenticeship, she completed an ICATS Diploma in Aroma Trades Studies at Plymouth University. She joined CPL Aromas in 2019 following its acquisition of AFF.
Creative Style and Philosophy
For a client project, she begins by exchanging ideas with evaluation and marketing colleagues, then develops a direction and a concept. In her own work, an inspiration leads to an olfactory direction and key notes; the name considered afterwards also helps move the creation forward. Travel, cultural understanding and encounters with new materials are continuing sources of learning. She describes emotional involvement as part of both personal creations and work to a brief, and regards deciding when to stop as a particular challenge.
Signature Works
- *Defender* for Boadicea the Victorious: ginger, cognac and fruit lead into night-blooming jasmine, hay, leather and resins.
- *Crab Apple Blossom*, the contemporary version for Clive Christian: apple blossom, citrus, rhubarb and mint meet sandalwood and driftwood.
