Through Fumes and Senses: An Interview with Perfumer Suzy Larsen

by: John Biebel

I first became aware of Suzy Larsen, independent perfumer, while interacting with her on a perfume group online. She was making one of her bottles of perfume available for a promotional giveaway, and I could not help but become mesmerized. The scent,Raincoast, had such a simple name, and yet I was instantly transported to a different world, contemplating the green juice, which bears such a strong resemblance to the classic versions of Emeraude, that wonderful transparent olive green. I knew immediately that I had to explore the world within Suzy Larsen’s work.

After receiving a few bottles and samples, my interest grew and the complexities of natural perfume once again revealed themselves to me. Suzy Larsen Perfumes cover a wide territory of scent landscapes and states of memory, weaving between present and past, using an expansive palette of botanical substances. There is a wonderful density and potency to these scents, and they waft from the skin like a slowly unfolding Chinese fan, a transparent wall of lushness. Though each perfume is distinct, Suzy has placed her hands deeply into the process and made something that is distinctly her own, a signature on each perfume that speaks to her own love of material and classic perfumery.

I was fortunate to ask many questions in an email interview with her, as we began to emerge from the long winter that was holding many of us back here on the east coast. Our conversation took shape like the blossoming of the snowdrops—all so fitting for these natural perfumes, and for my growing understanding of the mysteries of natural perfuming. She shares generously from her experiences, pulling together the many influences that have become her companions on a voyage.

John Biebel: Ms. Larsen, you are a natural perfumer working on the west coast of Canada—what brought you to the world of perfume creation—anything in particular, or was it series of events?

Suzy Larsen (left): Thank you, John, for taking the time to learn about me, my philosophy towards perfumery and my business. Raised on a ranch in the wide-open prairie of Southern Alberta, I am a farm girl at heart. It makes me chuckle to think how far my humble roots are from the sophistication and glamour of the “big city” especially places like Paris and New York. How could a farm girl possibly aspire to create in a field that sells some of the most luxurious and beautiful products known?  I grew up surrounded by the scent of livestock from the barnyards, diesel fuel from the tractors, dust and hay from the fields, and the leathery sweat from the horse sheds. Driving combine with my dad during harvest was an especially fragrant time, as I loved sticking my head out the tractor window to inhale the scent of grain as it filled the hoppers. These scenarios imprinted some fantastic olfactory memories on me leading to my curiosity and wonder about all things aroma. As a welcome change to the sometimes-unpleasant odours of farm and ranch life, my Mother spoiled me every Christmas with high end perfumes like Paloma Picasso, L'Interdit, Chanel No. 5and 22, and Rive Gauche among others.

Years later after becoming interested in natural healing, I studied to become an Aromatherapist and learned about the amazing healing properties of essential oils. But aromatherapy turned out to be a vehicle to a more all-encompassing passion—creating perfume. At the same time I was studying aromatherapy, I was also studying astrology. The two somehow intertwined and I began making astrological signature scents for everyone that crossed my path. I would look at the chart and find corresponding essential oils that would help balance or strengthen planets or elements that operated in excess or deficiency. This ancient practice of using herbs and oils to fortify a weak character in the astrological character was practiced by Hippocrates and other key players in the history of western medicine. I just thought I would take it one step further and make a beautiful perfume from the information.  

Perfume making was taken to a whole new professional level when I trained with theNatural Perfumery Institute a few years back. Since then I’ve been building my business while raising my spirited 5 year old daughter, Coco.

JB: You have chosen to work with all-natural ingredients in your perfumes. Can you tell me about this decision, and what this means for you as a perfumer? Does it help you focus your palette of choices?  Is there a philosophical emphasis to your decision to work as an all-natural perfumer?  

SL: I started creating perfumes with the materials I had available to me as an aromatherapist—at the time I wasn’t even aware that synthetic chemicals could be used by a layperson much less what they were. In fact, I’m still amazed at the complexity of some of the aromatics like Rose or Jasmine, which will sometimes have hundreds of chemical constituents contained within a single molecule. Since I was intimately familiar with and connected to their richness, complexity and depth, I found it quite nostalgic to keep with the 18th century (and earlier) tradition of creating perfumes using only natural ingredients. That is not to say I’m against using synthetic materials in perfumes. I’m very curious and even have a list of some aromachemicals that I’d like to test out one day.  Some of my favourite perfumes have them in abundance and I appreciate the amazing effects they can bring to a perfume. I just think that natural perfumes have something very unique to offer and explore as well. And not surprisingly, my craft continues to reflect my love and respect for the healing capacity of essential oils—a quality generally absent from synthetics. When I’m blending, the effects of this oil or that oil on the mind are never more than a thought away.

JB: What do you think are some of the advantages of being a niche perfumer today?

SL: There’s something very personal and charming about buying perfume from a smaller operation where the perfumer is very central if not directly responsible for every aspect of its creation from blending to marketing. When I’m scouting out my next purchase I’m not only interested in the perfume and what it smells like but also the person that made it and the story that might accompany it—that’s exciting because it makes the whole experience bigger and brighter and more complete for me. I think there’s also a freedom available to a niche perfumer who very likely could be inspired by absolutely anything they might encounter in the day and begin bringing their vision to light immediately in the workshop without doing extensive market research.

JB: When you think of the array of natural elements in front of you, are there some that really stand out as particularly beautiful, impressive, versatile?  Are there some oils that you consistently reach for to inspire you?

SL: Hay absolute and Hyraceum (Rock Hyrax) are two of my favorite ingredients since they both remind me of the scents I encountered living on the ranch.  Hyrax is especially versatile and impressive since it’s an animalic essence reminiscent of civet, castoreum and musk that can be collected cruelty-free (the material scent is contained in this small animal’s dropping)—for me it smells like the cattle corals I tromped through in my younger days. Fir Balsam absolute reminds me of the coast with its lush foliage and mossy forests—there’s a slightly sweet facet that reminds me of sherbet or jam. I’d been making perfume for a few years when I started using Galbanum-eureka! Green, bitter, fresh, tart and smart.  How did I ever live without you?  I’m also very fond of Lavender absolute from Bulgaria and Seville. Nigella damascena is a current love that’s rich, floral, fruity, ambery, honey-like and dirty. I could create a whole perfume with this beauty. In fact, Pomona’s Garden, soon to be released, has a healthy shot of Nigella.

JB: I notice that your perfumes seem to draw from a sense of "place" or geography ... what does setting or location have to do with smell for you?  I think in particular of Basque and Raincoast.

SL: One of the most powerful aspects of travel for me is experiencing new smells. I remember many times getting off a plane, deeply inhaling the new aromas, and feeing reawakened. I want my perfumes to elicit a similar response. I’m not trying to replicate the exact smell from some exotic place but I am doing my best to pinpoint the feelings represented by that place.   

JB: Basque is an extremely deep scent—like being inside the heart of a flower or a fruit, and it's evaporating outward in a cloud. Can you tell me something about how you approached this scent?  

SL: Basque was actually the very first scent that I made with the intent to market. Many years ago I began reading about a very interesting and culturally diverse group of people from the Basque region—an area that extends from south-western France to northern Spain. Apparently this culture was originally matriarchal where the women had substantial influence in decision-making. I wanted to create a perfume that reflected a tender feminine strength that could be used to coax harmony and beauty out of the world rather than subdue or conquer it. This strength I believe can be found in both men and women and it’s ultimately why I feel this Classic Chypre is a unisex fragrance. Deep, I know.

JB: Raincoast seems to be a personal scent—reading about it, it reflects your attachment to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Tell me something about this setting and how it translated into scent for you.

SL: Most of my life was spent on the prairies of Southern Alberta but when I visited Vancouver Island for my honeymoon I immediately fell deeply for the rich, mossy, marine-like scent of the coast—especially the Pacific Rim National park, a temperate rainforest. Raincoast is my fantasy olfactory impression of the area that keeps singing in my head wherever I may be.

Nanaimo skyline

JB: Ishiki, the Japanese-inspired perfume of yours, is very mysterious. It is very hard to pin down—not too floral, not too woody, but distinctly oriental. It's an intriguing mix of peppers, yet has a sweet lightness to it. What can you tell me about Ishiki?  

SL: I tried very hard to reach a balance between many different facets in Ishiki—floral, wood and spice specifically. I could say it almost represents a microcosm of the balance we hope to achieve in life. Ishiki is a perfume meant for reflection and meditation on our senses.  I was thinking how we can sometimes get so caught up in the busy-ness of life that we forget to breathe and seek inward solace from the stress. By focusing on scent, imagery, touch, taste and sound we are able to move inward and become aware of our breathing and perhaps slow down the world to some degree for a few minutes.

JB: The scent Carnival has a classic blending of floral and leather, something that reminds me of the very early Christian Dior and Hermès perfumes. It's playful but has a serious heart. Do you think the floral-leather is must have for most perfume wearers?

SL: Thank you for finding any comparison to such iconic perfume houses. I love contrasting the romance and innocence of florals with the sensual animalism of leather. Both are heightened and become something greater. I imagine if this scent were to speak it would say, “I’m sweet, beautiful and classic but don’t mess with me because I’ve got secrets up my sleeve.”  Floral is nice but adding some complex contrasting elements kicks it into a whole new gear.

JB: I was thinking recently about this dialog going on between the need to preserve rare plants and species, but also the allure of rare natural materials for perfumery. Do you think there is a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of perfumers today, having to juggle these differing ideas? Politics seems to be encroaching into perfumery.

SL: My personal belief is that all businesses today including perfumers need to strive to be good stewards of the earth. Protecting biodiversity is essential so choosing ethically harvested and sustainable materials is imperative. Small business natural perfumers can do something else too. I’m greatly inspired by leading natural perfumer, educator, author, and president of the Natural Perfumers Guild, Anya McCoy, who believes that by growing our own natural materials for perfumes we are operating in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. This is happening worldwide more and more and ultimately removes the burden from big agricultural corporations who may be doing harm to the earth by over-harvesting. Anya, for example, grows ylang ylang, champaca and other rare plants on her own small piece of land. She explains that this practice “returns us to the days of old, when priests/perfumers/alchemists grew as much as they could for their art.”  Another perfumer I admire for her business innovation is Barb Stegemann, CEO of The 7 Virtues, a Canadian beauty and fragrance company that began by sourcing essential oils distilled from legal crops to provide an alternative to the illegal poppy crop for farmers. Barb is on a personal mission to encourage other businesses to source essential oils from countries that are rebuilding. Her powerful slogan is “Make Perfume Not War.”  

JB: Does the fact that you work in Canada have a particular influence on your work? Do you think it brings a particular flavor to your work that would not be the same somewhere else?

SL: I think every place on earth has its own unique signature scent or terroir (or, “sense of place”) that imprints its olfactory story on an individual’s psyche--maybe this story will eventually be apparent in my work. I haven’t been creating perfumes long enough to say I’m tapping into a unique Canadian style though. What that would look like, I’m not sure. Perhaps some would notice that I’m drawn to making Coniferous Chypres such as Raincoast (my tribute to Vancouver Island’s Rainforest) or maybe some would notice that I can readily capture the essence of Southern Alberta’s open prairie, big blue sky and lovely wild roses lining the highways in a perfume—that would be a compliment indeed. Right now my feeling is that perfume-making can transcend location because the most exquisite materials can be sourced from around the world. The only limitation is imagination—and sometimes cost.

JB: Are there any classic perfumes that you still wear on occasion? Any of them that you consider to be near perfect in some way?  

SL: I absolutely do!  I’m drawn to perfumes that have complex stories surrounding them. I recently read the book The Secret Of Chanel No. 5: The Intimate History of the World's Most Famous Perfume by Tilar J. Mazzeo. I immediately had to track down the vintage version—no surprise I fell in love with this beauty even harder. I also love Caron Narcisse Noir, Guerlain L’Heure Bleue, Piguet  Fracas, Chanel No. 22 andCuir de Russie, Schiaparelli Shocking—I could go on. As far as perfection, I’m a fickle lover when it comes to perfume—a different one suits according to the mood I’m in. I guess I don’t need or look for perfection to be completely happy. I feel the same about the character of perfumes as I do people—there’s something about each one that is beautiful. My Mother would say I’m a people pleaser with that answer. But if I had to say what pleases me most? I could be in the company of a vintage L’Heure Bleue orShalimar for quite some time without losing interest.

JB: What do you think are some of the characteristics of the perfumer's personality in today's world? What sets them apart artistically?  

SL: There are so many niche and artisan perfumers I admire and respect and it seems like they’re so available to their clients. Of course, that has a lot to do with the ease of communication through Facebook, blogs and other social media. They’re available but they’re also so open about their work. For those interested in astrology, I have a theory too:  I’m going to suggest that many perfumers (and perfume fanatics for that matter) could very well share an astrological configuration where Venus (planet of love, sensuality and the senses) is in tight aspect to Neptune (planet of smoke and mirrors)—because really, isn’t that what we do? Through fumes we touch the senses.  

JB: What are your plans in the next year or so? What can we expect to come from Suzy Larsen perfumes?  Any projects you'd really like to do in the future?

SL: 2015 is a very exciting year for me. I have a number of perfumes I’ve been working on for a couple of years that are ready to be released in the fall including the spicy oriental INFERNO with some lovely warm cinnamon to heat things up—a scent in honour of Tchaikovsky’s symphonic tone poem Francesca da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasy after Dante. MOCOMBO 1955 is smoky floral leather paying tribute to the night Ella Fitzgerald made her debut in the famed Hollywood nightclub. POMONA’S GARDEN is a floral animalic perfume inspired by the goddess of orchards. MEMOIRE INVOLUNTAIRE will be a meditative scent highlighting the deeply introspective frankincense. I’m especially excited to release the spicy amber perfume called 7448 named after the supposed number of Spice Islands that Marco Polo encountered on the spice route. GOLDEN BEE is a scent that salutes Napoleon’s love of cologne and his penchant for the bee as could be seen on his emblems and around his palace. And finally, VETIVER TRANQUILLE is an olfactory reflection on the aromatic that has been called the oil of tranquility. I would eventually like to explore the possibility of creating a line based on medical astrology principles where the energies of the elements in a chart are balanced with specific aromatic combinations. If I can do that without sacrificing beauty, then I will have really accomplished something to be proud of.

JB: What would you like perfume wearers to know most about the work that you do?

SL: Each perfume is handmade and I take great care in sourcing materials with exceptional quality. My natural perfumes are an intimate experience for the wearer or those in close contact. They stay close to the skin and are not meant to be loudly “broadcast” to a crowd. My aromatherapy background has always influenced my work since I feel that a perfume can be beautiful, well constructed and have a positive effect on a mental and emotional level. They will also often have a story or significant meaning behind them, which helps me focus the process of creating something extra special for my customers.

Read more about Suzy Larsen Perfumes here on Fragrantica or visit the official website of Suzy Larsen Perfumes to purchase samples or bottles.

Nanaimo Skyline: Braveheart. All other images: Suzy Larsen Perfumes