Andy Tauer, five stars perfumes
Interview with the Swiss nose
Intense and precious notes hit you when entering Profumo, space at the heart of Milan, in the Brera borough, that hosts, in a minimalist and elegant place, the collections of artistic perfumery created with noble materials, full of tradition and meanings. There is no better place to meet Andreas “Andy” Tauer, famous and renowned nose, whose perfume L’air du Désert Marocain has been defined by the critic Luca Turin the best product of an independent creator since Coty ideated La Rose Jacqueminot.
A passionate and fascinating character, who uses internet and his blog to exchange impressions and opinions with the fans of perfumery on his creations and on the world of perfumes.
Perhaps the search for the perfect fragrance led him to the production of perfumes…Andy is an absolute autodidact on the subject, although endowed with a serious technical-scientific and chemical education. He enters deservedly in the world of the big “noses” in 2007 due to the creation of L’Air du Désert Marocain, that obtains the best score (5 stars) from Turin in the perfume guide “Perfume The Guide”.
Perfumer since 2005, born in Switzerland, he graduated in chemistry at the Federal Institute of Technology of Zurich and obtained a PhD in molecular biology, that didn’t teach him much about perfumes, if not the attitude of having to do with formula and molecules, on which technical basis, around the age of thirty, Andy began to become interested in essences. After the specialization, he lived few years in Texas, for studying and working, going back to Switzerland to deal with marketing and sales and to eventually become manager of IT projects of a major Swiss firm. On the occasion of his visit at Profumo in Milan, he told Luxgallery about his experience as a nose.
What do you present in Milan?
I am here to meet the people: I am very interested to get in touch directly with the fans of perfumes and to discuss about perfumes. I brought, in fact, samples of some projects that I am working on to make them try on a preview.
What will you write about Milan on your blog?
Definitely personal details of people I met and on Italian fans.
How did you find out about your predilection for perfumes?
By chance. I was bored with what was on the market. I never thought about creating perfumes until I read “Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume” by Mandy Aftel, who lives in California and is considered a guru as far as natural perfumes are concerned. After reading the book, I began to buy essential oils. At the beginning I was consecrated especially to the only search for the natural perfume. Later I also considered using synthetic essences: I realized that the perfume is a composition that contemplates ingredients of chemical synthesis. The fundamental starting point is to appreciate natural essences. What is stimulating is to be able to create something that that includes a bit of both, which in the end is what occurred with the perfumery art throughout the twentieth century.
Can a consumer distinguish between natural and synthetic essences?
Yes, he can, I bring the example of the absolute of natural rose, composed by over five hundreds different molecules and it is so rich and complex that it distinguished itself from the synthetic imitations. Anyway there are synthetic substances that are useful and important: the aldehydes, for instance, emphasize the essence of the rose. It is like to turn on a light on the flower.
What is the most fascinating aspect of your job?
I am always in touch with people and their impressions. One of the most fascinating aspects is to receive a feedback on my perfume and to find out that my creation evocated in someone else the image that I thought of when I created it. A client, for instance, told me that Lonestar Memories reminded him of the smell of his father’s rifle barrel that he used to go hunting in the time of the great depression. Through perfumes one can touch people’s sensitivity.
And the least fascinating?
The administrative parts, generally.
Is it more difficult to make a perfume for others or for oneself?
It is more difficult for others. I am not so demanding…I anyway don’t make perfumes for one single client: it is difficult to follow each one’s ideas also as far as production processes are concerned.
What is the creation that excited you the most?
L’Air du Désert Marocain. Usually when I create a perfume, afterwards I think I should change something. Of this perfume I am happy the way it is. I wouldn’t change anything. The image underpinning this creation is a hotel room in Marrakesh, at the sunset and at the border with the desert. The windows opens and the room is pervaded by the warm air and by the smell of the climbing jasmine, of the spices, of the evening humidity with the moon standing on the desert.
Do you need lots of fantasy to create perfumes?
Yes, lots of fantasy and passion. It needs time and constancy, to try and re-try the creations.
Caterina Varpi
Tags: Andy Tauer, brera, Coty, Federal Institute of Technology of Zurich, L'air du Desert Marocain, La Rose Jacqueminot, Luca Turin, Mandy Aftel, Marrakesh, Milan, natural essence, nose, Profumo
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