Olivier was born in Grasse, the global capital of the perfume industry. His family have been in the world of perfume for more than three generations and Olivier's mother was appointed the first female 'nose' in the industry back in the 60s. Nose being the equivalent of a Master of Wine so the very top of the profession. The industry ratio is now more 50/50 men to women but 50 years ago the notion was that women may not maintain their nose through pregnancy - although this may have been a myth created by men to protect their position surprisingly!  Olivier covers many aspects of his profession and the industry in our conversation including whether you are born with or trained to develop sufficient ability or sense of smell to become a perfumer.

The industry used to be dominated by a select group of families so that entry to the profession was difficult. Whilst this is no longer the case there is no doubt that it is a very traditional industry and this is a fascinating insight into one of the world's most mysterious and brand led worlds.

So if you have read the book Perfume, or seen the film, or were affected as I was by the poetry of Charles Baudelaire who claims that the sense of smell is the most important then this will be a fascinating podcast to listen to and may change your perception of this most noble of industries. For instance why Grasse is the capital of the perfume industry and it turns out that the scent of flowers in the Grasse area was in the first instance used to conceal the scent of leather, particularly gloves as the smell of raw leather really wasn't very nice. So having mixed lavender and roses and juniper to mask the smell of those gloves the rest is history!

Oliver was visiting Beaumont as he is perfumer to Prudence Paris. Prudence's shop is in Beaumont du Périgord and all of her products are available online at:

http://prudenceparis.com

More on my blog at: www.bolder.travel