Our guest at People in Perfumeland today is Frenchwoman Céline Verleure, founder and owner of the niche brand Olfactive Studio.
After years of developing perfumes for big names like LVMH (Parfums Kenzo) , Céline started out on her own a few years ago with three perfumes and has since added two more.
A small, well curated line, Olfactive Studio is among my favorite small brands because I like Céline’s unique approach, professionalism and passion, which shine through in every move she makes.
To set the stage, here are my reviews if the five available perfumes by Olfactive Studio:
Still Life, Chambre Noire, Autoportrait, Lumière Blanche and Flash Back.
And now to Céline’s answers to my questionnaire.
A good day starts with… a rising sun and singing birds in my garden near Paris.
I’d never leave the house without… a book to read in the traffic jams in Paris.
I always feel good when… I hear cricket songs in the south of France especially in Corsica.
My favorite thing in the world is… travelling, especially in South America and Asia, and recently to Iceland!
The next thing I want to buy is… (or hopefully get as a present for my next big birthday???)
The LC4 chair by Charlotte Perriand & Le Corbusier.
The place I always come back to is… Rio de Janeiro (where I lived almost 10 years ago, importing and selling french wines there.)
My personal style is… minimalist chic with a twist/surprise.
My favorite perfume… in my brand, my favorite is Lumière Blanche in general Fille en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens and L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain.
When I travel, I… walk for hours to deeply discover the place: I did the inca trails to the Macchu Picchu.
To relax I need… Brazilian Music, especially Adriana Calcanhotto.
I like to gift people with… books, scented candles (Olfactive Studio candles will be launched soon before Christmas!)and shared time.
When I have a bad day, I… go to bed early to start a better day more quickly.
I find my inspiration… by intuition, anytime, anywhere.
Something I would never want to miss… the laughter of a child.
My last mistake was… being too optimistic!
In my fridge there is always… Mozzarella di Bufala.
On my nightstand I keep… a fireplace.
The perfect weekend starts with… a “Gargantuan” salty breakfast.
My role model is… Charlotte Perriand, first woman Designer who, like me, has lived in Japan and Brazil.
Photo via amateurdedesign.com
Something I always want to be asked in questionnaires like this is…
– My favorite perfumes ingredients: sandalwood and cardamom
– In which period of the past would you have wished to live: in the 1920’s where women began to be free, independent and working with passion!
Ah, that gorgeous Le Corbusier chair! Sigh.
Céline’s love for travel, good design and huge breakfasts make her very likeable indeed.
I look forward to learning more about the upcoming launch of the Olfactive Studio candles.
What about you? Are you familiar with Olfactive Studio? Which is your favorite perfume in the line?
Olfactoria's Travels 
A remarkable woman. I like Autoportrait best but reach for Chambre Noire most. I am still trying to figure out Flashback but the good thing is I don’t have to. Candles you say? Great.
Isn’t it interesting how we actually wear pefumes more that are not the most interesting/challenging/beautiful/awesome in our closets? Not that Chambre Noire ist fabulous too, but you say it is not your favorite… I notice that phenomenon too in my frgrant behaviour.
A fireplace on the nightstand?? xxx
Well, I guess it is right next to the bed (maybe in place of a nightstand?). 😉 Fabulous and enviable in any case!
I was intrigued about the fireplace – I wondered at first if it might be a miniature / model one. Or whether the shelf on the adjacent fireplace serves in effect as a bedside table. Or the table may be tucked into the recess of an old decorative fireplace. I had such a thing in my bedrooms – now all sadly boxed in.
Love the sound of the ‘Gargantuan’ salty breakfast – I wonder what Celine’s preferred ‘full fry up’ consists of? And the sound of crickets is a great pick, especially in a beautiful setting like Corsica. That is a place I don’t go back to but should!
Oh, Lumiere Blanche is my favourite too!
Great minds…
PS And if the fireplace is doubling up as a bedside table, as you also surmise, we would still like to hear what is on it. 😉
Maybe we get lucky!
I’d like to hear more about the breakfast as well – I didn’t have any yet!!! 🙂
Corsica must be an amazing place…
I’m not into Olfactive Studio as a brand but it’s always nice to meet a person who stands behind the perfume logo.
It certainly is.
Loved it. I’m also all for big salty breakfasts (now and again), children’s laughter and going to bed early on a bad day. Thanks for including a pic of that awesome chair, B.
I also admire Lumiere Blanche.
Ah all this talk about breakfast makes me really hungry, I could easily eat breakfast three times a day. 😉
Hey Birgit,
Chambre Noir is the only OS frag that isn’t eaten by my skin, thank goodness because it is also the one I adore and have.
Jin and I are trying to get a time to do Macchu Picchu next year, it looks and sounds like a must do adventure. I love the idea of a civilisation set far far away and up in the mountains, so romantic.
The couple of interactions I’ve had with Céline Verleure have led me to believe she may be a fun and interesting person, aside from her talents and beauty. Thank you for giving me more insight.
Portia xx
Wonderful, I hope the two of you get to go to Macchu Picchu soon. It must be amazing!
Glad you enjoyed Céline’s answers.
Wow, I love this lady’s answers! Birds singing, Fille en Aiguilles, L’Heure Bleue, Macchu Picchu, Mozzarella di Bufala, sandalwood and cardamom!
Her tastes are superb. I’ll make it a point to check out her line; this interview really makes me want to do so. Thanks, Birgit!
That is exactly what makes me do this, I’m really happy this inspired you to take a look at the line (even if my reviews did not! 😉 )
Birgit, your reviews are always inspiring – and I remember this line because of them. It’s simply a matter of there being so many beautiful branches on the perfume path – one gets lost and forgets where one was months ago, even days ago. 😀 ❤
No need for justification, dear Suz, I was just joking. I know how it is… there is just too much out there.
What a wonderful interview, so nice to read those notes. It’s weird my favorite would be Lumière Blanche but the anis is too present and my skin eats this perfume. Chambre noire is a masterpiece, so “unique”, I have it too and wear it beautiful!!!!!
Thank you, Florence! Great that you enjoy Chambre Noire so much!
So nice to see you have featured Celine!
My favorite Olfactive Studio fragrances are Chambre Noire, which I own, and Lumiere Blanche, which I don’t (yet). Chambre Noire was love at first sniff!
Caro
It is not easy to find favorites in this line of so many great options.
Thank you Birgit for this interview and for the nice comments of many of you!
As this interview is a very personal one…you will know more about my salty breakfast… nothing fried (not healthy enough for a French) but a boiled egg and crackers with goat cheese!
So funny to read your posts about my fireplace near my bed (covered with perfumed candles!), in fact it is close to my nightstand where I more traditionally have a lot of novel books at different stages of reading.
These days, I start working on the 2014 Olfactive Studio new fragrance, I found the name and the inspiring picture this summer and Michel Almairac at Robertet is working on the dark fragrance…
As one of the curious readers in question, I’d like to say thank you for coming back to us with this extra information on your healthy salty breakfast and bedroom furniture arrangements!
Thank you for your answers, Céline! I’m looking very much forward to the new perfume… a dark fragrance sounds intriguing.
When I went to Aedes in June I tried to rack my brains about which one I needed to try based on your reviews (I realize now it must’ve been Autoportrait), so randomly spritzed one and don’t remember it. I love her answers too- Machhu Picchu has been on our list for a while now but we missed our window so will probably wait till our son is a bit older.
Boiled egg and crackers with goat cheese is a breakfast after my heart..:)
That is an excellent breakfast indeed (still hungry!!!).
One day you can take your son to Macchu Picchu, how fabulous will that be?!
I love the whole approach of this brand. They’ve been very savvy with social media, I love the photo+fragrance idea, they’ve got reasonably priced sample sets and it’s so refreshing to have a new company with a reasonable number of launches. Count me in as someone who’d love a fireplace on/near my nightstand, it sounds positively luxurious. I love both Chambre Noir and Lumière Blanche, but it’s the LB decant that’s draining faster. I see a full bottle in my future pretty soon.
I couldn’t agree more, a thoroughly well thought through line.
I love the format of your questionnaire/interview, condensed and to the point, perfect for my limited attention span! I learned a lot.
Which is my favorite in the line? Autoportrait. I wear it for myself (as the name might suggest) because on my skin the sillage is so intimate I’m the only one who can smell it!
Perfect for the internet then. 😉
Thank you!
Autoportrait is wonderful.
I can’t believe it! I want that chair too! 🙂
You’ve such great taste.
But then again I knew that already… 🙂