Jean-Claude Ellena and Louis XIV

I'm linking here to a fascinating interview with Jean-Claude Ellena: one of my heroes of the perfumery world.  I don't quite share his minimalist ethic, though I'm in awe of much of his work.  The interview is two pages long and well worth the read.

Picture from Spiegel Online International 

The interview was conducted for and appeared in German in issue 37/2012 (September 10, 2012) of DER SPIEGEL.

A taster:

SPIEGEL: But what distinguishes a good perfume from a bad one? The quality of the basic ingredients?

Ellena: Not necessarily. Sometimes I achieve a better result with ingredients of mediocre quality rather than with exquisite ones.

You can read the full text of the article in English on Spiegel Online International.  If you're wondering where Louis XIV fits in, you'll need to read the article . . .