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The first fragrance that made Hedione famous is the iconic Eau Sauvage, created by Dior in 1966.
To this day, it remains the best selling men’s cologne in France.
It owes its unique scent to the creative genius of the perfumer who might have left the greatest mark on modern perfumery,
Edmond Roudnitska.
He was the first to understand the potential of this extraordinary molecule.
I go searching for more information at the Dior headquarters.
I am met by one of the most renowned of all contemporary perfumers, François Demachy.
Born in Grasse, his father intended him to study medicine,
he is a true lover of senses and sensuality.
He began his career at a time when the youth would use perfume to set themselves apart from their elders.
For young people back then, to wear perfume was a way to express themselves,
to express maybe not rebellion, let’s not go over the top, but a reaction to authority,
because it was not done, very few men wore any perfume.
I started learning the job in a small laboratory where we would have to recreated classic fragrances.
Eau Sauvage was one of them.
In those days, it was the most emblematic, the number one, and it was the fragrance I wore.
Every time we tried we would get close but every time one ingredient was missing,
this ingredient was Hedione.
Really it is the best way to know how much one element can change a composition.
When it is missing. When it is missing.
Eau Sauvage without Hedione is a perfectly fine cologne, slightly chypré, fantastic.
But Hedione brings it to life. It is like salt in cooking,
you can use more or less, a lot of it, little of it, etc. But it will help the blend unfold.
In which of your creations did you use Hedione?
Well, roughly, in all of them! Actually, almost in all of them.
It is not unsual for well established perfume brands to try and reinvent,
revamp some of the fragrances that made their name.
There, again, Hedione’s refreshing power plays an important part.
One way of bringing a fragrance up to date, making it peppy and modern, is to add Hedione.
It is quite entertaining to try and guess the proportions of an ingredient in a composition,
in the lab by just looking at the stocks.
On any perfume organ, where all the raw materials are stored,
Hedione is probably one of the largest, if not the largest bottle.
Because we use a lot of it.
This product has become essential.
This little molecule flooded the market,
and even though adding just a few drops to a blend will do the trick,
several tons of it are now produced every year.
My next stop is Geneva, where I will meet the people in charge of the production of Hedione.