In the Studio with Lyn Harris

Lyn Harris speaks the language of scent. But not in the metaphorical sense. She quite literally thinks via a lexicon of fragrance. She honed her craft by smelling perfumes and decoding their recipe by nose, and now, she’s able to translate real world smells into combinations of materials – raw fragrance ingredients – in a matter of seconds. It’s this talent – along with a passion for balancing natural ingredients with scent science to capture the best of the natural world in a bottle – that has no doubt earned her status as one of the seminal perfumers of her time.

With Perfumer H, the British fragrance house she founded in 2015, it was always her intention to honour the artisanal craft of perfume-making, and create a platform upon which to present her own, unique style. In fact, time your trip right, and lucky visitors to her Marylebone studio can witness the perfumer in action in her working laboratory, from which she blends and formulates the delicate, unconventional scents that have become her brand’s signature.

But what drives her scent obsession? How does she even begin to craft a new fragrance? And what constitutes olfactory success? Liberty sits down with Harris to dive deeper into the inner workings of her mind.

How would you describe your first olfactory experiences?

We used to spend long, hot summers in Scotland, at my grandparents’ small holding up in Aberdeenshire. It was this idyllic spot by a river. They had a little cottage with outhouses and my grandfather grew all his vegetables in a great walled garden, and next door was my grandmother’s flower garden. My grandfather was a carpenter, and his workshop smelt of this contrast of metal and wood.

We would play among the flowers and pick the fruits. My grandmother would make jams from the berries. There were always just the most fragrant smells around me. Even down to the soap in the bathroom; it was this beautiful, delicate lavender. And the way my grandparents slept by the fire, so they had this most beautiful smell of the embers from the night before. That really was my olfactory awakening.

How did your training begin?

I wasn’t academic. School just wasn’t for me. I loved every minute, and had amazing friends, but academically, it just never clicked. I was asked to leave, and so I continued to work in this shop in my hometown of Halifax, the only shop in town where they sold fragrance. The mill owners from the local areas would come in with their fur coats to buy their Chanel. They were these amazing women, and it was as though their fragrance just completed them. That fascinated me. I learned so much in that year, and received training by companies like Guerlain and Chanel, and it made me want to learn how to create fragrance.

I found this course in Paris, at a new school right by the Eiffel Tower, and the teacher was keen to meet me. Her name was Monique Schlienger, and she was a pioneer of female perfumery. I think she was intrigued by me. She’d never taught anybody English-speaking before, so she said if I had a translator, I could join her school. So I did. I stayed with her for two and a half years, gaining one-to-one training with this amazing nose. It was such a privilege to learn from her.

When I left Paris, I set up a small lab at home in Primrose Hill, but I knew I had to find a fragrance house to work with. That’s when I met the family behind Robertet, the fragrance house I still work with today. I made Grasse my home. Back then, a lot of the industry had deserted Grasse, it was like the poor town of perfume, far from the grand place it is today. But I’m happy to say that in the last five to ten years, it’s coming back.

What has changed about perfumery in the course of your career?

When I was training, I couldn’t believe how shut away the perfumer was. It’s always been my aim to bring the perfumer forward, to help people understand what it is to be a perfumer, to have a voice. Particularly as back then, there weren’t many female noses, but now, I visit Grasse, and I see all these young women joining the industry, and all the female perfumers there are. It’s so wonderful to see.

What do you hope Perfumer H contributes to the landscape of British perfumery?

I don’t follow trends; I don’t look at the new fragrances. But it has always been my mission to celebrate naturals in perfumery. A fragrance is not a fragrance without science, but the magic comes from this balance between your natural ingredients and science.

Also, I work alone, not with other perfumers, and in my isolation, I’ve developed my own techniques and style. 30 years in, and there’s this wisdom that kicks in. I feel confident about my style and I’m not shy of it anymore.

What does the process of crafting a new scent look like?

I smell. I smell anything and everything. I even smell when I’m sleeping. I’ll be somewhere hot and beautiful, and I’ll be woken up by the scent of pine trees, and that might spark an idea. Like I was recently in the mountains in Jingmai in southwestern China, it was very misty and humid, and the smell of the plants was incredible. And then I just imagine how that would be on someone’s skin.

I suppose I’m like a poet. As soon as I get an idea, out comes my little book and I write it down. I translate the smell into materials – I can tell straight away what materials I will need to create something. That’s my talent I’ve honed throughout my career.

I get my ideas from life, from being with people. I love all different kinds of artists. When setting up Perfumer H, it wasn’t just about celebrating the perfumer, it was also about working with like-minded artists, such as the glassblower who makes our incredible bottles.

What are the facets of a successful perfume?

For me, perfume should smell beautiful, be interesting and offer some decadence. Fragrance should make the wearer feel amazing and elegant. But it should never invade.

I’ve never wanted to make a fragrance that you smell as soon as someone walks in a room. It should be for you, and those that are very close to you. That’s why I love the etiquette in different countries like Japan because in restaurants, you’re often told you can’t wear fragrance in case it upsets others, and I really respect that.

Which fragrance are you most proud of?

I’m particularly proud of Rain Cloud, it smells so different on different people, and I get excited to find out how it might smell on different skin. But I love the rain accord I created there; I think it’s quite an achievement, working out how to balance the angelica, the vanilla and the vetiver.

What’s the best compliment you could receive about one of your fragrances?

I think the best compliment is when people tell me how much they're admired when they when they wear one of my fragrances. Just hearing people say what it does for them, how it makes them feel, how it just brings so much to their everyday life and to who they are as a person. That’s when I know I've done my job properly.

What advice do you have for finding your signature scent?

You have to be in the mood to buy scent. Clear your palette; don’t wear any fragrance when you go shopping. Then you need to find a counter that offers you a good service, like Liberty’s Fragrance Lounge where you have the opportunity to ask experts for advice, which I love.

At our counter, we ask clients: what are you looking for? Is it for everyday? Is it for a special occasion? How do you want it to make you feel? What’s your style? Then you should start smelling. Smell through the fragrance families. And then see which fragrance makes your face light up. You can tell a lot from that positive reaction it gives you. Then it’s about smelling on your skin as it will smell differently that it does from the bottle.