THE DREAM TEAM

Co-founders of Ex Nihilo, Benoît Verdier, Olivier Royère and Sylvie Loday discuss their first memories of scent

- AMY SESSIONS

What is your first memory of scent? BV: I’m a real Southerner! Whenever I smell a fragrance or ingredient that is reminiscent of my parents’ garden in the South of France, I am transported there: Pine trees, Figs, Lavender plant and aromatic trees, even the smell of the red-hot soil of Mediterranean landscapes... these are is my first olfactory memories.

OR: My first memory consists of a reception in the heat of the tropical gardens of the French embassy in the Philippines. My childhood cradled in my mother’s perfume, Joy by Jean Patou, and my grandfather’s delicate eau de Cologne, Arnys.