Journey to the scenter of the Earth

By DAVID LAWRENCE

Follow your nose to the rose and jasmine fields of Grasse, perfume capital of the world.

Forty factories in this medieval mountainside city near Cannes produce about 60 per cent of the world's perfumes.

Thousands of them have been made here from combinations of the odours of animals, flowers, leaves, roots, wood, bark, moss, resins, fruits, nuts, herbs, spices ... plus all the laboratory-made synthetics.

Still the most famous is Chanel No 5, created in Grasse in 1921.

Not all survive so long. Of 100 perfumes released in 1999, only three are still on the market (J'adore, Baby Doll and Flowers).

In this industry the perfume creator, known as a "nose", is held in the kind of awe an orchestra reserves for the cream of conductors. He (less often she; of the world's 220 noses, 40 are women) is the maestro.

Quite likely he will have been born a nose, from a family of them, although he will have studied his art for at least 10 years.

He will not smoke, drink or eat spicy food. He will be able to identify some 3000 odours. He may spend three years on a formula containing as many as 600 ingredients. And he may sell it for a fortune.

So for the olfactory ignoramus, the task of creating your own perfume is a little daunting. But that's what you're invited to do at the Parfumerie Galimard's Studio des Fragrances, under the watchful noses of resident experts.

You sit at a table (known as an "organ" - you are to create a symphony of scents) confronted by hundreds of phials. And, drop by carefully considered drop, you fill a 100ml bottle.

The experts will advise you to ensure you don't end up with a concoction for keeping dogs off the garden, but within their guidelines the choice of constituent odours is all yours.

First the base notes, the least volatile odours which evaporate slowest and can last one or two days: iris, floral musk, praline and a touch of vanilla. This, I was told, would produce a "powdery" perfume.

Then the heart notes, the dominant odours which should harmonise all the elements and are detectable after 10 to 20 minutes: violet, jasmine, lily of the valley, rose petals.

Finally the head notes, which are what you smell on opening the bottle and last only a few minutes: blackcurrant, bergamot and mandarin. The expert suggested adding grapefruit.

And there it was. A name was required; I called it "Sarina" and that is what's on the label. The formula is stored at the perfumery should I want some more.

The recipient's verdict back home? Slightly sniffy: "Well, I suppose it does smell like perfume."