Interview with Marie Tesson, the founder of Journeys of a lifetime
Over the years, Marie Tesson, the founder of Journeys of a Lifetime, has built a network of passionate and exciting experts, bearers of France’s and Europe’s heritage in all its diversity. She is eager to transmit their passion through a series of exclusive interviews. To launch this beautiful wander dotted with some exceptional gems, Marie has chosen to take you on a journey into a world that she particularly cherishes: the art of perfumery. Eager to uncover the intricacies of scent creation and its impact on sensory experiences, she caught up with Martine Micallef, a renowned figure in the world of French perfumery. Together, they delve into the delicate craft of pairing fragrances with moments, exploring the subtle chemistry that defines the perfect scent for any occasion.
A few words about Martine Micallef: a perfumer, a visionary artist, and a connoisseur of fine fragrances (with a particular fondness for floral and oriental scents), and above all, a master in the art of perfume creation. Martine is an exceptionally talented perfumer who, alongside her husband, has created a distinguished perfume house. She is renowned for her intricate knowledge of scent composition and her profound ability to craft fragrances that capture the essence of luxury and emotion. She is the artistic director of Parfums Micallef, known worldwide, and someone I instantly admired when I met her a few years ago. Let’s talk about her now.
Marie: Could you tell me a little bit about how Martine Micallef started?
Martine Micallef: Martine Micallef started when I met Geoffrey Nejman, who later became my husband. At the time, he was a finance consultant working for a company in Grasse, and instead of staying behind his computer, he spent most of his time in the laboratory. Each evening when he came home, he would bring with him a raw material, a scent, and I realized he was falling in love with the craft of perfumery. One day, I suggested that we should start a perfume company together. We were both passionate and in love with the idea of building a profession together, and that’s how the adventure of Micallef Perfumes was born. As a true gentleman, his first question was about what we would name the perfumes. He naturally suggested they bear my name since I would be the creator of the brand. Thus, M. Micallef perfumes were born.
I then went to Vallauris to buy a piece of «chamotte» clay and started shaping my first bottle, which I proudly showed to Geoffrey. He directly liked it. I told him I wanted them in crystal so that I could decorate them, perhaps even with Swarovski crystals. Geoffrey suggested we go to Czechoslovakia to make Bohemian crystal, which would be more affordable.
Marie: Here you talk about your bottles before discussing your perfumes. Are you inspired by the bottle before the perfume itself?
Martine Micallef: Yes, because I am very much an artist at heart; it’s immediately about color, shape, and design for me. Therefore, it was essential to surround ourselves with perfumers, true professionals. We are self-taught, so it was crucial to have meaningful encounters with perfumers. Typically, we would have a roundtable with perfumers gathered around, and I would take them into my fantastical dream. I close my eyes, tell a story because I envision the fragrance. The perfumers then translate this vision, write the formula, transcribe it. From there, we get three or four initial directions. We choose the direction that most closely matches this dream, this feeling, and from there, it’s a process of several months of development until we achieve a completely finished formula that fits into the bottle design I also imagined. Geoffrey, on his part, always takes care of the finances. We make the best team. Above all, it is a love story, a story of passion and collaboration.
Marie: Does your inspiration primarily come from people, travel, and culture?
Martine Micallef: Absolutely. Initially, we were starting from a point where the brand was unknown, and to really give it substance, we traveled extensively and visited many countries where the brand was being introduced. This allowed me to unleash my imagination and meet many people from different cultures.
I was also inspired by some travels to craft some perfumes. For example, a trip to Russia inspired me to create a very special bottle called Ananda. Ananda is a Sanskrit word meaning serenity. When I saw those Orthodox churches and icons, I was captivated by that golden world. I designed this bottle with a cap that mimics the dome shapes of Orthodox churches.
The scent itself drew from our own culture, always with the idea of blending elements into the work. Thus, creating a fusion between the Russian world—with scents that would remind them of the opera, red drapes, velvet, the theater—and the fragrances of the Côte d’Azur, combining mimosa, Rose Centifolia, and violet. This created a very mysterious, very feminine, and sensual perfume, which consistently ranks in the top 5 of our sales to this day.
Marie: Do you think that Ananda perfume also embodies the main characteristics of your perfumery line?
Martine Micallef: Yes, because it’s a very sophisticated perfumery. The ingredients aren’t immediately obvious. We use over 150 ingredients in a formula, including very high-quality raw materials, comprising 80% natural products. This gives the perfume impeccable longevity, lasting several hours, and reveals various facets. Since it contains natural elements, the scent evolves throughout the day, influenced by the wearer’s emotions, the time of day, and even their skin’s pH. This interaction opens up multiple facets, creating a truly unique fragrance.
Marie: Today, you are not welcoming us in your perfume workshop but in an artist’s studio of painting. Can you explain the connection between perfume and what we see here today?
Martine Micallef: This summer, I had the fortunate opportunity to pass on the company to our two daughters. Leslie handles all the marketing and communication aspects, while Claudia has taken over my role as artistic director. This change has allowed me to free up time to return to my first loves: art, painting, and sculpture.
In doing so, I discovered an idea to connect this with perfumery. In our warehouse, we had drums used for transporting raw materials like coumarin and powders, which were always being sent off for destruction. I found it a pity not to give these objects a second life. I realized we often lack small side tables at home. I decided to decorate them and to paint them. I embellish some with upholstery studs and some others with collages.
Finding the work on drums a bit limited, and having traveled a lot with the perfumery around the world, I wanted to extend this to working on Plexiglas, representing it as a travel diary. These are significant moments from my encounters and travels. I enjoy pouring resin over my photographs from Mexico, Senegal, Belgium, among other places. These photographs are printed on high-quality photo paper, then mounted on dibond and covered with Plexiglas. Before sending them for printing, I recolor and adjust the color balance of my photos. Once I receive them, I paint over them again, using acrylic paints and various materials. I even do more collages. Additionally, I pour resin over certain parts of the photo to add dimension. The fluidity and the liquids, once again, speak to me, much like perfumery does. This passion, which has always been a passion from my youngest days, now provides me the opportunity to express and translate emotions through this new medium.
Marie: The common thread between your bottles, the perfume, and these works of art once again points to humanity, culture and travel. It’s almost as if you are expressing the culture or emotion of a country through a bottle, a perfume, or artwork…
Martine Micallef: I don’t over-intellectualize my work. Everything comes to me very naturally. I work a lot on instinct. The perfumes were created by instinct. Throughout my life, I’ve been driven by the desire to connect with others and to share. Above all, it’s about emotion. What I love is emotion. It’s about love—universal love with a capital L. That’s what appeals to me.
Marie: Can you tell us your favorite ingredient?
Martine Micallef: Without hesitation, it’s the rose, and particularly the Rose Centifolia, which only blooms in May. But beyond that, I love the complexity of roses in general because the rose has so many facets. It truly brings a sense of chic, elegance, and femininity to perfumery.
Marie: What are the places in France or Europe where you particularly like to go to be inspired and to feel good?
Martine Micallef: In France, I would say Provence, especially Les Baux de Provence at the foot of the Alpilles with its very limestone, mineral aspect. It’s still quite a wild countryside. I love the intimate nature of this region. There are also some excellent restaurants. Geoffrey and I love to dine out; we are epicureans. I love to go there to relax and recharge.
Then in Europe, I would say Italy because I have roots on my mother’s side that are Italian, so culturally, Italy speaks volumes to me, especially Venice, which for me is truly the place for artists. I never miss the Biennale every two years. Venice has this somewhat mysterious aspect, much like our perfumes; that misty air, getting lost in the canals, wandering into trattorias where tourists don’t go to enjoy a good plate of spaghetti. It’s total bliss.
Marie: Any closing thoughts?
Martine Micallef: I’d just like to emphasize that art has always been central to everything we do at M. Micallef. Embracing art in this phase of my career feels incredibly natural, especially as our slogan, M. Micallef Art & Perfume, reflects this integration. It truly brings everything full circle.
