Perfumer

Your rose perfume by any other name would smell as sweet. Masters at inventing fragrances that evoke emotions and send a message all through the power of smell, Perfumers create perfumes based on client orders. To work as a Perfumer, you must follow your nose to success.

Like Beethoven composing his latest masterpiece, you spend hours painstakingly mixing and adding fragrances as if they were notes on sheet music. You don’t stop until you find an aroma that sings like a symphony. Your workstation resembles an organ, but instead of pipes, you’re surrounded by rows and rows of perfume bottles.

When you’ve found the aroma you want, you deliver samples to the client. Now, the editing phase begins. Like a Novelist, you get feedback on your work and continue tweaking the formula until you reach perfection. The process can take anywhere from two months to a year.

The sweetly scented creative side of a Perfumer does get a break now and then. The other part of your job involves serving as Quality Assurance Manager to workers filling bottles of your perfume. You sniff around — literally — for mistakes, like an unexpected orange scent in a lavender perfume or a mixture that’s too strong.

Once the scent’s ready to hit the market, it goes into the final stages of production. Some scents go into perfumes, while others find their way into lotions, shampoos, and even deodorant. Next time you relax with scented bath soaps, you can breathe easy knowing those exquisite fragrances were carefully crafted by Artists like you.