Bruno Jovanovic

Bruno Jovanovic believes that a perfume should carry a single, clear message, felt before it is understood. He draws inspiration from life itself: memories, emotions and the textures of everyday life! a photograph, a memory, the way a season changes the quality of light. He translates them into fragrances that stay with you long after you've forgotten you're wearing them.
Creative intuition is essential, but without technical precision it remains a dream. Combining rigour, technical mastery and creative intuition, Bruno Jovanovic composes through visual and sensory associations, always thinking beyond the olfactive qualities of his raw materials and towards everything they carry with them. For him, perfume is a language that brings memories back to life, those others can only imagine.

You’re nicknamed “The Romantic” and you’re often described as a “perfumer of emotions — does that suit you, and how do your personality and creative process reflect that?

“Yes, it’s true—I feel deeply romantic, whether in music, in literature, whatever the art form, it’s always romanticism that draws me. People always ask me: what are your sources of inspiration? And I always say: it’s life. It can be sad moments; it can be incredible moments of love. But also giving importance to sad moments, to moments of frustration—that opens incredible creative doors. As you wear the fragrance, you live in the emotions I infused into it.”

What role do doubt, vulnerability, and imperfection play in your creative process?

“As an artist-creator, I have to place myself in a zone of vulnerability, and evoking one’s own vulnerability through fragrance creates mystery and a real connection with those who smell it. Doubt is, of course, always there, because in the end we constantly

“Imperfection is very important: I never look for something completely smooth, completely perfect. There is nothing more boring than a fragrance that is ‘perfect,’ that has no flaws. When you smell, for example, a jasmine essence, there is a lot of animality, of dark notes that, smelled on their own, would be perceived as very unpleasant. But having that animality—that ‘dirty’ facet—in jasmine desacralizes the product and ultimately brings it closer to the human.”

What does olfactive writing allows you to express that you couldn’t put into words otherwise?

“It allows me to bring memories back to life. My superpower is being able to materialize involuntary reminiscences that others can only imagine. I work with many visual and sensory associations. I often tend to think about the extra-olfactive qualities of my materials.”

How would you describe the Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle fragrances? And how does this fragrance fit within the collection as a whole?

“The Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle fragrances are synonymous with a perfumer’s personal expression. They are exercises in style that are necessary for perfumery as a whole. If perfumery is an art, then the Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle brand is its patron!”