A master perfumer's secret weapon? Bespoke blotters

For Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, bespoke blotters are essential to the art of fragrance

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Bespoke blotters
Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud's bespoke blotters
(Image credit: Future/Neil Godwin at Future Studios for The Blend)

Louis Vuitton's master perfumer, who is about to publish the maison's new book, "A Perfume Atlas", reveals why these mouillettes are key to the nuance in his creations – and how they have always been a part of his life.

"Paper blotters have been an essential part of me discovering my work as a perfumer. In fact, these small pieces of paper have been with me since I was born. My father was a perfumer, and my grandfather too: there were many of them at home. My father would give me blotters scented with dry, raw materials. I have since discovered that this link between the raw material, my nose and my brain is facilitated by these blotters. Without one, you cannot make an olfactory analysis.

"At the Louis Vuitton fragrance headquarters in Grasse, Les Fontaines Parfumées, we have a ritual: each day, from 10 to 12, it's our smelling session. This includes raw materials and new work from a few days before. We judge our creations and control production of Louis Vuitton perfumes, what will be in the bottle in the boutiques. Then there is a blind test of raw materials. And everything is done with blotters. I have also designed a special protection, a paper envelope, for my blotters so I can take 10 or more home with me, in my Louis Vuitton Keepall."

"Louis Vuitton: A Perfume Atlas" (Thames & Hudson) is out now.

Felix Bischof
Felix Bischof

Felix Bischof is the executive editor of The Blend. A contributor to HTSI, British Vogue, Pop and Vanity Fair, he has also worked with brands such as Dior, Piaget and Herzog & de Meuron.