Career: from IFF to Chanel
Olivier Polge is the son of Jacques Polge, who ran perfume creation at Chanel for more than thirty years. He did not start there, though. He learned his trade at IFF, a large fragrance house that composes for many brands. That is where Dior Homme (2005), The One for Men (2008) and Spicebomb (2012) were born, all signed by him alone. He also co-wrote Flowerbomb, La Vie Est Belle and Invictus with other perfumers, which is common on big launches. In 2013 he joined Chanel. Two years later he succeeded his father as head of fragrance creation. Gabrielle, released in 2017, was one of his first major feminine launches for the house. That route gives him an unusual pair of skills. He knows how to write scents with broad appeal, and he knows how to refine them to the standards of a very demanding house.
Style: controlled sweetness
One word links the perfumes on this page: softness. Iris and cocoa in Dior Homme. Praline and vanilla in La Vie Est Belle. Vanilla and patchouli in Flowerbomb. Even his spicy masculines, Spicebomb and The One for Men, use warm spices rather than sharp ones. Polge knows how far to push sugar before it becomes unwearable, and that is his main strength. The downside shows in La Vie Est Belle. It rates 5 out of 5 for intensity and plenty of people are tired of its power. Iris keeps returning, from Dior Homme to La Vie Est Belle and the base of Gabrielle, like a quiet signature. At Chanel his writing gets lighter. Gabrielle sets four white flowers in bright light over sandalwood and cashmeran, with no gourmand edge at all. It is more polished, sometimes too polished, but the hand is just as precise.
