As an immigrant from Belarus became the queen of perfumery in the US
'02.04.2018'
Source: Militta
She is the author of more than 50 perfumes, including modern classics - Lancome Tresor, Yves Saint Laurent Paris and Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse, Calvin Klein Eternity, Karl Lagerfeld Sun Moon Stars, Laura Biagotti Sotto Voce, Boucheron Jaipur, Coty Exclamation, Elizabeth Taylor Diamonds and Rubies ... Among her latest perfumes is Neblina by Yves Rocher, which is one of the ten most interesting novelties of the year. This woman's name is Sophia Groisman, she is vice president of IFF - International Flavors and Fragrances.
But many years ago, Sophia Khodosh, suffering from postwar hardships in the Byelorussian SSR, did not even know about the amazing success that awaited her, the magazine writes Militta.
Unexpected confession
Sofia was born 8 March 1945, in a Jewish family in the Soviet town of Lyubcha (Belarus). Her parents met during the war in a partisan detachment in the forests of Belarus. Until 15 years she lived with her parents and her sister in the Soviet Union, the post-war life in which was very difficult, which hardened the character of Sofia.
In 1960, the family emigrated to Poland, and in 1965, in the USA. Having received the education of a chemist, Sofia dreamed of getting a job in order to provide for herself and her parents. And although she did not think about the perfume work, it so happened that her first steps in the labor field began as an assistant with Ally Fox in the IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances).
Like any chemist or physicist, Sophia liked to set up experiments, therefore, from time to time she tried to compose her compositions out of sheer curiosity. These experiments turned out to be so successful that the well-known perfumer Ernst Shiftan paid attention to her, and for the perfume Paris from Yves Saint Laurent The fragrance created by Sofia was chosen.
“When I started making chords, I was striving for simplicity. This impressed my curator Ernest Shiftan very much. The formulas of the time were based on hundreds of ingredients, primarily because the subcomponents were so widely used. For example, a rose subcomponent has 100 ingredients. The formula may contain several of these subcomponents representing different notes - rose, jasmine, orange blossom, etc. However, I thought: why should a rose be so complex? I began to strive to “simplify” the rose ... I usually create the main chord with 4-7 ingredients that convey the essence. This is the core around which I build the fragrance. It's like drawing a flower - first you draw the middle, and then you add the petals, ”Groisman said.
At that time, IFF was managed by Josephine Katapano, who also, like Sofia, did not have a perfumer education, but had an unusually fine sense of smell and intuition, which helped her to create perfumery masterpieces. It was she who had a great influence on Sophia. The protection of Josephine Catapano and Sophia's hard work helped her become one of the IFF perfumers.
And soon, her successes began to talk, and Sophia Groisman was awarded Cosmetics Executive Achieve Award - A reward for outstanding achievements in perfumery.
Later, Sophia Groisman, who deserved recognition from her colleagues, became vice president International Flavors & Fragrances.
Own style and resounding success
She has developed her own style of perfumer, which consists in forming the main emphasis of the perfume fragrance, consisting of several components. She prefers that the smell develops gradually, however, the background note should be heard at the very beginning. In the final notes of the chord the character of the perfume is heard. Usually in this chord Sophia identifies several key notes that become the basis of the composition.
Her fragrances are mostly floral or floral-fruity, as her favorite ingredients are flowers, and especially roses.
Scent became a brilliant victory for Sophia Groisman Treasure, which initially received low test results marketers. But afterwards Treasure turned out to be among the flavors that have fallen in love with a wide range of buyers.
“Actually, I created this fragrance for myself: when I walked down the street, people turned around and asked what kind of perfume it was. And when I arrived in Paris and came to the negotiations, they immediately asked me: “What is this on you?” - “My spirits!”. So this fragrance became the main component in the formula of perfume. Treasure”, - the perfumer told the story of the creation of her most famous fragrance today.
Today Sophia Groisman fragrances are among the best-selling perfumes on the market. Treasure By the number of sales reached a record “Chanel №5”.
Sofia Groisman knew many famous people and created perfumes for them. “When you sympathize with the customer, the perfume turns out to be successful,” she admitted.
She had to communicate with Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Taylor, Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, Isabella Rossellini. Sofia created perfumes for European and American brands, among which Paris or Yvresse (Yves Saint Laurent), Eternity for Women (Calvin Klein), Trésor (Lancome), Sotto Voce (Laura Biagotti), Sun Moon Stars (Karl Lagerfeld), Jaipur (Boucheron), Calyx (Prescriptives), White Linen ( Estee Lauder), White Diamonds (Elizabeth Taylor) and many others.
Smell of native land
In the collection of Sofia, there is also one special fragrance, created in honor of the country in which she was born. It is called “Belaya Rus” (or Désir Coulant), writes Diva.
The idea to create a smell dedicated to Belarus came to her in 2006, when the perfumer visited her home country for the first time after emigration.
“This is a fresh, transparent smell of childhood, which I felt when I was a child - it has coolness, sweetness ... Another important point that I took into account when creating this fragrance: today the planet is terribly cluttered up, so if you wear perfume, a strong and heavy smell which, as once, can be felt for half a kilometer, it will have a bad effect on our well-being. In our turbulent age, smells should be fresh, pleasant, transparent. “Belaya Rus” is just the smell of low concentration. When I wear it, my mood rises - it is so fresh ”, - said the perfumer.
Sofia Groisman admitted that the formula for the scent "Belaya Rus" is quite expensive due to the fact that it is transparent, and transparency is achieved through the use of specific ingredients that cost a lot of money. She also admitted that she had 10 scent options before she decided which scent is most suitable for "Belaya Rus".
She presented this fragrance in Minsk in 2013 year.
Rejection of men's fragrances
Sophia Groisman admits that she was never interested in the creation of men's perfumes. She believes that she would hardly have been able to create standing men's perfumes, since her fragrances are too feminine, and the smell for men would also come out too feminine for men, writes Parfumania.
Moreover, Sophia Groisman is one of the few perfumers who today hold the opinion that men's and women's lines of perfumery should be clearly demarcated. She does not recognize the universal perfume and believes that a woman should use women's fragrances, and men should use men's fragrances.
Women's fragrance, according to Groisman, must have a sweet echo, which are unacceptable in men's perfume.
Awards
It is recognized as “America's best nose” and is admired by famous perfumers in the world.
Sofia Groisman is the winner of many awards: in 1996 she received the award American Sociaty of Perfumers and the Living Legend award. In 1994 and 1999 she was awarded the highest honor for her contribution to the perfume industry - Cosmetic Executive Women's (CEW).
Popular perfumes from Sofia Groysman
- Calvin Small Eternity. Once Calvin Klein gave his wife a ring with an engraved word as a sign of eternal love to her Eternity, which means "Eternity", which previously belonged to the Duchess of Windsor. Sofia Groisman immortalized in this fragrance the eternal love that was put into the ring. The perfume combines the scents of flowers - such as lily, freesia, lily of the valley, cloves, and fruits - peach and apricot. All these scents are set off by sandalwood and patchouli.
- Lancome Tresor. This perfume most clearly demonstrates Sofia Groisman's love for roses. It is these flowers that are used as the base for the fragrance, while this base is framed by the scents of peach, apricot, musk, vanilla, amber and even wood. In addition, the scent is complemented by the scents of flowers, such as lilies of the valley and lilacs.
- Bvlgari For Women. As always, the base is based on the scent of a rose, but this time the smells of iris, violet and jasmine are also adjacent to the base. This bouquet is framed by fruity aromas, and more specifically - raspberry and peach. The exclusivity of this perfume is given by notes of green tea, wood and oriental resins.
- Yves Saint Laurent Paris. The base of these spirits practically does not differ from the previous ones and many others - it consists of a rose, an iris and a violet. However, this time the base of the perfume is framed with a whole bunch of floral aromas: mimosa, hyacinth, carnation, lilies of the valley and lily. But this list of smells in this composition does not end there - all the above described is also underlined by notes of cedar, sandalwood and amber. These perfumes are notable for the fact that Sophia Groysman specially went to Paris to feel the smell of this city and create a unique aroma.
- Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne. Another perfume for Paris and about Paris, only this time they are aimed at young Parisian women of the new generation. These perfumes combine both the smells (rose, violet, peony) that are traditional for Sophia Groisman, and the aromas of blackberry, cranberry, vetiver and musk, which are quite atypical for her.
