We will not call him \u201ca nose\u201d in this article as he has a very strong opinion regarding this attribute: \u201cI was also fed up about people calling us \u201cNoses\u201d and saying we create \u201cJuices\u201d. I never use these two expressions which I found terrible and very disrespectful of our work. \u201cNose\u201d is to me a very pejorative expression, which is so far from our reality as perfumers. It does not reflect at all the fact that we use our brain first to work like any other artist. You do not call a pianist or a writer \u201chands\u201d, a dancer \u201cbody\u201d, \u201cfeet\u201d or \u201carms\u201d.\u201d<\/p>\n
Francis Kurkdjian was born on May 14, 1969 in Paris, France. In 1983 he failed the competition to study at the Paris Opera School of Dance and this was the reason he decided to become a perfumer in 1985. Here\u2019s what he says about this decision: \u201cI wanted to become a ballet dancer but I failed to one of the contests to be part of the ballet school. I was 13. It took me a year to recover from that. When I discovered the metier of perfumer, I knew right away this would be my playground.\u201d<\/p>\n
After graduating ISIPCA Versailles, he joined Quest International in Paris where he also prepared a masters at the Institut Superieur de Marketing du Luxe. His first perfume was created in 1995 (when he was only 26 years old) and since then his career as a perfumer is thriving. In 2009 he co-founded the luxury fragrance house \u201cMaison Francis Kurkdjian\u201d with his business partner Marc Chaya.<\/p>\n