Domitille Michalon Berti
# Domitille Michalon Bertier: Master Perfumer Behind Flowerbomb
## A Career Built on Passion and Natural Ingredients
Domitille Michalon Bertier's path to becoming a Vice President Perfumer at IFF began with an unexpected childhood experience. Born in Paris, she spent two years in Vanuatu as a child, where the intense tropical scents of spices, flowers, and wood awakened her passion for fragrance. This early exposure to raw, powerful aromas shaped her entire career trajectory.
Initially interested in architecture, she discovered ISIPCA and realized perfumery was her true calling. After studying organic chemistry to meet the entry requirements, she graduated from ISIPCA in 1994 and immediately joined IFF as a trainee. Over three decades later, she remains with the same house, a testament to the creative freedom and opportunities she's found there.
Her signature style is vibrant, dynamic, and narrative-driven. She doesn't confine herself to a single fragrance family, instead exploring territories from gourmand to floral to woody with equal skill. What sets her apart is her deep appreciation for natural ingredients, which she continuously explores to expand her creative palette. She maintains a personal library of smells and accords developed throughout her career, allowing her to translate abstract concepts and memories into tangible scents.
Her creative process draws inspiration from diverse sources: cooking, art, travel, literature, and particularly noir novels and jazz music. Ideas often come to her during Nordic walks in nature, where movement and natural surroundings spark her imagination. She meticulously researches each brand she works with, ensuring she fully understands their universe before creating their scent identity.
## Iconic Fragrances and Industry Impact
Domitille Michalon Bertier has created fragrances for an impressive roster of brands including Viktor & Rolf, Marc Jacobs, Dior, Burberry, and Amouage. Her most famous creation, Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb (2005), became a modern classic and was inducted into the Fragrance Foundation Hall of Fame in 2023. This groundbreaking fragrance demonstrated her ability to create scents with timeless appeal and strong commercial success.
Marc Jacobs Perfect (2020) showcased her continued relevance in contemporary perfumery, winning the Consumer Choice award for Women's Prestige at the 2021 Fragrance Foundation Awards. Her work spans from mainstream blockbusters to niche creations like [Cuir à Corps](/perfume/chambre52-cuir-a-corps) and [Tobacco Memories](/perfume/chambre52-tobacco-memories) for Chambre52, proving her versatility across market segments.
[Cuir à Corps](/perfume/chambre52-cuir-a-corps) captures an intoxicating night with [pink pepper](/note/pink-pepper), [patchouli](/note/patchouli), and sensual [leather](/note/leather). [Tobacco Memories](/perfume/chambre52-tobacco-memories) evokes beautiful melancholy through [saffron](/note/saffron), powdery [iris](/note/iris), and rich [tobacco](/note/tobacco). Both fragrances demonstrate her talent for creating emotionally resonant scents with strong identities.
Beyond her own creations, she shapes the industry's future through mentoring junior perfumers at IFF. Her commitment to education ensures her influence extends to the next generation, solidifying her legacy as both artist and teacher in modern perfumery.
