Frédéric Burtin
Frédéric Burtin grew up in Lyon, the French city whose relationship with craft and quality has long shaped his standards. After graduating from ISIPCA in 1989, he spent fifteen years as chief chemist at LVMH Group, a period that grounded him in the precision and ambition of French luxury. There, he learned how formulas behave across skin types, how materials age, and what separates forgettable scent from lasting impression. The experience also taught him to work at scale without sacrificing integrity. He eventually left the corporate world to found Institut Tres Bien, a niche house that reflects his belief in refined simplicity. Burtin remains based in Lyon, creating bespoke fragrances and signature scents for private clients and select brands. His work with botalab, including Flower Atelier and Relaxing, demonstrates his ability to translate abstract briefs into coherent, wearable olfactory statements. At heart, he remains a craftsman who happened to find his medium in scent.
The hits
Notable creations
The signature
How Frédéric composes
Burtin favors classical structure with a contemporary edge. He anchors his work in quality natural materials, then introduces modern accords to add depth or unexpected brightness. His compositions tend toward restraint, avoiding the overwhelming sillage that dominated the late twentieth century in favor of presence that reveals itself gradually. He is particularly attentive to how a fragrance evolves on skin over several hours, designing with dry-down in mind rather than focusing solely on the opening impact. His signature scents for botalab showcase this approach: Flower Atelier opens with clear floral notes before settling into something warmer and more textured, while Relaxing achieves calm through clean, balanced composition rather than heavy sedation. His work for Institut Tres Bien follows similar principles, emphasizing coherence and wearability across the collection.
Philosophy
What drives Frédéric
Burtin treats fragrance as a form of communication. He believes scent reaches the brain before language does, bypassing rational thought to trigger memory and emotion directly. His process begins with listening—understanding what a client wants to feel, not just what they want to smell. He resists trends, preferring instead to build compositions that feel personal rather than performative. For him, a great fragrance should feel like it was always meant for the person wearing it, like a garment that fits perfectly. This philosophy shapes his work with private clients, where he translates specific emotional or conceptual briefs into precise scent profiles. He calls himself a translator rather than an inventor, which captures his humility and his respect for the materials themselves.
The houses