Vincent Ricord
Vincent Ricord arrived in perfumery sideways. Born in Grasse into a family that included a 100-year-old uncle who practiced the craft, Ricord initially leaned toward art and music, and his father restored vintage luxury cars in their hometown. His first olfactory memory? Benzene in that garage. At 13, during a school internship at a fragrance company, something clicked. He could hear the perfumers at family gatherings discussing ingredient quality and pricing across Japan and Bulgaria like characters in a spy film. That sealed it. Ricord trained through various institutions, landed at Expressions Parfumées in 1999, and spent two decades accumulating experience across multiple French fragrance houses. He also taught at the École Supérieure du Parfum in Paris, passing knowledge to the next generation. In 2020, he joined CPL Aromas as Senior Perfumer, working from their Paris creative center.
The hits
Notable creations
The signature
How Vincent composes
Ricord crafts at the intersection of tradition and modernity, balancing classical technique with contemporary sensibility. His work for houses including D'Orsay, Sisley Paris, Lalique, Miller et Bertaux, Welton London, and Haute Fragrance Company demonstrates range across styles. He gravitates toward rich, distinctive compositions that reward wearing. He has created collections such as the Original and Black ranges, and recently developed Everlasting Light for CPL Aromas, showcasing exclusive responsibly-sourced raw materials. His multi-department experience across fine fragrance, home care, and 100% natural fragrances has given him technical versatility. He admires Edmond Roudnitska's Diorissimo as a definition of perfection in floral composition.
Philosophy
What drives Vincent
Ricord speaks about blank pieces of paper and pens, about transforming emotions into fragrance rather than simply following briefs. He draws inspiration from colors, artists, travel, food, and music, describing the moment a concept becomes scent as magical. His approach acknowledges that a perfumer needs not just a good nose, but good ears: listening to customers, understanding their expectations, absorbing the world. This connects to his parallel life as a jazz bassist, where he learned that skills must be honed before you can compose freely on your own. He is skeptical of family mythology in perfumery. I am not a perfumer who grew up in a field of jasmine, he has said. He came to this through curiosity and circumstance, which gives his work a grounded quality.
The houses