Mathilde Laurent’s New Fragrance Laboratory Rue Du Faubourg Saint Honoré

Cartier perfumer, Mathilde Laurent has been working from the Foundation Cartier Building for several years and has now recreated her laboratory at Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, in the heart of the golden triangle. It is located near Place Vendôme, the epicentre of High Jewellery and establishes a universe that embodies the greatness of her perfumes, conceived and worn as invisible jewels.

In the world of perfumery, Mathilde Laurent, Cartier's official perfumer since 2005, is the embodiment of avant-garde. In a field that's often far too normative, she adds meaning, poetry, imagination and inventiveness to fragrance. It is her way of elevating the soul through the beauty of the senses. Her creations for Cartier represent a perfumery that escapes the dull consensus, all the while remaining anchored in the history and art of perfume. She translates the Maison's style through original and timeless fragrances, just like the jewellery creations.

THE ESSENCE OF THE LABORATORY IS TO CREATE A PLACE THAT GIVES FREE REIGN TO IMAGINATION

• A unique and multi-sensory space that bridges all artistic disciplines, from perfumery to street art, photography to music and the aim is to shed light on the idea that everything is about scent
  

It’s a new way of approaching the world of perfumery and breaking down its boundaries.

This terrace, overlooking the roof of the Madeleine, is also home to a meditation staircase and a place where plants are found, grown to be picked in the morning and drunk later, like warm perfumes.

• A haute nature perfumery it could be said
  

The plants are mixed, submerged into hot water as if about to be distilled, but are then drunk in simple cups served in the Laborabar, an organic and experimental place that organises creative gatherings. An olfactory experience which reminds us that perfumery has not always been a universal practice, and that in the past it was even made in the garden, a Haute Nature perfumery it could be said.

A PLACE OF WORKING AND LIVING, A PLACE WHERE NATURE AND CHEMISTRY MEET

• A setting where white is the dominant colour, reflecting the light coming from the north to which the building is exposed, and which symbolises the idea of creation
  

Nestled under the rooftops like a typical Parisian apartment, the laboratory is a living space imagined by Mathilde Laurent, who selected biomorphic furniture to evoke the shape of the human body. This consists of a table, desk, pink chairs and cushion pads. As soon as you enter, the imagination and creativity of Mathilde Laurent is expressed through the presence of a plaster nose that seems to have emerged from the wall, a nod to perfumery which takes the form of a sculpture from the Hellenic collection found in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

• Our sense of smell is awakened everywhere
  

Whether it's phrases such as "A beautiful perfume is one that shocks you" by Edmond Roudnitska written in felt-tip pen on the window frames, or the plants that grow in funnels, here, everything is a fusion of nature and chemistry.