Ugo Charron, a perfumer at Mane, is the nose behind the scents in our new Full Circle Collection, starting with Timur Moon. Below, he and Harry Doull, steward-owner of Keap, discuss Ugo’s background, our new fragrance framework, and the creation of Timur Moon.

Harry: Hello Ugo! To start, could you tell us a bit about how you got into perfumery? When did you realize you wanted to become a nose? What is it about this work that attracted you?

Ugo: My first encounter with perfume was through Susskind’s bestselling book, Perfume: The Story of a Murder, when I was 14. The novel revealed this vast new invisible world to me, and once I had this awareness, my desire to become a composer of scent was undeniable. 

I still can’t explain why, but I was attracted to chemistry. I realized a couple years later that, luckily, it was a good way to enter the small world of perfumery. Chemistry led me to an engineering school (Classe Préparatoire) to do intensive studies. That experience gave me a solid understanding of the scientific side of perfume before I embarked on the creative side. 

I knew I needed another degree more focused on fragrances to be able to pursue my dream job, so I then joined the Aromas and Fragrances master’s program at the University of Montpellier to focus solely on my passion. 

Harry: Can you tell us a bit about your pathway from there to your current work at Mane? What were some of your key moments of learning or projects that helped inform your point of view? What is your point of view on what makes a good fragrance, or what would make the world of fragrance better overall?

Ugo: My first professional experience was at L’Oréal in Paris, where I worked on the final stages of formula stability. It was a first good step, but not creative enough for me olfactively. 

After tedious efforts to find a position as a trainee, I finally met my first mentor, Christophe Laudamiel, through an online conference he was giving at ISIPCA (editor’s note: Paris’ Institut supérieur international du parfum, de la cosmétique et de l'aromatique alimentaire, one of the leading universities for perfumery) in November 2016. I sent him a message, and he replied. After a long Skype session, he asked me if I was free the following week to travel and take care of an art installation he was showing at Art Basel in Miami. A week later I was flying to New York — my first time in the U.S.! 

I felt immediately drawn to Christophe’s hard work and unlimited creativity, and I became his trainee for almost 4 years, traveling between New York and Berlin. I also had the chance to go to Madagascar to help a factory develop vetiver, patchouli, mint, and geranium essences. He taught me important lessons like ‘smell and feel before creating’ and ‘never dilute a strong idea’ — a prerequisite for all my future artistic endeavors. I remember endless nights working until 1 or 2 am without even noticing it was so late! 

When I Joined Mane in March 2020, I had the chance to work under other mentors: Claude Dir, Gino Percontino, Vince Kusinski and Mathilde Bijaoui.

Harry: What is your point of view on what makes a good fragrance?

Ugo: A good fragrance begins with an intrigue. It needs to make you ask, “what’s going on here?”

Harry: You and Keap had some prior background before this project... Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Ugo: I was training under Christophe Laudamiel when you were working with him. I helped Christophe on some of your previous beautiful candles. :)

Harry: We understand that Keap’s brief is a bit unusual in the world of fragrance houses, and unusual in the world of scented candles in many ways. What was your initial reaction to Keap’s framework? We also understand you were excited to work on this project. What aspects of the project excited you? 

Ugo: I like challenges, so when you told me we needed to create with the minimum number of ingredients possible, I was excited by both the eco-consciousness and the difficulty of trying to achieve a fragrance that performs well with so few ingredients. 

It was difficult because, especially in creating perfumes for candles, you usually use ingredients as tools to help other ingredients diffuse. Here I needed to choose my ingredients with two parameters in mind: the performance and the hedonic! It was not easy, but I am very proud of the final rendition! 

I like your transparency and the fact that you care about biodegradability and carbon renewability, not just being able to use the term “natural” for marketing’s sake. It’s important to say that all natural ingredients aren’t necessarily biodegradable or carbon renewable.

Harry: The first scent we have made together is Timur Moon. How would you briefly describe what it smells like to you? Is there anything out there you would compare it to? Who in your life would you gift it to?

Ugo: When you chose the name Moon I immediately thought it resonated with the scent. I imagine a reddish Timur-colored Moon on a very intense night with howling werewolves. It has depth, elegance, and a unique signature thanks to the big proportion of Timur pepper extract. It’s filled with tension, the warmth of the guaiacwood and gurjum combined with the cold and aromatic part of the pine, parsley, and Timur. I have never put so much Timur extract in a fragrance! I would give it to anybody that loves nature. It’s beautiful and spiritual.

Harry: Anything else you’d like to add?

Ugo: I am very proud to create scents for Keap. It’s a unique candle company with true values echoing mine: passion, transparency, authenticity, and enjoyment of meaningful, rigorous work!