Five Questions with Perfumer Ana Gomez – Iran Beauty Clean Edition
On the occasion of the latest Iran Beauty Clean exhibition, perfumer Ana Gomez travelled to Iran to offer a private creation workshop to some of our customers. In this short interview, she tells us more about her experience and the fragrance tastes of this country.
How was your latest experience in Tehran?
Visiting Iran is always a pleasure. I feel very well-treated everywhere I travel for work, of course, but Tehran is special. Iran is a relatively unknown country. Perhaps that is why the friendliness and hospitality of its people and the enthusiasm with which they welcome you are more impressive.
In the meetings and workshops we had in parallel with the Iran Beauty Clean exhibition, people appreciated the time we invested in attending them, just as we enjoyed the time they dedicated to us. But I feel that this feeling of gratitude in this country is greater. Every time I am dazzled by how thankful Iranians are when foreigners visit their country.
This time, we organised a private workshop in which participants could be a perfumer for one day, and create their own fragrance. It was great to see the happiness and excitement that participants showed during the activity. It is a pleasure to share my knowledge with other people who work in the same field but in different departments.
What do you like the most when you travel to this country?
What I like the most about travelling to this country is having the opportunity to immerse myself in the Persian culture, since I love to travel and get to know different cultures and cuisines. I love being involved with people from other countries and getting to know their traditions and especially their perfumery tastes. That helps me to work with them more efficiently.
Are there any specific scent profiles that people like?
Iranian perfumery tastes are quite ”French” although the influence of the Middle East is still present. For masculine fragrances, amber, woody and spicy notes are very successful in this country, and for feminine fragrances, they like sweet and floral notes. In both cases, Persians usually wear scents that are very intense and powerful at the top, and very long-lasting, following global trends in scents and Middle East trends in power.
What scent do you associate the most with this place and why?
Personally, the smell that I most associate with this place is undoubtedly the smell of saffron and dry nuts. When I get back home from a trip to Iran and unpack my luggage, the smell of saffron lingers in my house for days.
If you would have to describe Tehran as a perfume, how would it be?
At the top, I would put spicy notes such as saffron and black pepper and white flowers. At the heart of the fragrance, I would use ambery, leathery and woody notes. And finally, at the bottom, I would put musky and sweet notes like vanilla.
