Dominique Moellhausen

“Perfumery is the most abstract form of art, where the artist who creates a fragrance does so using the palette that consecrates their own feelings and images. And the spectator/beneficiary can interact with it in different ways, thanks to the emotional richness that the artwork releases. Discover how my creative soul, which initially manifested itself in poetry and painting, can find its perfect expression by playing with aromas”. Raised in an open, multicultural international environment, Dominique Moellhausen experienced the fascinating variety of fragrances and developed a unique sensitivity to all ethnicities and cultures around the world. Dominique was born in Milan on March 9, 1992, to a Paraguayan mother of Dutch origin and a German father. THE EDUCATION OF A FREE SPIRIT Dominique Moellhausen likes to call herself a “traveler of life,” always looking for something new and happy to enjoy every moment of the journey. Her home is the “here and now,” a tendency also derived from the cosmopolitan nature of her family. From childhood, Dominique traveled around the world with her father Anthony, president of the family company, and studied and speaks four languages: Italian and Spanish (mother tongues), English and French. After specializing in modern languages at school, she lived in London and Paris to study International Affairs and Business. After graduating, Dominique decided to consolidate her perfumery vocation at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, the prestigious international school of perfumery. Together, Dominique followed a coherent path of studies for a young woman with inherent artistic talents and raised in the Moellhausen family, which has more than 50 years of tradition in the fragrance industry. PERFUME AS A GLOBAL COMMUNICATION CODE Dominique is Perfumer and R&D Vice Director at Moellhausen. She believes perfume is a global communication code, capable of speaking different languages depending on the nose that smells it, and of triggering emotions that change according to personal experiences. A sensitivity Dominique developed also through her years as a “free spirit” between Paris and London, through her travels and her vivid curiosity. She carries out these explorations by immersing herself daily in novelty and diversity, driven by the desire to get to know, more and more, the tastes, fashions, habits, and culinary preferences of the various cultures and ethnicities. ARTISTIC TALENT Dominique loves painting, poetry, and above all the composition of fragrances: “This is the form of art and expression that I truly feel as my own. When I realized how my thoughts and my need to create artistic works could be expressed through such evocative and powerful means, I fell in love. I believe that, through its own research, a perfumer can tell a story and, at the same time, keep a secret. I find this an extremely beautiful and intimate ability”. FASHION AND PERFUME: A DEEP UNDERSTANDING The relationship between fashion and perfumery is a captivating topic, which Dominique investigates not only for professional reasons, but also because she wants to understand the psychological aspects of modern life. “Through fragrance, we express the most intimate and subtle concept and image of ourselves, which could also be read differently from how we conceive it; through fashion, the message is more direct and much stronger”. According to Dominique, perfume is sincere because “we cannot lie or disguise our personality... we will always choose a perfume that we unconsciously like...”. And she adds: “We would never use a perfume whose smell we don’t like, just because someone we think is great wears it.” A WORLD OF INSPIRATION For Dominique, everything can be a source of inspiration: a person, a dish, a landscape, a single ingredient, and even an adjective, a book, a story. “Depending on the brief I’m given, I begin to create or to focus on the aromas evoked by the story. If the brief I receive starts with a concept, a tale, or images, I begin with that narrative... with words that translate into raw materials. If I receive a brief that requires specific raw materials, my greatest effort is to relate them to each other, with the goal of developing traits of harmony and contrast. This is my starting point. From there, I begin to design a fragrance that the client/buyer will fall in love with and that I must feel as entirely my own”. OBJECTIVITY AND CREATIVITY Objectivity is Dominique’s strong point. “Personal taste should not interfere with the creation of fragrances; I always seek to maintain the right balance between artistic originality and the needs of the client, who must obtain what they truly want and, although sometimes temptation is strong... I cannot let myself get carried away by my creativity, losing sight of the goal”. Thanks also to teamwork, well-structured business processes, and the several decades of experience at Moellhausen, Dominique is able to create and choose the fragrance that best fits the brand’s context, and that best communicates the brand’s message and identity, without ever getting distracted by her own personal taste.