Success Story: Sophia Groisman - Queen of Perfumery from Belarus

She is the author of more than 50 perfumes, including modern classics - Lancome Tresor, Yves Saint Laurent Paris and Yves Saint Laurent Yvresse, Calvin Klein Eternity, Karl Lagerfeld Sun Moon Stars, Laura Biagotti Sotto Voce, Boucheron Jaipur, Coty Exclamation, Elizabeth Taylor Diamonds and Rubies . Among her latest perfumes is Neblina from Yves Rocher, which was included in the ten most interesting new products of the year. This woman's name is Sofia Groysman, she is the vice president of IFF - International Flavors and Fragrances.

Photo: Shutterstock

But many years ago, Sophia Khodosh, suffering from postwar hardships in the Byelorussian SSR, did not even know about the amazing success that awaited her, the magazine writes Militta.

Unexpected confession

Sofia was born 8 March 1945, in a Jewish family in the Soviet town of Lyubcha (Belarus). Her parents met during the war in a partisan detachment in the forests of Belarus. Until 15 years she lived with her parents and her sister in the Soviet Union, the post-war life in which was very difficult, which hardened the character of Sofia.

In 1960, the family emigrated to Poland, and in 1965 to the United States. Having received the education of a chemist, Sofia dreamed of getting a job in order to provide for herself and her parents. And although she did not think about perfumery, it so happened that her first steps in the labor field began as an assistant to Ellie Fox at IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances).

Like any chemist or physicist, Sophia loved to set up experiments, so she occasionally tried to compose her compositions out of sheer curiosity. These experiments turned out to be so successful that the well-known perfumer Ernst Shifthan drew attention to it, and it was the fragrance created by Sofia that was chosen for the Paris perfume by Yves Saint Laurent.

“When I started creating chords, I strived for simplicity. This greatly impressed my curator Ernest Shiftan. The formulas of that time were based on hundreds of ingredients, primarily because the subcomponents were used so widely. For example, the rose subcomponent has 100 ingredients. A formula may contain several of these subcomponents representing different notes - rose, jasmine, orange blossom, etc. However, I thought: why does rose have to be so complex? I began to strive to "simplify" the rose... I usually create a main accord with 4-7 ingredients that convey the essence. This is the core around which I build a fragrance. It’s like drawing a flower - first you draw the middle, and then add the petals,” said Groysman.

At that time, IFF was managed by Josephine Katapano, who also, like Sofia, did not have a perfumer education, but had an unusually fine sense of smell and intuition, which helped her to create perfumery masterpieces. It was she who had a great influence on Sophia. The protection of Josephine Catapano and Sophia's hard work helped her become one of the IFF perfumers.

And soon they talked about her successes, and Sofia Groysman was awarded the Cosmetics Executive Achieve Award - an award for outstanding successes in perfumery.

Later, Sofia Groisman, who has earned the recognition of her colleagues, became Vice President of International Flavors & Fragrances.

Own style and resounding success

She has developed her own style of perfumer, which consists in forming the main emphasis of the perfume fragrance, consisting of several components. She prefers that the smell develops gradually, however, the background note should be heard at the very beginning. In the final notes of the chord the character of the perfume is heard. Usually in this chord Sophia identifies several key notes that become the basis of the composition.

Her fragrances are mostly floral or floral-fruity, as her favorite ingredients are flowers, and especially roses.

Sophia Groisman's brilliant victory was Trésor fragrance, which initially received low marketer test results. But later Trésor was among the flavors that were beloved by a wide range of buyers.

“Actually, I created this scent for myself: when I walked down the street, people turned around and asked what kind of perfume it was. And when I arrived in Paris and came to the negotiations, they immediately asked me: “What are you wearing?” - “My perfume!” So this scent became the main component in the formula of Trésor perfume,” the perfumer told the story of the creation of her most famous scent today.

Today, Sophia Groisman fragrances are among the best-selling perfumes on the market. Trésor in record sales reached a record of “Chanel No.5”.

Sofia Groysman knew many famous people and created perfumes for them. “When you sympathize with the customer, the perfume turns out successful,” she admitted.

She had to communicate with Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Taylor, Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, Isabella Rossellini. Sophia created perfume for European and American brands, including Paris or Yvresse (Yves Saint Laurent), Eternity for Women (Calvin Klein), Trésor (Lancome), Sotto Voce (Laura Biagotti), Sun Moon Stars (Karl Lagerfeld), Jaipur ( Boucheron), Calyx (Prescriptives), White Linen (Estee Lauder), White Diamonds (Elizabeth Taylor) and many others.

Smell of native land

In the collection of Sofia, there is also one special fragrance, created in honor of the country in which she was born. It is called “White Russia” (or Désir Coulant), writes Diva.

The idea to create a smell dedicated to Belarus came to her in 2006, when the perfumer visited her home country for the first time after emigration.

“This is a fresh, transparent smell of childhood, which I felt when I was a child - it has coolness, sweetness... Another important point that I took into account when creating this fragrance: today the planet is terribly cluttered, so if you wear perfume, the smell is strong and heavy which, as once upon a time, can be felt half a kilometer away, this will have a bad effect on our well-being. In our turbulent age, smells should be fresh, pleasant, transparent. “Belaya Rus” is just a low concentration scent. When I wear it, my mood lifts - it’s so fresh,” said the perfumer.

Sofia Groysman admitted that the formula of the “Belaya Rus” scent is quite expensive due to the fact that it is transparent, and transparency is achieved through the use of specific ingredients that cost a lot of money. She also admitted that she had 10 scent options before she decided which scent was most suitable for Belaya Rus.

She presented this fragrance in Minsk in 2013 year.

Rejection of men's fragrances

Sophia Groisman admits that she was never interested in the creation of men's perfumes. She believes that she would hardly have been able to create standing men's perfumes, since her fragrances are too feminine, and the smell for men would also come out too feminine for men, writes Parfumania.

Moreover, Sophia Groisman is one of the few perfumers who today hold the opinion that men's and women's lines of perfumery should be clearly demarcated. She does not recognize the universal perfume and believes that a woman should use women's fragrances, and men should use men's fragrances.

Women's fragrance, according to Groisman, must have a sweet echo, which are unacceptable in men's perfume.

Awards

She is recognized as “the best nose in America” and is admired by famous perfumers around the world.

Sofia Groysman is the winner of many awards: in 1996 she received the American Society of Perfumers award and the Living Legend award. In 1994 and 1999, she was awarded the Cosmetic Executive Women's (CEW) award for her contribution to the fragrance industry.

Popular perfumes from Sofia Groysman

Calvin klein eternity

Once Calvin Klein gave his wife a ring with an engraved Eternity engraved inside, which means "Eternity", which previously belonged to the Duchess of Windsor, as a sign of eternal love for her. Sophia Groisman immortalized in this fragrance eternal love, which was embedded in the ring.

Perfume combines the scents of flowers - such as lily, freesia, lily of the valley, carnation, and fruits - such as peach and apricot. All these scents are shaded by sandalwood and patchouli.

Lancome tresor

This perfume most clearly demonstrates Sofia Groysman's love for roses. It is these flowers that are used as the base for the aroma, while this base is framed by the smells of peach, apricot, musk, vanilla, amber and even wood. In addition, the aroma is complemented by the smells of flowers - such as lilies of the valley and lilac.

Bvlgari Pour Femme

As always, the base is the scent of rose, but this time the base also includes scents of iris, violet and jasmine. This bouquet is framed by fruity scents, and more specifically, raspberry and peach. Notes of green tea, wood and oriental resins add exclusivity to this perfume.

Yves Saint Laurent Paris

The base of these spirits practically does not differ from the previous ones and many others - it consists of a rose, an iris and a violet. However, this time the base of the perfume is framed with a whole bunch of floral aromas: mimosa, hyacinth, carnation, lilies of the valley and lily. But this list of smells in this composition does not end there - all the above described is also set off by notes of cedar, sandalwood and amber.

These perfumes are notable for the fact that Sophia Groisman specially went to Paris to feel the smell of this city and create a unique fragrance.

Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne

Another perfume for Paris and about Paris, only this time they are aimed at young Parisian women of the new generation. These perfumes combine both the smells (rose, violet, peony) that are traditional for Sophia Groisman, and the aromas of blackberry, cranberry, vetiver and musk, which are quite atypical for her.

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