CONTRE-JOUR

A Master Perfumer at Symrise, Annick Ménardo first trained in medicine and biochemistry before choosing a different kind of anatomy: scent. Her fragrances—often described as dark and smoky— are driven by a constant fascination with contrast, a true chiaroscuro of perfumery. Light never cancels shadow; it defines it.
Ménardo helped reshape modern fragrance with bold compositions that can be polarising, yet always controlled. Her range is rare: she moves effortlessly from smoky structures to floral, fruity, or woody expressions, across genders and categories without ever sounding generic.
Methodical by nature, she works with “blocks” of accords developed throughout her career—an approach that brings depth and sophistication while keeping the construction legible. And like a musician, she composes until ingredients begin to converse among themselves, forming a melody. For her, a creation is complete only when it still has the power to surprise its author.
Captivated by the allure of contradictions, Annick Ménardo creates fragrances of a new era, for those who cherish their own mystery.