From Personal Necessity to Olfactory Art: The Story of Fleurage Perfumery
Sensitive skin is a widespread concern, with studies indicating that more than half of Australians grapple with this condition. For those who experience it, finding suitable skincare and fragrance products can feel like an insurmountable challenge. While the dream of creating one’s own perfect formulations is appealing, it remains an unrealistic aspiration for the vast majority. However, for a select few, necessity truly does breed invention, transforming personal challenges into thriving businesses. Emma J Leah stands as a prime example of this creative spirit.
Back in the 1990s, Leah identified a personal void that spurred her into action. Today, that initial drive has blossomed into a successful perfumery named Fleurage. Her journey into the world of scent began with aromatherapy. Leah has long harboured “a deep interest in smell and its effect on people psychologically,” but the purely therapeutic and wellness-focused aspects of aromatherapy didn’t quite resonate with her. This led her to explore the realm of skincare. Through extensive research, she discovered she possessed the knowledge and skills not only to formulate products suitable for her own sensitive skin but also to craft exquisite fragrances.
“All perfumers will tell you they get there because of their own need,” she explains. “I didn’t like the smells that were around. So it was moving towards things that made me happy.”
The Path Less Travelled in Perfumery
Leah outlines two primary pathways into the art of perfumery. The first involves aligning oneself with a European company or institution, with the eventual aim of joining their ranks. However, this route presents several hurdles. “Your learning then becomes part of their stable, and that’s fine, but it’s a little bit closed off to Australians,” she notes. “Especially female Australians, and especially female Australians over the age of 25, which I was by the time I thought I should probably do something about this in an official capacity.”
Consequently, Leah opted for the second, more independent route: a self-taught learning journey that allowed her to immerse herself in her passion for historical perfumery. “Because of that interest, I realised that natural perfumery had gone more towards aromatherapy, and what we needed it to do was come back to that beauty that we all recognise in perfumery,” she states. “It was all natural ingredients, it was just beautiful things made with beautiful ingredients. And that’s where I wanted to go.”
From Melbourne Boutique to Gold Coast Hub
In 2007, Leah opened Fleurage’s inaugural boutique in a charming Art Deco space in Melbourne’s South Yarra. This initial venture featured a curated selection of Leah’s creations, including perfumes and skincare. As customers discovered that the artisan behind the counter was also the creator of the exquisite products, requests for bespoke formulations began to pour in.
Fortunately for these discerning clients, perfumers can be broadly categorised. One type is ingredients-based, which can make the creation of bespoke perfumes challenging if clients lack an understanding of how different scents interact. Leah, however, operates on a different principle. She bases her creations on a client’s vision, capable of translating their ideas into a tangible scent, often using a mood board as inspiration.
“All of your tastes are interrelated,” she explains. “So the music that you like, the colours that you like, the foods that you like, they are all part of an individualised taste palette. So if you can tap into the colours, music, and taste, then you can direct it towards the smell.”
Today, Fleurage has relocated to the picturesque Gold Coast. Here, Emma and her dedicated team not only offer a range of exquisite perfumes and craft bespoke scents but also conduct workshops, sharing the intricate art of perfumery with aspiring enthusiasts.
Leah has been leading Fleurage workshops since 2014. Over the years, she has honed her ability to strike a perfect balance between engaging and enjoyable learning experiences and the essential technical knowledge required for perfume creation. However, she points out a common misconception among workshop attendees.
“They think they’re going to make a commercial masterpiece in an hour,” she says. “I mean, the fact that we’ve made it so that they can make a beautiful perfume in an hour is actually quite a feat.”
Many individuals arrive with the ambition of recreating their favourite existing scent. This is not only logistically improbable due to ingredient accessibility but also impractical within the time constraints of a workshop. Leah clarifies a prevalent misunderstanding: that with sufficient expertise and training, a flawless perfume can be developed in mere hours. In reality, the extensive testing and refinement process involved means that such an endeavour is far more likely to span years rather than hours.
She elaborates that one of today’s highly sought-after perfumes took three perfumers a total of two years to develop. “It’s probably got about three ingredients in it,” she notes. “But it’s that beautiful combination of those very specific ingredients that make it what it is, and it’s taken two years for them to get there.”
