"It takes two to tango"

Mona di Orio loved to explore light and darkness while creating her beautiful perfumes. 

This is exactly what happened to her brand. It faced dark moments with her passing away in 2011 leaving Jeroen heartbroken and with a challenge in his hands: how to perpetuate a brand that no longer has its perfumer. But just like Mona wanted, the light was still there: JEROEN OUDE SOGTOEN.

I get frustrated sometimes when I find only articles mentioning his loss and how the brand is fighting to stay alive. Yes she was the perfumer. Indeed important. But not less important is the work that Jeroen has been doing as the creative director of the brand since its launch in 2004.

A creative director is a vital person in a project of fragrance development. As the name says itself, it is the person who gives direction to where the project is going to go. In case of fragrances, creative directors (as myself  - yes, I am creating fragrances) will be the starting point of the fragrance. They will bring an idea, a story to be told. They will set the mood, the tone, the personality and the path where they want to explore that idea. Many or most of them even choose the ingredients, or at least the main ingredients to transform the idea into a scent. Creative director and perfumer will work alined to bring together their own talents, backgrounds, taste and passion and when that happens, beauty is created!
A creative director doesn't have to know wh...