What she wants in her perfume instead is the smell of fresh, living flowers – in nature, not ones that have been cut and cooked. She explains: “this is why I work with the molecular, with what we call in perfumery ‘head space technology’. It’s living technology which allows the perfumer to work with the true living smell of nature. I don’t work with oils or absolutes that, at the end – what are they? I don’t see why I should work with said ‘natural ingredients’ because if they don’t smell like the true flower, why should I work with them?"

— Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent on preferring synthetic over natural. Read more at Cartier’s perfumer on creating “a ray of fragrance” at Harpers Bazaar.