You need to be passionate; it is a vocation, or a calling, to want to move people through enchanting fragrances. It’s a job 24/7; you only switch off when you have a cold or when you are really very tired. But an inspiration can capture you any time. And you must be able to always raise the bar and especially listen so that you can interpret a real olfactory melody. Knowing and loving different cultures, travelling to be 'contaminated' by new and different senses and sensibilities. Those candidates who make it will always be those that have something more than just a good sense of smell.

— Calice Becker on what it takes to become a perfumer. Read more at The woman behind some of the world’s most famous fragrances on how to smell your way to the top at Vogue Australia.