Sleepwalking Fragrance Designer

Between my grandparents, who were master roasters, and my father, an artisan distiller, I grew up surrounded by coffee, flowers, stills, essential oils, and perfume. My earliest memories are imbued with nature, its virtues, its charms, and its powers. Very early on, I understood that smells were not mere effluvia: they told stories, they connected, they transformed.

As the author of numerous books on perfume, aromatherapy, and well-being, a teacher at the École Supérieure du Parfum, and involved in research on olfaction, I have long explored and shared knowledge. A pioneer of natural and organic perfume in France, I have collaborated with many houses and industries. But from this rich experience, I chose to retain the essentials: to create freely, to respect living things, to love what is true.

It is this quest for freedom that led me to found Maie Piou. An independent house where I compose confidential creations, imbued with meaning and sensations. An authentic, sometimes raw, niche perfumery that does not seek to seduce but to move.
Here, each perfume is an adventure, sometimes tender, sometimes provocative, always complex and passionate.

For me, a fragrance is not just an olfactory caress: it is almost an act of sorcery, capable of uplifting souls and transforming lives. And I enjoy it so much!

A tender provocateur, I like to disarm, to take you further and closer to yourself. To see your senses awaken, unfold, rejoice. Each perfume then becomes an intimate dialogue between your skin and your imagination.

So, if a shiver runs through you at the turn of a scent... perhaps you have entered my world?

Yours devotedly, Jean-Charles Sommerard
Tightrope Walker Perfumer