World Congress of Perfumery

The 2010 WCP didn't even start yet when we could already hear the rumeurs saying this will be the last congress held in Cannes, because more and more perfume creating companies are boycotting the organiser, who is selling the exposition stands for higher than one kg of Iris Butter and the conference places for around the same price as a kilogram of the finest Vanilla Absolute from Magadascar.

The exposition and the conferences are really not important. Everybody comes here for the contacts, for networking. During the day, the conference and the exhibition are like well repeated plays in the theater, but behind the scenes starting from 8 am, already everybody is trying to chose the best party for the night, which could be one of the fancy boat parties organised by leading perfume creating companies or dinners in the most expensive 3 star restaurants of the Cote D'Azur.

The first night it was a company owner that I get to know just a week ago who invited me to his house along with a 100 other perfumista. I learned the most during that party, among others :

- I can go to India and get employed as a perfumer before landing with my plane to Mumbai, because apparently the heroin of the Indian version of Ugly Betty ressembles me a lot...

- Smoking is obligatory. Especially if you are a perfumer!

- I am the sexual fantasy of the majority of the perfumers - strictly for the ones above 50 years. Though this isn't worth 5 years of experience at Firmenich. It only gets you the chance to see the interieur design of luxurious 5 star suits if you are interested.

- Everybody gets drunk, sooner or later, keep your strengh for until about midnight when real business is being made, just after the 11th champagne glass gets empty!

- A hand made visit card is nicer than most of the industrial ones, but slightly less professional.

Around 2 pm, just about when my friend's father started to flirt with me in front of him, and the host made guesses if I am wearing anything for sleeping, I decided it 's time to go home. I got loads of contacts, nothing really promising in my job search, but 50+ perfumers did for sure boost my self confidence! Maybe I should give up perfumery and be a plus size model for aging men?!

The next day I had the privilege to ask some of the top perfumers if they had already overcome their hangover.

I pretended that I still have it too - giving advice on how to get over quickly the hangover is one of the best conversation topics ever! - but really, I so much was afraid to get drunk on the party that I ended up having only one mojito the whole night.

So there I was, faking hangover, visiting the World Perfumery Congress' exposition, when at one stand there is a man looking deeply into my eyes, telling me he can help me to get a job. Appartently we met at the party yesterday, but obviously I made a more remarkable impression on him than vica versa... I thought why not just give him my CV, but he first wanted to shake my hand, and keeping it in his palm just a bit too much longer for any professional contact. Jan ( over 70, of course ) offered me a job at the spot as Junior Perfumer at the Norwegian branch of Tenkel corporations. I almost asked him where can I sign when he told me that just before finalising everything I have to pass some olfactory tests in the US where of course we would go together...

World Congress of Perfumery isn't really different from the annual Cannes film festival. Sex (if you don't mind the age difference..), drug ( I have smelled a very addictive ylang CO2! ), rock and roll ( cocktail parties every single night until 3 am ! ). Maybe on WCP there is more acting?!

I saw everybody charming everybody. I think it is because in perfumery you never know, who will become what one day, who can help you the next time, who you have to suck up in your next work place. So why not starting right now, sucking up to everybody? -one would think.

And believe me, I would love to! Seriously, you can be average perfumer with great sense of who to suck up an when, and you are directly overpassing those with less ass-licking capacities in spite of their great perfume creating capacities. Talking from experience. ...From the bad side though.

So I have decided that I will continue going to WCPs, wherever they will be held in the future, if not for anything, just to observe well how to charm people under retirement age.