The Hellenist Paris brand is a new addition to our Aus Liebe zum Duft collection, and of course I’d like to introduce you to this fragrance house and its creations here on the blog. I’m all the more delighted to have had the opportunity to speak with founder Jean-David Jacoby.
His close connection to Greece forms the foundation of Hellenist Paris and runs like a common thread throughout the entire collection. In this interview, he reveals how the brand came to be, the role Greek myths and landscapes play in it, and what perfume lovers can look forward to from Hellenist Paris in the future.
Dear Jean-David, Hellenist Paris draws heavily on Greece, its landscapes, mythology, and cultural heritage. What inspired you to turn this fascination into a fragrance house?
It began long before I ever thought of creating a brand. As a child, I was fascinated by scents and by the way they could transport us somewhere else. Then, during a trip to Santorini, I experienced something that stayed with me forever: the smell of fig trees, sun-warmed stones, wild herbs carried by the Aegean wind. It felt strangely familiar, as if I had discovered a place I already knew.
Years later, after spending two decades in the fragrance industry, I realised that Greece embodied everything I wanted to express through perfume: beauty, emotion, nature, mythology and a unique relationship with time. Hellenist was born from the desire to share that feeling.
You mention childhood memories of Santorini and your Mediterranean roots. To what extent is Hellenist Paris rooted in your personal history, and to what extent does it stem from a more universal perspective on Greece?
Both are inseparable. Hellenist begins with a personal emotion, but it is not intended to tell my story. Greece serves as a universal language through which we can explore themes that belong to all of us: love, courage, freedom, desire, nostalgia or surrender.
The fragrances are inspired by Greek myths and landscapes, but ultimately they speak about human experiences. My hope is that everyone can find a part of themselves within them, regardless of whether they have ever visited Greece.
Before you founded Hellenist Paris, you—as mentioned earlier—had been working in the perfume industry for about twenty years. What gave you the confidence to finally launch your own brand?
To be honest, it was less a matter of confidence than necessity. I had spent years helping other brands tell their stories, and eventually I felt the need to tell my own.
Working for major perfume houses taught me every aspect of the industry, but it also helped me realize what was missing for me personally. Hellenist Paris became the project where I could combine my passion for perfume, my love for Greece, and my belief that scents can be a form of cultural storytelling.
One of the core concepts behind Hellenist Paris is “the permanence of time” and the connection between the past and the present. Why does this theme resonate so strongly with you, and how do you translate it into fragrances?
I have always felt like an old soul. Since childhood, I have been drawn to places, stories and emotions that seem to transcend time. Greece embodies that feeling perfectly. What fascinates me is the coexistence of different eras: Antiquity is not confined to museums; it remains alive in everyday life, in traditions, architecture, language and landscapes.
Perhaps this is also why my connection to Greece feels so profound. Sometimes, when I walk through a Greek village or stand before the Aegean Sea, I experience a strange sense of familiarity, as though I were returning somewhere I have known before. Maybe I lived there in another life — who knows?
Fragrance has a similar power. A scent can instantly reconnect us with a forgotten memory while remaining entirely present. In that sense, perfume becomes a bridge between what was and what is. Every Hellenist creation seeks to capture that dialogue between memory and immediacy, between the fleeting moment and something that feels eternal.
Throughout history, Greece has inspired countless artists, writers, and creators. What do you think modern perfumery can still discover about Greece that hasn’t yet been fully explored?
I believe perfumery has often approached Greece through clichés: blue seas, citrus groves and idyllic holidays.
What interests me more is the emotional and philosophical dimension of Greek culture. The myths, in particular, remain extraordinarily relevant because they explore timeless human questions. There is still so much to discover in the tension between light and shadow, reason and instinct, heroism and vulnerability. These themes feel as contemporary today as they did thousands of years ago.
Instead of recreating specific places, your fragrances often seem to evoke memories, dreams, and emotions. When developing a new fragrance, how do you strike a balance between storytelling and wearability?
Storytelling is always the starting point, but wearability is the ultimate test. A fragrance can have the most beautiful concept in the world, but if people do not want to wear it, the story remains incomplete. We work closely with our perfumers to ensure that each creation stands on its own as a desirable fragrance, even for someone who knows nothing about the inspiration behind it. The story should enrich the experience, never compensate for the fragrance itself.
Mythology plays a central role in the collection. Which Greek myth or figure fascinates you the most, and why?
Achilles has always fascinated me. Not because of his strength, but because of his fragility.
What makes him memorable is not his invincibility but his humanity. He embodies the idea that courage is not the absence of vulnerability but the ability to move forward despite it. I think that is why his story continues to resonate so strongly today.
The fragrances were created by several perfumers, including Maurice Roucel, Alexandra Carlin, Suzy Le Helley, and Pierre-Constantin Guéros. How do you choose the right perfumer for a particular story or concept?
Every perfumer has a unique sensitivity, almost like a writer or film director. When developing a new project, I spend a great deal of time thinking about who will best understand the emotional core of the story. Maurice Roucel, for example, brought incredible depth and sensuality to La Nuit des 300, while Aliénor Massenet perfectly captured the tension between innocence and desire in Éveil du Faune.
The goal is never to impose a vision but to create a dialogue between the concept and the perfumer’s own artistic language.
Les Bras de Morphée and La Nuit des 300 both received major awards from Nez Magazine and the Fragrance Foundation. Were these fragrances particularly significant milestones for the brand?
Absolutely. Awards are never the objective, but they provide meaningful validation, especially for a young independent house. What made these recognitions particularly rewarding was that they celebrated two fragrances that perfectly embody the creative ambition of Hellenist. They showed us that there is an audience looking for fragrances that combine strong artistic storytelling with genuine olfactory quality.
If you had to introduce Hellenist Paris to someone using just one fragrance, which one would you choose, and what makes it the perfect ambassador for the brand?
Probably Les Bras de Morphée. It captures many of the values that define Hellenist: softness, sensuality, poetry and emotional depth. It is comforting yet sophisticated, intimate yet memorable. It also reflects our belief that fragrance can evoke a state of mind as much as a place or a character.
Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the niche perfume industry. How do you address this issue without losing sight of your strong creative and artistic vision?
For us, sustainability begins with creating objects that people genuinely want to keep and cherish.
We work with responsible suppliers, favour recyclable materials whenever possible and seek increasingly sustainable ingredients, but we also believe that longevity is important. A fragrance that remains meaningful to someone for years is, in its own way, a sustainable creation.
The challenge is not to oppose creativity and responsibility, but to make them progress together.
Looking ahead: What stories, myths, or aspects of Greek culture would you like to explore through scents?
There are countless possibilities. Greece is an inexhaustible source of inspiration.
I would love to continue celebrating some of the extraordinary female figures of Greek mythology, such as Circe, whose story feels remarkably modern in its complexity and independence. I am also fascinated by the idea of exploring new chapters of the Odyssey, not as a journey across geography, but as a journey through human experience.Beyond mythology, I would like to delve deeper into ingredients that are uniquely connected to Greece and into the relationship Greeks have always maintained with the natural elements. Water, sunlight, wind, stone, salt… these are not merely parts of the landscape; they are fundamental components of the Greek way of life and imagination.
The more I explore Greece, the more I realise there is still so much left to discover.
And finally: What can perfume lovers look forward to from Hellenist Paris in the coming months and years?
Above all, they can expect us to remain faithful to what has guided Hellenist from the beginning: the desire to move people emotionally.
We will continue creating fragrances, home rituals and artistic collaborations that invite people to travel, dream and reconnect with themselves through scent. For me, perfume is ultimately about emotion and pleasure. It has the power to transform an ordinary moment into something memorable, to awaken a forgotten memory, or simply to bring joy.
Our ambition is to keep building a universe that inspires, transports and resonates long after the fragrance itself has faded.
The journey is just beginning.
Dear Jean-David, thank you very much for taking the time to answer my questions.
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