JEAN-CLAUDE ELLENA

Jean-Claude Ellena is the perfumer behind the Eau de Parfum Rose Graffiti for Les Bains Guerbois.

Born in Grasse into a family of perfumers, Jean-Claude Ellena began his training at the age of 17. Over the course of his career, he developed an instantly recognisable style, defined by simplicity, precision and the pursuit of a clear olfactory form in which every material finds its rightful place.

His style is often compared to a watercolour or a chamber music composition. Jean-Claude Ellena favours precise formulas, subtle contrasts and an economy of means. Rather than accumulating effects, he seeks to reveal a sensation, a material or a landscape with the fewest possible gestures.

In 2004, Jean-Claude Ellena became the exclusive perfumer of Hermès, a position he held until 2016, for twelve years. During this period, he shaped an essential part of the Maison’s olfactory identity with creations that became iconic, including Terre d’Hermès, Un Jardin sur le Nil, Voyage d’Hermès and numerous compositions from the Hermessence collection.

THE FRAGRANCE BY JEAN-CLAUDE ELLENA FOR LES BAINS GUERBOIS

ROSE GRAFFITI

For Rose Graffiti, Jean-Claude Ellena draws inspiration from an urban mural from the 1980s at Les Bains. Mandarin and passion fruit open the composition with a bright, tangy tension. Centifolia and Damask roses form the heart of the fragrance, extended by a rare musk with clean and subtly woody facets.

Created in 2026 for the Formes & Matières collection, Rose Graffiti offers a contemporary, free-spirited and graphic interpretation of the rose. A composition where the delicacy of the flower meets the irreverent energy of graffiti, expressed through Jean-Claude Ellena’s characteristic precision and lightness.

SOME ICONIC CREATIONS BY JEAN-CLAUDE ELLENA

Jean-Claude Ellena has created several fragrances that have become major references in contemporary perfumery for leading international houses. His creations include:

• First, Van Cleef & Arpels, created in 1976, the Maison’s first fragrance and one of the first major creations of his career.
• Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert, Bvlgari, created in 1992, a pioneering composition that helped establish the green tea accord in contemporary perfumery.
• Déclaration, Cartier, created in 1998, a woody and spicy fragrance that became one of the Maison’s olfactory signatures.
• Terre d’Hermès, Hermès, created in 2006, a mineral and woody composition that has become one of the iconic fragrances of contemporary men’s perfumery.
• Un Jardin sur le Nil, Hermès, created in 2005, a green and woody composition inspired by the garden islands of the Nile, built around green mango, lotus and sycamore.
• Heaven Can Wait, Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, a contemporary creation built around iris, spices, vetiver, vanilla and white musks.

From Van Cleef & Arpels to Bvlgari, Cartier, Hermès and Éditions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, Jean-Claude Ellena has developed over several decades an olfactory style defined by precision, light and an economy of means. An approach that can also be found in Rose Graffiti for Les Bains Guerbois.