There is always a perfumer behind every distinctive and particularly outstanding fragrance who treats their work as art. The author. The creator. Fernanda Russo, who created the compositions and formulas for the I Am collection, is this kind of person.
Fernanda was born and works in Florence. Lora Nekrasova, the founder of the Bibliotheque brand, met her when she was on holiday with her family. They entered a historic perfume workshop and saw a woman whose eyes were shining and who was talking about fragrances as if she wanted to open up the whole world to people.
Fernanda opened her workshop in the historic herbalist shop Antica Erboristeria e Spezieria San Simone, which has been operating in the city since 1700, in 1994, when no one else would dare to work in such a narrow niche. Antica Erboristeria has always offered visitors a wide range of natural herbal products, and with Fernanda's arrival, it also added a large selection of perfumes and cosmetics. Even later, Fernanda released her first perfume collection Antiche Vie di Firenze - ‘Ancient Streets of Florence’, in which she encoded the secret stories of the streets of her favorite ancient city.
‘My first scent memory is from my childhood. My friends and I were jumping rope when a strong smell of nepitella rose in the air. Nepitella is a very fragrant mint, and it really stuck with me at the time. When I was creating a selection of eight fragrances dedicated to Florence, I added mint to one of them,’ says Fernanda.
It takes five minutes from Fernanda Russo's shop to reach the Uffizi Gallery, which exhibits works by Botticelli, Titian, Raphael, and da Vinci. On the next street is the 13th-century Bargello Palace, which now houses a sculpture museum. In her shop, Fernanda holds masterclasses in perfume creation, and in a separate room, she combines fragrance compositions for companies that come to her with special requests.
‘When we walked into Fernanda's place, we were struck by the atmosphere. Despite the language barrier, Fernanda was very open and her eyes shone. She is a creator, and this attracted us the most. At the same time, it was important to us that perfumery was not just a hobby for a person, and Fernanda is very well-versed in herbal medicine and pharmaceuticals. She is a specialist, and perfumery is her life's work. We share the same values and beliefs that fragrances continue the image of a person, are our second business card, and have a strong influence on the inner state,' Lora shares.
Fernanda has been working as a perfumer for 30 years. Before opening her workshop, she graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy with a doctorate. Her studies in phyto-, aromatherapy, and holistic therapies brought her so close to fragrances that she went to work in a perfume production laboratory, where she improved the industry's recipes and formulas. With the experience she gained, Fernanda opened her workshop.
Fernanda describes herself as a curious person who loves visual art, music, and beauty culture in general. Her son is a musician, and they are currently working together to turn opera into perfume. Sometimes she calls herself a ‘perfume composer’.
‘My creations are born out of an exchange of ideas, in a constant desire to express and share emotions. I start creating perfumes when I have an idea in mind. The formula comes later. Then I hone it and refine it. Inspiration can be anything: a new ingredient, a dish, a landscape, an adjective. Of course, my interlocutors are very important. I listen to them and serve them,’ the master admits.
Answering the question about the mission of perfumes, Fernanda talks about the combination of sensual pleasure and the impact of fragrances on a person.
‘Perfumes emphasize a person's individuality, help to demonstrate to other people their self-image, enhance creativity and motives. At the same time, perfumes, essences, and aromas awaken our old subconscious memories, resonate or transport us to the right states.’
Fernanda used this principle to create the fragrances for the I Am collection. Lora Nekrasova wrote Fernanda the stories of each perfume, they were translated into Italian for Fernanda, and then the perfumer transformed herself into these states so that other women could easily recognize them.
‘It was as if I was going on stage, imagining myself as the main character in a story written by Larysa.’
Fernanda's hands were free to create, and no restrictions were put on her in terms of the components.
‘I like to work with different notes, to push my boundaries, to surpass myself. Ariadne's thread leads me from one design to another, and in this way, previous experience enriches new creations. I am very picky about the ingredients and try to get the best quality from them. Sometimes I have to search again and again until I come across people who know me from abroad and can sell me the right ingredient."
Finally, Fernanda adds that the greatest pleasure for her is to recognize the perfumes she has created on someone in the street. We think it would be a good idea if you visit Florence and her shop wearing I Am perfume.
