The Quick Spritz

• Jérôme Epinette is a French perfumer at Robertet and a graduate of the Grasse Institute of Perfumery.
• His work connects Victoria Beckham Beauty, Vilhelm Parfumerie, and Byredo.
• Fragrances credited to him include Bal d'Afrique, Gypsy Water, Blanche, Mojave Ghost, and Young Rose.
• Woods are a recurring interest in his work. In these Byredo scents, they often support fruit, flowers, and musk without dominating them.
• All five Byredo fragrances have MicroPerfumes sample links below.

The Name Behind the Confusion

Victoria Beckham's Hotel Portofino and Vilhelm Parfumerie's Room Service have a connection after all. It just isn't the brand name on the bottle.

As we explained in our Hotel Portofino preview, one is a Victoria Beckham Beauty creation; the other is a Vilhelm perfume Beckham has praised.

Both were created with Jérôme Epinette. His involvement in Hotel Portofino appears in the launch reporting, while Fragrantica credits him with Room Service.

If the name is unfamiliar, the perfumes probably aren't. Epinette has helped shape the way several modern fragrance brands smell, particularly Byredo.

Once you start following perfumers as well as brands, your sample wishlist gets much more interesting.

Grasse to Robertet

Epinette trained at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, which lists him among its class of 2002 graduates. He subsequently joined Robertet, the French fragrance and flavor company.

Robertet matters because it supplies more than a desk and a laboratory. The company has deep expertise in natural aromatic materials, giving its perfumers access to ingredients and the people who develop them. Robertet describes that work here.

That doesn't mean an Epinette perfume is entirely natural. Modern perfumery draws on both natural and synthetic materials, and his training included both.

What matters is the choice each material gives him: a particular texture, a different shade of wood, a floral detail that changes the whole composition.

The Byredo Years

Byredo founder Ben Gorham brought an artist's approach to fragrance. Memories, images, and emotions could become the starting point for a perfume.

Epinette helped turn those ideas into something wearable. Gorham has discussed that early collaboration, which also involved perfumer Olivia Giacobetti, in an interview with Coveteur.

Bal d'Afrique is a useful place to begin. Released in 2009 and credited to Epinette, it combines a bright opening with flowers and a woody foundation. It has enough character to invite another sniff without requiring the wearer to unravel a complicated story.

Gypsy Water and Blanche belong to that early Byredo period, too. Mojave Ghost followed in 2014, and Young Rose arrived in 2021. They span years of the brand's development, rather than one single early collection.

The appeal of exploring them together is hearing different answers to a similar question: how much personality can you give a fragrance while leaving it room to breathe?

What an Epinette Fragrance Actually Smells Like

Let's start with something Epinette has said himself: "I am obsessed with woods."

In his Fragroom interview, he explains that the ingredients perfumers love become part of their signatures.

That gives us something more useful than simply calling his perfumes sophisticated.

Across these five Byredo selections, our reading of the shared character is clarity. You can follow the citrus, the floral softness, or the dry wood without everything collapsing into one thick sweetness.

The woods often give the other notes somewhere to rest. Musk can soften their edges or create a clean, skin-like impression. Neither has to become the loudest thing in the perfume.

Compare the pine-and-incense direction of Gypsy Water with Blanche's clean florals. Both contain sandalwood, but they tell very different stories around it.

"Transparent" is useful fragrance language here: it describes a sense of space within the scent. It doesn't automatically mean weak, short-lived, or barely detectable.

And it isn't a rule for everything Epinette makes. A perfumer responds to different briefs. These samples offer a way to explore one side of his work, not a formula for identifying every creation blind.

Smell It for Yourself: Five Byredo Samples

Gypsy Water: Start with the woods

Juniper, citrus, pine needles, and incense meet sandalwood, vanilla, and amber. This is the place to explore how freshness and warmth can share a composition. Pay attention to whether the vanilla softens the woody character rather than taking over.

Try a Byredo Gypsy Water sample.

Bal d'Afrique: Follow the brightness

Citrus and flowers sit alongside vetiver, cedar, and musk. If you usually imagine vetiver as stern or aggressively earthy, this is an interesting counterpoint. Notice how the brighter notes affect your impression of the woods.

Try a Byredo Bal d'Afrique sample.

Blanche: Explore the clean side

Aldehydes, which can create sparkling or soapy effects, join rose, peony, violet, musk, and sandalwood. Start here if fresh laundry and clean skin sound more appealing than smoke or spice. Clean can still have plenty of character.

Try a Byredo Blanche sample.

Mojave Ghost: Look for softness

Ambrette, magnolia, violet, and sandalwood give you another way to explore the relationship between flowers and woods. Its fruity side comes with sapodilla, a tropical fruit note. Compare it with Blanche and notice how differently softness can be expressed.

Try a Byredo Mojave Ghost sample.

Young Rose: Give the flowers some bite

Sichuan pepper and ambrette lead into rose and orris, with musk and ambroxan underneath. Byredo's note list makes the contrast clear: spice, flowers, then a smooth base. Try it if traditional rose perfumes haven't quite won you over.

Try a Byredo Young Rose sample.

FAQ

Who is Jérôme Epinette?

He is a French perfumer at Robertet who trained at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery and has created fragrances for numerous niche, designer, and celebrity brands.

What perfumes did Jérôme Epinette create?

His credited work includes Byredo Bal d'Afrique, Vilhelm Room Service, and Victoria Beckham Beauty fragrances. The five Byredo selections above offer an introduction to his widely credited catalogue.

Did he make Victoria Beckham's Hotel Portofino?

Yes. Launch reporting identifies Epinette as Beckham's perfumer collaborator on Hotel Portofino.

What is Byredo's signature scent?

There isn't one universal answer. Bal d'Afrique, Gypsy Water, Blanche, and Mojave Ghost are useful starting points for exploring different sides of the house.

What does a Robertet perfumer do?

A perfumer develops fragrance formulas for client brands, selecting and balancing materials, evaluating trials, and refining the scent to fit the creative brief.

Final Notes

The logo tells you who sells the perfume. The perfumer's name gives you another clue about what you might enjoy next.

Try two of these on separate days and look for the shared details. If you enjoy discovering the people behind your fragrances, our Marie Salamagne profile is a good next stop. You may find your next favorite by following the person who made your last one.