Alexandre Helwani’s expertise in the history of ancient perfumery is often sought after by cultural institutions.
His transversal knowledge of perfume history, showcased through articles on The Perfume Chronicles, has made him a distinguished keynote speaker on historical fragrances.
He has collaborated with esteemed institutions such as the Osmothèque - International Conservatory of Perfume, the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, the Paris Faculty of Pharmacy.
In addition to public engagements, Helwani consults for perfume brands, providing historical insights and producing internal memoirs on topics like historical aphrodisiacs (Sous le Manteau) and the history of attars, frankincense, and rose cultivation in Oman (Amouage).
As a writer, he has contributed to Antonym Magazine and Narcisse, as well as worked with various actors of the industry including Amouage, Histoires de Parfums, IFF, dsm-firmenich, and Nishane.
alexandre@theperfumechronicles.com
@theperfumechroniclesRecent conferences
Toulon, 2024, La Castille Seminar - Scents of the Bible.
Paris, 2024, Galerie des Patriarches - Libanomancy: perfume usage in Mesopotamian divination tablets.
Paris 2024, Galerie Hus - The Song of Songs: a hidden formula.
Paris, 2024, Faculty of Pharmacy - The challenges of identifying onycha and frankincense in ancient sources.
Paris, 2024, Institut du Monde Arabe - The daily uses of perfume in the Middle-East.
Muscat, 2023, French Embassy - The relevance of perfume history.
Muscat, 2023, National Museum - Private tour on the scented history of Oman for Amouage.
Paris, 2023, Osmothèque - Conférence dans le Noir: brief history of frankincense and ambergris.
Selected interviews
"Alexandre Helwani: the up-and-coming, serendipitous perfumer" - Essencional
Read here
“The Library of Alexandre” - OMG We Should Totally Do A Podcast. Listen here
"Alexandre Helwani - The Perfume Jack of all trades" - The Perfumer Podcast
Listen here
"Interview with Alexandre Helwani" - CaFleureBon
Read here
"Senteurs des mille et une nuits” - Trends Tendances
Read here (French)
"Interview with Alexandre Helwani, the perfumer of Personne" - La Parfumerie Tanu
Read here (Japanese)
"Stephan's Six - Alexandre Helwani" - Stephan Matthews
Read here