Núria Cruelles On How Loewe’s Latest Fragrance Is Breaking New Ground
“I wanted to work on the connection between what lives above and below the ground, unifying the inner and outer worlds of nature”
For Núria Cruelles, fragrance is the ultimate form of self-expression as nothing modulates your emotions quite like the notes that dance and pirouette on your pulse points. “A perfume is so strictly connected with your skin that it becomes a part of you,” she says. “The key is to feel comfortable wearing it. There is no right or wrong choice; the important thing is to find a perfume that makes you feel comfortable and powerful.”
That thoroughly modern approach, and a deep-seated appreciation for the nuances of scent, have been key to Núria’s successful career at Loewe. It has also allowed her to smash the perfume world’s glass ceiling and blaze a trail to one of the top spots in the industry.
Núria started life as a perfumer at the International Flavors & Fragrances corporation, which, as its moniker implies, produces flavours and fragrances for various brands globally. It was while formulating fragrances for Loewe in a laboratory that she got her big break and the brand’s creative director, Jonathan Anderson, persuaded her to work with him in-house. Appointed Loewe perfumer in 2018, she has since launched Paula’s Ibiza, where the mellow blend of coconut water, seaweed-like galbanum, driftwood and creamy frangipani flowers
bottled the smell of the island and its ’70s boho past.
Núria also recreated the raw scent of 11 garden plants – including honeysuckle, beetroot and tomato leaves – for a range of candles and home fragrances. “It is an exciting journey as Jonathan has very clear ideas on perfumery,” she says. “Sometimes the inspiration comes from precise memories he has. The Loewe Home Scents collection, for example, was born from his childhood memories, thinking about the time he spent with his family in the countryside.”
Núria acknowledges that her role as a perfumer straddle both the artistic and scientific realms. “I have always been fascinated by the world of smells,” she recalls. “I started studying chemistry to feed my curiosity about their composition. Everything that
emits a smell has always caught my attention, so it was quite a natural path for me to become a perfumer and enologist.” Although aware that Old World traditions often reign supreme in perfumery, and that the art form is usually passed from father to son, she has “never felt less legitimate for being a woman” in the industry. Not that it would have stopped her from following her nose and becoming an artisan perfumer. “Determination comes by itself if you are doing something you are passionate about and that you have always been deeply interested in,” she insists.
While Spanish culture and nature – both core tenets of Loewe – influence her work, Núria is quick to point out that she uses this as a starting point in order to develop fragrances
“that are totally contemporary.” Perhaps for this reason, Núria takes more risks with scent, looking for daring, innovative notes rather than another riff on a traditional perfume score.
Loewe’s latest unisex fragrance is a case in point and perhaps the most ambitious to date. Earth Eau de Parfum steers away from floral or musky predictability with a rare truffle note; its vegetal, earthy heart tempered by an unexpected soft, powdery scent trail. “I was inspired by the fungi kingdom,” says Núria. “I have always wanted to work with something unusual in perfumery and here I have mixed truffle with pear, elemi, mimosa and violet to make a unique olfactory concoction.”
She is also acutely aware of the power of scent when it comes to connection – whether that is with ourselves or something bigger in the universe. “I wanted to work on the connection between what lives above and below the ground, unifying the inner and outer worlds of nature,” Núria explains. “Earth also connects to the other fragrances that are part of our Botanical Rainbow collection”, including Solo Ella and Escencia, she adds.
Which brings us back to how Loewe has always had a nose for the unconventional and overturning perfume stereotypes. “At Loewe we approach fragrances as universal,” says Núria. “Our perfumes are dedicated to moments and sensations rather than being aimed at a particular prototype of a person.” Perhaps it’s time to unearth a new scent that’s a little different, yet supremely cool, for autumn.
Images courtesy of Esther Cloe Theaker, Adam Mayer
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s November 2022 issue.