http://carbonnel.com/

Love of fragrances, years long tradition and heritage, as well as unprecedented quality of essential oils are just parts of the fragrant story described by the Company of Carbonnel S.A., which is among the most important companies headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, specializing in the creation and manufacture of perfumes and essential oils.

Back in 1925 the company was founded by Mauricio Carbonnel who focused exclusively on distillation and manufacture of highest quality essential oils in the beginning. Since 1925 through today, the regular offerings of the Company of Carbonnel have encompassed such essential oils as thyme, lavender, labdanum, cypress, anise, bitter fennel and marjoram. Mauricio Carbonnel is one of the pioneers of the distillation of such aromatic herbs such as lavender, thyme and rosemary and whose tradition has lasted over half a century.

The founder, Mauricio Carbonnel was succeeded by his son, Francisco Carbonnel, who extended the range of services to artistic perfumery, creation of fragrances and aromas. Mr. Francisco is a perfumer, the owner and runs the company in which one of the main roles belongs to his son and my host last week, Christian Carbonnel.

Barcelona is beautiful, especially if you are invited and cordially welcomed by people who are passionate about perfume creation, who love art, history and culture, and who truly enjoy the city they live in. I had the opportunity to be their guest and to feel—at least for a while—the spirit and scents of Spain, to spend wonderful days getting to know the well-tuned team of people who are connected with perfumery, both professionally and in private life.

What gives me the most pleasure is conversation about perfumes from the other side, that of a fan insider, which we cannot see or suggest till we pass through the door of the specialized and modern factory and its laboratories. The people who work there create with dedication every day, improving and designing new formulas. They carry various essences deep in their hearts and also skin deep!

Carbonnel S.A. is situated in Barcelona and their success is, as they point out, founded on three major factors: strict control of high-quality essences used for the final product; complete dedication to each customer and constant development of all products while following new trends.

The team of people who work and create the future of Carbonnel on a daily basis consists of several divisions. Besides operative executives in charge of the business, key people of the company include the team of perfumers in the laboratory, staff from the factory who work in production and the marketing team.

Carbonnel...
On the occasion of my visit to the factory, Christian Carbonnel introduced me to everyone and explained to me the roles of each of them. "The team of people in our company is connected not only with business but are also family-related," said Christian. "Some of our employees inherited their fathers who worked for my father for years, and we also have a few brothers and a few cousins among the employees. We are proud of our family business and of the family connection among our employees. That is what gathers us and makes a stronger team and makes better connections among us."

The laboratory is definitely the most interesting section, since female perfumers work hard and create there. I am pointing out the women, because about 10 very talented and creative women work there. Their art has an unbreakable bond with the employees from the part of the factory where the most contemporary machines controlled by computer are placed. The factory possesses semi-automatic and automatic parts. The advantage of automation is in combining modules based on a milligram scale with modules producing large amounts of a mixture.

Carbonnel...
Formulas entered by the perfumers are measured by a specialized machine without error and mixed by a computer connected by long, thin tubes with more than 400 barrels of 25 kg, 200 barrels of 200 kg and 25 barrels with temperature control containing various essential oils. Final products are processed by hand; the essential oils that are not in barrels in the production area are added manually, milliliter per milliliter until the perfect formula is reached. As Christian says, the factory has over 4500 different ingredients used in creating the final formulas.

My attention was focused on creative work and the latest formulas that the perfumers are working on. The laboratory is full of brown glass flacons hiding a multitude of various essences. Their tags point to a wide range of different materials. I had an opportunity to smell and feel the difference between, for example, Oud wood (Agarwood) from various plantations in different countries.



I also tested several sorts of citruses—lime, mandarin, bergamot and the famous Spanish labdanum they take pride in, since they are the leader in its manufacture. I enjoyed the fantastic range and strength of each separate ingredient.

Given the interesting topic of the conversation with perfumers, I will leave it for a separate article where I will explain what their work day looks like, their point of view on perfumes, and I'll tell you more about each of the artists. CARBONNEL S.A. INTERVIEW WITH THE PERFUMERS(Gemma, Laura and Sonia)


The Company of Carbonnel has been the leader in production since the 1980s of Oriental perfumes known as Mukhallats (Arabian perfume oils), as well as fine fragrances known as French perfumes and Oriental ones. It is omnipresent in the Middle East and Far East, and highly appreciated among the most famous houses selling perfumes in Arabia and in the Far East.

I would like to single out several houses that launched their perfumes in collaboration with Carbonnel: Xerjoff, Amouage, Sospiro, Ajmal, Rasasi, Nabeel, Al Haramain, Neemah, Arabian Oud, Asgharali, Reehat Al Atoor, Hind Al Oud and others.

Sandra Raičević Petrović and Sonia Espelta

Their essential oils can be found in numerous fragrances in contemporary perfumery. Besides perfumes, Carbonnel has manufactured and created fragrances used for cosmetics (body care cream, make-up, tooth paste and lipsticks), scents used for body care products (shampoo, soap, bath foam, balm, body lotion, hand cream, talc), as well as a wide range of fragrances aimed at creating unique scented candles.

Today, Carbonnel is one of the leading manufacturers of essential oils, perfumes, and Oriental perfumes. I would like to thank the Carbonnel family for their invitation, hospitability and a new experience that enriched me and provided me with a completely different view of the fantastic world of fragrances.


The owner and head of the company is Francisco Carbonnel, a respected perfumer and innovator. His specially formulated natural ingredients are in demand worldwide and highly esteemed among people from the industry. This tradition that has lasted over 50 years (from 1975 onwards, since Francisco succeeded his father Mauricio Carbonnel as head of the company) was crowned by the book written about aromatherapy and natural ingredients, which is still used and studied at the University of Barcelona.

His ideas and formulas are very popular in the Middle and Far East, where he exports and collaborates the most. Mr. Francisco offered me to smell several different ingredients for which the house of Carbonnel is known and appreciated, but he also explained the importance of their company in the region and globally, supporting the story with information on the ingredients for which they are the biggest producers in Spain and worldwide.

What the Company never gives up on is the legacy and tradition of this house since 1925 until today. In addition to perfumes signed entirely by Carbonnel, essential oils and natural ingredients that are distilled in the Carbonnel factory are used in many products throughout Europe and the world, not only in perfumes. The significance of this house and its team is important for us fans of perfume, who follow all the changes and innovations in the market with watchful eyes, but mostly for developers, perfumers, owners of perfume lines and the very history of perfumery of the twentieth and twenty-first century.
The Carbonnel laboratory owes its characteristic charm to the women who are crucial for development of formulas and new compositions. I was lucky and honored to meet them and find out more about their life path, development in the profession, ideas, clients' demands and the market. The team which creates and works in Carbonnel laboratory is as follows:

Carbonnel perfumers...
The team of Carbonnel perfumers

Francisco Carbonnel
Gemma Alañon,
Sonia Espelta,
Laura Santander,
Blanca Dalmau
Mónica Alonso
Helena Sapé
Amélie Begon
Eva Santander.


Besides an introduction to all perfumers in the laboratory, I had the opportunity to talk to three very charming and beautiful young ladies about their beginnings, profession, creations and training. In a special room where Christian Carbonnel is slowly building his show-room in which he will display all creations of the company, we were sitting and talking about perfumes in a pleasant environment.
Gemma, Laura and Sonia, along with Chris, made my morning in Barcelona more than enjoyable for me. On this occasion I want to thank them for the time wonderfully spent and for the new knowledge that truly enriched me, gave a special view of the world of manufacturers and of the world of perfumes in general.

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