NOTABLE NOSES
Destined for
Perfumery
Marvel A. Fields shares her
inspiration and approach to creating
fragrance for today’s consumers
THE NOSE
MARVEL A. FIELDS
Senior Perfumer, Bell
Flavors & Fragrances
––
FAVORITE SCENT CITY: Palm
Springs, California. “There is a
bush called Sierra Bouquet. At 5
feet away, its fragrant blossoms
will knock you off your feet. I was
so intrigued with it that I took a
head space analysis of the flowers
and duplicated its rich floral, fruity
grapey, baby powder notes.”
WHAT’S COOKIN’? “I love sushi,
but would say my style of cooking
is fusion. I take inspiration from
Italian, French, and Japanese
cooking.”
MUSIC: “I enjoy listening to Big
Band music of the 1940s, but I
actually don’t listen to music when
creating. It’s hard to create while
listening to Metallica!”
WHEN AWAY FROM WORK: “I
enjoy spending time my family,
playing with my dog, Ozzy (or
anybody’s dog), and working out
in the gym.”
LIA DANGELICO, DIRECTOR,
COMMUNICATIONS, FRAGRANCE
CREATORS ASSOCIATION: What is your
earliest scent memory? How did fragrance
affect your early life?
MARVEL A. FIELDS, SENIOR PERFUMER,
BELL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES: Being
raised in the countryside of Kentucky, my
first olfactive experiences were those
of nature. Surrounded by tobacco and
hayfields, the sweet smell of foin (hay)
filled the air as it was cut and dried and
rolled into bales. We also had linden trees
that filled the August evening air with their
powerful floriental bouquet. Being the
daughter of a perfumer, I was continually
exposed to filling out questionnaires about
likes and dislikes for products he brought
home. We actually lived his fragrance
submissions—wearing them, shampooing
with them, doing laundry with them, and
describing their attributes. We were his
real-time test subjects!
DANGELICO: It appears that early exposure
worked, as you followed in your father’s
footsteps into perfumery!
FIELDS: Yes, my father was a perfumer for
32 years with Procter & Gamble, whose
products are used in everyday life, such as
detergents, deodorants, bar soaps, shampoos.
He was an international perfumer, who not
only created fragrances for the United States,
but for cultures all over the world. Being
immersed in his work, he would bring home
perfumers visiting the U.S. and sometimes
took me to meet them overseas. I was
captivated from the beginning, and knew I
wanted to become a perfumer.
DANGELICO: You started off as an
apprentice perfumer. What has stuck with
you from that experience?
14 | FRAGRANCENOTES.ORG | Issue 2, 2019
FIELDS: I was very lucky to be accepted by
V. Mane Fils for my training, and to work
with Master Perfumers Claude Dir and
Steve Orson. Claude would have me make
a floral composition, then judge it for its
merits, and then tell me to remove six, 10 or
even 15 materials without changing the odor
character… that was a challenge! It taught
me which materials were vital and about the
specific olfactive contribution each material
made. Steve was a master at technical
challenges and taught me about replacement
materials for stability. Soon after, I was sent
to Le Bar-sur-Loup, Mane’s headquarters,
to study naturals, and work with Jean Paul
Pons, a Master of International Perfumery.
Being an Apprentice was great, because my
mentors were highly skilled and willing to
share their knowledge with me.
DANGELICO: What does your daily life as a
Bell perfumer look like?
FIELDS: At Bell, I work on all kinds of
personal care products, perfumes, household
products, and technical challenges. Two
examples of technical challenges are
designing technologies for malodor
neutralization and the development of all
natural fragrances that convey the beauty and
complexity of the wider world of fragrance.
Given these challenges, I’m happy to
share that my colleagues and I are patent
pending for a new odor control technology
to address consumers’ need for products that
can help fight the daily onslaught of bad
odors. Bell is an industry leader in natural
fragrances and botanical extracts, so it is an
exciting time given the growing consumer
demand for natural products. It’s important
that we are able to provide natural fragrances
that are price stable, despite the many crop
challenges that we face, such as weather.
One thing that challenged us all last
year was a supplier’s factory accident in