Legs Talk: Azzi Glasser

Having gone VIRAL earlier this year for creating a bespoke perfume for Jude Law to play Henry VIII, British perfumer Azzi Glasser has been described by A-Listers as a poet of the scent-ses.⁠
From creating the Agent Provocateur scent we can all recognise a mile away to developing personal and character scents for Hollywood’s elite, including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Cindy Crawford and Austin Butler, Azzi Glasser has been a rebel in the traditional fragrance industry for over 25 years.⁠
Our founder Kate Shapland spoke with Azzi about her first scent memories, how she goes about creating individual scents for celebs and her daily wellbeing habits!⁠

Tell us about personal scents, because I know you create fragrances for a lot of VIP's and obviously private clients, how do you go about doing that?

It's a bit like a fun therapy session I suppose, that's the way I always put it. Some people call me the psychic perfumer, Helena Bonham Carter called me The White Witch, Johnny Depp calls me Queen Bee. I actually really like that one. So it's really sort of hanging out with them and working out what their loves are in life, but also things like where they like travelling, working, have families, and as they're talking and everything else, I'm literally looking at all their mannerisms. I can see the way their pores are on their skin, the style of how they wear clothing or their hair, their makeup. I mean it's literally every single element you can possibly think.

One actor in particular, when I did his fragrance, he was in a relationship at the time, and when he split from the relationship, he just couldn't wear that so then I ended up doing a different fragrance for him. One of the actresses calls it her armour and loves wearing it. She always buys extra bottles when she's got a premiere. Orlando Bloom says its like being transported into a time capsule. 

My signature is sequoia wood, and it has been for many, many years. I get like 5 or 6 comments a day on it. I'm not really a fruity, floral, sweet person, I can't stand that for me, it's not my vibe. But I love sexy sensual smells, and with sequoia wood it has. It starts with a sort of fresh neroli top note which I love because it's the most sophisticated of the fresh notes. Sequoia wood has that sort of sensuality that's rich, it's kind of delicious almost.

My first perfume memory was when my Mother in the 70s used to put false eyelashes on and then put a fur coat on. Then the last thing she'd do is put her perfume on and then kiss me goodnight, and she'd walk out the door with my Dad to to to parties. When they left I used to go to the dressing table and redesign it.

And do what? Reorganise all her stuff?

Organise it all yeah.

What do you mean when you make a fragrance for a film? Do you do that to get somebody into a role, or is it to represent the film?

So I work with many actors to get them into their roles of the character. With Helena Bonham Carter I've actually worked on many films where she played Miss Haversham in Great Expectations, recently The Crown as Princess Margaret, and then Bellatrix in Harry Potter and also Alice in Wonderland. Just recently actually, I don't know if you've seen the film Firebrand with Jude Law, that I did 17 scents with that film. It's the first time that they've credited any perfumer in the history of cinema.

What's your leg care routine because you have got the best legs.

Oh well I've got a house full of stairs so that helps. I'm so in love with your products. I went to a big party in London on Saturday so the legs were out and I did the whole ritual.

I was going to ask you about the smell, do you like it?

I love it.

Daily wellbeing habit?

Hot yoga because it really relaxes me in all my meetings and everything else. I literally just focus on my yoga, nothing else, and then I like to go to bed.

Who's your leg icon?

It's got to be Tina Turner because my father was obsessed with her legs.