MAXIME EXLER
GOURMET OF SCENTS
PARTICULAR TRAIT:
GREAT SPORTSMAN & OUTSTANDING COOK
If he had to recall just one emblematic olfactory memory from his childhood, it would be the green, resinous needles that dried on the ground in the pine forests around his family home. Originally from the Garrigues, a region he likes to describe as the cradle of French perfumery, where the mistral distills scents of lavender, fig and rosemary, Maxime Exler was immersed in a stimulating sensory universe from an early age.
OLFACTORY SIGNATURE:
OVERDOSES OF NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC MATERIALS IN UNEXPECTED BLENDS
SCENT & TASTE FUSION
Maxime went on to complete a DUT in chemistry, followed by a Licence 3 in the Flavors & Fragrances field in Montpellier. He was attracted by the gustatory side of things, but perfumery remained his heart's desire. MANE offered him his first experiences in Le Bar-sur-Loup, one focusing on supercritical extraction techniques and the extraction of new natural raw materials, the other on creation, working with a technical perfumer.
He joined the MANE perfumery school in 2014, where Nathalie Le Cann trained him. He had the opportunity to replace a fine fragrance and home care perfumer in China in 2016, which marked a turning point in his career: he was irresistibly drawn to this vast and rich region of the world, leading him to immerse himself further in Asian cultures and markets.
ASIAN EXPERTISE
In 2017, Maxime was appointed to India as a junior perfumer, working on a variety of categories, mainly fragrances and deodorants. After two years, he was given responsibility for the creative division, enabling him to develop his management skills and understanding of cultural nuances. Wishing to return to China to concentrate on fine fragrance, he joined Symrise in Shanghai. This reunion with his beloved region gave Maxime the opportunity to formulate unique creations, inspired by local cuisine and traditions, while focusing on the expectations and preferences of the Asian market. At MANE Shanghai's creative center since 2023, the young perfumer is now writing a new olfactory chapter for fine perfumery in China.
HIS INSPIRATIONS : THE FUSION OF CULTURE, COOKING AND INGREDIENTS
Maxime shares the same family values as MANE, and cherishes the company’s palette of ingredients which he considers the richest and most qualitative for a perfumer.
Maxime is renowned for his ability to fuse familiar and exotic ingredients into original compositions. The aromatic freshness with which he often signs his creations meets warm spices or jujube, dear to Asian palates. MANE's exclusive Jungle Essence™ know-how amplifies his universe of savory evocations with hazelnut, plum, coconut, gingerbread or curry. Unique materials that create the unexpected.
For even greater realism, he regularly collaborates with an aromatician. To taste, he also adds color.
Since his training, he has become accustomed to combining olfactory ingredients with chromatic nuances. His synesthetic approach, influenced by contemporary painting, preferably by emerging artists, adds an extra dimension to his formulas.
Outside work, Maxime is always passionate about sport, training every day for the triathlon. These physical activities provide him with the balance and escape he needs in his creative day-to-day life. He also finds inspiration in his travels, discovering new cultures and olfactory traditions. The flower market and its fragrant garlands in Mumbai, the oriental bakhoor and its volutes of oud, the perfumed rituals of Oman around resins, Chinese cuisine with its infinite flavors: all these are ways of approaching perfumery, in particular that which is revolutionizing the international panorama from the Chinese scene, with audacity and transgression of codes.
TEENAGE DREAM
Marked by diverse cultural experiences, it was at the age of four, during a stay in Djibouti, that he was introduced to the perfumed overdoses that were to become his signature. His family had moved there for a year during a mission by his father, a legionnaire. There, the intense aromas of wild exotic fruits, mingled with the marine atmosphere of Lake Assal, left an indelible mark on him.
His passion for perfumes began in his teens, when he regularly accompanied his mother to perfume shops. Together, they smelled the must-haves and novelties of the day. She practiced layering without naming it, personalizing a main fragrance with additional layers according to her moods. He mixed samples collected in the stores to recreate scents made to measure for them.
A top-level sportsman and keen swimmer, he opted for a baccalauréat specializing in laboratory technical sciences, with a chemistry option, and a sports-study arrangement
“I am keen on exploring.
My temperament is that of a pioneer.”
HIS CREATIONS
At MANE
In other companies
AJMAL
Neea
Emulse
BTSO
Naked Laundry
DOCUMENTS
Birch Bark
SCENT LIBRARY
Kitty Whooshing
BLACK PAW
萱草
AROMAG
Firework
BOITOWN
Vetiver & Oolong
Skin Bath
DOCUMENTS
Snow
LONIKOOM
Resonance
RAYMOND
Moroccan Cedar
RISOCIAL
Dragon's Breath
ZHIWUZHI
Fantianjing
THE MAN COMPANY
Talc
Firewood
Musc
Intense
MEETHOUSE
Sandalwood
MODERN BATH ART
The Great Dunes
Drawings of Orange Tree
SYNESMOON
Dark Romanticism
WHENANDWHERE
Encounter In Rain