In this interview with Perfumer & Flavorist, dsm-firmenich's Sabine De Tscharner, the creative mind behind Laundry Sauce’s scents, shares her inspiration and process for developing the brand’s unique fragrances, including the latest Spanish Leather formulation.
De Tscharner explores the evolving laundry care segment, highlighting how she believes Laundry Sauce is elevating the category by incorporating high-end, natural ingredients and offering a new level of sophistication in fragrance design.
dsm-firmenich's Sabine De Tscharner is the creative mind behind Laundry Sauce’s scents.courtesy
Sabine De Tscharner [SDT]: Spanish Leather was born from my deep love for leather notes in perfumery, as well as my long-standing connection with Spain—especially Andalusia, a region I've visited many times.
My first fragrance as a teenager featured a leather accord, so creating a modern unisex leather scent was a way to revisit my first olfactory love. I aimed to craft something that feels warm, sophisticated, mysterious, and memorable, yet clean and easy to wear.
I'm particularly excited about this fragrance because I actually wear it myself during my downtime—which is rare, as I usually don’t wear my own creations. I truly hope others will love it as much as I do!
What are some of the common obstacles or consumer demands when it comes to creating scents for laundry care?
SDT: Creating fragrances for laundry care is uniquely challenging because they need to perform at multiple stages. The scent must be pleasant right out of the bottle, bloom beautifully when the laundry is wet, remain strong and appealing when you fold it after drying and still linger days—or even weeks—later when you wear it.
On top of that, the fragrance has to endure the washing cycle, which involves detergents specifically designed to remove oils, including oils from fragrances. Achieving this requires a different approach than formulating fine fragrances or even shampoo scents. And making it smell as elegant and complex as a fine fragrance adds yet another layer of difficulty!
Can you touch on some of the notes and fragrance technologies used in the Spanish Leather formulation?
SDT: Spanish Leather is a modern leather, spicy, woody and musk.
It starts with the freshness of cardamom and blue eucalyptus. The heart of the fragrance is built around orris butter and suede, while the base is a warm blend of amber, leather, cedarwood and tonka.
De Tscharner shares, "Laundry Sauce sparked a revolution by reimagining laundry as an enjoyable, olfactive experience, with fragrances that are as delightful and sophisticated as high-end colognes.courtesy
How is the laundry care segment evolving from a perfumer's perspective? What excites you?
SDT: The laundry care segment is undergoing a rapid transformation, and it's an incredibly exciting time to be part of it. For a long time, laundry products all carried similar fragrances, with scents designed primarily to signal product efficiency. This led to strong often harsh and purely functional aromas. Laundry Sauce sparked a revolution by reimagining laundry as an enjoyable, olfactive experience, with fragrances that are as delightful and sophisticated as high-end colognes. They invested in premium quality ingredients and gave me full creative freedom to craft fragrances structured like luxury scents, centered around natural raw materials.
It's a unique approach, and now many brands are following suit by creating more playful and refined laundry products. However, none match Laundry Sauce’s use of luxurious natural materials. They’ve set a new standard in the category, combining high-end fragrances with beautiful packaging, all without sacrificing functionality—their pods perform just as well as top leading brands.
