Jörg Zimmermann was just a little boy when his grandfather observed unusual behaviour in his grandson. Every time the five-year-old shook someone’s hand or touched a doorknob, he smelled his fingers. He absorbed the fragrance of people on the street and attempted to characterise them. When perfumer Jörg Zimmermann talks about his life, the numerous parallels to the novel “Perfume” by Patrick Süsskind are striking. Not surprisingly, he devoured this book in his youth, page for page. “Smell is a fascinating aspect of perception," notes the 35-year-old. Like Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in “Perfume”, Zimmermann also has a dream: to create the fragrance that captivates people’s senses, that transforms them, and perhaps creates a peaceful world.

Jörg Zimmermann's workplace is all the way at the top, just below the roof of WALA Heilmittel GmbH. Here he finds the quiet he needs to stimulate all the senses. In his head, he creates the fragrances that lend Dr.Hauschka cosmetic products their individual note. “Every product is different and thus requires its own statement.” Dr.Hauschka Skin Care uses exclusively natural substances compatible with the uncompromising demands of the company’s philosophy. “My job is to convey these values in my fragrance creations.”None of the human senses is so old and so directly connected to the limbic system as the sense of smell. “It is closely related to memory and emotion,” says Jörg Zimmermann. Cultural features also play an important role. Fragrances make it possible to travel through time, to recall that which was long forgotten. Nothing triggers more spontaneous attraction or rejection than fragrances – they are encrypted messages transmitted by our environment. The magic of scent has always been of major importance; the sensual allure of fragrance enjoys a long tradition. The “master of fragrances” at WALA has been under their spell for as long as he can remember. As a result, it was always his hope to work with fragrances.

It is a characteristic trait of Jörg Zimmermann to pursue goals with passion and perseverance. “One needs this trait as a perfumer. You always have to be on top of things, not be discouraged by failed experiments.” It takes months, sometimes years, for a new fragrance to be created. Zimmermann writes down hundreds of formulas only to discard them in the end. Perhaps two of 100 fragrance creations are ever actually implemented. “The ability to smell analytically is important,” says the man with the short, gelled hair. He uses his nose to deconstruct a perfume into its components and recognise what ingredients disturb the fragrance's harmonious perception, what amounts to increase or decrease, and what substances to add or remove.“Every fragrance consists of top notes, middle notes and base notes”, explains Jörg Zimmermann. The top notes form the initial impression, the introduction of the perfume so to speak. They are followed by the middle notes, which convey the heart of the fragrance and give it shape. The third and final fragrance note is the basis note. It represents the finale of the fragrance, much like in a symphony orchestra. “The trick is to harmonise these three parts, to co-ordinate their temporal and spatial progression.”

Zimmermann requires absolute quiet during his work. This allows him to stimulate all the senses and recall images from his memory. After all, creating a scent involves much more than simply combining raw materials. It connects the world of thought with the world of feeling. Jörg Zimmermann composes, hears internal music, senses a wonderful lightness. Like a painter who has the image he wants to paint in front of his eyes, Zimmermann first creates the perfume in his head. He looks for base harmonies, previously combined individual scent compositions, to serve as a foundation. And then everything begins to flow. This flow leads to formulas which he enters into the computer – admittedly the dryer part of his work. Then the perfumer begins to experiment with the tones of his “fragrance organ”. This is the name given to the collection of essential oils from which he selects the key components for a fragrance. Some 200 substances are available, of which Zimmermann uses various numbers as ingredients in his composition. The more technical skills of developing perfumes can certainly be learned, but the ability to compose fragrances must be inborn. Jörg Zimmermann undeniably has this skill. “But I didn’t know what path to follow at first to make professional use of my abilities,” he recalls. So he studied art and cultural education, sharpening his artistic, literary and musical senses. There is no classical course of training to become a perfumer, neither in Germany nor abroad. But France is considered the mother country of perfume. At the age of 30, Jörg Zimmerman journeyed to southern France – more specifically, to Grasse, the capital of the perfume world. Gloves were perfumed in this city near the Côte d’Azur as early as the 17th century. Born in Tettnang, Germany and raised in the city of Baden-Baden, Zimmermann studied at the Grasse Institute of Perfumery from 2004 to 2006 and then worked with leading perfumers.

He has been working for WALA Heilmittel for the past two years, continuing a long-running tradition: the company has never purchased fragrances, choosing to develop them itself instead. “This helps our products to maintain their unmistakable character,” emphasises Zimmermann. Dr.Hauschka skin care products contain no synthetic fragrances, despite their extensive availability on the market: “We use exclusively natural essential oils of very high quality.” Jörg Zimmermann is convinced: “Our customers notice this uniqueness, this strong foundation of knowledge which flows into our products. The soul senses it and is able to regenerate itself – along with the entire person.”