LINDA L. GERLACH
ENTREPRENEUR
Business Woman / Photographer / Artist
In front of her painting - NYC
© Lynn Vogel
© Lynn Vogel
Fragrance pleases the nose, warms the heart, and excites the mind. It’s a rush...a desire...an identity. In essence, it’s a necessary luxury. And what could be more luxurious than having one’s own signature scent—one that turns heads everywhere one goes?
From an early age, I was aware of all the aromas and smells surrounding me. I spent my summers at my grandmother’s farm in North Carolina, playing in well-tended fields amid the fragrances of flowers, pine trees, luscious ripe fruits, and vegetables. I raced along a nearby beach taking in the sun and the smells of the ocean, the sand, and often rain.
My addiction to fragrance began at 13 when I received Chantilly, a classic French blend of florals, Oriental woods and spices with a sweet amber finish. I was hooked. From that day on, it’s been one daily fix after the other.
Now, as a photographer, with an insatiable appetite for travel, I comb the world capturing the most beautiful places, cultures, and people. Always, I associate each of my images with its defining scent: the sultry sweetness of Egypt’s ma’assil tobacco, India’s rich spices, and the culinary sweets of Paris. Scents are my souvenirs.
An inspiring trip to Egypt led me to create a fragrance not for fashion or trend, but based on an alluring concept. Everywhere I traveled, I saw the Egyptian Ankh, which represents the “Key of Life” and is one of the most coveted symbols. Knowing that love is the key to life and the most powerful and transcendent emotion, I joined the two symbols together to create a new icon, which states brilliantly and for all time: love is the key to life.
Working with Clement Gavarry, the French perfumer at International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), the most esteemed fragrance house in the industry, was a wonderful experience. He completely understood what I was looking for in a perfume and was able to zero in quickly.
Clement adored my concept and logo. The relationship between the Ankh and love inspired him—two powerful symbols that reinforce each other. He decided that the heart of the perfume would be the highly fragrant Rose Centifolia, the queen of flowers and the most desirable rose—the sweetest of all roses.
The rose is also the ancient symbol of love and beauty. It was sacred to a number of goddesses, such as Venus, Aphrodite, and even Isis the Egyptian goddess, who is often depicted carrying the Ankh (see Ankh/History). How perfect!
So Clement wrapped the Rose Centifolia, the loveliest of roses, in opulent florals, spices, woods, and musk to create the same layers of meaning that swirl within the union of the Ankh and love.
I believe that Love, the Key to Life, possesses the finesse and poise of all great perfumes that become living legends. It doesn’t shout or announce itself, the fragrance whispers intimately with its own aura of discreet luxury. The woman who wears Love, the Key to Life will be unforgettable—just like the concept behind my signature scent.
LOVE, THE KEY TO LIFE
forever young…forever exciting
From an early age, I was aware of all the aromas and smells surrounding me. I spent my summers at my grandmother’s farm in North Carolina, playing in well-tended fields amid the fragrances of flowers, pine trees, luscious ripe fruits, and vegetables. I raced along a nearby beach taking in the sun and the smells of the ocean, the sand, and often rain.
My addiction to fragrance began at 13 when I received Chantilly, a classic French blend of florals, Oriental woods and spices with a sweet amber finish. I was hooked. From that day on, it’s been one daily fix after the other.
Now, as a photographer, with an insatiable appetite for travel, I comb the world capturing the most beautiful places, cultures, and people. Always, I associate each of my images with its defining scent: the sultry sweetness of Egypt’s ma’assil tobacco, India’s rich spices, and the culinary sweets of Paris. Scents are my souvenirs.
An inspiring trip to Egypt led me to create a fragrance not for fashion or trend, but based on an alluring concept. Everywhere I traveled, I saw the Egyptian Ankh, which represents the “Key of Life” and is one of the most coveted symbols. Knowing that love is the key to life and the most powerful and transcendent emotion, I joined the two symbols together to create a new icon, which states brilliantly and for all time: love is the key to life.
Working with Clement Gavarry, the French perfumer at International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), the most esteemed fragrance house in the industry, was a wonderful experience. He completely understood what I was looking for in a perfume and was able to zero in quickly.
Clement adored my concept and logo. The relationship between the Ankh and love inspired him—two powerful symbols that reinforce each other. He decided that the heart of the perfume would be the highly fragrant Rose Centifolia, the queen of flowers and the most desirable rose—the sweetest of all roses.
The rose is also the ancient symbol of love and beauty. It was sacred to a number of goddesses, such as Venus, Aphrodite, and even Isis the Egyptian goddess, who is often depicted carrying the Ankh (see Ankh/History). How perfect!
So Clement wrapped the Rose Centifolia, the loveliest of roses, in opulent florals, spices, woods, and musk to create the same layers of meaning that swirl within the union of the Ankh and love.
I believe that Love, the Key to Life, possesses the finesse and poise of all great perfumes that become living legends. It doesn’t shout or announce itself, the fragrance whispers intimately with its own aura of discreet luxury. The woman who wears Love, the Key to Life will be unforgettable—just like the concept behind my signature scent.
forever young…forever exciting