Arnaud Poulain

France Born 1986 Les Eaux Primordiales

Works within niche perfumery under his own brand Les Eaux Primordiales, often drawing on industrial and rural imagery from northern France. His compositions are developed in close technical collaboration with mentor Amélie Bourgeois and are produced with extended maceration in controlled conditions at his manufacture in the Terres noires region.

About

Arnaud Poulain is a French perfumer born in Arras in 1986 and raised in a rural family of artisans, with a metalworker father, carpenter uncle and farmer grandparents. Initially focused on science and mechanical engineering, he turned to perfumery in 2007 and undertook formal training in Lens, where he discovered his heightened sense of smell. There he met perfumer Amélie Bourgeois, who became his mentor and continues to support the technical development of his fragrances. After several years working in independent perfumery, Poulain founded his own niche house Les Eaux Primordiales in 2015. The brand’s perfumes, such as those inspired by industrial heritage and his native Hauts-de-France region, are created and macerated in his perfume manufacture established in the Terres noires of northern France.