Serge Lutens is notable for shaking the foundations of the perfume industry, but he has a wide reach in multiple industries. He was born in France in 1942, and he started his career as a hairstyling apprentice, eventually branching out into photography and cosmetics. It was in 1960s Paris when he began work as a makeup artist for Vogue magazine and made a name for himself. He gained the attention of fashion designer Christian Dior and was commissioned to start a cosmetics line in 1967.
In the 1970s, Lutens continued working as a photographer, while finding the time to direct two short movies that gained him notoriety at the Cannes Film Festival. He was once again approached in 1980 when Japanese cosmetics firm Shiseido wanted him to craft an image for the company. Lutens impressed the company with his work, and he used to his photography skills to shoot high-quality advertisements.
It was Shiseido that skyrocketed Lutens in the perfume world when the company wanted him to commission a fragrance in 1982, known as Nombre Noir. Lutens and the Japanese company created another fragrance in 1992 called Feminite du Bois. He also created a perfume house named Les Salons du Palais Royal for the sole aim of marketing the perfumes of Lutens and Shiseido. Lutens eventually carved his own path in 2000 with the founding of Parfums-Beaute Serge Lutens. He used the Internet and the power of social networking to market his own brand of unique perfumes.
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