Nenad Jovanov

Parfimerija Sava

Perfumer

©Nemanja Jovanov

Heavenly scent

Nenad belongs to the old French school of perfumery
He is the third generation of perfumers and is nurturing the fourth
He created his first perfume in the early 1990s

Nenad Jovanov grew up up in his father’s perfume shop. Surrounded by glass bottles of heavenly scent from the youngest age, he assumed the craft naturally, helping his parents and learning along the way. He is the third generation of craft perfumers in Belgrade, following his uncle and father, and very proud of the fact they belong to the old French school of perfumery. And he passed the same craft to his own son, the fourth generation. His impeccable old-school manners and contagious passion for perfumes light up the room as he welcomes customers. With patience and attention, he sprays them with different scents, repeating “Is this pleasant for you?” If asked, he is a source of wonderful stories about Belgrade generally and perfumery specifically, about a different time and a different life, trying to convey his work in the best-scented light.

Interview

When did you first create your own perfume?: From an early age, I was taught to respect the way of the elders. This meant following their rules and style of perfume creation. Still, after years of working together, I realised I needed to create perfumes that suited that particular moment in time. But I only created a perfume that was fully my own when I took over the shop, in the early 1990s.
Where do you get ideas for new perfumes?: There are three ways to get ideas. The first is prompted by popular demand, the second by trends of the moment. And the third is recreation – this is when we strive to recreate a scent based on a perfume sample a customer brings. This is a professional challenge for us and we tend to succeed, get close or make something new and spectacular by accident.
Can you tell us something interesting about perfume history?: Before the First World War, perfumes had only one component from nature – rose, lavender, jasmine or similar. After the war – and Coco Chanel – everything changed. Perfumers in France started creating imagined scents and they called them “Fantaisie”. Today, all perfumes are Fantaisie, so we don’t use that term anymore. It’s a given.
What do you enjoy most in your profession?: Imagine, a person enters my shop trying to bring pleasure to either themselves or to someone they care about. I feel it’s my duty to exceed their hopes and expectations. Because perfume is not essential, it’s a luxury and a pleasure. And for me, it’s all about ensuring their pleasure.

Nenad Jovanov is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1954