The Artisan
The Story of Loc Dong, Anne Flipo, Dominique Ropion
Anne Flipo's path to perfumery began at the school in Versailles, where she found herself captivated by raw materials and their possibilities. She describes that early exposure as a game, a challenge that sparked a 35-year career. She joined IFF directly after graduation and rose steadily, becoming Vice President in 2018. Dominique Ropion trained at Roure Bertrand Dupont, cutting his teeth at Florasynth and Dragoco before joining IFF in 2000. Frédéric Malle has cited Ropion's depth of raw-material knowledge and openness to unconventional ideas as the reason he sought him out for collaboration. Loc Dong rounds out this trio, a Vietnamese-French perfumer who trained in Grasse and has worked alongside both Flipo and Ropion at IFF. The three have found themselves partnered together on several significant projects at the fragrance giant, most visibly on La Vie Est Belle for Lancôme, which became one of the defining blockbusters of the 2010s. Their collaborative chemistry is well documented: Flipo's bold, questioning sensibility, Ropion's technical command and encyclopedic ingredient knowledge, and Loc Dong's meticulous precision seem to balance one another in the lab.
Philosophy
Each member of this trio brings a distinct sensibility to their shared practice. Flipo draws on all five senses while working, visualizing odours in her mind and translating them through textures, flavours, and even sound. She approaches fragrance as a form of brainstorming, keeping her notes loose and her instincts open. Ropion operates with a rigour described by Malle as almost singular in the industry: he is credited with exceptional knowledge of natural materials and a willingness to pursue ideas that more cautious perfumers might abandon. Loc Dong works with precision described as almost architectural by those who know his process. Together, they share an investigative relationship with materials, pushing each other toward work that could not exist without that particular friction. Their philosophy in collaboration seems to be that challenge produces something better.
Creative Approach
Ropion's fingerprints appear on some of the most structurally ambitious fragrances of recent decades, from the monumental rose-and-incense architecture of Portrait of a Lady to the sheer explosive multiplier of Flowerbomb. Flipo is drawn to green, sensory, and often unexpectedly sharp materials, as seen in Synthetic Jungle, yet equally at home building blockbuster feminine warmth, as in La Vie Est Belle. Loc Dong's style tends toward clarity and cleanliness of construction, with a facility for modern florals and a disciplined approach to material selection. The three together have demonstrated a shared appetite for scale: they work well when the brief is ambitious. Ingredients the group returns to include neroli, jasmine sambac, patchouli, orris, and basil.
At a Glance
1989
37+ years of craft
Notable Creations
La Vie Est Belle
Portrait of a Lady
Flowerbomb
Lady Million
Synthetic Jungle