by Guisela Chiarella
Every Saturday we’re spotlighting remarkable local females who could change the way we look at the world. This Saturday is Marie Urban Le Febvre’s turn, master perfumer from Versailles, who has woven an extraordinary path through the world of fragrance. Recently relocated to Trieste, Marie talks to us about her life-long passion.
Her passion ignited at 14 upon meeting a master perfumer. “I discovered I could pursue a career in a field that already captivated me,” she recalls. Becoming a “nose” requires at least a decade of practice. “There is talent and perhaps a bit of genetics,” she says, “but without hard work, you achieve nothing.”
Le Febvre’s expertise spans olfactory installations for the Louvre in Abu Dhabi to bespoke fragrances for luxury hotels. Alongside her husband Sasha, a perfume expert from Klagenfurt with Triestine roots, she has helped post-Covid and cancer patients at Berlin’s Charité hospital, where 70% undergoing chemotherapy lose their sense of smell.
