Virtues

Michael Nordstrand is an independent perfumer, teacher, and multidisciplinary artist based in the New York area. Before dedicating himself to perfumery, his path led him to fashion illustration and then artistic direction, notably with houses such as Helmut Lang and Calvin Klein. His discovery of aromatherapy then marked a turning point, progressively leading him towards olfactory creation.

He trained in perfume creation at Givaudan, ISIPCA, and the Grasse Institute of Perfumery, while deepening his knowledge of medicinal plants at Cornell University, with a particular interest in aromatic materials used in the Middle Ages.

Founder of Mythologist Studio, his independent creative workshop, Michael develops an approach he calls "Method Perfumery." Like an actor who immerses himself in a role, he seeks to fully enter the universe of a project: era, history, culture, raw materials, and emotions all become elements serving to construct the perfume.

His work thus lies at the intersection of art, history, and science. This approach notably led him to work on the reconstitution of a perfume inspired by the civilization of Pylos approximately 3,000 years ago, as part of a project with the Getty Museum.

He has collaborated with various perfumery houses and projects, and his work was recognized with an Art and Olfaction Award in 2025 for Tale Parfum's Bad Lily, after receiving an award from the British Society of Perfumers in 2024 for Patchoulÿ Tartessos.

Michael Nordstrand thus conceives perfume as a narrative language: a composition in which materials are not only chosen for their scent, but for the history, imagination, and emotions they are capable of conveying.