Pierre Bourdon was born in Paris in 1946 and, like Frédéric Malle, grew up in a family that worked for Parfums Christian Dior. After a degree at Sciences Po he joined Roure Bertrand Dupont in Grasse in 1971 and became the only student Edmond Roudnitska ever took on. In 1982 he co-founded Takasago's European perfumery as head perfumer, and in 1993 he opened the Paris arm of Fragrance Resources, where Christine Nagel succeeded him in 2008.
Yves Saint Laurent Kouros, released in 1981, set coriander, artemisia, clove and jasmine over oakmoss, ambergris and incense, and he counts its animal note among the boldest things he ever did. Davidoff Cool Water followed in 1988 and changed men's perfume at the end of the decade. He also composed Dior Dolce Vita, co-signed Shiseido Féminité du Bois with Serge Lutens and Christopher Sheldrake in 1992, and gave Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle its very first release, Iris Poudre, in 2000, then French Lover in 2007.
Creed Green Irish Tweed came out in 1985 under Olivier Creed's name, but the composition is Bourdon's, a fact Gabe Oppenheim's 2021 book The Ghost Perfumer put on the record. Its green, clean line of verbena, violet and sandalwood is the one Cool Water carried to a far wider public three years later.
