Have you ever been told you have a good sniffer? If so, you might consider becoming a perfumer like Francisco Lozano. 

Mr. Lozano grew up in Mexico. After his dad died, Francisco’s mom took care of her kids by selling Avon products. Young Francisco enjoyed watching happy customers get their purchases—good-smelling lotions, soaps, and perfumes. Francisco loved scents, and he wanted to see inside the Avon packages. His mom had to tell him, “Stop opening that!”

Francisco enjoyed the free samples too. “I was always that good-smelling kid,” Mr. Lozano says. But he also smelled well. Friends asked Francisco to help them find bad smells in their houses or cars. And he could do it. 

As a perfumer, he keeps his sniffer sharp. He wears a mask when he travels, and he avoids sick people. (If he can’t smell, he can’t get much work done.) Mr. Lozano also doesn’t wear anything with fragrance to work. That way, his work space stays as odor-free as possible. When his nose grows tired, he goes for a walk, climbs a couple flights of stairs, and gets fresh air.

In the lab, Mr. Lozano and other perfumers use computers and even robots to study the chemicals in fragrances. But only humans can decide what makes the perfect fragrance.

What does it take to be a perfumer? Mr. Lozano lists creativity, knowledge, and a heart for service. And resilience—the ability to keep trying when a scent isn’t quite right. “It’s really never done,” he says, “like any work of art.” 

To know you’ve gotten as close to “done” as possible, you must listen to others. 

Recommended Reading: To learn more about people with remarkable sniffers, see "Smelly" Kelly and His Super Senses by Beth Anderson.