PERFUMER MICHAL GILBERT LACH
Michal Gilbert LachStoryteller of Perfume
Founder and Creative Director of Bohoboco Perfume. On childhood dreams, metaphysical scent, and the compositions that began at 10 Corso Como.
Creative Director
Bohoboco Perfume
Michal Gilbert Lach began his career in the outer appearance of a person, with a background in make-up artistry and styling. Early in his professional career he created the Bohoboco clothing brand, but felt limited by the rigid frames that characterised the fashion market. He fell in love with the process of creating fragrances and found true creative freedom only while working on a perfume collection.
In 2012, following a visit to 10 Corso Como in Milan, the childhood dream took shape: he composed Vanilla Black Pepper, the composition that would become the seed of everything. The Bohoboco Perfume collection premiered in 2016. That same year, his dream became reality when his perfumes were featured at 10 Corso Como itself, where the original inspiration had been conceived.
The brand's latest launches, Magic Mushrooms and Polish Potatoes, not only caught the attention of the audience but intrigued them enough to start seeing the depth of emotions and stories these names carry. Names that come from his most precious memories, transformed into olfactory language.
Tell us about your greatest inspirations and influences.
Anything that surrounds me can be an inspiration: people, emotions, events. Most of all, I am inspired by my life and the moments that helped me grow and changed my point of view or way of thinking. The older I get the more I have realised the importance of relying on my gut and trusting my own instincts.
"The more you listen to your instinct and the more you believe in it, the more it strengthens and delivers us to the right path."
Tell us more about your creative process.
The journey from vision to product is long, non-obvious, and often unspecified in time. It begins with an idea, which I carefully write down. The vision matures over time, takes on colour, and begins to be ready to be shared with the world. I create graphic materials, maps of emotions, moments, and experiences, and send them to perfume houses. There, experts recreate my feelings and translate them into perfume compositions.
Then comes the testing phase, which has many stages and can take a long time. I check whether the final compositions reflect my feelings, emotions, and energy, whether they carry the vibrations that I want to convey to the world, and whether I want to change anything in them. What I love about this industry and its creative process is that no one limits me in time. I can work out a composition to perfection before it sees the light of day.
Someone asked me once how long the creative process takes. I am not able to answer this question. Some compositions took me a year. Others I worked on for five years. The fragrance is like a split second that defines it. It cannot be put into words. It just feels, like a smell.
Tell us about your journey in the perfume world and how you began Bohoboco Perfume.
My journey in perfumery began at a young age. I told my family about it and I was almost sent to a psychologist, but then I realised this is what I wanted to do with my life. That dream took shape again after a visit to 10 Corso Como. Eventually a contact took great interest in distributing Vanilla Black Pepper, and from there I knew I could and would conquer the world with my perfumes. Hence I created Bohoboco Perfume.
How do you describe Bohoboco Perfume?
My brand is best described by a quote that is our slogan: Bohoboco Perfume is an extension of my soul. This perfume is a beautiful story of freedom in which gender, orientation, skin colour, faith, or interests do not matter. The smell does not impose any rules. It allows you to enter your inner temple and discover your life path, enabling you to live in harmony with yourself.
Each bottle is a different story, inspiration, and amazing experience. A great way to communicate with the world. Perfumes allow for a complete narrative of the whole self, for dialogue on a non-verbal level.
You have spoken of the idea that perfumes create an invisible energy that affects not just the senses but also the soul. Can you elaborate?
Perfumes operate in a metaphysical space. They cannot be seen or touched, only felt. They act on spheres close to spirituality, energy, and consciousness development. Remember, olfactory memory transports us to our memories, emotions, and experiences faster than anything else. Perfumes can add energy and awareness.
People often tell me that they had identical experiences with our compositions that match my story. They can then process them in their own way, in the energetic and emotional sphere. The names of my perfumes reflect my deepest memories and emotions. I believe that each of them must be as extraordinary as the stories they carry. In just a few words you can capture all the magic and essence of a given composition.
"I want these compositions to be more than just scents. They are meant to be a bridge to memories, an inspiration for reflection, and a way to discover yourself."
What does wellbeing mean to you?
I believe in reincarnation and soul development. I focus on my personal growth, physically and spiritually. Self-awareness is something that allows your soul to develop and influence our entire environment. Exercise was tiring at first, but I love the feeling I get after working out. Meditation and yoga are both important for me personally and for my work. My Spirit Advisors are also very important to me.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
Always trust your senses, exceed the limits of your imagination, and believe that life can be magic. This magic wand that can do spells is kept only by us. No one will make this life magic for us. Only we can create it as our soul desires.
Stay curious,
