'My job is one of rarest in the world – you're more likely to meet an astronaut'

dailystar.co.uk:

Ranker.com, Huib's occupation is even more rare than being an astronomer.READ MORE: Brutally honest job ad is looking for 'lazy' staff members who 'wash' themselvesHowever, what does he actually do?Huib is one of less than 500 perfumers across the planet.With 600 people having been to space, this means you're actually more likely to meet an astronaut than you are to run into a perfumer.As a perfumer, Huib has been responsible for creating perfumery products selling in excess of 100 million units per year for major brands, and has even invented revolutionary perfume technologies that have sold worldwide.There are two types of perfumers, one that’s more like a chef, and the other more like a chemist.'Chefs' create scent combinations in their mind, then blend and trial them before going back, adding to the formula and amending their recipe.

Meanwhile, chemists look at the composition and exchange ingredients like building blocks based on scent trials.You may expect a perfumer to have studied chemistry, but there’s no real qualification related to such a specific field."I think I’ve always just had a natural affinity for it and a good nose," says Huib.Huib says he's more of a 'chef' in his style as he said the idea that perfumers have “super senses” is a common misconception."It’s not related to sensitivity - the sensitivity of the nose is similar in most people," he explained."It’s actually about memory - perfumers memorise the smell of thousands of ingredients, accords and perfumes."They can pick out key ingredients in perfumes just by smelling them."He admitted that this means some perfumers are a 'nightmare' to dine out with."They'll sniff out a slightly corked wine with ease and ask for a replacement, to the desperation.