Marc-Antoine Corticchiato

Marc-Antoine Corticchiato was born in Morocco to a Corsican family and grew up between his parents' citrus groves near Azemmour and the family home deep in the Corsican maquis.

A competitive horseman who nearly pursued an equestrian career, he was drawn instead to the chemistry of aromatic plants, earning a PhD in the field and establishing an essential oil production unit in Madagascar.

He founded Parfum d'Empire in 2003, winning France's Prix des Experts from the Fragrance Foundation in both 2015 (Corsica Furiosa) and 2016 (Tabac Tabou).

His perfumes, including Ambre Russe and Aziyade, are physical, baroque, and unapologetically sensuous, connecting fragrance to eroticism and the sacred across cultures.