Ajmal Perfumes, a regional fragrance house, has launched a talent hunt for the ‘Young Perfumer,’ which is open for registration from today.

The competition is open to all individuals between the ages of 16 and 21 residing within the UAE, said a statement.

The company has partnered for the competion with Firmenich, a Swiss-based perfume and flavour business and Emirates Diaries, a youth focused magazine, it said.

Ajmal will be putting together extensive road shows that will take place across universities, along with select Ajmal stores and mall locations across the UAE.

The company has planned two stages leading up to the main competition – first will be candidate registration and short listing; and second will be training of the 20 shortlisted candidates and finals, said the statement.

Ajmal, along with Firmenich has devised a three-step process to understand the level of perfumery knowledge the candidates have. There will be three tests in total to go through and the short listing of the candidates will be done based on their responses to the test.

The 20 short-listed candidates will be given a formal training of perfumery both theoretical and practical to prepare for the final, which will be held at the Westin Hotel in Dubai on November 15.

A jury panel, consisting of Ajmal and Firmenich perfumers will select the top five fragrances from the list of 20 creations made by the finalists.

The selection of the top five would be primarily done on the fragrances the students create while their presentation technique and aptitude to the final competition would be also evaluated.

The title winner of Ajmal “Young Perfumer” 2013 will get the opportunity to work with Ajmal Perfumes & Firmenich team, on project basis, to create the next ‘youth fragrance’ by Ajmal, said the statement.

The winner would also get an opportunity to work as an Intern for three months at Firmenich, Dubai and a cash prize of Dh25,000 ($6,805), it said. - TradeArabia News Service