Pierre Bourdon was born in Paris in 1946 as the son of Rene Bourdon, the General Director of Christian Dior. Frederic Malle describes him as one of the most innovative perfumers of his generation, and his most successful creations are "Davidoff Cool Water (for men and women)" and "Jil Sander Sun".

After studying political science and economics at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, also known as Sciences Po, Pierre Bourdon began his training as a perfumer at the Roure School of Perfumery (l'Ecole de Parfumerie de Roure) in Grasse in 1971.

At the same time, he was trained by Edmond Roudnitska, the founder of modern perfumery and creator of fragrance classics such as Diorella, Diorissimo and Femme de Rochas. Roudnitska, whom he met twice a week in Cabris, taught Pierre Bourdon perfumery as an art form.

After completing his five-year apprenticeship in Grasse, Pierre Bourdon moved to Paris to work for the Roure perfume house. He spent a total of 11 years at Roure, creating fragrances such as Yves Saint Laurent Kouros, Pavielle for Avon and Darling for Elida Gibbs.

In 1982, Pierre Bourdon became co-founder and head perfumer of Takasago Europa.  In 1991, he left Takasago Europa to work at Quest. Well-known fragrances from this period include Nightflight (Joop), Fantasme (Lapidus), Feminite du Bois in collaboration with Chris Sheldrake (Shiseido) and Kouros Eau de Fraîcheur (Yves Saint Laurent).

After his short time at Quest, Pierre Bourdon founded the Paris subsidiary of Fragrance Resources. During this time, he created fragrances such as Christian Dior Dolce Vita, Davidoff Cool Water Woman, Escada Crystal Parfum, Salvatore Ferragamo Tuscan Soul and Lacoste Challenge.

In 2014, the perfumer created his personal fragrance line "Pierre Bourdon", free from any guidelines, which includes La dame en rose, Sous les magnolias, La fin d'un été, Le grand tour and Route des épices. 

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