Despite a persistent belief that perfumers aim to imitate nature, fragrance is about a fantasy. So looking for the exact smell of a rose in a bottle is like reading Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment to relive a vacation in Saint-Petersburg, even if said sojourn involved all things dark and sordid. Like literature, music, and sculpture, perfumery is a meditation on reality, rather than its photographic reflection. The best of compositions give us a glimpse into someone else’s world and their olfactory idea of a rose—or a cup of black tea, their lover’s skin, or a melancholy evening in Paris.

Each one of us might interpret the aromatic message in different ways. For instance, when I smell Balmain’s Vent Vert, I feel the same exhilaration as I do on the first days of March when the air smells intensely green and fresh. My friend, on the other hand, finds it disconcerting and aggressive, a storm of sharp, raspy notes that leaves her lightheaded. Considering that Vent Vert’s creator, Germaine Cellier, minced neither words nor accords, perhaps my friend’s impression is closer to the original intention of the perfumer. Vent Vert has long been discontinued and difficult to find, but for a similarly effervescent experience I suggest The Different Company Tokyo Bloom.

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Update: the May classes are sold out. The new schedule is now available.

It’s been such a pleasure to teach my online classes this year. I’ve enjoyed interacting and smelling with you and every session made me discover something new. And so this spring continues with more new courses. Everyone’s favorites Citrus-Spices-Woods and Rose-Orange Blossom-Iris courses will return and there will also be new offers.

I will teach you the next classical trio of floral notes such as Lily of the Valley, Lilac and Hyacinth. I will explain what makes each of these notes unique and how they are used in perfumery. Since these flowers can’t be extracted by steam or solvents, I will discuss how different perfumers, from Guerlain to Chanel, employed them. I will explain different accords and give you examples of materials that are used to construct these accords, in case you want to try to make your own.

Next, I will devote three seminars to Amber, Vanilla and Tonka Bean, giving you a glimpse into the rich and luscious world of ambers, amber-florals and gourmands. These classes are for students of all levels of interest in perfumery.

To register for the online courses, please go to the Online Perfume Classes page.

Besides the online classes, I would like to invite you to my Brussels studio to take an in-person class.

Brussels Studio Class: Perfumes That Influenced Fragrance History

This seminar will give you a rare chance to smell legendary perfumes in their original formulations. You will have access to my perfume collection and try iconic fragrances from Caron, Guerlain, Coty and Chanel. You will also explore some of the best materials used by fragrance industry professionals and discover why your nose is more sensitive than the most sophisticated machine.

We will step back in time, smell some of the iconic fragrance or examples of interesting genres from the past and also talk about people who made perfumes. Although contemporary perfume marketing focuses on perfume as a luxury item (or a tool for seduction), scents are more complex than this. A bottle of perfume contains an artistic message. It tells you something about the aesthetics of its time. Tastes of its contemporaries. Advances in science and trends in art and fashion had a big impact on the development of perfumery and on how perfumers were able to translate words and visions into scents. Together we will learn the evolution of perfume history by studying some of the most iconic examples of the perfumery art in their original formulations. You will also perform exercises to sharpen their sense of smell.

Class location: Brussels
Class duration: 2.5 hours
200€/per person   (50€ to be paid as a reservation deposit, the rest is payable in person on the day of the class)

Date: June 16th, Sunday, 12-2:30pm Reserve Now 

Date: June 23rd, Sunday, 12-2:30pm Reserve Now

To request another date, please  email me.

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As I was updating my ISIPCA course and preparing my new spring seminars, I tried a selection of new launches, some of which seemed interesting enough to share with you in a separate article. While new launches are almost always skewed towards Christmas sales, I like the spring offer because it tends to show a greater variety of compositions. There will still be a wave of summer flankers and sports colognes, but for now, we have many radiant florals, soft chypres and salty vetivers.

Dries Van Noten Mystic Moss (perfumer Nicolas Bonneville)

An elegant composition centered on vetiver, with a strong salty, seaweed facet. Imagine driftwood on the beach. An effervescent combination of cardamom and mandarin lends it brightness that lasts even when the darker woods take over.

Guerlan Rose Amira (perfumer Delphine Jelk)

A Persian-style rose perfume where roses are liberally layered with incense and dark woods. If you like your roses smoky and mysterious, this is the right fragrance for you. It features a natural rose note, which is splendidly warm and honeyed. While Rose Amira is currently a duty-free exclusive, it will be distributed more widely later this spring.

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To inspire those of you who will be taking my Osmanthus classes.

Once the weather turns cool in Tokyo, a sweet perfume fills its streets. It escapes from the parks and enclosed gardens and for a few weeks it becomes a familiar presence in a city better known for its skyscrapers, electronics and cuisine than for its flowers. The tiny blossoms that give Tokyo its aroma are easy to miss, but the perfume is so vivid that osmanthus is sometimes called “a ten mile fragrance” tree. In Japanese, it’s known as kinmokusei, and in English it may be referred to as a “fragrant” or “Chinese” olive, hinting at the plant’s origins, but by any name, the aroma of ripe apricots, jasmine petals and leather is irresistible.

Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena was likewise enchanted by osmanthus, and he chose to pair it with a tea note in his fragrance for Hermès, Osmanthe Yunnan. Although Ellena was inspired by a visit to the Forbidden City in Beijing, his creation captures my memories of Tokyo in autumn. Every element in the perfume is delicately rendered, from the fruity notes that recall the softness of peach skin to the transparent white blossoms soaked in tea. The marriage of tea and osmanthus is a classical one, because both ingredients play up each other’s facets of fruits, woods, sweetness and bitterness. Osmanthe Yunnan is a happy perfume, and whenever I put it on, I feel as if I’ve stepped into a pool of sunlight.

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Spring is not spring for me unless it has hyacinths. I buy the forced bulbs and leave them around the apartment to wait for the moment when the flowers open up and fill the air with their perfume. The scent of hyacinth is not as delicate as that of many other spring blossoms; it’s rather heady and sweet, with an earthy note. It can be overwhelming, but the contrast is the reason why the fragrance of hyacinths appeals to me—and to other perfumers. Its complexity is an endless source of inspiration.

Hyacinth, like lily of the valley, lilac and gardenia, can’t be processed for essence, so perfumers have to create their own interpretation. Some emphasize the green, succulent facets of hyacinth, like Jean-Paul Guerlain in the legendary Chamade. Guerlain’s hyacinths are framed by the freshness of coriander and violet and the plushness of patchouli. The delicate sweetness of vanilla, an important note in all classics by the house, offsets the earthy darkness of hyacinth without obscuring it completely.  The effect of Chamade is airy, vibrant, and yet enveloping and warm.

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