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 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 10-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.

In my latest FT column, Perfumes Linked by Osmanthus, I discuss one of the most fascinating perfume ingredients, osmanthus, and explain how it’s used in perfumery. Of course, I mention three of my favorite osmanthus perfumes and share stories about them. You can read the article by clicking here.

Please let me know other osmanthus perfumes that should be included on a list for someone who loves these apricot scented blossoms.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

I’m going to teach a new perfumery course in France, April 18-22, 2018 (booking details via The Art of Perfume website.)

Who is this class for? Anyone interested in perfumery. Because we are trying to keep the class small, it offers lots of individual attention and guidance.  If you want to learn about perfume in a thorough manner, acquiring professional vocabulary and techniques, this is also the right class for you. Since it will take place in Burgundy, a region renowned for its wine, we will study how flavors and fragrances interact. In other words, if you want to deepen your appreciation of wine and aromas, this is the class for you.

Will we smell vintage perfumes? Yes, and more in my previous classes. I have several vintage gems to share that I haven’t had a chance to show before.

How does this class differ from the other Art of Perfume classes? The emphasis of this class is to help you build your own scent vocabulary and to help you understand the relationship between scents and flavors. It’s also going to be individually tailored to make sure that all participants leave with the type of practical knowledge that’s most important for them.

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Last year I made a resolution to read more fiction. Since graduate school, my reading has always gravitated heavily towards memoirs, history, science and poetry, but last summer as I unpacked the boxes of books left at my grandmother’s house after we emigrated to the United States, I began to miss the pleasures of reading novels. When I was a teen, I read them to find different perspectives on life and to discover a variety of experiences that my own situation couldn’t afford. Some might say that it’s a naive approach to a novel, but it kept me enthralled. Later I read novels for the language, the style, the ability of the writer to express ideas in unexpected ways. Last year, I read them for pleasure.

My list below is compiled from a selection of about 70 novels I read last year. I also reverted to a childhood habit of keeping a reading diary, and when I decided to feature 10 favorite books to share with you, deciding on the titles was easy. I didn’t include authors that I’ve already reviewed or mentioned on these pages, such as Barbara Pym, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Yukio Mishima, Margaret Atwood, or Danilo Kiš. The remaining 10 novels–including one play and two short stories–gave me many hours of thrill and emotion, and I hope they will likewise become loyal companions to you.

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Angelica essence smells of musky flowers and foggy autumnal mornings. It’s a fascinating aroma because, despite its delicate aura, its character can be quite assertive, and although it starts on a bright and shimmering note, the earthy base layers betray its darker leanings. Angelica is used widely by perfumers to give a green touch to an accord or to soften a citrusy cologne, but it rarely stars as a leading note. On the occasions it is given center stage, however, it reveals its full capacity to surprise.

Though angelica is not as a well known perfume ingredient as rose or jasmine, it’s a fascinating material with a diverse range of effects. It can be sweet and spicy, green and musky, woody and floral, depending on how it’s used. To uncover more facets of angelica, I selected it for one of my FT column topics. In the article, Musky Warmth of Angelica, I talk about this material and some of the most interesting perfumes, in which you can smell it clearly. You can read the article by clicking here.

If you have tried any angelica perfumes, please let me know which ones you like.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

Happy New Year! I hope that this year will bring you much happiness and that all of your wishes will come true. Most importantly, I hope that it will bring you new adventures, new discoveries and fresh motivation to learn something new. For my part, in 2018 I’m planning to share more sensory pursuits with you, and I’m looking forward to exchanging thoughts on art, books, cooking, music, and of course, scents. I know that some of you have signed up for my Perfume & Wine Course in Burgundy, and I look forward to meeting you there.

Our scent diary is back for 2018, and the premise is the same as before. You can write about anything you wish in this thread, but those who would like to use the Scent Diary to sharpen their sense of smell, I will give a short explanation. As I wrote in How to Improve Your Sense of Smell, the best way to sharpen your nose is to smell and to pay attention to what you’re smelling. It doesn’t matter what you smell. The most important thing is to notice whatever you smell around you. It’s even better if you write it down. So please share your scents and perfumes with us.

Bois de Jasmin is on a break this week, and we will return with a new article on Monday, January 8th.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin