Perfume 101: 516 posts

Shanghai greeted me with the shimmer of rain and neon lights, and within hours of landing, I was already on stage at Notes Shanghai, a major perfume exhibition, speaking about the future of niche perfumery.

I shared a thought that stayed with me throughout the fair: the future of perfumery will belong to those who can tell stories with sincerity. The industry does not need more polished copies of Parisian classics; it needs new voices, new references, and new ways of translating memory into scent. In Shanghai, I felt as if I was watching that future take shape.

Once my presentation ended, I wandered through the exhibition hall. The first day seemed lively, even as the exhibition hall was still in the final setup stages. Brand owners spoke with visitors, indie perfumers put the final touches on their displays, buyers compared notes. The mood was relaxed, almost festive. I have been to many fragrance events, but Notes Shanghai stood out. It felt alive, spontaneous, and genuinely joyful. Every stand was like an invitation to discovery.

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Have you ever dreamed of working in perfume, but had no idea where to begin?
Or wondered how fragrances are actually made, who creates them, who decides what they smell like, and what happens between an idea and the bottle on the shelf?

By popular demand, I’m running a 90-minute live class that opens the door to the perfume industry, from an insider’s perspective but made for those starting from the outside.

SOLD OUT 

I trained at IFF as a perfumer under Sophia Grojsman, one of the legendary creators of modern perfumery, and I’ve spent over 20 years working in the fragrance world — from formulation and evaluation to writing and education. I’ve worked with nearly all major supplier companies and today, I teach perfumery at ISIPCA, the leading perfume school in Versailles.

Through this class I want to share what I’ve learned about how the industry truly works and how you can find your own path into it.

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Tonight, the moon rises full and radiant, the harvest moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In many places across Asia, families gather to share tea and mooncakes, to light lanterns, to pause. I’ve always loved this idea: the celebration of something as mysterious and serene as the moon.

When I read my childhood journals from Ukraine, I find many references to it—the crescent moon I saw on Christmas Eve, the full moon glowing above a blooming cherry garden at dusk. The moon made me look up, take a breath, and let beauty flood in. It still does.

When I lived and traveled in Asia, the Mid-Autumn moon became a kind of companion. I remember sitting on a balcony in Singapore with a cup of green tea, the city humming below, the sky pale gold. One marvelous autumn in Tokyo, I experienced the scent of osmanthus mixing with the soft moonlight. And tonight, from my home in Brussels, the moon will rise again, the same moon, the same quiet invitation to look and remember.

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My Favorite Autumn Fragrances (Ukrainian)

Lately, I’ve been finding it difficult to sleep. The news from Ukraine is overwhelming, and it’s painful to experience this war from the outside, knowing that my family and friends are living through it every day. For now, my obligations keep me here, and I have to find ways to keep myself going.

Perfume has always been a source of joy for me, but in recent weeks I’ve leaned on it even more consciously. Ever since studying the effects of scents on mood and cognition, I’ve noticed how much a small ritual can change the texture of a day. Choosing a perfume, putting it on slowly, pausing to inhale it—it may take only seconds, but done with intention, it becomes a grounding act. In autumn, when the days grow shorter and the light fades too quickly, these moments are especially precious.

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20 Must Try Osmanthus Perfumes (Ukranian)

I love osmanthus so much that I planted two shrubs in pots and placed them in front of my apartment building, hoping their honeyed scent might brighten the autumn days for anyone passing by. Someone else must have loved them too, because one morning I discovered that one of the plants had been stolen. I carried the remaining shrub up to my balcony, where it now perfumes only my private space. The pleasure is no less intense—each evening when I step outside, the air is saturated with the fragrance of apricot, honey, and soft leather.

Known in Chinese as 桂花 (guìhuā) and in Japanese as 金木犀 (kinmokusei), osmanthus is native to China and has long been cherished for its intoxicating aroma. Its scent is a paradox: honeyed and luminous, yet with a leathery undertone that lends it mystery and depth. In perfumery, osmanthus is one of the most captivating raw materials, versatile enough to form the backbone of a composition or to lend a delicate accent of fruit and warmth.

“Twenty perfumes you must smell” is, of course, a debatable list. I’m sure others would select different favorites. What follows is simply my own choice: fragrances that, in my view, reveal osmanthus in all of its guises, from floral to fruity, radiant to shadowed. Not all of these perfumes use natural osmanthus absolute—an extraordinarily costly material—but the best blends capture its character through accords of ionones, damascones, theaspirane, and lactones, recreating the apricot-violet-leather bouquet of this prized blossom.

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