Bois de Jasmin courses: 20 posts

I’ve been on a rose trail for years. I’ve collected roses in France, Bulgaria, Morocco, India, Pakistan, Iran and even China. From the velvety richness of classical French perfumes to the luminous transparency of contemporary compositions, the rose is one of my favorite ingredients in my palette. Now in eastern Ukraine, I cannot delight enough in the intense aromas and colors of the roses grown under the generous sun of the Donetsk region. Even at 10km from the frontline, the flowers bloom with devastating lushness.

As a thank-you to everyone supporting our humanitarian work in Ukraine, I’m delighted to invite you to a special online seminar titled Rose: From Classics to Contemporary Masterpieces.

During this one-hour session, we’ll explore how great rose perfumes are constructed, how rose accords have evolved over time, and what distinguishes a classical composition from a modern interpretation. I’ll discuss iconic fragrances, explain the architecture behind successful rose accords, and share practical insights from my own work as a perfumer and perfume educator. There will also be plenty of time for questions.

Event Details

Friday, August 7
17:00–18:00 CET / 11:00–12:00 EST
Google Meet

A recording will be available to all registered participants.

This seminar also supports a cause that has become deeply important to me. Since April 2026, I’ve been living in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. I join the Kramatorsk Volunteer Organization run by the local volunteer Bogdan Zuyakov on their humanitarian missions. Along with Ben Kochenburger, my fellow American volunteer, I fundraise to help this local grassroot organization continue evacuating civilians, transporting people to hospitals, and responding to emergencies in Kramatorsk and vicinity.

Thanks to you, we were able to raise enough money to obtain a new evacuation vehicle.

However, the work doesn’t stop there. While we wait for the vehicle to arrive and become fitted with the necessary armor and drone detectors, we still need to keep our existing fleet on the road. One of our evacuation vehicles urgently requires repairs, while fuel, maintenance, and operational costs continue to grow as the security situation deteriorates. Every day matters. Russian drones and missile strikes are more and more numerous and we need to do everything to get people to safety.

For that reason, we have extended our fundraising goal to $20,000. Of course, we will be over the moon if we exceed our goal. Every additional contribution will help ensure that evacuations continue without interruption while the new vehicle makes its way to Ukraine.

How to Participate

Donate $50 or more to the fundraiser, and you’ll receive an invitation to the seminar:

https://gogetfunding.com/humanitarian-support-for-relocating-civilians-in-ukraine/

More importantly, you’ll be helping local volunteers rescue people and help local communities.

Thank you again for your trust, your generosity, and for standing with us.

With gratitude,

Victoria and Ben Kochenburger

I’m delighted to announce a new online seminar dedicated to one of my favorite flowers—osmanthus. It’s a completely new course based on my recent research and studies of this unique perfume note.

During this 1.5-hour class, we’ll explore osmanthus in all its beauty and complexity. Together, we will:
• Learn how osmanthus is processed and what to look for perfumes with this note  
• Train our noses through guided smelling exercises
• Learn how to detect notes and identify accords in perfumes
• Practice different techniques for scent analysis and memorization
• Discover the most beautiful osmanthus perfumes I’ve encountered—including many new creations I smelled during my recent trip to China
• And, as a special treat, I’ll share a recipe for osmanthus honey I learned from a tea maker in Hangzhou. Can be used for other flowers.

I’m preparing a trip to Ukraine, and I’m raising money to buy art supplies for Kyiv’s Children Art School. The proceeds from this seminar will support that initiative.

This is brand-new content, distinct from my previous osmanthus classes. It reflects the latest discoveries and insights from the vibrant contemporary perfumery scene I experienced in China.

If you love flowers, perfumery, or simply want to refine your sense of smell, this class will be an inspiring and sensory journey.

Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes (live on Zoom)
Price: €65 per participant
Small class size to keep it interactive
Date: November 15, 2025, Saturday, 12:00-13:30 EST/18:00-19:30 CET
Replay available for registered participants (on request)

SOLD OUT

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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.

Continue reading →

I’m delighted to bring back my newsletter! Here you’ll find reflections and stories I don’t publish anywhere else—behind-the-scenes notes, sensory explorations, and previews of projects as they take shape. As a welcome gift, I’ve prepared a short guide to the art of cologne: it includes a simple accord you can recreate at home, along with a carefully chosen selection of remarkable colognes to discover. Subscribe here.

This autumn, I am launching a new seminar, Fragrances that Influenced History—a journey through perfumes that not only shaped how we smell, but also how we understand art, fashion, and society. These are the first two parts of a longer seminar, each one hour in length, designed to introduce you to the milestones of modern perfumery. The class is interactive and its size is kept small to ensure that everyone can participate comfortably.

Fragrances That Influenced History

Location: Online, Zoom (recording available)

Date & Time: 1h

Fragrances That Influenced History Part 1 September 20th, Saturday 1:00pm-2:00pm EST/6:00pm-7:00pm CET   SOLD OUT 

Fragrances That Influenced History Part 2 September 28th, Sunday 1:00pm-2:00pm EST/6:00pm-7:00pm CET   SOLD OUT 

Part I: The Dawn of Modern Perfumery
We will begin with the late 19th and early 20th centuries—the moment when modern perfumery was born. You will discover Coty’s La Rose Jacqueminot and Guerlain’s Jicky, perfumes that marked the transition from traditional essences to a new, modern aesthetic. We will discuss how synthetic materials transformed perfume creation, and how these innovations paralleled the bold experimentation in visual arts and literature. You will learn what accords are still used today and how niche perfumery continues to be inspired by the legendary perfumes of the 19th and early 20th century

Continue reading →

On perfume blogs you sometimes see lighthearted polls like “what perfumes would you grab if your home were on fire?” Now imagine a real-life situation where your city is bombarded and you escape with only limited belongings. That’s what happened to Olga Gritsenko, a Ukrainian perfume lover and blogger. In 2022, she was forced to flee her native city of Kharkiv at the start of the Russian invasion and travel across Ukraine to the western town of Mukachevo. Her story is inspiring, because not only did Olga save her perfume collection, she also established herself in a new place, launched a popular YouTube channel called Olfattivo and created a subscription service called “Ukrainian perfume boxes” to support indie perfumers.

This amazing woman will join me for a special seminar. In March, I’ll be visiting Olga in Ukraine. Our seminar will be broadcast from her new home and we will talk about why Ukraine is such a perfume-obsessed country and how scents provide powerful emotional support. It’s going to be relevant in the current climate, as many people around the world face political upheavals, economic problems or personal setbacks.

Our other topics will include:

• the fascinating world of vintage Ukrainian perfumery
• what perfumes are popular in Ukraine
• how does one build a perfume collection and preserve it in times of adversity
• how do people shop for perfume in Ukraine
• how to use scents for emotional support
• what kind of fragrances represent Ukraine
• Olga’s “Ukrainian perfume” boxes and more.

As a special offer from me, the first 5 people to sign up for the seminar will receive a set of Ukrainian perfume samples.

Our encounter has another reason–I’m gathering funds to support community projects in my region. While there are plenty of charities and government-level programs, the only way to ensure that money goes to the people in need is to locate those communities and help them directly.

• Purchasing art supplies for the free-of-charge art studios and local art schools that rehabilitate children suffering from post-traumatic shock. One such school in Kyiv also works with war veterans.
• Working with local outreach programs to respond to the lonely elderly and their needs.
• Supporting local cultural preservation projects and traditional crafts.  This war has had devastating consequences on Ukraine’s culture and environment and I organize efforts to support artisans and local museums who continue their work despite the harrowing circumstances. On my Instagram, I will record my travels and my work.

The session will take place online via Zoom and will last for 1 hour. If you have questions for me and Olga, you can email them beforehand. The seminar will be in English. Recording will be available to those who can’t join in person.

IMPORTANT: Your email confirmation with joining instructions will arrive within 24 hours after payment. 

Location: Zoom
Class duration: 1 hour
March 14, Friday, 12:00-13:00 EST (17:00-18:00 CET–note the daylight savings hours starting early in the USA)
50€ Book Now (recording available)

Photo: Olga and her treasures. You can also follow Olga via her Instagram.

If you simply visit to donate to support the Kyiv Children’s Art School, a remarkable place that gives free classes to children traumatized by war, you can do so via this link or QR code. Any amount will make a difference. They need more brushes, pencils and paints.