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

People often come to me, students, perfumery hopefuls, artists halfway through a formula and a mild existential crisis. Inevitably, they arrive with this question:
What does it mean to be a perfumer? Am I allowed to call myself one if I’m self-taught? If I don’t have a professional lab?

Let’s be honest: this world can be a little obsessed with gatekeeping, as if the right to create scent were handed down from Mount Firmenich on stone tablets.

So let me offer this, not as doctrine, but as lived experience.

I trained as a perfumer at IFF. I’ve studied and worked with legends like Sophia Grojsman, Dominique Ropion, Maurice Roucel. I’ve created fragrances in labs that featured the rarest raw materials, surrounded by shelves of cutting-edge captives and supported by extraordinary teams. I know what it’s like to formulate with everything at your fingertips.

But I also know what it’s like to create with very little. I’ve been taught to compose fragrances on a shoestring budget, with limited access to materials. And I’ve seen other perfumers do the same: crafting something resonant and exquisite not in spite of constraint, but because of it. Maurice Roucel, for instance, has built breathtaking perfumes from formulas that read like haiku. Sophia Grojsman worked magic on a single-digit budget. There is no correlation between the number of raw materials or even their quality and the greatness of a fragrance. Sometimes, it’s precisely the restraint that makes the structure sing.

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До мене часто приходять люди — студенти, початківці, митці, які перебувають десь посередині формули й легкої екзистенційної кризи. Вони, зрештою, ставлять одне й те саме запитання:
Що означає бути парфумером? Чи маю я право називати себе парфумером, якщо я самоучка? Якщо в мене немає професійної лабораторії?

Будьмо чесні: цей світ трохи одержимий поняттям “допуску”. Ніби право творити аромати було передане людству з Гори Firmenich на кам’яних скрижалях.

Тож дозвольте мені запропонувати відповідь не як догму, а як власній досвід.

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UPDATE: all of the current classes are sold out. I still have a couple of spots left in the Japanese Incense Class.

The Bois de Jasmin new class schedule includes new classes on Vetiver, Balsamic Notes, Musk and Japanese Incense. We will decode these fundamental perfume materials and analyze fragrances that use them. We will also learn about Jasmine, Tuberose and Incense.

In the Art and Culture of Japanese Incense we will explore the rich history and cultural significance of Japanese incense. We will delve into the traditional art of “Kōdō” (the Way of Incense), learning about its origins, rituals, and the various types of incense used in Japanese culture. We will study the most important ingredients used in Japanese incense and their combinations. Students will receive a brochure detailing the most popular Japanese brands and their offerings, with suggestions on where to purchase different types of incense.

The class size is small to ensure that everyone gets attention and a chance to interact. The class is run as a lecture interspersed with guided smelling exercises. My style of teaching is personal and interactive. You will have a chance to ask questions throughout the class and there will also be an allotted time at the end for your questions on any fragrance-related topics. 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 or take a look below:

Perfume Seminar Online: The Art and Culture of Japanese Incense

A seminar that delves deep into the fascinating story of Japanese incense. I will also share my favorite brands of Japanese incense and links to the online stores where they can be purchased.

Location: Online, Zoom
Date: July 14th, Sunday 12:00pm-1:30pm EST/6:00pm-7:30pm CET
Price: €55 Book Now / $60 Book Now

Perfume Fundamentals Online: Jasmine
Location: Online, Zoom
Date: June 22nd, Saturday 12:00pm-1:30pm EST/6:00pm-7:30pm CET
SOLD OUT

Perfume Fundamentals Online: Tuberose
Location: Online, Zoom
Date: June 23rd, Sunday 12:00pm-1:30pm EST/6:00pm-7:30pm CET
SOLD OUT

Perfume Fundamentals Online: Incense
Location: Online, Zoom
Date: June 29th, Saturday 12:00pm-1:30pm EST/6:00pm-7:30pm CET
SOLD OUT

3-Class Package: Jasmine, Tuberose, Incense
SOLD OUT

Perfume Fundamentals Online: Vetiver
Location: Online, Zoom
Date: July 6th, Saturday 12:00pm-1:30pm EST/6:00pm-7:30pm CET
SOLD OUT

Perfume Fundamentals Online: Balsamic Notes
Location: Online, Zoom
Date: July 10th, Wednesday 12:00pm-1:30pm EST/6:00pm-7:30pm CET
SOLD OUT

Perfume Fundamentals Online: Musk
Location: Online, Zoom
Date: July 13th, Saturday, 12:00pm-1:30pm EST/6:00pm-7:30pm CET
SOLD OUT

3-Class Package: Vetiver, Balsams, Musk
SOLD OUT

Brussels Studio Classes

We will explore perfume materials, rare fragrances, talk about history and legendary creators who made our favorite perfumes. 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 your sense of smell. Some of the workshops include creating your own perfume accord.

Perfume Workshop (Brussels Studio): Vintage Perfumes and Stories

Journey into the captivating world of rare vintage perfumes. Uncover the history and artistry behind some of the most sought-after fragrances from past eras. Participants will learn to identify and appreciate the unique characteristics of vintage scents, explore the evolution of perfume-making, and gain insights into the cultural contexts that shaped these timeless creations. Hands-on sessions will include sampling rare perfumes and understanding their complex compositions. Perfect for fragrance enthusiasts and collectors alike, this class offers a rare opportunity to experience the magic of vintage perfumery. Students will have access to my perfume collection and try iconic fragrances from Caron, Guerlain, Coty and Chanel.

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)

SOLD OUT 

Perfume Workshop (Brussels Studio): Rose
We will smell natural and synthetic rose materials, vintage and modern fragrances that use rose. I will then show you how a classical rose accord is constructed. You will have a chance to create your own rose composition.

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)

SOLD OUT

To request another date, please  email me.

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I’m often asked for guidance to identify notes in specific perfumes. This question touches upon the larger topic of learning about fragrance–how is it made, what do various terms mean, how to parse out mixtures and so on. I’m asked about books or online materials that a non-professional can use to make sense of the intriguing and complex world of scents. Often, I direct my readers to the books by Philip Kraft and Harold McGee, but the truth is that there is no one definitive book that covers this topic. You would have to read widely and pick and choose your materials to tailor them to your interests.

What’s more, there is not one professionally recognized textbook on perfumery that all perfume students need to read. The text that comes close is Method of Creation and Perfumery by Jean Carles, originally published in 1961. I will leave a link at the end of the article, in case you want to read it. While it still remains a seminal text, much has changed in perfumery in the past decades, to the point that creation is conceptualized differently. With this in mind, where does this leave a perfume lover? What should you do in order to learn how to identify perfume notes and how to understanding fragrances better?

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