Perfumery course: 6 posts

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.

Did you know that smelling is one of the most effective brain exercises? Studies indicate that olfactive training “improved verbal function and subjective well-being. In addition, results indicated a decrease of depressive symptoms.” The latest research reveals that regular scent training can improve cognitive function and quality of life because it can enhance all your senses. Olfactive training can improve attention, memory and language functions and reverse cognitive decline. Since 2020, I have been working with healthcare professionals studying anosmia and the gradual loss of the sense of smell. Having researched the subject of olfaction, both as a perfumer and health industry consultant, I have created a tailored program based on my learning and discoveries. In contrast to my other courses that emphasize the appreciation of fragrances, this masterclass will focus deeper on how you develop your sense of smell and its effect on your well-being. I will share powerful techniques to:

• improve your sense of smell
• boost your ability to memorize aromas
• help you create daily habits that promote long-term cognitive health
• heighten your enjoyment of scents in food, wine, tea, and of course, fragrances

The masterclass will take place online and it’s an interactive experience, in a casual and comfortable setting. Since the class size is kept small, everyone will have my input into their uniquely adapted smell training program. You will have free access to support and guidance from me after the masterclass.

We will use readily available fragrant materials for our class exercises, such as citrus fruit and spices. You’ll receive the full instructions before the start of the class.

Location: Zoom
Class duration: 1.5 hours
August 18, Sunday, 1:30pm-3:00pm CET
August 24, Saturday, 6pm-7:30pm CET (12pm-1:30pm EST)
55€ SOLD OUT

For more information on Bois de Jasmin classes and other course offers, please visit the Perfume Classes page.

Continuing the Professional Perfumery series, in which I explain how perfumers are trained, how they create fragrances and how you can use their techniques to improve your sense of smell, I will talk about the Jean Carles method. This method is used to learn perfumery raw materials. When I was studying at IFF Perfume Academy, we didn’t use this method, but I applied it to my own practice, and I found it helped me to memorize smells better. It also helped me to learn the nuances of materials, since it’s based on comparing and contrasting them.

Once I finished recording the latest episode, I decided to create a one-week study plan for those who are serious about learning perfumery. I followed the Jean Carles method, but I modified it to the home environment. It means that I reduced the number of materials studied each day. I also selected materials that can be easily obtained as essential oils or can be used in their natural state. It’s appropriate for complete beginners.

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I’ve made a video explaining how professional perfumery training is organized. My explanation is based on my own experience as a perfumer student at IFF. I will also point out a few tips that anyone can use to develop a sharper, more acute sense of smell.

Ever since I’ve posted the video, I’ve received several comments to continue the series, so the next video on the topic of professional training will be on the Jean Carles method of learning raw materials.

I hope that you like the videos, and if you have any specific topics that you would like me to cover, please let me know.

Recently I was making a new series of videos on learning languages, and as I was jotting down notes on learning words, I realized that for my studies I use the same memorizing techniques that I had used to learn ingredients in perfumery school. I wonder if my language learning didn’t accelerate during my training. After all, memorizing something intangible like a scent is even harder than memorizing a new word. Either way, I would like to share my tips on retaining smells in your memory, and you can see how you can apply these techniques to memorizing anything else.

If you wish to have a set of oils or spices ready, I recommend starting with no more 3. It might seem like very little, but if you learn to memorize those three scents and learn to pick them out in a blend, you can expand your exercises to a much greater number. Polish your technique with a few scents at a time.

For instance, my recommended smells for learning would be the following three: lemon (you can use the real fruit by scratching the peel), clove (you can use spices that you have at that time), and vanilla (you can use extract). You’re likely to have them already, and they’re used a lot in perfumery. Just because they’re familiar, however, don’t assume that you know all of their facets.

I emphasize the parallels with language studies to help you find your own connections. I’m sure all of you have pursuits that require memorization, so you can rely on the same techniques for learning aromas. Your techniques might differ from mine, but it doesn’t matter as long as they are effective.

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