Perfume 101: 487 posts

When the mesmerizing Spanish actress, Rossy de Palma, decided to create a fragrance, she selected rose as her main theme. While the choice of such a classical flower for the star of Pedro Almódovar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown might have struck some as surprising, the perfumers Antoine Lie and Antoine Maisondieu weren’t taken aback. They were the co-authors of de Palma’s scent, and when it was released as Eau de Protection by the niche perfume house Etat Libre d’Orange, the result was anything but staid. As the perfumers knew, rose had many faces, and it could be made as smoldering or as innocent as an artist’s skill allowed.

Eau de Protection opens up on a spicy but fresh accord of green citrus peel and black pepper, but as the rose unfolds, so does the dark note reminiscent of damp soil and antique woods. Spice, honey, green sap, and fruit, the notes present in rose absolute, are cleverly highlighted in the fragrance, but the overall effect is abstract. The perfume is memorable not only because of its opulent character—aided by the generous dose of natural rose essence—and original interpretation, but also for doing away with the usual gender labels.  For a man who loves patchouli, amber and dark woods, the prominent rose notes in Rossy de Palma’s Eau de Protection aren’t too challenging. On the other hand, a woman who wants to eschew the cliché of “sweet and pretty” would find it a perfect statement fragrance.

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I never met my great-grandmother Olena, who passed away shortly after I was born, but I always felt as if she were a constant presence in my life. Partly it was due to the numerous recipe books that she left behind. The hand-bound sheets covered with Olena’s lacy handwriting detailed her techniques for stuffing a roast, making multilayer cakes or selecting fruit for jams and marmalades. The most intriguing of her recipes was the one she called “a dry perfume for gingerbread.”

Every European country has its own gingerbread recipe and a combination of spices that gives each regional variation its distinctive flavor. Olena’s Ukrainian version was scented with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, star anise, and a hint of saffron. When I blended it myself following her proportions, I realized that it was similar to the “gingerbread perfume” accord I learned making as a perfumery student, although my liquid version didn’t have the voluptuous richness of saffron.

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Thank you again for your amazing support and for joining Luca and I for our perfume talk. We decided to make our session is available as a recording. If you couldn’t participate in person, I invite you to listen to our conversation. Available here, same terms apply.

Here are the topics we covered:

• what classical perfumes make Luca’s heart skip a beat
• what exactly goes into those cheap, dime a dozen perfumes
• the future of perfumery
• is it possible to create anything new? and which brands stand out still?
• if you know nothing about perfumery, where to start? (Luca’s amazing advice)
• which classical Guerlain perfumes we don’t like (yes, those exist)
• and much more!

Luca Turin and I will engage in a series of conversations about perfumery: fragrances we can’t imagine the world without, trends we hate, industry gossip and other things. Both of us have our distinctive preferences and experiences, and Luca is someone I admire and consider a friend, so we will keep these sessions open-ended. Our goal is to raise money to help my local community in Ukraine, but I can’t deny relishing the pleasure of chatting with Luca on topics both of us enjoy. We hope that this series of conversation will be inspiring, meaningful and entertaining. And the last point is assured, especially if you know anything at all about Luca.

P.S. Did you know that you can follow Luca via his Substack?

Since I’m currently in Ukraine, I see the dire need in my local community for the most basic things. 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. I’ve been doing this ever since my arrival to Ukraine two weeks ago.

• Raising money for local school to supply their bomb shelters with water.
• Purchasing art supplies for the free-of-charge art studios that rehabilitate children suffering from post-traumatic shock.
• Supporting animal shelters run by the individuals I know.
• Working with local outreach programs to respond to the lonely elderly and their needs.
• Supporting local cultural preservation projects and traditional crafts.  I will share more information about these and other projects as I continue my work.

Full disclosure: 50% of the funds raised will be donated to these charitable initiatives. The rest will cover our time and my Belgian tax obligations.

The session will take place online via Zoom and will last for 1 hour. If you have questions for me and Luca, you can email them beforehand.

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

Location: Zoom
Class duration: 1 hour
September 14, Saturday, 18:00-19:00 CET (12:00-13:00 EST)
50€ SOLD OUT

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

Due to a last-minute change, I have a space available in our Scent Training Masterclass on August 24, Saturday, 6pm-7:30pm CET (12pm-1:30pm EST).
Location: Zoom
Class duration: 1.5 hours
55€ SOLD OUT

I enjoy recreating historical fragrances. Even when modern materials are used, the combinations turn out to be so unusual and memorable that finding more sources for antique formulas becomes a quest. My incense journey began while I was conducting research for the ISIPCA course I’m teaching this fall, focusing on the cultural and historical significance of fragrance. As I delved into the subject, my interest in the ancient practices of China, particularly the art of incense, grew stronger. I was already familiar with Japanese incense from my university studies and travels and I knew that the tradition came to Japan from China during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) and evolved into its own form. Learning about the original incense recipes and the scent philosophy in China thrilled me as it reminded me once again how deep and complex are the interactions between scent and culture, fragrance and art, perfume and society.

Incense was considered one of three “refined arts” in ancient China, along with tea ceremony and flower arrangement. Some of the earliest mentions of incense combinations date to the 3rd century BCE. As still remains the case, agarwood, the petrified wood of the aquilaria species, was the prized fragrance material, admired in its own right. Ancient texts mention frankincense and clove as ingredients to add facets to agarwood and lend it a different character, depending on the incense blender’s mood and artistic choices. Chinese women even mixed incense into makeup powders to paint their eyebrows black.
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Oud is a paradox. The exquisite aroma that set the imagination of Japanese poets and Sufi mystics aflame develops as a result of a disease. When healthy, the wood of Aquilaria tree species is odorless, but once a certain type of mold affects them, they release an aromatic essence to protect their tissues from decomposition. It’s a slow process, during which blond wood turns dark and hard as a stone and develops a fragrance of uncommon complexity. It has the notes of sweet tobacco, incense, leather, and smoked spices, with a lingering undercurrent of bitter honey and crushed mint. While it’s known by many names, including aloeswood, agarwood, gaharu, or jinko, its other name, dark gold, will be instantly recognizable to oud lovers.

Although an ingredient with centuries old history in the Eastern world, it’s a relative newcomer to European perfumery. One of the first fragrances to use this note was Yves Saint Laurent’s M7, created under the direction of Tom Ford in 2002. The composition—its dramatic effect enhanced by a controversial nude male ad–had a cool, herbal top note that fell straight into the tobacco and animalic warmth of oud. It was relaunched a few years ago as M7 Oud Absolu, softer and lighter, but with the original’s vivid character.

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