Traditional & Modern Perfume Classifications

I decided the other night that, even though I dislike technicalities intensely, I was going to get my head around perfume classifications. Knowing my perfume classifications means that when I smell a perfume I will be able to say, for example, if it's a floral/amber perfume or a floral bouquet. I see it as a bit like knowing the difference between classical and jazz in music. It's really important! Anyway, to help cement the whole thing in my head, I made up two sentences using the initial letter of each classification for the start of every word in my sentence. Have a look! ( The sentence runs up the side of the posters). The sentences I made up I can easily remember, they don't really make sense but that's not the point. The point is that now I know my perfume classifications and can list them off by heart: ) My nose does the job of recognizing where the various perfumes go, it's putting a name on them I was having trouble with. These posters I designed myself to print out for the wall of my studio. If you click to enlarge the image and then drag it to your desktop or right click and save. Then you can print them out too. Tell me what you think!

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Comparing Geraniums

First Whiff 1. Himalayan geranium: initial smell is sweet, light and floral. 2. Atlantic bourbon geranium (certified organic): initial smell is dry, floral and slightly bitter. 3, Anatolian bourbon geranium: initial smell, rounder and also dry. More floral than the Atlantic. After 2 minutes 1. Light and sweet but drying out slightly, not at all bitter. A sweet floral note. 2. Much dryer, becoming more leafy now and a green tinge coming through. 3. Also much dryer but becoming more fruity than leafy, more of a soft fruity floral. After 5 minutes 1. Is still light and now fruity floral, still more sweet than dry. 2. A distinct bitterness which is not present in the Himalayan geranium, a dry floral note. 3. No bitterness, the more fruity of the three. After 10 minutes 1. A definite citrus note coming in from nowhere, lifting this one up again, mmmmh I'm really enjoying the Himalayan geranium. 2. A softer herbal tea type note, less bitter and a little cloying compared to the Himalayan ...

Working on a violet composition

There is something about violets. The little purple gems that to me represent spring. It is difficult to create a natural violet perfume composition because there is no actual violet flower absolute. There is a violet leaf absolute but it's green and dark and not a sweet delicate floral the way violets are. So...what to do? I am getting somewhere. First of all what is the profile of the perfume of violets? The notes of the flower are tender and sweet, with the complexity of the exotics like jasmine or ylang ylang. The perfume of a violet flower sort of draws you in in a beguiling way and before you know it it's imprinted on your memory never to be forgotten. As I say I am really getting somewhere. As usual getting the top notes stumped me. The question was how do I make something delicate and tender come out on top in a way that will lure a person in. Notes of carnation absolute, violet leaf and orris butter are key elements in the composition, using rose, jasmine and yla...

Ambra by Steffen Arctander, Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin

A fine specimen of white ambergris from the West Coast of Ireland - Courtesy of www.celticambergris.com High quality Ambergris like this can fetch upwardly of €99 per gram Ambra , also called Ambregris or Ambergris, is a substance of animal tissue, formed in the stomach or intestine of Physeter Catodon , the cachalot whale. It is conceivable that Ambra is the result of a pathological condition caused by irritation of the whale's stomach walls due to certain indigestible particles in the whales food. Consequently, Ambra is one of the few natural perfumery raw materials which cannot be "cultivated", not even in the same way that pearls, for example, are cultivated. Pieces of Ambra are either washed ashore on various temperate ocean coasts and islands, or they are found inside the whales when these great mammals are captured for their oil (spermaceti oil). There is no particular area where Ambra can be found or searched for with regular success. The "big...

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