A Natural Perfumers Journal

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...

Having struggled hard over the last few evenings, making concoctions that smell nothing like I want them to, a penny dropped this morning. I had been reading the Secret of Scent by Luca Turin and, in the book Mr Turin goes into great detail about the different chemicals that make up the most famous synthetic perfumes. I also learned about orris butter with it's complex mix of irones and what Luca describes as "it's magnificent, melancholy smell". He says when orris notes are used properly they "exude a frosty luxury which everyone falls in love with sooner or later". I also learned how experienced perfumers and chemists have created rose smells which have none of the heavy oily counterparts found in natural rose extracts. He speaks about transparent florals in a way that makes me want to sample some of these synthesized chemical groups. Instead I get to thinking of new ways of taking the natural essences and brightening them and making them translucen...

Opoponax and Cassie, two friends of mine. They met in September and by June they had turned the moon blue. What's your blue moon?