Here is a recap of the three days of our Art of Perfume course: on Day 1 we visited the Edmond Roudnitska garden and explored the International Perfume Museum in Grasse, on Day 2 we learned about perfumes that influenced fragrance history and more, and on Day 3 we applied our newly learned skills to practical exercises.
As I mentioned before, my course was designed with all of the rigor of a professional training program, keeping in mind our time limitations. It takes years to learn how to make a perfume, but one can acquire basic knowledge of raw materials and try simple exercises to see how they interact together. All of this not only helps deepen one’s knowledge of perfumery, but also makes one’s perceptions sharper.
Photography by Anna Kozlova.
26 Comments
Kathleen: Gorgeous photography! Your workshop is my dream perfumery course. I hope that you’ll do another soon. June 2, 2017 at 8:22am
Victoria: Thank you very much, Kathleen. I will keep everyone posted. June 2, 2017 at 9:51am
Jillie: My idea of heaven.
And I love your earrings! June 2, 2017 at 10:44am
Victoria: Thank you! I bought them with my first salary, so they are my favorites. June 2, 2017 at 11:24am
Phyllis Iervello: Victoria, I enjoyed the great photos! Thank you so much for sharing. June 2, 2017 at 10:55am
Victoria: My pleasure. 🙂 June 2, 2017 at 11:24am
Geri Ethen: I love seeing the expression on the face of those in attendance. And your earrings, Victoria, are gorgeous in your photo! Must have been a gift from your husband!
What a great educational experience to enhance one’s enjoyment and appreciation of life! June 2, 2017 at 11:05am
Victoria: It was such a wonderful session!
No, they weren’t. I bought them myself and they predate my husband by a number of years. June 2, 2017 at 11:24am
zephyr: Totally agree – everyone’s facial expressions say it all!
The earrings are “you”, Victoria, perfect! June 2, 2017 at 12:06pm
Victoria: Thank you very much! 🙂 June 6, 2017 at 7:16am
Nick: I am not sure which of the days would be my most favourite. But seeing those vials would make my curiosity and lust for experimentation run amok. Thank you for sharing these snapshots, Victoria. June 2, 2017 at 1:32pm
behemot: Nick, I was one of the lucky ones to be there. All three days were my “favorite” 🙂 It was simply wonderful. June 2, 2017 at 3:25pm
spe: How wonderful, behemot! How did the experience affect your relationship with fragrance? June 3, 2017 at 10:48am
behemot: I learned a few new things. First, I expanded my ability to smell and recognize single notes in a particular fragrance. Victoria taught us special technique to do so. She also introduced us to several raw materials which are used in modern perfumery, and explained how they can influence the composition. When we were trying to make our own accords, I understood one more time that to make beautiful thing, in this case a fragrant one, one needs to have high level of skills as well as a lot of time.. Nothing comes easy:) June 6, 2017 at 7:34pm
Victoria: Sergey still talks with awe about you nailing the perfumes we were smelling (and smelling blindly!) 🙂 June 6, 2017 at 7:19am
behemot: Haha. Thank you. It was during the workshop that I smelled Apres l’Ondee vintage extract for the first time. It was so beautiful and so different from the modern EDT I own! As a result, I ended up purchasing the vintage bottle online. I could not resist. It is not as old as Victoria’s bottle. Mine is from the 70’s, but still smells beautiful. No regrets:) June 6, 2017 at 7:22pm
Victoria: The 70s version is stunning, so do enjoy it.
It seems that several people from the class ended up hunting the antique shops for vintage perfumes. I’ve received a message just this morning from someone who scored a vintage Chamade. I feared I would spoil you guys. June 7, 2017 at 12:35pm
behemot: We have been spoiled by you before the class, since we learned so much about GOOD fragrances! June 7, 2017 at 1:12pm
Victoria: I’m glad to spoil you more. June 7, 2017 at 3:01pm
Nick: Seeing how you are still relishing the moment makes me wish that I could have joined! June 6, 2017 at 11:41am
behemot: We need to talk to Victoria about another workshop then! I am willing to come! June 6, 2017 at 7:17pm
Victoria: My pleasure! Once again I confirm to myself that Bois de Jasmin readers are the most passionate, fascinating group. 🙂 Hope that more of us will have an occasion to meet in person. June 6, 2017 at 7:18am
Lydia: What a fascinating course!
I’d love to know a little about how the participants’ perfume creations turned out.
Did they create perfumes in specific categories (citrus, floral, etc) for the exercises?
How great to get a basic foundation in perfumery. June 4, 2017 at 12:15am
Victoria: We did a herbal-citrusy accord that I formulated especially to show how each individual note changes when others are added. Since some of the people took the course for the second time, I gave an option to make a floral or a woody variation. June 6, 2017 at 7:20am
Lydia: Thanks, that sounds so interesting.
I’d love to learn the structure of perfumes in such an in-depth way someday. June 6, 2017 at 7:15pm
Victoria: 🙂 June 7, 2017 at 12:34pm