Thunder and Berries

Our evening walk in the woods turned into a little thunderstorm adventure. After many dry days and static humid air, the thunder started roaring and gotten nearer and nearer. The rain began to drop gently, tapping on a leaf here and there, and then tap-tap-tap it went on, chasing us from the forest back home and even though we ran part of the way, we got soaked to the socks.

Thunderstorms are a rare occurrence on the West Coast, and it always reminds me of home, because even though the smells are different -  there is always the excitement of the noise and the bolts of lightning. And there is still something familiar, even though the petrichor here was wrapped in luscious smells of salmon berries and blackberry leaves as we were meandering through the forest; and the wet earth mingled with the smell of white roses and the last indolic rhododendrons in the garden... And then the smell of wet pavement and concrete, wet hair and breathless warm skin of a child as we ran all the way home from the park. Strange as this may sounds, to me this smells like a prelude to a summer.

Correspondence Courses Launching Soon!

This is a time of transition for me and my family, and so I've prepared some provisions in place for students who wish to continue studying even when my courses are on hiatus for the summer (and possibly also for the fall semester).

You can register for the correspondence courses anytime, and complete the entire 8-module program at your own pace. Studying will progress according to the self-study guide that will be sent to you upon registration, which will include:

List of raw materials that are key components for this particular genre (AKA Fragrance Family).
List of tools and equipment you will need for this module.
List of the exercises in the book, and in which order to perform them.
Additional reading materials and links to relevant suppliers.
Additional creative thinking and exercises that are not in the book, and usually take place.
Online support via email or Skype chat - offered up to 6 months from date course was purchased.
Additional sessions via phone or Skype conference are also an option - but require an additional cost (these are billed at $200/hr).
{Future component of the correspondence program (still in the making): Access to online video tutorials, and essence kit for each module}.

The first course I'll be releasing is Citrus & Cologns + Lab 101.

In this module, you will:

• Learn Basic Lab Procedures & Etiquette
• Become proficient and confident with the technical aspects of perfume creation and production, including: 
• Dilutions
• Tincturing of fresh and dry botanical matter
• Adding water to an eau de cologne or eau de toilette + problem solving 
• Scale-up
• Standardizing Formulae
• Scale Skills (including levelling, calibration, tare, count function, zeroing, etc.)
• Basic Smelling Skills, primarily identifying essences 
• Learn how to follow a formula and measure it properly
• History of alcoholic perfumes, with focus on Aqua Mirabillis and medieval times 
• Understand the Cologne type and basic accord 
• Understand - and be able to recognize via smell - the difference between fragrances from the “Citrus” and “Cologne” genres
• Understand the sub-categories for the Citrus family (i.e.: Citrus Fresh, Citrus Floral, Citrus Green, Citrus Fantasy, etc.) 
• Follow and research historic formulae for Eaux de Colognes, i.e. Florida Water, Eau d’Hungarie, Carmelite Water, etc. 
• Understand and be able to apply basic concepts of formulation, such as top notes, fixative, etc. 
• Basic composition skills only: add 1-2 ingredients to a given formula, without taking away from it’s existing character (meaning: staying within the genre of Eau de Cologne, Citrus, etc.)
• Basic manipulation of formulae to make it belong to a sub-category (i.e.: Citrus Floral, Citrus Fresh, Citrus Green, Citrus Fantasy, etc.) 

The course will become available at the end of May. It is now offered at an introductory price at 50% off. In exchange for this generous offer, we ask our first correspondence students to provide feedback about this course format, and be part of making future correspondence modules a comprehensive and excellent option for students of perfumery the world over!

Girls...

Through many twists and turns two extra teeange-ish girls were brought into my life. So that brings the total female humans in the household to four. Multiply that by 100 and you can get a pretty realistic number for for the amounts of products (some scented, some not) that each of us uses for her beauty regime, fragrance included. Thank goodness there are two bathrooms in my apartment, as we all know that girls don't use them just for straightforward business but for myriad of other mysterious purposes. It makes me think of how raising children is such a risky business - they start all adorable, helpless and easy to control and by their early teens could very possibly morph into a kind of a roommate from hell.

Whenever I feel the slightest urge to complain (like, when I see a cotton swap covered in kohl, hairballs, and myriad varieties of makeup mess) - I remind myself of the days when I was living at my friend Zohar's family. She has 3 more sisters, to with her mom there were 6 ladies in the house (but only one washroom). And it makes me feel ever more thankful and appreciative of their kindness and patience with me at that rough teenaged year of my life.

Now, back to painting that olfactory picture of what's happening right now (and yet again I'm reminded of my friend's many sisters) - every morning (or whenever they decide to wake up) - you'll get a immersed in fruity shampoos, conditioners, hairsprays, deodorants, celebrity perfumes (Brittany Spears Hidden Fantasy is the "everyday" scent around here). A similar regime will take place in the evening if one of us goes out, but then there is a chance that Flowerbomb will be applied as the final touch. And then there is a mystery fragrance of roses of violets that I keep forgetting to ask one of the girls what it is... Plus Miss T takes after her mom and sprays a bedtime perfume almost every night (she hasn't fallen far off the tree). At least she does not get to wear In Control Curious because her mom stocks her up with cult scents such as "Girl Perfume", which is how she calls The Little Prince (which is a harmless, lemony eau de cologne), the classic AnaisAnais, and a designer scent and a celebrity scent I actually quite like - "Pink Bottle Perfume" (KenzoAmour) and Harajuku Lovers "Love", AKA in this household as "Mickey Mouse Perfume".

New Perfume: Lost Lagoon

 Inspired by a hidden garden of azaleas

Happy May Day!
I'm excited to share with you my new perfume for spring and summer: Lost Lagoon.

Every spring, the rhododendrons awaken - first slowly, building anticipation. By early May, they simply burst with colour and aroma, some of the bushes so dense with flowers that you can't even see their leaves and branches...

These fragrant azaleas paint the edges of Lost Lagoon with myriads of flowers of tropical colours and exotic scents as versatile as the number of hybrids planted there: some are reminiscent of lily, others are like ylang ylang and some smell like cool suntan lotion. Bluebells, violets and other bulb flowers and annuals are planted among them; and magnolia, lilac and syringa contribute their luscious perfume to the already fragrant air. Freshly cut grass from the Pitch & Putt is the only reminder you're still in the Northern Hemisphere and not in the tropics...



In case you can't experience this extravagant botanical explosion in person - don't be sad: I've bottled that scent especially for you!

Lost Lagoon is the third installation in "Perfume For A Place" series, which is inspired by my favourite places in Vancouver. This perfume will transport you to a secret lagoon surrounded by tropical flowers. Lost Lagoon is a refreshing Chypre with exotic floral notes of magnolia and ylang ylang and loaded with bergamot and green notes of rhododendron buds, violet leaf and galbanum.

Top Notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Galbanum, Violet
Heart Notes: Rhododendron, Magnolia, Ylang Ylang
Base Notes: Oakmoss, Amber, Iris