I've just returned from AbdesSalam Attar's natural perfumery course in Italy.
I've found my calling. I'm turning in my resignation at the shop Monday.
Boss, I'm joking.:-)
The session was held at the beautiful Il Germano Reale, which is ringed by a botanical festival: cypress trees, lavender and rosemary bushes. Salam even snagged a peach for me off a tree and introduced me to giuggiole (jujubes), which were hanging low from their trees.
We discussed 'perfumetherapy,' olfactory psychology and 'the way of scent (japanese kodo).' We also worked on categorizing scents, smelling each one and applying characteristics to it.
If you have even just a passing interest in perfume and psychology, or natural perfume in general, you must absolutely get a cup of tea, sit in front of your computer, and spend a few hours on Salam's site. It's huge, but it is a must.
Another task was to make a perfume for a fellow attendee. If you make perfume only for yourself, you will wind up making what's basically the same scent over and over again.
I gave my 'customer' a selection of scents and told her to smell each one. I grouped the ones she liked, and then had her select from those for the main accord (bergamot, ylang ylang, rosewood). Then I went from there.
Making a scent for another person forces you to drop your ego (at least that's what it did for me). It forces you to get over feeling hurt if the person doesn't like the way a scent is going. You don't have time to feel hurt. You must focus on getting it right.
This is a life lesson.
The perfume made for me contained rose absolute, ylang ylang and cedarwood. (I hope my office mates won't mind.:-))
I'm beat. But inspired.
Now if I could just get going on making that perfumer's organ.
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