11/07/2020
PERFUMERY: A NATURAL RENAISSANCE ART
By Natural Perfumer Christine Malcolm
American Alliance of Aromatherapy News Quarterly 1996
Aromatics have played a significant role in cultural , medical and religious life for thousands of years. Pleasing scents have always had a beneficial effect upon the physical, psychological and spiritual well -being of humankind. This has made them among the most sought after commodities in the world. Perfumery is an ancient art that began with the offering of prayers through smoke (per fumus), the burning of resins as incense. For centuries, the use of perfume was confined to anointing of royalty and the rituals of worship. The secrets of preparation and ingredients were carefully guarded by small, select groups of practitioners.
Knowledge of this arcane art only gradually spread. From royalty to nobility, to aristocracy. Perfumes became both symbols of social status and sources of pleasure. Although in recent history perfumery has been transformed from art to industry, it is nonetheless still steeped in an aura of mystery. The perfumer is an artist with a highly developed sense of smell. Seated at an organ of aromatics, resembling the keyboard of a piano, a perfumer composes fragrant harmonies. The perfumer’s palette is aroma’s, rather than sounds; various nuances and moods. emerge as fragrant notes in a composition. It takes many years of training ( usually five to ten) for the perfumer to perfect an olfactory library which allow him/her not only to recognize the many hundreds of raw materials, but to visualize a scent and construct it using olfactory memory. There are very few master perfumers. Those who attain mastery have devoted more than twenty years to a daily regimen of working with aromatics. Edmund Roudnitska is one of the few living master perfumers. He created his first commercial masterpiece in his forties and some forty-five years later is still passionately involved in perfumery.
No two perfumers work in the same way, but discipline and technique are requirements, along with the capability to discriminate subtle differences in odor quality. An apprentice may spend the first six months of training just smelling and memorizing the raw aromatic materials; writing down impressions from the initial first sniff to a dry down phase after several days, noting similarities and differences of aromatics from a number of families, ie. woody, citrus, floral, spicy and so on. Once students of perfumery are very well acquainted with the repertory of materials, they must learn to establish relationships between these by engaging in experimentation. Starting with three materials and gradually increasing the number of aromatics, students blend compositions to create particular accords. This requires discipline and patience. A perfume is not a random happening but a precise structure based on the volatility rates of each material, similar to the notes and accords that form a musical piece.
Before the 1900’s perfumery was primarily accomplished with botanical aromatics and a mere handful of synthetic aroma chemicals, (i.e. Fougere Royale and Jicky). After 1920, the use of larger proportions of aroma chemicals resulted in a number of completely novel perfumes (Chanel #5, L’air du Temps etc). Since then and especially after the 1950’s the use of aroma chemicals has dominated perfume compositions.
I was trained in commercial perfumery which emphasizes the use of synthetic ingredients sprinkled with naturals. It has been an interesting transition to reorient myself to compose solely with botanically derived essential oils, absolutes, gums and resins. Essential oil blending does not have to be complicated because because the majority of the work has already been accomplished by nature! There is a depth and dimension in naturals that cannot be simulated by aroma chemicals, no matter how apparently similar the molecular structures. Naturals themselves have long evolutionary and cultural histories creating their multi-dimensionality. Over the years, I have delved into the history and the mystery of perfumes and the stories behind each natural aromatic. I have been passionately in pursuit of the intimate knowledge of each aromatic., which I accomplish in part by creating blends. My compositions utilize earthborn ingredients and result in simple but mysterious fragrances that are harmonious and aesthetically satisfying.
Technology for obtaining botanical aromatics has greatly improved since the 1940’s. Today ‘s technological innovations can provide better and more consistent methods for extraction s, obtaining a wider variety of aromas for the natural perfumery palette. Because most fragrances on the market over the past fifty years have been predominantly synthetic, original creations by a new generation of perfumers is possible. Creating perfumes from a natural palette of botanical aromatics is challenging and opens up possibilities far beyond the treasures of the past. There have been over 3,000 essential oils identified from the large number of plant species of which only several hundred have been commercialized. Of the 300,000 to 500,000 flowering plant species in the world, only ten percent have been examined even in a cursory fashion. Only one percent (3,000-5,000) of those of you who want to enjoy this art in order to create scents for yourselves and others. I want to encourage you to embark upon this exciting journey of the olfactory senses and begin to develop your own blending skills. When I create a fragrance, I try to materialize a particular mood and visual image in scent and capture on paper what I have envisioned. This can be accomplished only when you have a good relationship with essential oils. That is, to know the oils from both their olfactive reality and your memory impression, so that you can use them as one does colors on a paint palette. This knowledge is obtained by using oils on a daily basis. When using aromatic chemicals, there are thousands to commit to memory, while only the knowledge of twenty to forty essential oils is required to create botanical perfumes and aromatherapy blends.
To begin learning the craft, start by making simple blends of two, then three, , then four, and five essences in varying combinations. It is only necessary to know five essences to create your first blend. Put a drop of essential oil on a blotter paper (you can make scent strips from coffee filters, cut them as long and thin as possible) and smell the oil from the paper. Try lavender, clary sage, patchouly , geranium and lemon. Write your first impressions of the aromatics in a notebook. Everyone will have a different perception of the same aromatic; it is completely subjective. Vocabulary that pertains to colors, textures, shapes and emotions is very useful in describing your perceptions.
Let the aromatic dry down a bit and smell it again, continuing to add information to your written description. It is very diffusive or is it heavy? How long does the aroma last? Terms like woody, fruity, citrus, green, mossy, herbal can help you to describe and remember the aromatic. Does it have a minty, nutty, tea, hay, to***co or other characteristic note? Visualize the forms and shapes that come to mind. Is it round, sharp, smooth, voluminous? To what type of personality does it allude? Is it sultry, assertive, demure? Is it tight or scattered? Keep a page for each aromatic. The more you can describe it, the better your chances of remembering it. Any word that you can ascribe to it will be helpful in building your olfactory library. Where does it go in your body? Is it highly volatile and go directly to your brain? Does it delicately come into your chest? Note the difference between the initial impression, and the middle stages and the final dry-down or base notes. How does each aromatic compare or differ from the other? The most important feature of learning to construct a blend is to be familiar with the rate of volatility and diffusiveness of each oil. This will help you to know which part of the blend each aromatic will support. The top note or first initial impression: the heart of the blend, which is the body and main theme of a natural composition; and the and the dry down that is the base, the lasting notes of which remain on the skin.The goal is to blend a fragrance which will give an overall impression of being similar throughout all its stages, but will still have development and variety drawing the wearer into its symphony.
I would describe violet leaf absolute as cool, cucumber-like, earthy, high pitched, green and narrow. It is a note that stays with you for a while. Petitgrain, on the other hand has a more voluminous presence. It is a somewhat bitter, citrusy and floral nuance. It is a good mixing oil, whereas violet leaf absolute is a good highlighter, even though it will last through all three stages of evaporation. Geranium always has an intriguing top note which reminds me of a metallic rose. It is cool and sometimes crisp. It is a great top-note but stays till the middle stage. Sandalwood is very subtle, a precious woody note that is a wonderful cohesive pulling other aromatics together and lasting till the end, leaving a musky nuance. Putting essential oils or resins into vehicles such as jojoba, vegetable oil or alcohol thereby diluting that will enable you to better decipher the nuances of each aroma. (five to ten percent dilution is a good starting point).
Taking a bath in which, you have put a single oil or a combination of oils is also helpful in familiarizing yourself with the qualities of aromas. If you are truly interested in blending oils, try not to use the formulations of other people’s formulations to compare different styles. Creating perfumes can open up a whole new dimension of appreciation for perfumery compositions.
Techniques come with your preferences for different aromatics. If you are crazy about cinnamon, chances are most of your blends will have cinnamon in them. As you start to work with your own palette of odors, a signature of your creativity will form. An important difference between visual artist is their specific choice of color palettes.
The same principle applies to perfumers’ palettes. Make a clean and peaceful space for yourself, one where you can sit and smell and ponder the aromatic. After you become acquainted with the aroma of each oil, begin to visualize in an olfactory way, the combination of two of the oils. Try lemon and vetivert for example. Close your eyes and imagine lemon: fresh, clean, tart and diffusive in combination with vetivert, which is woody and earthy. Visualize in your smell memory what the combination is like. Try different ratios, ie. 50/50 and 25/75. Now actually put them together to smell for yourself; Keep notes in your book. After you have produced the duet in proportions that smell in the way you envisioned, imagine a third oil such as basil or cinnamon bursting off the top of the fragrance. Now, you have a good start and can add notes such as ylang or geranium. Add more spices like cardamom, coriander, pepper or clove. If you want to warm it up, use heavy balsamic notes such as benzoin, labdanum, cedar and sandalwood. Do not limit yourself but do proceed slowly, adding one new note at a time. The more slowly you go, the more you will learn about combinations.
By using this method, you will teach yourself a lot about blending and how aromatics interact. Some essential oils are synergistic with others. Some help to mellow and round out a blend. There is not absolutely correct way to blend. A word of caution: be careful not to overpower the blend with one note if that is not your intention. Rosemary or peppermint can wipe out a carefully balanced blend. There may be times when you deliberately wish to enhance one major note in a fragrance composition. To create a blend for yourself or another person, you first need to consider how sensitive you are to aromas. You may the type of person who only like to have a semblance of aroma in your personal space. Always ask your prospective client what he or she can tolerate in the aromatic realm. I once used many different aromatics on a client in one of my aromatherapy treatments. This client did not wear perfume and when she ordered massage oils to use in her practice, she always chose the most subtle blends and then asked me to make them half strength. After the session in which I used a steamer with herbs and jasmine on the nozzle, a heated myrrh treatment for her feet and a number of other essential oils, she was surprised how comfortable was the experience. I firmly believe that people accept natural aromas more openly then synthetic ones. Always let the client smell several oils to see what attracts them; Ask them if they like to cook, because this will usually mean they enjoy using spices and herbs.
Do they prefer the scent of flowers? Or do they enjoy hiking through the woods? Ask the questions that will give clues to their activities and the scents associated with them. Always ask which aromas, if any, they do not like. By a process of elimination and clue-seeking you will come up with the appropriate blend. If you want the blend to be specifically aromatherapeutic, you can ask questions about the client’s present state of emotional and physical health.
As a perfumer who specializes in creating natural perfumes and synergy blends, it is my hope that those of you interested in essential oils will consider the broader definitions of what aromatherapy encompasses.
Aromatics can be worn for aesthetics because they bring pleasure to the wearer and purpose to the environment. Let us not limit aromatherapy to an allopathic design whereby the oils are used only as remedies. Blends of aromas can be admired just as they are, precious aromatics brought forth from this earth. Using a natural perfume reflects one way in which we can honor ourselves by honoring the earth. Past wisdom can be appreciated and applied along with present technology. By taking into account the old and the new, the inner and the outer, we see natural aromatics can be artfully blended to provide a new level of communicative awareness.
