!All Natural Perfumery!

Talented: a person who possesses unusual innate ability in some field or activity

2009-11-28T15:01:00.000-08:00

A person is born with a great "nose" in the same way as a person is born with a musical ear or an artists eye. "Born with it" as the saying goes. Unfortunately there are many talents that lie undiscovered or undeveloped.

The family a person is born into can make the difference between talent that flourishes and talent that lies like a dormant seed within. If a person is born into a poor family then they may never get the chance to develop their innate ability. They may be ridiculed and told that they will never be able to make it to the big time, or that they are wasting their time and need to get their hands dirty. The same person if born into a middle class family will be given the encouragement and the tools to help them to develop their God given gifts. Of course if a child is lucky enough to be born into a family where the parents are talented and skilled in an artistic field they have far greater chance of developing that skill themselves. On the other hand sometimes no matter how much encouragement parents give and how much they wish for their child to be talented in a particular area it will never be.

So how do we know we have a natural talent for perfumery? It seems an uncommon talent, how do we know we've got it? It's about more than the ability to smell. It's about the ability to recognise what we are smelling, to be able to pick it apart, to be able to reconstruct it and remember it. It's the ability to recognise that one smell is made up of many. Just as the artist draws what he sees not what he thinks he sees, the perfumer constructs notes that she smells not what she thinks she smells. The natural ability, the natural talents allows the perfumer to create something that is recognisable and pure to more than just herself. She is able to create a smell that will evoke real feelings and memories.

Talent is truly a gift, open it and let it shine.

Intuition is the highest form of intelligence

2009-10-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

When we know but we don't know how we know. That's our intuition. When we are blending and there is an essence calling to us...that's our intuition. Even when we have a "lucky strike" that's our intuition.

Can we always rely on it though? I feel we can, but do we always listen to it? The answer to that one is a resounding no!

In my opinion when creating a perfume listening to your intuition is the best place to begin. That inner voice of your higher-self may not be aware of rules but what can be brought to life by listening to our souls voice is sure to be incredible, genius and unspeakably beautiful.

So how do we tap in? How do we train ourselves to listen to our inner voice when perhaps we have been ignoring it for years?

We start small. Ask a question, just a little one. When you get the answer, act on it. Show your inner voice that you have heard and that you trust. Then just observe how that voice becomes a little less shy. Your higher-self will celebrate that first time you paid attention to it and after that my friend there will be no stopping you.

Let me know how you get on...

Believing is half the battle

2009-01-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

You can't touch it, you can't hold it, in fact you can't even see it but without it nothing is possible. With it everything becomes possible. Belief is perception. You can have it right now. It's something you don't have to wait for. You might have to wait to lose 20 pounds but you can believe you can do it right now.
But what has this got to do with natural perfumery?
Let me tell you that above all, belief in one's abilities and talents as a perfumer are required when working with materials as complex and multi-layered as natural essences. We never know unless we really KNOW deep down inside that we do. Belief brings confidence, it brings consistency, it brings dedication. Never let what other people say knock your belief in yourself and your abilities. Use every adversary and critic to bring you ever closer to your dream. Work towards a masterpiece, believe you can do it and that's half the battle won. Believe in something and let that something be you.

The Growth of Natural Perfumery

2008-12-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

It is a natural law... what you focus on grows. If we focus on the good things we get more of them. Focus on what we don't have and we lose more. That goes for everything.

These days, after the economy crisis (hint hint..ahem what you focus on grows) the focus is still on naturals and the environment. Natural is a buzz word that is much abused, that's true, but it's used and used because people want it. Natural clothing, natural food, natural cosmetics and natural perfumes. Because we focus on it, it is growing. We know that for sure. It's happening fast. Another thing that's growing is the trend for people making their own natural perfumes. It really is a wonderful hobby.
In olden days art was only for the elite, now it is taught in every school. People take up art as a hobby and other people do it professionally. The once secrets of the great artists are now easily learned, they are shared and everyone can try their hand. Same with natural perfumery. Everyone can try their nose. Mandy Aftel gives perfume recipes in her books and with just a few materials anybody can make a perfume. There are some brilliant courses out there too. Justine Crane is teaching a class on NNAPA, Lyn Ayre teaches a Natural Perfume Course, Jeanne Rose teaches a course, Ayala Moriel teaches a foundation course in natural perfumery, Lori Nova teaches a class , Joan Morais also teaches a class.
There are many more but these are the most notable that come up when searching on google. Mandy Aftel teaches classes too but for some reason her classes don't come up when a search for 'natural perfumery classes' is put into Google.

The growth of natural perfumery is happening because of us. If you like to talk about natural perfume you can talk about it on this forum: Nature's Nexus Natural Perfumery Forum

About the Wholeness of Natural Perfumery

2008-11-24T09:46:00.000-08:00

Wholeness is about complexities. It's about taking the rough with the smooth. When using natural essences in perfumery it sometimes happens that there are certain notes that we might think we could very well do without. Rose essence in it's whole natural form possesses beautiful delicate rosy notes but it can also have notes that smell dense, or waxy, or sometimes even sharp. Some rose essences can have indolic, heavy notes. The same heaviness can sometimes prevent the more delicate floral notes characteristic of real roses from shining through.

As a natural perfumer I am learning to how to work with the wholeness of natural essences. This takes acceptance and imagination as well as a great deal of time, experimentation and sometimes painstakingly hard work. I have sampled synthetic rose essence, and a good quality one at that. I was struck by the clarity and the basic simplicity of what I was smelling. It was as though all of the might be 'unwanted' notes were stripped away leaving a vibrant, light, delicate rosy note. However it lacked far more than I have the words to describe. What I noticed was the absence of complexity, mystery and most of all wholeness.

With skill the natural perfumer can work with her materials, blending them with other whole essences. I think a good perfumer knows what an essence needs to bring out it's best qualities and what to use to neutralize or balance the heavier notes.

Wholeness speaks to us in volumes rather than in words. We are working with nature's masterpieces rather than individual pigments. We are performing using mother earth's symphonies instead picking separate notes.

Perfume Academy

2008-08-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

"A Perfume Academy founded to provide education to aspiring perfumers and the course will be focusing purely on the use of natural materials."

Read the official press release here.

The Passion of Natural Perfumery

2008-08-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

Passion, life and breath, they go together. Passion is a force that comes from the heart into the breath. It is raw emotion finding a release through life. Without passion there is no art. Through emotion, imagination and passion the perfumer breathes life into her raw materials. The perfumer pours herself into her creations. Leaving fear behind, leaving control behind a perfumer becomes wild, she pokes at the unexpected, creates chaos to find perfection. Passion is a great teacher, you can learn more working through passion than through years of controlled experiments. In passion a perfumer loses herself in her work and has no fear of dancing to her own tune.

The Nature of Natural Perfumery

2008-06-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

in the center, a small heart
changing, growing
for ages

...life force
...the circle.
Nature is our cloak.

The Creativity of Natural Perfumery

2008-05-25T02:11:00.000-07:00

While I am creating perfumes I find my brain slips into alpha mode. My imagination runs riot and I feel myself becoming totally and completely absorbed in my work. Like meditating and making love it makes me forget myself. I know when I am in the zone because I can no longer feel my seat under me, and in a way I am no longer in my body. I am floating up high on wafts of sweet florals and shiny resins, of warm ambers and animalic musks and honey. Time ceases to have any meaning. I am in the habit of having my pen and notebook at my side and making a note of everything I do. If I add one more drop of an essence to a blend I will write it down. At intervals I will put the dropper down and close the bottles and write perfumes like poetry on the pages.

While I am getting to know each of my essences I smell and close my eyes. I will often see a face or hear a voice. I meet a character somewhere in the aroma I am chasing, I make a new friend.
Recently I was getting to know Champaca, at first I thought the character was female. A bit like seeing a persons back and guessing that you are looking at a girl, then they turn around and you realise you were wrong. Champaca is a pre-pubesent boy, at that age when a boys facial features are still soft and skin has a translucent glow to it. In my mind I heard his voice, not yet broken, he said softly "Hi, I'm Champaca". He tells me his life story, he tells me he is the son of Jasmine Grandiflorum, I tell him I know his father well.

Natural perfumery materials are as complex and unique as individual people, they interact with each other in a similar way. Sometimes they dance and sing and sometimes the clash and fight.

The Balance of Natural Perfumery

2008-05-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

There was a fine balance in everything she did.
Her laughter was filled with tears.
She made stones her pillows and her walls from cloth.
Her eyes were ancient and her face was young.
Half the time she was my friend and the other half my enemy.
_______________________________________________

Loyalty and feelings of allegiance

2008-04-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Keeping the faith.

Staying true to the cause.

Saying no when everyone else is saying yes.

Loyalty in the face of temptation

These are all expressions of loyalty, but how do they relate to natural perfumery?
There is an important word word which encapsulates it all, and that's the word "integrity". A natural perfumery must have integrity. I mean, it's just the perfumer alone at her organ blending. It's up to her what goes into the perfume she is creating. What happens when she suspects that the little sample somebody sent to her is synthetic? Does she try it out? Does she use it and think "just a tad won't hurt anybody"? Or does she throw it away and not even entertain the thought of ever using a synthetic material.

Loyalty allows for something very precious to develop in the hands of the natural perfumer, and that is trust, trust is an integral part of the art and the business. It means that any person who uses your perfume knows that it is 100% natural, no compromises, ever!

..and what's love got to do with it?

2008-04-25T02:52:00.000-07:00

A love of Natural Perfumery is a *warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion.

It can be a love of creating natural perfumes and a love of natural perfumes already created. It can be a love of the materials and love of what the materials do to one another.

It is a real feeling!

The first time I felt that feeling I wished I had an extra lifetime to live so I could devote it entirely to natural perfumery and learn all there is to learn, because one lifetime is too short.

It's similar to that feeling one gets when one discovers a gem of a book and wishes it would never come to the end.

Is there anything you love like this?

* Definition 2 of Love from the Miriam-Webster online dictionary.

...the dedication to natural perfumery

2008-04-21T11:33:00.001-07:00

dedication - the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action

The Dedication of the Perfumer to Becoming a Master at Her Craft

Remember this: there is nothing that was ever mastered without dedication.

I remember when I was a child and I mastered the hula hoop, and riding a bicycle with no hands. I was so dedicated, I mastered them and made them look easy. How did I master them? Through dedication, through time. Hours and hours of time spent on twisting the hula hoop around and around. Failing and then doing it again. I was able to twist that hula hoop from my neck all the way down to one ankle and then the other and back up again without stopping.
On my bike I was able to ride with no hands all the way to school and even stop and start without using my hands. It took hours and hours of practice until I mastered it.

I got a game boy, and I mastered Tetris and Space Invaders. I mean I really mastered them. I discovered levels that I didn't even know existed. Levels that didn't seem to be there when I started. I had all the violin players out when I got the fastest time in the highest level of Tetris.

Dedication can be a sort of border line addiction. : )

It's about never giving up.

My mother used to say to me, "Ruth, whatever you set your mind to you can master", and you know something it's true. The same is true for anybody who wants to master natural perfumery, give it time, patience and dedication and remember to practice everyday, any chance you get.

Professional, Experienced Natural Perfumer Wanted!

2008-04-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

...the craftsmanship of natural perfumery.

This post is just going to be full of questions. The first one being "what do I know about the craftsmanship of natural perfumery? I haven't even mastered it yet.

That's why I am searching for a professional natural perfumer to write a short article/poem/essay on "The Craftsmanship of Natural Perfumery". Would all interested parties contact me here ruth(at)naturesnexus.org to find out more.

The article will be published here and on http://naturesnexus.org

...the art of natural perfumery

2008-04-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

What's the definition of 'art' :
(from the free definition dictionary- http://www.thefreedictionary.com/art)
art¹ (ärt)

1. Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.

a. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.

b. The study of these activities.

c. The product of these activities; human works of beauty considered as a group.

3. High quality of conception or execution, as found in works of beauty; aesthetic value.

4. A field or category of art, such as music, ballet, or literature.

5. A nonscientific branch of learning; one of the liberal arts.

a. A system of principles and methods employed in the performance of a set of activities: the art of building.

b. A trade or craft that applies such a system of principles and methods: the art of the lexicographer.

a. Skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation: the art of the baker; the blacksmith's art.

b. Skill arising from the exercise of intuitive faculties: "Self-criticism is an art not many are qualified to practice" Joyce Carol Oates.

a. arts Artful devices, stratagems, and tricks.

b. Artful contrivance; cunning.

9. Printing Illustrative material.

The art is the thing that takes the work, the time, and the dedication. It's the human effort to imitate the works of nature. All perfumery is art, and natural perfumery is different because of the artists choice of materials. So as a perfumer one must first of all study all aspects of perfumery and smells everywhere. A perfumer must have highly developed sensory acuity when it comes to the complexities of smell. The tricks of the art of perfumery are not easy to grasp. Often a novice could spend many years trying to figure out something that seems impossible. If they could just be shown some little trick or other it could turn the insurmountable into a mere trifle. This is why it is important to have a mentor or an experienced perfumer to consult with. However perfumers are often covetous and are not often willing to share their secrets. Studying old manuals and books is a way of picking up techniques and Internet groups are also worthwhile for the student. However great care must be taken that one is not led astray. Skill is acquired through practice, that is a certainty, as with all arts we can be taught the techniques, but without endless hours of practice the skill will never be mastered. Of course intuition plays a large part in the art of natural perfumery and the creative side of the brain must be tapped into in order to produce works of art.

...the sensuality of natural perfumery

2008-04-07T03:26:00.000-07:00

Art for the senses: Music, for the ears, fine art and design for the eyes, textiles for touch, gourmet food for the palette and perfume for the nose.

With music we can have electronic voice or we can have the complex human voice.
With art we can have computer art or we can have hand painted designs.
With textiles we can have lycra or we can have fine silk spun by the silk worm and fine linens woven from the flax plant.
With food we can have fast foods with artificial flavorings or we can have freshly picked salads drizzled with virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar.
With perfume we can have synthetic blends made from man made chemicals or we can have perfumes made with real essence of roses and jasmines and vanilla extracted from the natural raw material.

...the beauty of natural perfumery

2008-04-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

Behold the rose, how can one even begin to captivate that beauty? How can one imitate the velvety petals, the curls and folds that embrace one another, and a scent so pure and heavenly? Rose absolute and rose otto, whether from the the damask rose or rosa centifolia, is the natural extract of rose and a raw material to the perfumer. However; as Luca Turin puts it so perfectly in his book "The Secret of Scent" (P.24) "In a way , the very existence of perfumery is due to the raw materials being such poor replicas of the real thing. If rose oil really smelled of roses, the perfumer would merely hang her head in shame and give up. Instead her task is to mix these gnarled, cooked, mangled bits of dried-up live things and much like an embalmer, give them the bloom of life once again." Perfume like beauty is in the eye or nose of the beholder and also like beauty there is a classic medium or a center of balance by which everything else is measured. Go too far and you get ugly, go too far and you get a stink.

In your eyes who is THE classic beauty?
To your nose what is THE classic perfume?

What Natural Perfumery is:

2008-04-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

Natural Perfumery is about beauty.
It's about sensuality.
It's about art and craftsmanship.
It's about dedication.

It's about love and loyalty.
It's about balance.
It's about creativity and nature.
It's about passion.

It's about wholeness and growth.
It's about belief.
It's about intelligence and talent.
It's about joy.