Journaling the Way Of The smell trained Nose

Way of the nose feels lonely. The joy is smell the reall thing first - have one's intention and "do" go forward and create. but..... one must have had "The way of the nose training" which is rare those willing to do. It requires commitment and patience. Bergamot Bitter orange, Red Bitter orange, Blood Orange, Clementine, Cedrat, Wild orange, Mandarin, Yellow mandarin, green mandarin, red mandarin, sweet orange, petitgrain, petitgrain sur fleur, Mndarin Petitgrain, Petitgrain absolute, Tangerine -- regions - years -distillations expressed CO2 concrete absolute...lot batches, suppliers One scent strip two scent strip three scent strip 4 1+2 how are you different? How are they the same? Why does this one work well together? Why does this juniper from France smells so well with this Jasmine but not the Juniper from India? There are thousands upon thousands of olfactory questions and puzzels. ( with the citruses essences eo's before me how can I make a more rare seasonal fruit? without tincturing) This, plus this, plus this just created the impression of a Minneola. We natural perfumers weep at the the loss of another material supply. There has been a natural disaster, and now it has wiped out leaving near nothing in the supply chain and now we must adjust our formulas.. We are kind of masochistic and bemoan, but rather love the challenge. Back to the endless land of smelling: The more we smell materials and more, we began to develop a relationship with them- it will be what separates the perfumers and they distinctly develop their "DNA" if they're smell, heart is pure. They will be inspired this incredibly artistic and expressive scent palette that will develop through smell why they tend to prefer one material over another, scent, color, feeling, texture associations, why one makes a particulary great natural aldehyde- why a particular mandarin seems to go with Jasmine Sambac over gf or wild orange verses a certain tree resin, why a certain combo makes it smell like a holiday potpourri, one Citrus melds with a particular region of ____ verses another.. A formula online doesn't tell one that. The essential oil bottle doesnt tell one that either.

I feel like some task master-because I don't say what people want to hear when they come to me asking "how do I become a perfumer?" and I tell them they need to simply begin to smell everything around them-begin smell training before composition. (not very glamorous when I say, go, put their nose in their spice cabinet or just grab an orange and break the peel wanting them to get in touch with their unique -you can do it -find the joy -smell feelings, as if I am Mr. Rogers) I feel uncomfortable, even saying I'm worthy to advise-tell anyone anything.
That is the natural respect I think a perfumer has for materials. They're always humbling you.
How dare you call yourself a Perfumer? Have you smelled your last composition??? Oh, and now you're going to try to fix it YOU KNOW YOU CANNOT GO BACKWARDS-ERASE IN PERFUME! Bad Kait! Always trying to fix things and try to make them better. SIGH
Perfume composition reflects our personalities, and all its foibles so so much it's uncomfortable. ( trying to have a dignified air while my materials are laughing at me) I'm trying to lead perfumers to notes, but I can't make them smell. Talking through walls, trying so often to impart the (I try to understand it must be mind boggling requesting that they learn the different distillations- CO2,EO concrete, absolute, region, suppliers, sampling, anything they can get their hands on in small amounts, because each supplies going to be so different from supplier to supplier. They may begin completely disliking a material and then finding out later they really like it just because they bought it from a different supplier.

The individual relationship one develops with their material overtime is so personal if they're truly committed.
I inpart to begin Smell training before a composition is crucial- 2023 is a different time though verses 2006! I have to remind myself over and over and over again that people's attention span (and I'm even ADHD certifiably) is limited, and they want to just get to the meat in the bones in the grizzle not sniff around. They want to jump right into wearing truly perplexing as carts and bolt pattern shirts and dark sunglasses like Roja Dove and looking like they live all year round in the Mediterranean.

Perhaps it was because I had to take my time because materials could set off a cluster headache and I had to be very careful, but I also had no one around to tell me what any sort of process was I just with every material in increments of like 5 to 10 to 15 to 1/2 hour, and hour and on -was because I had to take my time because materials could set off a cluster headache and I had to be very careful, but also -this is before any connection with social media I had no one around to tell me what any sort of "right way" process I was supposed to be doing. So those 5 to 10 to 15, 1/2, hour ...I noted their impact through evaporation made my impresdions. it wasnt work for me because I loved smelling the materials from all over the world. I found overtime, and probably into the 12 year that this was something kind of special. I really could know what I need it for my perfume Oregon immediately to create whatever basically came into my imagination.. This slow sometimes or often times having a very high standard for myself, and probably a bit of flogging. Every time I was making errors ruining compositions, but that's part of the learning process I think was very much helped to get threw by my years taking Tang Soo Do Karate. It was not a fast way either. The particular art and school that I was in was remarkably disciplined, very slow demanded patience, commitment, concentration, respect, excellence & proficiency before one could even test for another belt. It pushed me to years with some painful needed lessons and frustrations and near tears from feeling I acheived what I never felt I could.
I had the materials- I have the flowers and plants there is the puzzle and mystery for me to figure out- my challange- my own interpretation. I wanted it to be my lilac found with my hard work all the hours of smelling hundreds of materials and piecing the flower back together. I know it is not as fast as looking up a formula- but that is someone else, some one elses chemical analysis. To use my nose and vintage Shalimar and try to make a natural reproduction-- getting a synthetic vanillin note out of botanicals was a challange

I am the singer songwriter of my perfumes. I am the story teller- not them. It was up to me to learn all the vast language of notes from anise to zdravets from 1 second to it completely fades how they express when combined times 1,2,3 ,4 ,5 ,6 ,7.,,,,,
How to create dreams and other's dreams into scent songs. I'm a dodo- perhaps a last bird verses a Vireo and perhaps literally to others. it doesnt mean I am happy about it. I feel sad often these day in social media. It's very overwhelming- and one looks like me can get easily taken advantage of for being too eager to assist for the love of these materials. and watch slackjaw as people that came to you seemingly very interested in learning more and more present, their true colors greedy for information and not wanting to do work, to get just enough info so they can open their perfume house, get their name out and then you watch as they're more inclined to film themselves, literally dumping- hand pouring precious limited in availibility materials without much at all thought. This is excruciating practice of letting go and powerlessness for someone like me who's unlimited income and works with 2 mL absolutes. ( I love how having a blog versus being on say Instagram just takes the finger out of the dam haha)