My Unexpected Journey Into the World of Fragrance
As a young girl, I wanted to be either a fashion designer or an elementary school teacher. Maybe my professional indecision led me to the perfect, unexpected world of fragrance. When working at Procter & Gamble, I was fortunate to work in R&D forecasting global fragrance and flavor trends and was presented with the opportunity to train as a perfumer. During this time, I learned that perfumery is truly an art and a science. Not having a traditional scientific background, I was considered a “creative” trainee, whereas, others were considered “technical” trainees. Having the expectations of being a “creative” in my title gave me permission and validation that I could go beyond what the expected formula or recipe and explore adding an extra dash of this raw material or eliminating that material all together to just see what could happen. During this learning period, I trained my nose by jotting everything down - each individual fragrance note I smelled in each sample, what it reminded me of, what smelled good, what smelled awful, etc.
While many days could feel quite lonely, being isolated from others while working in the lab or frustrating because I could not get my percentages to match up, this experience gave me an immense appreciation for scientists — those who have the unique patience and skill in precision and can envision the intangible.
Being a “creative” I often visualized raw materials or finished fragrances in terms of colors, textures, emotions. My training sheets would always include a picture and initial knee-jerk reaction description of what I just smelled. Like Dihydro myrcenol had an effervescence that reminded me of mosquito repellent I put on at sleep away camp. These were my personal associations with what I was smelling. Often times, I would get funny looks or the occasional shoulder shrug when I shared my observation. However, I learned it was important to continue capturing my associations because that would be the only way I would absorb and recall the feeling of what I was smelling. As I sit down to write this, I want to encourage everyone to breathe in and start a personal scent and/or flavor journal. I learned it was about training your instrument (in this case, my nose) to make new connections so I could be inspired to create the unimaginable.
Happy Smelling!
PERSONAL SENSORIAL JOURNAL ACTIVITY
Start a sensorial journal where you can capture scents or flavors you encounter throughout your every day life. By enhancing your sense of smell or taste, it will pique your associations with other senses, increase your sensorial vocabulary and appreciate your surroundings even more.
Consider jotting down:
Your immediate reaction to the smell or flavor. Describe it exactly how you feel it, no need to wordsmith. This is just between you and your journal.
Draw or find a picture that brings the emotion or association you have with what you are smelling.
Next time you smell or taste this, capture what you observed. Examine if anything changed. Is there anything you may add?
By describing your scent and/or flavor observations, you are training your nose or taste buds to be more aware and in-tune with your sensorial adventures.
Encourage Your Kids to Journal Too!
This is also a great activity to connect with your kids. Let them pick out a fun notebook, help cook in the kitchen, plant a garden, etc. Have fun letting them know they SHOULD smell and taste as they go.
See how Za Za follows her nose on her unexpected journey into the world of fragrance too!
