Having been in the fragrance and beauty industry for over 20 years you’d be forgiven for thinking I have fragrance buying down to a fine art. Faced with the vast sea of fragrances that greet you in every department store and Duty Free I defy even the most hardened perfumista to not run away and […]

Perfumer Alberto Morillas
by Karen Gilbert on 24. Nov, 2015 in BLOG, STARTING A BUSINESS
Alberto Morillas, perfumer for Firmenich and creator of many best sellers including CKOne takes us behind the scenes to share the process of an industry perfumer. Including a look at “the robo place” My job is to create dreams – Alberto Morillas

Chypre Fragrances
by Karen Gilbert on 17. Nov, 2015 in BLOG, FRAGRANCE NOTES, PERFUMERY
The Chypre fragrance category was derived from materials that were traditionally found on the island of Cyprus (Chypre in French) – for many centuries a hub for the trade in aromatic materials. In 1917 Francois Coty, originally from Corsica created a fragrance based on Bergamot, Oakmoss, Labdanum, Jasmine and animalic musks named Le Chypre which […]

Learning To Say No – Lady Gaga Style
by Karen Gilbert on 10. Nov, 2015 in BLOG, STARTING A BUSINESS
In business we often feel obliged to say yes to every opportunity that comes our way. Regardless of how we feel about doing it or whether it is in alignment with our values we sometimes feel like we’ll miss out if we don’t say yes. Marie Forleo of BSchool and Marie TV calls it “getting […]

Marine Notes in Perfume
by Karen Gilbert on 03. Nov, 2015 in BLOG, FRAGRANCE NOTES, PERFUMERY
There are many types of fragrance you can create easily with natural materials but to create a perfume that smells like the crashing of waves and the fresh blast of the ocean is a challenge. Many natural perfumers use seaweed absolute but this is quite pungent and can tend to smell dirty rather than the […]

The Fougere Fragrance Family
by Karen Gilbert on 14. Oct, 2015 in BLOG, FRAGRANCE NOTES, PERFUMERY
The fougere fragrance family is one that gets it’s name from an actual fragrance, that of Fougere Royale (Royal Fern) created in 1882 by Paul Parquet; chief perfumer at Houbigant. Fougere Royale was originally sold as a toilet soap and was a fantasy accord in that it was created to evoke the smell of a […]

How long does it really take to become a perfumer?
by Karen Gilbert on 16. Sep, 2015 in BEGINNERS PERFUME MAKING, BLOG, PERFUMERY, STARTING A BUSINESS
We are halfway through the Perfumersworld 5 day course here in London and the students are really getting stuck in creating their first fragrances. One of the questions Steve asked everyone on their first day was: “How long does it take to become a perfumer?” Of course the answers from the group varied and I’d […]

Perfumery Materials For Beginners
by Karen Gilbert on 09. Sep, 2015 in BLOG, PERFUME MAKING ESSENTIALS, PERFUMERY
I often get asked what materials to buy as a starter kit for beginning perfumery and although there are many companies who do kits I’d suggest that you don’t go all out and buy everything right away. Perfumery is an expensive business and I know only too well that you can buy lots of things […]

Navigating IFRA When Making Perfume to Sell
by Karen Gilbert on 01. Sep, 2015 in BLOG, PERFUMERY, STARTING A BUSINESS
I today’s post I made a quick video to help you navigate the IFRA standards when making perfume to sell in the E.U. I’ve included some great tools to make it easier for you.

Top Middle and Base Notes in Perfumery
by Karen Gilbert on 25. Aug, 2015 in BLOG, PERFUME MAKING ESSENTIALS, PERFUMERY
I always get asked lots of questions about the terms Top, Mid and Base notes in perfumery as they cause a lot of confusion in modern perfumery. It was much simpler in the old days when perfumers were creating in a classic pyramid structure and not using the vast quantities of “linear” aroma chemicals they […]
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