Blog - Olfiction

Olfiction Perfumer Pia Long Receives IAO’s Septimus Piesse Award

10 June 2024 by Nick

Our perfumer Pia Long has just returned from the 10th Art and Olfaction Awards with a golden pear! She was awarded the Septimus Piesse Award for Exceptional Vision and we are incredibly honoured to be recognised this way. Here is what the IAO had to say:

“The Septimus Piesse Visionary Award is given to an outstanding person or group showing proof of exceptional vision with regards to how scent is used, developed, or imagined.

Congratulations to Pia Long! Pia is a champion of nuance and understanding, and committed to shining a light on how perfume is created. In response to the proposed EU regulation, she rallied perfumers around the world to champion our craft and self-guidance, with a victory in furthering the discussion around regulations between perfumers and policymakers.

As a perfumer, member of IFRA, International Society of Perfumer-Creators, and the British Society of Perfumers, Pia is a committed advocate for fragrance creators, and continues to work in the heart of an international community to advocate for nuanced understanding of perfumery.“

Fragrance Under Threat – the unintended consequences of proposed EU chemical strategy

6 July 2023 by wpolfiction

We live in a chemical world and life itself is chemistry in action. Our own biological processes produce chemicals and use them for signalling and to function. So do the biological processes of plants. None of this is by design; it is by evolution. Nature is the world’s biggest chemical factory, yet there aren’t tiny people in lab coats inside plant cells, mixing up essential oils. Plants produce chemicals to attract pollinators, deter pests, combat microorganisms and more. The curiosity and ingenuity of humanity has led to the use of natural botanical substances since the dawn of time, first by trial and error, later with additional technology and knowhow.

By volume, 50% of the palette of perfumers today is nature identical. Essential oils, Co2 extracts and resinoids are all natural complex substances – that is to say, they are naturally made up of multiple chemicals. It surprises many people to learn that rose oil is not a single substance, but instead a combination of around 350 molecules. Other essential oils are made up of a couple of dozen components. Some of the chemicals in natural complex substances contribute a great deal to the odour, some less so. Some of the chemicals contained in natural complex substances have hazardous properties.

Raw materials that do not exist in nature are no less safe or safer than natural materials by default. Safety doesn’t inherently depend on just the origin of a raw material. Safety as a concept requires context: dose and exposure need to be determined. Fragrances are already safe as used because our trade is supported by robust science that helps perfumers determine the composition of fragrance and its correct level in a product.

Allergies to specific substances are a different matter – if a person has already become allergic to something, then avoiding the allergen – even if they are included in a consumer product at a level that would not induce an allergy in someone not already allergic – is a wise choice. Ironically, most of our exposure to fragrance allergens comes from everyday activities like peeling an orange.

We, as a society, have become used to relating to the word “chemical” with apprehension – as though the concept of “natural” would be its opposite. This is partly what drives public confusion.

How is fragrance safety determined?

The mere presence of a hazardous property does not determine chemical safety. Risk to the user is determined by dose and use scenario. Any toxicologist will tell you that to determine whether something is harmful is an exposure-based conclusion, not a hazard-based conclusion. Even the most hazardous substances are not harmful if the dose is low enough. Conversely, even the most innocuous-seeming natural or synthetic chemical can harm a person if the conditions allow it. It won’t take long for all of us to think of scenarios where water has been deadly, for example.

Fragrances are created by perfumers who calculate the total presence of hazardous components in a formula by using complex tools and software. Our trade has best practice guidelines in place which help us determine the precise composition of the fragrance and its safe inclusion levels in every product type.

At the point any fragrance becomes part of a consumer product, levels of hazardous substances have been kept at a level below any adverse effect. Total area of potential exposure, the type of use, the site of use, the product type, and inclusion levels of fragrance are all factors in determining fragrance safety.

The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) is a trade body whose Code of Practice bans, restricts or sets criteria for the use of certain ingredients, based on rigorous scientific evidence.

The Standards are set by IFRA based on safety assessments prepared by the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM), with decisions made by an independent Expert Panel for Fragrance Safety.

IFRA is an entity whose role includes harnessing subject matter expertise in all fragrance safety related matters, and one if its key functions is to ensure fragrances are safe as used.

The fragrance industry is the only specialty ingredients industry to have voluntarily instituted safety requirements. These IFRA ingredient safety standards have been so well recognized by the EU Commission, that many have been incorporated into the EU Cosmetics Regulation, as well as into the regulatory framework of other regions such as the ASEAN and MERCOSUR cosmetic regulations.

Why is fragrance under threat?

The proposed concrete actions stemming mainly from the European Green Deal and its policies include calls for abandoning the risk doctrine, and for re-classifying substances in ways that aren’t scientifically driven.

There are currently multiple threats to rational, evidence-based, and scientific approach to fragrance safety.

For example, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is conducting reports known as the Assessment of Regulatory Needs, which itself is not a formal regulatory process, but is having a negative impact on fragrance materials. These reports imply conclusions about chemicals before the manufacturer has even completed their REACH registration. This could lead to completely needless restrictions.

The downstream regulations of CLP (Classification, Labelling and Packaging), Detergents, and Cosmetics Regulations are all poised to reclassify or otherwise organise substances in such a way that unintended bans of perfectly safe as used fragrance materials could occur. For example, lemon, thyme, and tea tree oil would be banned as too dangerous to use at any level.

The overall effect of this is to put up to 400 fragrance ingredients at risk. To summarise the main issues is quite a challenge, but it would be fair to say that the proposals under discussion don’t take into account how fragrance safety is already determined, nor do they feel proportionate or rational.

Most importantly: the current proposed actions would not lead to any consumer benefit and cannot be justified on public health grounds.

What are we doing to advocate for science and sense?

A much less known aspect of IFRA’s function is the advocacy it conducts on behalf of our trade, to collaborate and communicate with key stakeholders and help mitigate the potential impact of policy decisions by regulators. IFRA has been instrumental in protecting the perfumers’ palette over the years, as well as the livelihood of fragrance material producing communities like bergamot and rose growers – while at the same time helping the trade adapt when there is a need to do so.

Over the last two years, IFRA has undertaken several projects to inform, advocate and campaign about the above threats, including the highlighting of devastating potential consequences to the communities of natural raw material growing regions. Rose in Bulgaria, citrus in Spain and more are in major threat of being lost through these proposed regulation changes.

Separately, an independent workgroup of perfumers has been crafting a letter with a passionate plea to the EU regulators. This letter has been sent to the lawmakers and key players in the EU.

Every person whose favourite fragrance would get discontinued for no reason, every person whose choice would suddenly be taken away; every user of already perfectly safe products that they have had as part of their daily lives for years – let’s think of the impact on people who don’t get to have a say in this. Most consumers are not aware of any threat to their beloved daily rituals or their access to memories unlocked by specific scents.

Please spread the word!

Fragrance Under Threat – and why it matters

28 June 2022 by wpolfiction

Olfiction Perfumer Pia Long’s open letter to the perfume industry – a rallying call to contact EU lawmakers who are proposing legislation that threatens the usage of many natural raw materials.

*Image by Rebekka D @ https://pixabay.com/*

You know who the largest producer of toxins is?

Nature.

Of course, we would never want to ban natural cosmetic and fragrance materials just because some natural toxins and carcinogens exist.

Or would we?

This is exactly what the unintended consequence of the EU’s well-meaning but hopelessly clumsy Green New Deal could be. Dozens of fragrance materials could become the casualty of this initiative that confuses hazard with risk.

Anyone who has conducted even the most basic risk assessment will roll their eyes at that. Why? Because anything around us could harm or even kill us, under certain circumstances. It is impossible to eliminate all risk from our lives. We can, however, come up with sensible practices that help us minimise risk.
Unfortunately, in relation to consumer product safety, the sense has left the building, as behind the scenes, ministers and lobbyists are pressuring the EU to ignore the hazard vs risk approach, and just blanket ban anything with hazardous properties, regardless of whether the product in question has been deemed safe to use as intended.

The Chemicals Strategy of EU’s Green New Deal aims to ban the most harmful chemicals in consumer products – allowing their use only where essential.¹

The above is a key statement, already biased and leading (because for us to determine harm we must have context). What this means in practice is that a total ban on anything potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic is being pushed, regardless of whether safe doses and use scenarios have been established. Even if potentially hazardous materials are harmless in the context of the product, that won’t matter.

Materials like lavender oil, rose oil, basil oil, and many more are therefore under threat, because the EU does not consider fragrance essential.

If you have ever wept when smelling the perfume of a dead loved one, ever felt relief when a scent has masked an anxiety-inducing malodour, ever smiled from ear-to-ear when you finally get that burst of fragrance in the shower after sweating at the gym, and millions more such everyday yet essential instances of quality-of-life improvements, I need you to pay attention. If you lost your sense of smell due to COVID-19 and felt how deep an impact that had on your life, I need you to pay attention. I need you to write to some of these decision makers and ask for them to consider what the unintended consequences of an otherwise wholesome initiative could be.

The issue here is not safety. We all agree that we want consumer products to be safe. Nobody is arguing against that. It’s the unscientific approach of this initiative that will cause a cascade of problems.

The Irony of Nature

The natural fragrance raw materials we use in perfumery are concentrated forms of what the plants produce themselves. Plants are natural chemical factories. Plant materials are natural complex chemical mixtures. Rose oil is made up of around 350 chemicals, others, a hundred, some, a couple of dozen.

Certain chemicals will contribute a great deal to the smell of the finished essential oil, absolute, Co2 extract or resin, some chemicals will be beneficial to us, and occasionally a plant material will contain something that could be harmful to us. This is why the industry trade body International Fragrance Association (IFRA) has developed a methodology along with the Research Institute of Fragrance Materials (RIFM) to research, gather and publish a set of Standards (maximum amounts of hazardous substances in the fragrance concentrate) which all professional perfumers and brands adhere to. I say all – the reality is that many independent and especially non-EU perfumers and brands do not, and this is in part driving confusion about whether consumer products are or aren’t currently safe.

When a perfumer follows the IFRA guidelines, the calculations are so complex that most individuals and companies now rely on software. If I am creating a perfume formula with 60 lines (each line representing a raw material), several of those materials themselves contain a “mini formula” of chemical constituents that I need to be aware of. By the time my fragrance is ready to be included in a product, I will be able to calculate the accumulated total of undesirable chemicals present, and make sure they fall within safe limits. By the time a product in which the fragrance was included is being examined for consumer safety, the toxicologist doing so can see exactly what trace amounts remain of undesirable materials. There is a point at which they no longer represent a risk to consumers.

Below is a small extract from the IFRA 49th Amendment in the form of screenshots from the supporting information provided to IFRA members.

Examples of natural materials that contain coumarin, with the amounts in % on the right
Coumarin is carcinogenic.

Examples of natural materials that contain methyl eugenol, with the amounts in % on the right
Methyl eugenol is carcinogenic.

Examples of natural materials that contain estragole, with amounts in % on the right
Estragole is carcinogenic.

In this age of social media, of tail wagging the dog, can you imagine being a brand and trying to have this conversation in public? Can you imagine what would come of trying to educate the already scared, the already misinformed, when it transpires that the product they thought would be the safest possible option for their family (something containing only natural essential oils – because marketing has made them believe that natural equals safe) turns out to contain carcinogens? How would you even begin to address the underlying issues?

Or perhaps you are a brand who has distorted science for commercial gain. In which case, part of what is happening now is on you.

Moral Purity and the Commercial Gain of Greenwashing

Imagine telling people that coffee should be banned because it contains the probable carcinogen acrylamide? Yet studies on coffee have deemed that it is not carcinogenic². This would not be an acceptable sacrifice in the name of “just in case” public safety approach for most people.

Cosmetic products and fragrance are an easier gain for those who wish to signal to the public that “we are making your lives safer and our environment healthier”, because cosmetics manufacturers and our broader fragrance trade have been participating in their own destruction. Participated, by being too obfuscating, too insular, too keen on short-term commercial gain from jumping on various bandwagons, and not educating their own client base.

The time for business at all costs must end.

The EU’s Green New Deal will take its lead from the moral purity argument of “let’s just outright ban any trace of carcinogens from cosmetics, regardless of whether the amounts in the finished products have been deemed to be meaningless to safety.” The Precautionary Principle of eliminating things or preparing for things just in case has its place in a specific set of scenarios, say a threat of an asteroid hit. It has no place in a nuanced field where a risk assessment (and subsequent mitigation) is the appropriate approach. The EU’s Green New Deal has also been influenced by a Nordic approach to personal grooming – a disdain (not just dislike) of fragrance, and the “sauna clean” ideal of nothing but hot steam and plain soap.

Complex problems often require complex solutions.

Greedy and short-sighted manufacturers, brands and individuals have capitalised on the idea of equating “chemical” with “toxic” and “natural” with “safe.”

All matter is made up of chemicals. Chemistry is vital to life. Chemistry IS life. Our bodies produce and require chemicals. Humanity has harnessed the natural chemistry of plants since time immemorial, first by trial and error, then through more refined science – but ultimately to benefit humankind, and in the process creating entire trades.

Separating “chemical” and “natural” is a fallacy on multiple levels, and the idea that they can be separated has fed into a public sense of chemophobia. This environment does not result in better or safer products. This environment does not increase scientific literacy, it damages it. This environment does not enhance the ability for chemists to talk to the public, it poisons it.

For too long, the reality of chemical safety, consumer product safety, and environmental safety have been muddled with marketing, the morality of “purity”, and commercial interests. We must now fight greenwashing, eco-bandwagon jumping, and especially, the dangerous trajectory of moral and ideological arguments directing scientific policy.

We do Need Chemical Regulation

I am in favour of, and fully support chemical regulation. The trade I operate in (fragrance trade) fully supports chemical regulation and consumer product safety. Even if one were a completely callous businessperson only, it would be idiotic not to support the above. Chemical regulation is absolutely necessary in the multitude of cases we can all think about – toxic waste, workplace exposure, and yes – consumer product safety.

The EU’s current trajectory seems to be to excessively regulate the cosmetic and fragrance trade, using a biased, oddly unscientific approach, however.

Should the fragrance trade:

Minimise or even eliminate where possible, exposure to carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances in the work environment? Yes, and it is already doing that.
Minimise or even eliminate where possible, inclusion of carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances in products that fall under the cosmetics regulation? Yes, and it is already doing that.
Ensure that the product manufacturers and brands check their products are safe? Yes, and if there is room to improve it’s here – the framework for safety assessments of cosmetics is uneven and could be harmonised further globally. But in the EU, there is a strict process in place of stability testing, safety testing and toxicologist assessment of the formula in place already.

There has been a so-called public consultation on the proposals recently. This is how the EU’s public consultation letter went out:

I asked a toxicologist friend his opinion on this document (and the question above specifically). His reply: There is misleading/biased wording of the questions. It’s simply another step down the path of regulation by potential hazard, not risk. To ask a question that says “It should be possible to continue using the most harmful substances in cosmetic products provided that:” is completely ridiculous. To say something is harmful is an exposure-based conclusion, not a hazard-based conclusion. Even the most hazardous substances are not harmful if the dose is low enough.

Fragrance is Global

This is a global issue, and it won’t be contained within the EU. Why? Growers, manufacturers, brands, suppliers – are all part of a global supply and retail scene, and if an ingredient becomes banned in a major market (and especially if it gets formulated out of global consumer brands), its manufacturing/production/growing will diminish or even disappear. Also, if one market has successfully used a political/ethical argument to get something written into law, it can affect the decision making in other countries.

You may think you will be safe from this, if you operate outside of the EU, but I implore you to take a more active role in fighting back on the nonsensical parts of EU regulations because IFRA alone can’t do it³, and if anything, IFRA gets wrongly accused of being the perpetrator (when they are the dam stopping us all from getting overwhelmed by the flood). We need much more to happen for there to be actual recognition of the foolishness of the EU’s approach. It may already be too late.

On a personal level, I feel the fragrance and cosmetic trade has been overly slow, overly corporate, and overly secretive about all of this, to its own detriment. Talking about Eurocentric heritage, making a business case – it’s not enough, and it’s not going to persuade anyone whose mentality is “why should we let anyone include a harmful substance in a product?” because the answer of “our business and livelihood would suffer” is not a sufficient. We need to challenge the premise itself, not argue based on rules that have been wrongly set.

Unless we – everyone who uses, produces, creates, manufactures, adores fragrance – acts now, many fragrance materials will be banned based on poor science. Unless we act now, there will be no case for fragrance being essential.

P.S.

No, it’s not the fragrance houses doing this. The fragrance houses rely on natural raw materials just as much as they rely on the synthetic, and any reformulations of fragrance (of which there’d be thousands if this goes through) is down to the fragrance house. A massive cost.

A Call to Action – Here is Who to Contact

Dirk Hudig
Secretary General
European Regulation and Innovation Forum
&
Max Bentinck
European Regulation and Innovation Forum
Programme Executive
Rue de la Loi 227
1040 Brussels, Belgium
Telephone: +32 2 613 2828
Fax: +32 2 613 28 49

Leonore Gewessler
Minister of Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Austria
Zakia Khattabi
Minister of the Climate, the Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal, Belgium
Lea Wermelin
Minister for Environment, Denmark
Maria Ohisalo
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Finland
Joëlle Welfring
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, Luxembourg
Espen Barth Eide
Minister of Climate and Environment, Norway
Teresa Ribera
Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Spain
Annika Strandhäll
Minister for Climate and the Environment, Sweden

About the Author
Pia Long is the chief perfumer and co-founder of Olfiction Limited, an independently owned UK fragrance house and consultancy. She has written extensively on the topic of perfumery and fragrance regulations, for multiple publications. She is a council member of the BSP (British Society of Perfumers) and a full member of the ISPC (International Society of Perfumer Creators).

Further organisations in the fight for a genuinely ethical trade:

https://perfumeryethics.org/
https://artandolfaction.com/

[¹] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/strategy/chemicals-strategy_en
“banning the most harmful chemicals in consumer products – allowing their use only where essential”
[²] https://www.cancer.org/latest-news/coffee-and-cancer-what-the-research-really-shows.html
Coffee can contain acrylamide, a chemical that is also used in certain industrial processes and has been commercially available since the 1950s. In addition to coffee, acrylamide is also found in French fries (frying causes acrylamide formation), toasted bread, snack foods, like potato chips and pretzels, crackers, biscuits, cookies and cereals, and in tobacco products. Acrylamide is classified by IARC as a “probable carcinogen,” based primarily on genotoxicity experiments in animals. In 2002, Swedish scientists discovered that acrylamide could be formed from asparagine (an amino acid) and sugar during high-heat cooking. This discovery led to intensified research into the association between acrylamide intake from diet and cancer risk in humans. In 2011 and 2014, two large studies summarized the evidence in humans and found no association between dietary acrylamide and risk of several cancers.
[³] https://www.fragrancematters.org/

Click here to download a PDF copy of this article to share with industry colleagues.

Olfiction launches competition for Black owned beauty and fragrance brands

11 November 2021 by wpolfiction

An initiative led by our trainee perfumer Ezra-Lloyd Jackson alongside Olunife Ofomata of Sweeter Juice Skin, and blackperfumers.com, we’ve launched a fragrance giveaway for a Black-owned beauty/fragrance brand to create a bespoke scent without creative fees. The competition is open globally to any brand that submits a winning brief.

By now, more and more of us are aware of the current state of the industry when it comes to Black perfumers and brand owners, and it’s crucial to maintain constructive conversations around these topics, but with this giveaway we’re very excited to highlight and celebrate non-Eurocentric stories and ideas, and share some insight into the practice and process of perfumery to audiences who previously haven’t had the access to it.

For the giveaway brands are to submit a fragrance brief alongside an online form. The form will provide some context of the brand: its current market, next steps, social media presence etc. The brief is an opportunity for brands to explore the concepts and storytelling behind the fragrance. We invite entrants to draw from a variety of influences and mediums; from music to film to certain colour palettes to environmental scents, the wider the range of references the better.

The deadline for submissions is Friday, December 17th. For more information and to enter please see the Sweeter Juice Skin website. We look forward to seeing your ideas!

About Ezra-Lloyd Jackson – Ezra-Lloyd Jackson (b. 1996, London) is an artist of British-Caribbean heritage based in London. Raised in South East London, he was exposed to Black and multi-cultural city dynamics as well as rural British environments from a young age. His practice is multi-disciplinary: focusing on fragrance design, perfumery, graphic and visual arts, music production, and sound design. Jackson’s artistic practice focuses on experimental sensory experiences including the poetics in fragrance and the social and political legacy of sourcing and producing scents globally. Recently, Jackson has started collaborating with a variety of practitioners to investigate neo-colonial trade practices and non-European narratives in perfumery.

About Black Beauty Conduit – Black Beauty Conduit is a cooperative offering resources and solutions for new and established Black-owned beauty brands. Black Beauty Conduit will allow Black founders and suppliers to connect directly through a trade network and offer easier access to resources, supplies, education, mentorship and marketing to help Black brand founders from launch to success.

About Sweeter Juice Skin – Sweeter Juice Skin is an effective and melanin inclusive skincare brand. Founded by aesthetician, Olunife Ofomata, and her husband Dr. Johnson Ofomata, they are pioneering the advancement of innovative skincare products formulated with ancient indigenous ingredients backed by clinical research on diverse skin tones. Sweeter Juice Skin believes that the future of skincare is in our roots.

About BlackPerfumers.com – The BlackPerfumers.com digital project was established to connect, highlight, and support Black perfumers worldwide as well as bridge conscious consumers with their brands; explore related industry perspectives, provide links to education and events, and act as a hub of resources for emerging and established Black perfumers.

Ford unveils fragrance for all-electric Mach-E GT

15 July 2021 by wpolfiction

Olfiction perfumer Pia Long was commissioned by Ford to create a fragrance to celebrate the launch of the new all-electric Mustang Mach-E GT, for those who “hold a fondness for the evocative smells of traditional petrol cars”.

The Mach-Eau fragrance was created by Olfiction perfumer Pia Long, with ingredients that each add a specific element of the scent’s story. Ford revealed the fragrance this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, an annual event that attracts petrolheads from across the globe. The scent, which is not available to buy, is part of Ford’s ongoing mission to help dispel myths around electric cars and convince traditional car enthusiasts of the potential of electric vehicles.

Pia’s starting point was to look into the chemicals that are emitted from car interiors, engines and petrol. This included benzaldehyde, which is an almond-like scent given off by car interiors, and para-cresol which is key in creating the rubbery scent of tyres. There were blended with ingredients like blue ginger, lavender, geranium and sandalwood that added metallic, smoky and further rubbery accents, as well as an overdose of Timut pepper, utilising the petrol-like topnote. An ‘animal’ element was also included, to create an impression of horses and underline the Mustang heritage.

In a Ford-commissioned survey, one in five drivers said the smell of petrol is what they’d miss most when swapping to an electric vehicle, with almost 70 per cent claiming they would miss the smell of petrol to some degree. Petrol also ranked as a more popular scent than both wine and cheese, and almost identically to the smell of new books.
The new scent is designed to help usher these drivers into the future of driving through their sense of smell. Rather than just smelling like petrol though, Mach-Eau is designed to please the nose of any wearer; a high-end fragrance that fuses smoky accords, aspects of rubber and even an ‘animal’ element to give a nod to the Mustang heritage.

Ford Mach-Eau perfume activation at Goodwood Festival of Speed. Photograph by Christopher Ison ©

“Judging by our survey findings, the sensory appeal of petrol cars is still something drivers are reluctant to give up. The Mach Eau fragrance is designed to give them a hint of that fuel-fragrance they still crave. It should linger long enough for the GT’s performance to make any other doubts vaporise too.”
Jay Ward, director, Ford of Europe Product Communications

Olfiction celebrates its 5th anniversary

11 May 2021 by wpolfiction

Five years ago today, Nick Gilbert and Pia Long formed Olfiction Limited – and both would agree it’s one of the best things they ever did. Five years on, and the business has grown to a team of five, onto its second lab, multiple product launches and new projects.

Combining ways in which to help clients bring concepts to life; creating new fragrances with the support of some of the best partners in the business – and to help our clients tell stories has proven to be a good model to see the business evolve organically to a resilient and flexible entity. Here’s to many more anniversaries and to unique perfumery!

Zoologist Chipmunk launches in August 2021

11 May 2021 by wpolfiction

Olfiction Creative Perfumer Pia Long has worked with Victor Wong of Zoologist to bring a new cute animal to the collection: Chipmunk! The perfume features oak absolute, spices and a green hazelnut accord (not a typical gourmand, more as you would find in nature).

This is what Victor has to say:

The lush green of the treetops fades to a dull gold. What seems a peaceful transition actually raises a blaring alarm to the creatures below. Time is running out. But for generations, mighty oaks have fulfilled a promise to provide, and leaves are not the only bounty tumbling to the forest floor. Chipmunks scurry among the detritus in their quest to collect the plumpest acorns. They eagerly gather what they can and, cheeks bulging with nuts, scamper home to line their snug burrows before falling leaves give way to biting snow.⁣
⁣
Zoologist Chipmunk captures an autumn forest bursting with ripe nuts. Juicy quince, dusted with cardamom and nutmeg, dangles tantalizingly among naturalistic woods and green, milky kernels. Chipmunk invites you up into the branches, offering a dazzling vantage point from which to enjoy the rich golden and russet hues of the changing seasons.⁣
⁣
TOP⁣
Quince, Pink Pepper, Red Mandarin, Cardamom, Nutmeg⁣
⁣
HEART⁣
Camomile, Hazelnut, Fir Balsam Absolute, Oak Absolute, Earthy Notes⁣
⁣
BASE⁣
Cedarwood, Amyris, Patchouli, Vetiver, Benzoin Resin, Opoponax, Guaiacwood, Animal Notes⁣

Chipmunk will launch in August 2021 and samples are already in circulation.

Ezra-Lloyd Jackson is a Nose to Watch

11 May 2021 by wpolfiction

We have been training our lab assistant and compounder Ezra-Lloyd Jackson on perfumery and his drive to become a creative perfumer has been inspiring to support. We were able to arrange remote training with the assistance of Marianne Martin and the olfactive smelling kits she prepared. Weekly review and additional external study (for example, with ISIPCA’s online training) has ensured Ezra’s training is off to a great start.

Ezra was recently featured in the Perfume Society’s Scented Letter magazine as a “Nose to Watch”, first of a new feature series. You can read the article here via the digital version of the print issue.

Bergamot Country: Olfiction visit to Capua 1880 at Reggio Calabria

12 December 2020 by wpolfiction

Real bergamot — This is a bergamot. Rarely spotted online (with pictures of lime and other citrus often mistakenly used instead).

It’s December 2020, and only now, in retrospect, do I feel able to properly reflect on the beauty and learnings from the trip to Calabria that happened exactly one year ago. Bergamot harvest in Italy falls between November and February. Last year, Christophe Laudamiel invited a small group of friends and colleagues to visit the world’s leading bergamot producer based in Reggio Calabria, at the southernmost tip of Italy.

As soon as we flew home, the first rumours of a deadly pandemic reached us back in the UK. Our year since then exists inside a Mad magazine back page fold; the picture that it reveals, a grotesque monster.

You’ll understand why on return, instead of reflecting on the goosebump-inducing sensory pleasure of eating bergamot sorbet at night while watching Christmas lights twinkle on the sea between us and the island of Sicily, I followed in horror as news reports started pouring in.

Now, with a vaccine in sight, there is once again hope. And I can’t think of a better ingredient to focus on than bergamot when the whole needs a sedative ^[1].

Capua in Calabria

Bergamots are almost exclusively grown in southern Italy, especially in Calabria, over approximately 1,400 hectares of dedicated land. Italian migrants took bergamot trees with them to America, and there has also been some bergamot activity on the Ivory Coast, but it’s safe to say most of the world’s bergamot comes from the Calabria region.

The leading supplier there is a five-generation family business, named Capua 1880 from the family name and its founding year.

Laudamiel assembled a small group of people with eclectic but relevant backgrounds: a team from a Japanese pharmaceutical and cosmetics company; two young perfumers; a frankincense distiller from Oman; owner of an Amsterdam perfume store – and us (Pia and Nick from Olfiction).

Our host Laurent Bert (international sales director) came to meet us on the morning of the first day, with a full printed schedule for our three days: tour of all the citrus processing facilities including the factory floor, storage areas, R&D lab and high-tech unit where fractions, decolourisation and other technical processing happens; a tour of one of the citrus fields; half a day spent at head office smelling and learning about all the different oil qualities. Plus, of course, dinners, during one of which we diverged quite a bit into smelling some vintage and current perfume samples Christophe had brought with him.

And I may be banal, but I am still wistful about starting each day with a proper Italian coffee.

Bergamot processing

Bergamot is a hybrid fruit that originated from a base rootstock of a bitter orange tree grafted with a branch from a lemon tree. After all these years of using bergamot oil in my work, I must admit that bergamot being a hybrid tree was news to me. Of course, nowadays bergamot branches can be used themselves when there’s an established field – as there are plenty of mature trees.

The tree produces fruit after 3 years, which are collected by hand. The fruit softens for a few days in the factory, in big piles of crates. There are two initial processing methods.

The pelatrice process involves fruits loaded into a “pelatrice” which moves the fruit into a rotating drum. Water is sprayed inside the drum while the drum itself grates the skin of the fruit, and the fruit is kept watered throughout. This forms an emulsion of essential oil, water, and rind residue. The emulsion is cleared of residue through vibration, and the leftover skin collects separately from the essential oil and water emulsion. The emulsion goes through a centrifuge which removes 85% of the water, before passing through a finisher which strips the remaining water and leaves only the essential oil.

The sfumatrice process involves two horizontal ribbed rollers through which the citrus peels are pressed to release their oil. The oil is washed away with fine water spray, and then goes through a separator before being purified by a centrifuge.

These two methods result in a different end product, which can then be further “cleaned”, fractionated or decolourised. Indeed, Capua has an entire site dedicated to additional technologies like molecular stripping. We were able to follow all of the processes first hand, and smell the output in situ to compare and contrast.

The sensory delight of bergamot

In fact, one of the things we were able to try fresh from the process, was bergamot juice, freshly squeezed. I expected it to be very bitter (and it was), but I had not expected the peppery effect – so peppery that it was almost dancing around like popping candy on my tongue. This is one of those annoying things to consider: yes, it’s a privilege to go on buying trips, and alas, they do really add a whole new dimension to the appreciation of a raw material. I have immediately put the new dimensions of bergamot that I discovered on this trip to use at work.

Bergamot essential oil is used in the vast majority of fine fragrances; it is so ubiquitous that calling it your favourite perfumery ingredient is like saying that pasta is your favourite ingredient in Italian cooking. Nevertheless, bergamot is probably my favourite ingredient (especially after this trip).

Bergamot was famously overdosed in Shalimar (to help balance the extreme sweetness). It is a fundamental ingredient in eau de colognes, and can bring lift and freshness to almost any type of fragrance. The secret to its wonderful abilities to act as a top note and a harmoniser is its chemical composition – touching both floral and citrus facets.

During the day that we smelled through lots of bergamot and other citrus varieties at Capua HQ, we explored different qualities and fractions, while discussing their potential uses in perfumery; problems they might solve and so on. Talk turned to the possibility of novel citrus ingredients – one of Laudamiel’s driving forces is to try new things and to bring rarer materials onto his palette. The realities of that approach sometimes make it unviable for businesses due to the simple fact of operational sense: why diversify to a niche material when those same business resources could be used to produce something that already has an established and guaranteed market. Nevertheless, who knows – the answer may not even necessarily be a new plant variety, but instead, new processing and post-processing methods; there is potential for creativity and novelty in a marriage of nature and science, as perfumery has shown us from the very beginning.

Nick holding a bergamot — Olfiction perfumer Pia Long smelling an orange flower in Calabria

Bergamot ready to be processed at Capua — Olfiction perfumer Pia Long smelling an orange flower in Calabria

[1] anecdotally, bergamot oil seems to have a sedative and cheering effect on people, and has been used in aromatherapy for uplifting and anti-anxiety blends for this reason. Some modern studies now back this folklore, such as the pilot study published in May 2017 issue of Phytotherapy research that examined the effect of bergamot oil inhalation on participants of mental health clinical trials – and found a 17% improvement in positive feelings versus the control group: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ptr.5806

Olfiction launches Boujee Bougies

30 November 2020 by wpolfiction

Last week saw the launch of Boujee Bougies, a collection of five scented candles we’ve created as a perfumery playground and Olfiction’s brand debut.

The collection includes Queen Jam, inspired by a Finnish conserve, Gilt, a golden confessional, Cuir Culture, like leather in a library, Succulent, an ode to juicy cacti, and Hellflower, a sulphuric grapefruit-magnolia.

A collaborative full team effort to create, with perfumery by Pia Long, creative direction by Nick Gilbert, words by Thomas Dunckley, and illustrations by assistant and trainee perfumer, Ezra-Lloyd Jackson. We’ve worked with our clients (and friends!) at Parks London Ltd to bring these to life, and of course the fragrance oils are supplied by our partner Accords et Parfums.

Discover the brand and our playful fragrances at
www.boujeebougies.com

Perfumery education: a discussion with Christophe Laudamiel, Marianne Martin & Nicola Pozzani

11 September 2020 by wpolfiction

Christophe Laudamiel and his manifesto on education for all — Christophe Laudamiel’s passionate manifesto for rethinking perfumery education is a key theme in all his presentations about the topic – he now thinks there is more potential for his vision to become reality

How do you become a perfumer? What are perfumes made of? Who creates perfumes and how? What does real lavender oil smell like? What is “cashmere wood?” …hundreds of questions and thoughts that float around in the minds of consumers and those interested in our trade – yet we still lack a framework of academic level education that other arts have, much less real public access to genuine, accurate information. It is emerging – from various sources simultaneously – but how is a layperson to know what is true, what is twisted, and what is complete nonsense?

The perfumery educators

Wouldn’t it be amazing if the general public had access to real information about perfumery? This is a driving force behind what we do at Olfiction when we participate in communication about our trade, and this was the major theme in Christophe Laudamiel’s manifesto, written years ahead of its time. In fact, one of the reasons I called Christophe a “Perfumer of the Future” in my profile of him for Perfumer & Flavorist in 2017, is the tendency of his to be several steps ahead of the possibilities our trade is yet to explore; and the vision he has of what the world could be like if perfumery truly would be accepted as a legitimate art form, instead of considered just commerce. What better person to invite for an open discussion on the topic of perfumery education – and this is just what we did at the British Society of Perfumers. Marianne Martin (current vice president, BSP), and Nicola Pozzani (bespoke perfumer at Floris, and a scent art lecturer), joined Christophe for an evening of relaxed but passionate discussion on what kind of education is available now, and what would be ideal in the future.

The event was recorded, and should it become available to the general public, I will edit this post to link to it from here. Members of the BSP will be able to access the audio recording in the members’ area of the website soon.

Some big themes from the night:

Current perfumery education is focused on serving commercial needs of the trade – preparing future perfumers to enter the trade.
Other arts have education for its own sake; to learn how to create and use the chosen medium without immediately and/or exclusively diving into how to create consumer products
Everyone should be able to fully participate in exploring their sense of smell, with some benefits beyond the obvious. Nicola Pozzani called perfumery education a form of therapy. His teaching often focuses on how to use fragrance as an aid to creation in other modalities.
As a higher education lecturer, Marianne Martin has the ability to see that even if students from an academic course would not go on to become perfumers or even work in the trade, “perfumery education would be an education for life.”

What could we do to improve perfumery education? And education for all; not just those wishing to enter the trade. It’s obvious that the general public are already being “educated” – by fear marketers; misinformed sales people and social media personalities with no deep knowledge about the topic. And what would happen if more consumers demanded quality from their fragrances in the sense of “not just another copy”; or honesty about marketing (so many brands still using tired tropes or outright lying).

What would it look like if we could engage millions of people with their sense of smell more? And give access to information and inspiration for life – an enhanced form of being present, observing, enjoying life.

Next BSP virtual perfumer panel

The next BSP virtual event is also a perfumer panel – this time, professional noses from multiple regions (USA, UK, India, and Greece) discuss their route to career, what they get up to in their role on a daily basis, and their perfumery process. The discussion is due to take place at 2pm BST

Scenting Christmas at the (Snow) Globe

12 December 2019 by wpolfiction

This Christmas, world renowned performing arts venue, cultural attraction and education centre Shakespeare’s Globe will show Christmas at the (Snow) Globe. As part of their dedication to making performance accessible, the production will have an audio described performance with a set touch tour for visually impaired visitors. To enhance this aspect of the production, Shakespeare’s Globe commissioned Olfiction to create fragrances which evoke all of the sensations and scents of Christmas.

The team at Olfiction created accords of Snow, Christmas Tree, and Pomanders as well as a finished fragrance which combines all of these elements.

Talking about the experience, Olfiction Perfumer, Pia Long, said:

“A Finnish person being asked to make the smell of a Nordic Christmas? Absolutely!
The challenge of doing things that are very well known by people is harder than it seems, because if you don’t get it right, it is as though you have ruined something that is personally important to them. It’s a fun challenge to make something that if you give the scent to someone, they will smell it and say ‘that’s Christmas!’.
I particularly enjoyed making snow because it is so abstract, more like a sensation than a smell – and it’s not until you think about it that you realise there is a smell. I’ve always felt that some aldehydes smelled like snow. That was the most fun to do as a perfumer – it’s something that you know and you don’t, because it isn’t as though there is a snow essential oil!”

Snow Globe

A sensation of cold crisp air and frozen earth.
“As though you are walking into a snowy landscape and take a big lungful of snowy air, it’s got the snow but also the frozen ground under the snow. I wanted you to sense that there are trees in the background. It’s very much a Nordic landscape on a crisp winter morning when it’s well below zero.”
Notes: Aldehydes, Juniper, Cyclamen, Black Pepper, Cold Effects

Yule Tree

A picture-perfect Christmas tree.
“I wanted to do a spruce as it’s growing, ready to be your Christmas tree – so here are the fresh young shoots as well as the smell of the Christmas tree when you bring it into your house for Christmas. So, it’s Nordic spruce, not a typical pine – the smell is more delicate and leafy, there’s almost a fruitiness to it and it’s absolutely the smell of Christmas for me. It’s not Christmas until you have the real live tree in the house. The tradition was that you would go and physically fetch your tree on Christmas Eve, and you’d go to cut it down from the forest as a family.”
Notes: Fir Balsam abs, Cypress, Elemi, Labdanum, Amber, Oakmoss, Pine

Pomander

A traditional orange pomander dotted in spices.
“For this accord, I wanted to capture an orange pomander with cloves, but I’ve also thought of the Christmas stockings stuffed with clementines and gingerbread – the whole idea is combining citrus and spices. There’s a bit of floralcy in this as well – I added carnations and orange blossom – to make it a bit more sophisticated.”
Notes: Cinnamon, Clove, Nutmeg, Orange, Orange Flower, Clementine, Mandarin, Carnation, Patchouli, Amber

Danish Christmas

This fragrance captures all of the sensations of the individual accords, in a wearable perfume that can be used by the actors and ushers as well as to scent the decorations and space.

“I wanted to take slices of each of the accords. Up top you’ve got the aldehydes from Snow Globe, and the spice and citrus from Pomander. From the Yule Tree, I’ve taken the resins and balsams and the ambery side, with some of the woodiness, so the complete fragrance is this warming and cosy Christmas hug. I’ve added a slight gingerbread note in there as well, to evoke the feeling of baking Christmas treats and festive cosiness.”
Notes: Aldehydes, Orange, Clementine, Mandarin, Jasmine Absolute, Cedarwood Atlas, Carnation, Cinnamon, Orange Flower Absolute, Clove, Nutmeg, Benzoin, Incense, Sandalwood, Patchouli, Fir Balsam, Labdanum, Oakmoss

About the Show

The Globe Theatre stands empty, the stage bare, the Christmas tree undecorated and we need your help.

Someone has stolen the magic of Christmas from Snowdrop, the fairy who stands watch over our wooden ‘O’ during the winter months. Comedian Sandi Toksvig and her merry gang need your help to find it and bring it back to the Globe.

Sing along to classic Christmas songs with the tremendous Fourth Choir, prepare to make paper chains to decorate the theatre and get ready to harness your belief in the spirit of the season to help restore some festive cheer.

This is a show for the entire family so tell everyone you know to put on their favourite Christmas jumpers and join us for the most heart-warming of gatherings.

Help us spread the cheer further. In the spirit of storytelling and gift giving, we’re inviting audiences to bring along a brand-new children’s book as a present to put under the Christmas at the (Snow) Globe tree, which we’ll donate to local charities that support children and young people.

Created and directed by Sandi Toksvig and Jenifer Toksvig, Christmas at the (Snow) Globe will have integrated BSL for every performance. There will be captioned performances on Sunday 22 December at 2.00PM and 6.00PM, and the audio described performance will be on Saturday 21 December at 2.00PM, with a touch and scent tour on the stage at 12 noon.

Designer Parfums launches F1 Fragrances Haute Parfumerie Collection

12 December 2019 by wpolfiction

Last weekend, Olfiction travelled to Abu Dhabi for the F1 Fragrances Haute Parfumerie collection launch with the team from Designer Parfums. Nick was on the ground at the Paddock Club, explaining the concept behind the fragrances to visitors, journalists and influencers. Taking place at the last Grand Prix of the decade at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit – where Lewis Hamilton took his 5^th win at the track, setting his record 11^th win of the season and having already secured his 6^th championship win – the perfect location to launch a celebratory collection of fragrances.

F1 Haute Parfumerie collection — The F1 Fragrances Haute Parfumerie Collection & Art Pieces

F1 Fragrances Haute Parfumerie collection is comprised of 5 fragrances, inspired by the heritage, passion and of course scents of Formula 1. Alongside the fragrances are a collection of three beautiful 3D printed art pieces created by design legend Ross Lovegrove – Agile Embrace, Compact Suspension and Fluid Symmetry, each form inspired by elements of the F1 supercars. Olfiction have worked alongside the Designer Parfums team to define storytelling and messaging around the collection.

Nick Gilbert with the The F1 Fragrances Haute Parfumerie Collection — Nick talking a visitor through the F1 Fragrances Haute Parfumerie Collection

I – Bracing bergamot and lemon crystallise with freshness against a verdant back drop of nashi leaves with the silvery, metallic quality of pink pepper and elemi. A breezy wave of mineral ambroxan races through the composition, creating a weightless body emboldened by the innovative, daring character of akigalawood. A modern take on classic woods, given a metallic twist.

II – A seamless cohesion of refreshing citrus and the vibrancy of pink pepper represents the symbiotic relationship between the car and the track, racing towards a contradictory salty accord and deep, black patchouli and leather, a novel twist on leather, with inimitable accords of burning rubber and rain on salty asphalt.

The F1 Fragrances Haute Parfumerie Collection

III – An aerodynamic composition that races with a fiery blend of Madagascan cinnamon and Calabrian bergamot – two intense materials working in tandem to power a warm and energetic contrast of metal pepper and tonka bean. A unique salty accord brings an innovative, dynamic element that makes a classic style entirely new. An elegant modernisation of amber, made intense through spices and dark woods.

IV – A cavalier and confident fragrance that boasts a daring cocktail of spice, where the heat of black pepper melds with the coolness of juniper, creating a courageous sense of contrast. In the heart, the intoxicating depth of narcissus is tempered by the soft, mineral quality of orris, seamlessly transitioning to a rich, masculine base featuring a fusion of sleek leather and golden Tonkalactone. An audacious re-interpretation of the fougère.

V – A thrilling aromatic built around a champagne accord that represents the prismatic spray of bubbles gleaming from the top spot on the podium. The sparkling, effervescent opening of citrus notes are energised by the electric zing of timut pepper, leading to luminous and fresh geranium, lightened by the elegance of violet leaf and contrasted by the rich, woody facets of sandalwood and ambrocenide. The thrill of celebration captured within a vibrant and energetic aromatic.

Designer Parfums has a strong portfolio of prestige and mass fragrances and beauty products in the fashion, lifestyle and celebrity segments. The F1 license marks their first steps into the world of Haute Parfumerie and niche fragrance. The Haute Parfumerie collection will reach retailers from April 2020, whilst the three beautiful limited edition 3D printed art pieces created by Ross Lovegrove – Agile Embrace, Compact Suspension and Fluid Symmetry – are available now directly through Designer Parfums.

Highlights from Pitti Fragranze 2019

17 September 2019 by wpolfiction

Last week, Olfiction travelled to Florence for the Pitti Fragranze trade fair. Our main purpose for the trip was to celebrate the debut of Terror & Magnificence, the fragrance Olfiction perfumer Pia Long has created for BeauFort London. But this wasn’t our sole purpose and Pitti provided us with a great opportunity to network with people from all aspects of the industry in addition to scoping out all of the new and exciting launches there were (and to eat lots of pizza too, of course).

With an expansive range of exhibitors, Pitti was packed to the rafters with lots of fragrance and some beauty, too. There was a real trend for simplicity and despite a few exceptions, the focus seemed to be on unpretentious packaging and fragrances that held personal significance with those that created them. With new and exciting things in mind, we want to share with you some of our highlights from Pitti – the greatest hits of what we saw and smelled, if you will. There really was a wealth to choose from and a huge variety of brands, each offering their own unique spin on the art of olfaction. Those below are the ones that most resonated with us.

Parfums Dusita

Poetry and scent merge beautifully with Parfums Dusita – a brand created by Pissara Umavijani, a Thai perfumer who is now based in Paris. Pissara’s father, Montri Umavijani, was a poet and his words accompany each of the fragrances in the collection, serving as a personal tribute to his life’s work through the artistic endeavours of his daughter. Splendiris, one of Dusita’s latest creations, caught our attention with its soft, violet-centric take on iris – Splendiris is ethereal and calm but not without presence and serves as a delicate take on the interplay of violet and iris, presented with beautiful lines of poetry: “I write by the candlelight, in a night wrapped by many layers of dreams”. Parfums Dusita is an exciting brand and we are looking forward to see where they go next.

Pekji

Pekji is a Turkish brand created by Omer Ipekci, who composed each of the brand’s five fragrances. With a distinct, graphic aesthetic (thanks to Ipekci’s background as an illustrator and graphic designer), Pekji boasts a bold identity with unique, punchy fragrances to match, each of which take inspiration from the perfumer’s childhood. We were struck by the intense beauty of Ruh, a vivid rose shrouded in rich spices and woods, and the bracing, mineral quality of Eaumer, which presents an image of the ocean without the use of traditional aquatic notes. Pekji is a brand not for the faint-hearted and therein lies its strength – this is a perfume house with fascinating, unique fragrances that satisfy those who enjoy a bold and daring olfactory vision.

Miller Harris

Our client Miller Harris definitely had the most vibrant and colourful stand at the show. Boasting neon tubes, and vinyl hanging flowers scented with their latest launches – and a fluorescent cage overflowing with flora – not to mention the colour blocks of spray-dyed perfume bottles – there really was nowhere more exciting to be than the Miller Harris stand. New launches such as Blousy (a juicy and flirtatious blend of strawberries and rose), upcoming offerings such as Secret Gardenia (a beautiful, buxom blend of white florals) and recent beauties such as DANCE Amongst the Lace (a minty fresh fougere that we’re still obsessed with) all came together to make Miller Harris the most fun and innovative stand at Pitti this year. We are biased on that, of course.

Colourful displays on the Miller Harris stand at Pitti Fragranze 2019 — Colourful display at the Miller Harris stand. Photo credit Olfiction.

Maison Rebatchi

Everything about Maison Rebatchi stood out. The bottles, with their beautiful patterned glass, were an example of luxurious simplicty, whilst the fragrances inside were incredibly complex compositions that subverted expectations. Working with legendary perfumers such as Bertrand Duchaufour, Maurice Roucel and Randa Hammami, Maison Rebatchi has turned familiar materials like jasmine, osmanthus and patchouli on their heads, creating surprising perfumes that feel entirely new. Feu Patchouli is a patchouli on fire, exuding silver streams of mineral smoke. Rose Rebatchi is a wonderfully crisp and jammy rose that makes one feel as if they are standing in a field of roses first thing in the morning. Maison Rebatchi is one of those rare collections where every single fragrance is exceptional and we hope to see them in the UK sometime soon!

Jean-Claude Ellena

One of the key features of this year’s show was the Jean-Claude Ellena retrospective. Curated by journalist Chandler Burr, the retrospective celebrated the life’s work of one of the industry’s most legendary perfumers, ranging from his very first fragrance (First for Van Cleef & Arpels) to his work as in-house perfumer at Hermes, and beyond to his latest creation, Rose & Cuir for Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle. Both Burr and Ellena were in attendance to stage an “in conversation” presentation where the perfumer provided rare insight into his career and process. Believe us when we say that we were on the edge of our seats! You can watch the entire talk here – either in the original French or via the English simultaneous interpreter.

BeauFort London

Finally, we cannot talk about Pitti Fragranze without mentioning Terror & Magnificence by BeauFort London. Read all about how we worked with BeauFort’s Leo Crabtree to compose this brand new addition to their Revenants collection here.

BeauFort London launches Terror & Magnificence

16 September 2019 by wpolfiction

Last weekend at Pitti Fragranze’s 17th edition, BeauFort London launched their latest perfume, Terror & Magnificence, created by Olfiction perfumer Pia Long. The fragrance has already drawn praise from the perfume community, with Sergey Borisov of Fragrantica naming it among his favourite launches at the show. Below, Pia shares her notes and thoughts on the creative process.

Terror & Magnificence by BeauFort London

Terror and Magnificence – Perfumer’s Notes

Leo Crabtree’s creative ideas around perfumery are larger-than-life, with gothic horror, punk and metal influences. The fragrances he has thus far coaxed out of perfumers have had enormous presence. The idea of something that forces you to pay attention to it; wearable art – these have been the underpinnings of BeauFort London. We happened to meet through some other work we were doing together, and Leo smelled an accord I’d created of concrete and hyper-real brutalism. Of course, there is no “concrete essential oil”, yet somehow, I’d managed to create a smell that made sense as wet concrete and towering brutalist architecture.

We started working together on some concepts, and I developed a smoke accord for Leo, which felt at once enormous and transparent. This sparked something.

My style of perfumery is probably best described as magic realism. I like to create something hyper-real, and then push it to be more than the real thing, and add fantasy elements. When Leo’s concept for Terror & Magnificence landed on my desk, I immediately felt what the idea’s texture had to be. Darkness of the kind that makes you doubt your own senses. The new scent is based on the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor – and Leo’s brief introduced semi-mythologised elements of Egyptology into church settings; the fantasy elements of mummies about to crawl out of the ground just beneath the apparently civilised surface.

I used smells of the church itself – incense, the wooden pews, the stone floors, and added a sinister, unsettling presence with an accord of a stone cellar that has a whisper of decay. The brief contained a wonderfully evocative sentence: “And one is caught off guard by a vision of Rameses II, almost as if his spirit is trapped somehow beneath the church floor.”

For the darkness, I blended the smoke accord from our earlier meetings with tar, myrrh, benzoin, styrax and a kyphi accord I’d been researching for a while. I like to build individual pieces of the perfume like scenes in a story, and then do multiple trials of them together at different proportions, and once I’m set on an overall harmony, I’ll tinker with the composition to fine tune it until the idea is fully realised. In working with Leo, there is definitely a case of two creative minds trying to bring something into the world, rather than one artist who is being instructed. Leo’s direction and his instinct for what would communicate his vision perfectly was very important.

I listened to a lot of music that set the mood for me during the creative process for this – I think especially Sunn O))) and Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard both had the kinds of tracks that felt right for this perfume’s mood.

The perfume that we created feels like it always existed, as though we’ve conjured a myth into being from the ether. It evolves on each skin I’ve tried it on – some bring out more of the incense, for some the resins and leather, some the myrrh and smoke.

Terror & Magnificence will be available at BeauFort London stockists in the coming weeks.

Olfiction Creates The Signature Scent for Beached Beauty Products

2 May 2019 by wpolfiction

Beached is an all-natural beauty brand founded by Australian entrepreneur Meg Gallagher. For Beached, Meg has captured the easy-breezy beach culture of her homeland in a trio of products for hair, skin and body, that celebrate a natural approach, both in terms of their effect (the brand’s strap line is “bare beauty”) but also the ingredients used. Whilst Beached seems cheeky and fun (and it is) it’s also a brand that takes a serious approach to quality, blending excellent, purposeful ingredients to make exceptional products that firm, texturise and bronze.

To scent the Beached products, Meg approached Olfiction, briefing our perfumer, Pia Long, to create an all-natural fragrance that matched the vibe and ethos of the brand. Pia worked closely with Meg to compose a beachy-floral scent that blends the hot, tropical nuances of ylang ylang with the zesty, juicy quality of yellow mandarin and the warmth of Australian sandalwood, which pays homage to Meg’s Aussie roots, but also adds a touch of sunkissed skin. Incorporated into the products (specifically the Bondi Bum body firmer and Urban Waves hair texturiser), this fragrance brings Beached to life, evoking endless days spent at the beach under the sea spray and hot sun.

The Beached fragrance contains notes of:

Bergamot
Mandarin yellow
Roman chamomile
Australian sandalwood
Ylang extra

“Meg’s brand ethos really resonated with me because she wanted to create lovely, effective products that felt good to use – and that was entirely her focus, not the naturalness of the brand; the natural part just “is” because those were the materials in the formulas that appealed to her aesthetically. So, I wanted to go along with this concept, too, and create a fragrance that mirrors this feeling.

The perfumery challenges were mainly that to get something recognisable as a signature scent but still conveying the natural brand signals that you’d expect to find meant working with some key notes and clever twists to combine the best of both worlds. Additionally, Meg was in love with some citrus accords I’d created but citrus is problematic for anything to be used in the sun, so I chose furanocoumarin-free materials and used them at the maximum sensible level. I wanted to send out a subliminal message about being on the beach – that’s the theme after all! – so the floral aspect being ylang ylang made complete sense as a natural component of ylang oil is benzyl salicylate which was traditionally used in suntan lotion as a core ingredient, and so people associate the smell of it with being on the beach.

We’ve ended up with a sophisticated, caring natural fragrance that matches the feel of the products really well.”

Pia Long, Olfiction Perfumer

The Beached collection consists of three products:

Bondi Bum, Natural Body Firmer (£21.95/175ml), a body lotion designed to naturally firm skin, leaving it smoother and tighter. Featuring a fragrance created by Olfiction.

Urban Waves, Natural Hair Texturiser (£18.95/175ml), a sea salt spray that adds volume to hair as well as conditions featuring a fragrance created by Olfiction.

Rays for Days, Natural Bronzing Serum (£22.95/45ml) to be used on its own, mixed with a base or as a highlighter.

To read more about Beached head on over to beached.com.

At Olfiction, we specialise in perfumery and can work with you to create a unique fragrance for your brand, whether that be for a fine fragrance, home fragrance or cosmetic product. If you’d like to talk to us about how we can develop a fragrance for your brand, drop us a line to get in touch.

IFF-LMR Speed Smelling with the BSP

4 February 2019 by wpolfiction

A week or so ago, we were lucky enough to attend the IFF-LMR Speed Smelling Event hosted by the
British Society of Perfumers (BSP) at the Royal Society of Chemistry in London. Representatives
from IFF-LMR were in attendance to showcase some of their flagship materials from a number of
categories, all of which were available to smell, at speed, during the evening.

LMR, or Laboratoire Monique Remy to use its full name, was founded by Monique Remy in
Grasse, in 1983 and acquired by IFF (International Flavours and Fragrances) in 2000. The
company specialises in sourcing natural materials from all over the globe, focusing on
sustainability and fairness at the very core of its business. So, when it comes to natural materials,
IFF-LMR materials are considered to be some of the very best available within the perfume
industry, and with this in mind, we couldn’t wait to start speed smelling and get some of those
beautiful materials under our noses.

But what is Speed Smelling? Well, Speed Smelling is a lot like speed dating, but much more
exciting. Essentially, we were given ten minutes to spend with two IFF-LMR natural materials that
were presented to us on each table, of which there were eight in total. At each table we were
invited to play a game to help us reveal what the materials were, and these games varied from
puzzle pieces slotted together to form a picture of the material, to riddles, and blindfolded ‘guess
the material’ games. After the materials were presented in isolation, we were invited to experience
a perfume composition with and without one of the materials, to highlight how the material can be
used within a typical fragrance.

Whilst the Speed Smelling was certainly quick, the experience was illuminating and we had the
opportunity to really get to grips with these fantastic materials, both in and out of perfume
compositions, to see what they add to a perfume and how they change when placed in the context
of a composition.

Each of the tables had a different theme, whether that be vegan materials, materials that are
certified as fair, and new materials. The selection was diverse and traversed, not only the wide-
ranging olfactory families, but also the far reaches of the globe, bringing together 16 fantastic IFF-
LMR materials.

In the spirit of Speed Smelling, you can find a quick outline of the themes and materials below:

For Life/Fair Wild

On this table we smelled materials that were certified as “For Life” (a certification that recognises
an organisation’s adherence to specific sustainability criteria, including transparency,
environmental responsibility, fair working conditions and positive relations with producers and local
communities) and “Fair Wild” (standards used to ensure the continued use and long-term survival
of wild species and populations). We smelled:

Peru Balsam
(Warm, resinous, sweet, and green)

Patchouli Oil Indonesia For Life
(A remarkable clean patchouli that is clear in appearance due to low levels of iron)

Vegan

On the vegan table we smelled IFF-LMR vegan materials. These materials undergo a full audit to
ensure there is no contact with animals throughout the supply chain:

Geranium Egypt Oil For Life
(Fresh and rosy with a hint of mint)

Violet Leaf Absolute Egypt
(A violet leaf note with a strong leather backbone)

Blockchain

The theme of the blockchain table was traceability and IFF-LMR showcased how they can use
blockchain technology to allow consumers to trace every step taken for each material in the supply
chain. We smelled:

Blackcurrant Bud Absolute Burgundy
(A punchy, animalic note with hints of juicy blackcurrants)

Vetiver Heart
(Spicy, earthy vetiver with a pronounced grapefruit facet)

LMR Heart

Healingwood Blo
(A pure and woody patchouli with a hint of camphor)

Patchouli Heart Nº3
(A clean patchouli within facets of fresh apple and camphor)

New Platform

The new platform table showcased materials IFF-LMR have sourced from new places in the world.
We smelled:

Sandalwood Oil New Caledonia
(Woody, skin-like, salty, slightly sweaty)

Jasmine Absolute India
(Hot bubblegum flowers with a warming hint of indole)

Mystical

The mystical materials were those with ancient beginnings: We smelled:

Myrrh Oil
(An unusually dry and woody myrrh)

Olibanum Oil
(A perfume in itself – silvery frankincense with a beautifully golden citrus facet)

ECO Cert

At the ECO Cert table we smelled materials that are certified as organic:

Ginger Oil Fresh Madagascar Organic
(The zingiest, freshest ginger – evocative of slices of fresh ginger in a sushi bento box)

Immortelle Oil
(A soft, suede-like immortelle with a pronounced whisky facet and only a hit of spice)

New Ingredient

At the final table we were introduced to two new materials. We smelled:

Pepper Sichuan Absolute CO2 Extract
(A bright, floral pepper with a strong citrus facet)

Cocoa Extract 12% PG
(A deliciously creamy and sweet cocoa with no animalic facets)

During our table-to-table exploration of IFF-LMR materials we found several olfactory connections
and whilst we didn’t go home with any of the materials we speed sniffed (it would have been
difficult to pick just one), we still can’t quite get the Olibanum, Ginger, Cocoa, Jasmine…. well, all
of them, off our minds. We’d say that was a successful Speed Smelling event, wouldn’t you?

You can find out more about the BSP and their events at the BSP website. Info on IFF-LMR can
be found at the following link.

Olfiction announces Scented Words: Exploring Fragrances in Literature at The British Library

25 January 2018 by wpolfiction

Olfiction have collaborated with The British Library to organise an event, where literary translator and fragrance enthusiast Marta Dziurosz will explain the symbiotic relationship between the worlds of literature and fragrance, and how our least scientifically explored sense – smell – is in fact woven throughout literary history as an emotional touchstone to inspire writers and inform the readers imagination. [Read more…]

Green & Black’s Dark Chocolate Velvet Edition Launch

25 January 2018 by wpolfiction

Olfiction were invited to create two fragrances for the launch event of Green & Black’s new 70% dark chocolate Velvet Edition bars. [Read more…]

Perfumery Trends: Tuberose in 2017

31 October 2017 by wpolfiction

Extraordinarily polarising, tuberose can be seen as something of a ‘Marmite’ ingredient within perfumery, with some people adoring the heady sensuality it can lend to a fragrance while others profess to loathe it. Robert Piguet’s Fracas is probably the most widely known tuberose perfume. Fracas originally launched in 1948, featuring an overdose of tuberose amidst a veritable explosion of white flowers such as jasmine, gardenia, white narcissus and lily of the valley. A true icon, the provocative trail Fracas blazed had long been neglected, with cleaner, quieter trends shying away from this ‘harlot’ of the floral world.

[Read more…]

Pia and Nick will be at Esxence 2017

10 March 2017 by wpolfiction

Pia and Nick from Olfiction Ltd (and of Love to Smell YouTube channel) will be at Esxence 2017. It’s a well-known fact that Nick is obsessed with flamingos but we understand that the organisers of this important trade show in the annual fragrance calendar have not featured one in their graphics just for him.

The flamingo might have something to do with this year’s theme: The Garden of Eden.

This enchanted universe finds a perfect representation in its new theme: the Garden of Eden. Joyful place par excellence, it’s the pure dimension of creativity and the expression of fantasy, able to awake our senses: only here they can perceive the most harmonious and refined fragrances.

Art Perfumery is the key to access to this perfect world and Esxence is the appointment that every year allows professionals and enthusiasts to get in. International brands, both historical and emerging, strictly selected to be part of the exhibition area, will offer to the public an excellent and interesting parterre for new businesses and perfumed discoveries, confirming Esxence, and Milan, as the capital city of Art Perfumery.

Want to meet up? Get in touch.

Penhaligon’s Online Profiling Tool

2 November 2016 by wpolfiction

When Penhaligon’s wanted to create an online version of their “Fragrance Profiling” service, they came to us for our insight on how face-to-face retail consultations work and asked us to adapt our expertise to an online setting. [Read more…]

The Juice – Inside Fragrance

24 October 2016 by wpolfiction

Pia Long, co-founder of Olfiction, has had an exciting year interviewing perfumers, evaluators and scientists for her monthly column in Perfumer & Flavorist magazine (Allured Business Media, USA). [Read more…]

Penhaligon’s Portraits Instagram Adventure

30 September 2016 by wpolfiction

Portraits is Penhaligon’s latest collection of fragrances, which tells the tale of a fictional aristocratic family that thrives on drama and scandal. Set in the Victorian era to play on the heritage of the brand, the tongue-in-cheek branding is matched with twists on classic fragrances. [Read more…]

Translating Scent at the Free Word Centre

3 August 2016 by wpolfiction

We were invited to talk about translating scent into words and vice versa a the Free Word Centre this summer, among a panel of experts from fields related to the fascinating topic of cross modal translation. [Read more…]