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A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu

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Re: A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

#11

Post by colechristensen »

zasdffaa wrote: post #9
mrspuratic wrote: post #7

I (re)discovered an interest in natural scents earlier this year when I tried eliminating petrochemical skin products. Coconut oil and aloe vera (about 80:20), olive oil liquid soap, and essential oils - including patchouli, cedar, oak moss, lavender, vetiver, (European) bay, tea tree, melissa. My best effort so far is a rosemary/eucalyptus/bay aftershave balm.

I guess a word to the wise, or others who may not have your experience, be careful about assuming natural stuff is safe. Some essential oils are irritating, and some can be bad for you unless carefully handled (eg jasmine oil should be well diluted into a carrier oil before it touches your skin).

Yup.

Natural smells are very often poisons targeting insects, infections or grazers. The target isn’t often humans or mammals in general which is why things are relatively safe, but many are still active to some degree.

Re: A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

#13

Post by bsder »

The one thing I do note is that modern perfumes/colognes seem to dissipate far too quickly. This gives them an overpowering presence initially and then they dissipate to nothing.

I distinctly remember a bottle of cologne I was given by a girlfriend back when dinosaurs walked the earth and secretaries still existed in companies. If I wore the cologne on Saturday night and any of the secretaries got a good sniff on Monday, I would get ribbed about having had a really good weekend. It was actively difficult to get rid of all the fragrance. That simply doesn't happen with modern scents.

I presume that some extremely key ingredient has been found to be horribly toxic or terribly inhumane to collect.

Re: A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

#14

Post by Dracophoenix »

serf wrote: post #2

writing so interesting that it makes me wish I was into perfume. I knew that historically perfumers took their job very seriously, but I was unaware that kind of artisanal appreciation was still around; I thought it was mostly a corporate laboratory kind of thing now.

You can always get started with BaseNotes and Fragranatica

https://basenotes.com/

https://www.fragrantica.com/

Re: A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

#15

Post by zizee »

bsder wrote: post #13

The one thing I do note is that modern perfumes/colognes seem to dissipate far too quickly. This gives them an overpowering presence initially and then they dissipate to nothing. I distinctly remember a bottle of cologne I was given by a girlfriend back when dinosaurs walked the earth and secretaries still existed in companies. If I wore the cologne on Saturday night and any of the secretaries got a good sniff on Mon…

There's a possibility you're experiencing the difference between eau de toilette vs parfum. One is more concentrated than the other.

Also definitely possible things like shrinkflation are at play.

https://www.scotchnaturals.com/beauty-makeup/the-difference-...

Re: A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

#16

Post by bleuchase »

KevinEldon wrote: post #10
spapas82 wrote: post #5

The author, JC Ellena is now retired and was the house perfurmer of Hermes for many years. He is definitely one of the most important perfurmers of all time having created many many problems including two of the most iconic perfumes of all time: Cartier Declaration and Terre d'Hermes. I recommend everybody not familiar with perfumery to go to a Sephora or similar store and try these two masterpieces. They are so icon…

For many years I didn’t appreciate perfumes. I didn’t understand them. I encourage you to take the advice above, watch a few Jeremy Fragrance videos, and get some feedback from your romantic partner. You’ll be thankful for knowing a thing or two about fragrances.

Check out Aaron Terence Hughes. Truly unique perspective on the chemistry of fragrances you won’t get elsewhere.

Re: A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

#18

Post by exmadscientist »

serf wrote: post #2

writing so interesting that it makes me wish I was into perfume. I knew that historically perfumers took their job very seriously, but I was unaware that kind of artisanal appreciation was still around; I thought it was mostly a corporate laboratory kind of thing now.

Honestly I read this less as the writing of a perfumer and more the writing of a master. This is just how people who know their subject intimately (and have some writing skill) communicate.

It is somewhat rare, as often the people who are truly good at what they do would rather do it than write about it.

Re: A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

#19

Post by epapsiou »

bsder wrote: post #13

The one thing I do note is that modern perfumes/colognes seem to dissipate far too quickly. This gives them an overpowering presence initially and then they dissipate to nothing. I distinctly remember a bottle of cologne I was given by a girlfriend back when dinosaurs walked the earth and secretaries still existed in companies. If I wore the cologne on Saturday night and any of the secretaries got a good sniff on Mon…

No it is just brands being cheap. Those colognes are still available. Just not in Sephora. On high end there are Roja Dove, Killian's, Tom Ford, Montale,Mancera... At low end anything by Bogart.

Re: A Master Perfumer's Reflections on Patchouli and Vetiver

#20

Post by dxuh »

bsder wrote: post #13

The one thing I do note is that modern perfumes/colognes seem to dissipate far too quickly. This gives them an overpowering presence initially and then they dissipate to nothing. I distinctly remember a bottle of cologne I was given by a girlfriend back when dinosaurs walked the earth and secretaries still existed in companies. If I wore the cologne on Saturday night and any of the secretaries got a good sniff on Mon…

It's not just greed like other commenters might be implying. Like you say many reformulations happen because IFRA (the International Fragrance Association) updates their list of restricted or prohibited substances. Their work is necessary and important to ensure everyone's health. Just recently (March this year) the IFRA-imposed ban on Lilial (butylphenyl methylpropional) went into effect, which was suspected to lead to infertility. So it's important someone has an eye on this. Almost always fragrances end up significantly weaker after such reformulations.

Also after the 80s, where fragrances were much stronger, it's just a "trend" nowadays to have weaker fragrances.

Of course it's also greed, because very often fragrances get reformulated without an obvious external reason and they often end up a shadow of their former selves. If a fragrance has a critical popularity, you can simply cut it's potency in half and people will still buy it.

I also want to add that the performance of a fragrance depends a lot on the moisture of your skin. Fragrances disappear on dry skin much quicker. So if you moisturize your skin before applying a fragrance, you will have longer of it. My skin got much drier with age (and it's getting worse), so maybe this is also part of what you are observing.

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