by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
It’s frustrating to discover a fragrance, get all worked up about it, put it on the skin, and have it disappear in 20 minutes. Perfumers describe this phenomenon as caused by a lack of “fixation,” the idea being that certain ingredients— “fixatives” –“fix” the...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
It’s one thing to make a satisfying combination of top notes, but it is far trickier to coordinate them with the underlying facets in a perfume. After working on a top-note combination of grapefruit and red peppercorn essential oil, I added aldehyde C-11 enic. for...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
Top notes—the most volatile and evanescent compounds in a perfume—give an immediate impression and help sell the product. Whether you like them or not, the top notes in today’s fragrances are incredibly smooth. However, the top notes may not smell like the heart...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
I pilfered my first glass of wine when I was 7 years old. Parents and guests seemed to enjoy it so, and since it was forbidden, it was essential to try. I diligently cleared the table, taking away unfinished bottles to the kitchen, to be sipped and analyzed on the...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
I want to see how Serge Lutens solves the problems of longevity and projection in his fabulous perfume, Iris Silver Mist. The opening iris accord is much like mine and, like mine, evaporates sooner than I, and apparently, he, would like. Lutens creates another series...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
Let’s say, right off the bat, that sandalwood can’t be replicated accurately. Perfumers have been trying for centuries and, now that the real oil has gotten so expensive, the effort has accelerated. Not knowing better, making a viable sandalwood was my first effort at...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
Sometimes, my experiments don’t project enough, or fade too soon, or don’t have enough power. I get discouraged. But my recent seminar with Mandy Aftel has given me pause. For her, the sensual interplay of complex natural ingredients is more important than the ability...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
A favorite book of mine, Perfumery: The Psychology and Biology of Fragrance, edited by Steve Van Toller and George H. Dodd, is a rather technical tome that dwells mostly on the relationship between perfume and personality. In one chapter, by Mensing and Beck, the...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
As I delve into my ever-growing library, a few things strike me as odd, eccentric, probably apocryphal, but fascinating nonetheless. One is the theory that hair color influences, or should influence, women’s perfume choices and suggest which fragrances work best....
by Jim Peterson | Jun 28, 2020 | Uncategorized
Most of us assume that perfumes mask b.o. Anyone who has been trapped in a taxi, breathing in the aromas of the air freshener hanging from the rear-view mirror and those of sweat and cologne, may appreciate that eaux de cologne, unlike perfumes, are, in fact, designed...
