Guest Lecturer - Karen Gilbert perfumest | The Perfume Series

Today we had a guest lecturer in called Karen Gilbert, who has been in the industry for 25 years now. This was really interesting as she gave us some insight into what it was like creating perfume and some tips when it came to creating our own. Because she has been in the industry for so long she was able to tell us a lot about the cost of perfumes, and how they're made and why the same perfume can smell differently when you repurchase it. 

The lecture started off with a brief overview of fragrance and how our sense of smell works. It was interesting to learn about how smell travels to our brains and how it can cause memories and reactions within us. I'd already done a bit of research about how our sense of smell works but it was helpful to hear about it in more detail. 

Karen also talked about how to describe fragrances. Growing up, we are taught how to describe things we see but we're not taught how to describe smell. I know that I am rubbish at describing smells to people because I simply don't know how to put it into words. We often say that something smells how another thing tastes. This is because our sense of smell overlaps with our sense of taste so we can taste what we smell and smell what we taste. Words like 'citrus, flowery, rose, fruity, leathery, tar, vanilla' are words that are common in fragrance and smells that we can immediately recognise. 

Fragrances nowadays are made up of 90-95% synthetic materials. People are becoming more aware of the environment and what they are putting on their skin and so are looking for a more natural product. However, what we consider natural isn't really all that natural. Jo Malone for example is considered quite natural because of the brand image it has the scents available, however it really isn't that natural. Even materials that used to be taken from animals and other important ingredients are synthetic now. It's becoming really expensive to get a lot of materials naturally and so it's easier and cheaper to create it in the lab. Lily of the Valley, which is important in creating a floral scent, is impossible to extract and so is an example of something that has been created in the lab. 

I won't bore you with the rest of the lecture but it was basically just about the notes of a perfume and different perfume influences. I found this lecture really useful and it was great to get a guest lecture in to talk to us because it made things much more interesting. It also is going to help a lot when it comes to creating my own perfume and I'm so excited to start!