Seven pillars, one vision and many post-it

What is a good perfume? There are many answers to this question. One comes from Edmond Roudnitska, outlined in his little book “le parfum”. The essentials of any good perfumes are in his words (translated from French):

+++character, vigour, diffusive power, subtlety, clarity, volume and persistence+++

So far so good. Where’s the trouble with the pillars?, you may ask. The trouble is: You need them all! It is very easy to create a fragrance powerfully diffusive with incredible persistence. I just reach out for a bottle of ambra and bang! Diffusive and persistent. But to go from there to a composition which is shining with clarity and being elegantly subtle, in combination with character, vigour and volume, that’s a long journey. And now imagine you have a vision you want to reach, like creating this true leather scent for him: You definitively are reaching out for troubles.

Yesterday, I started again with my leather scent. The vision is there, the composition not quite yet. It is missing some pillars. I will need to go to the groceries to get a wagon load of post-it to remind me on Mr. Roudnitska’s wise remarks…..

I had a good start, though. (all results being preliminary as the fragrance has not aged for 2-4 weeks, yet…) The vision is to create a leather perfume entirely for him. I want it to be radiating and clear, it’s the scent of a lonesome rider, wearing old jeans and leather jacket, after a long day on the horse in the dry woods, preparing his coffee on the open, smoky fire. I want it to be fresh and light, yet lasting and powerful. Well, I guess I will keep you posted on that one….