Perfumery and Other Things

I haven’t been as devoted a blog writer here of late, and I’d like to apologize to those of you who come here to laugh at my ridiculous, sometimes only slightly perfume related ramblings. Sorry! I’ve been working on several projects, not the least of which is this scent event/perfume exhibition I scheduled in May, which is quickly followed by a soap making class the next weekend. I’ve designed post cards and flyers for the perfume exhibition, and I’ve already sent invitations to the local Chambers of Commerce (Fresno and Clovis), the local newspaper, the local art’s council and an art council with which I have some familiarity in Madera, CA, and to the Tower District Marketing Committee. And I’ve handed out flyers. Hundreds and hundreds of flyers. Back in my multi-level marketing days, one of the tenets of selling effectively required talking and spreading the word – the doctrine was that for every 100 contacts/leads you met with, ten would respond, and out of those ten, one would actually sign on or buy the product you’re selling. This is why I’m handing out HUNDREDS of flyers. For example, of the 700+ “friends” I have on Facebook, seven have tentatively committed to attending, another 14 or so are “maybes”, and some 84 have declined, while yet another 600 or so have yet to respond to the invitation. Of the seven who have RSVP’d the event, perhaps two or three will actually show up. And again with those flyers. Hundreds and hundreds of flyers.

And I’m sweating the details. What to serve that falls within the category of “perfumed refreshments”, as stated on those flyers. I’m thinking one savory, one sweet, like a shortbread or a butter cookie, and one decadent chocolate thing of osmanthus or a conifer – fir balsam? I do so love the combination of these two essences (see Serj at www.thescenteddjinn.com and All In Green at Parfum Phyto at Etsy.com). And teas that correspond to the notes in the perfumes I’m bringing. And the extractor exhibition, and hydrosols, and just everything!

And on top of THAT, familial upheavals strike again. I have half my son’s furniture crammed to the rafters in my garage and perfume studio, so even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get to my blending station. It would have all been moved to his new home in the mountains days ago but the rain just won’t let up, and half the mountain roads are blocked or shut down due to mud slides and wash outs. Twice in three days we’ve had crazy hailstorms dumping an inch or two of hail at a time and leaving the streets as rivers and yards as swamps. And constant drizzling rain. All my jonquil and wild hyacinth and paperwhites have come up, but I can’t enjoy them because I’d have to blow up the raft and paddle out to the planter box to get to them!

Oh, and I’ve been writing reviews and articles for Perfume Pharmer, which is really fun. I like writing for other venues. It gives me an opportunity to really dig my nails into a subject, which I write about extensively, and then edit to death. *sigh!*

On a less frantic and stressful note, I recently received a thumb’s up from a fellow perfumer about a sample of my newest fougere parfum I sent her – she said it smelled like Brut! She said not to think of it as a put-down because Grasse perfume instructors consider Brut to be a classic, perfect fougere fragrance, and they use it to demonstrate what a fougere parfum really is. Good to know.