One of the purchases awaiting my return home from Maui was the Le Labo Olfactionary, a metal case containing a limited "dictionary" of perfumery -- 40 glass vials of pure essences commonly utilized in the formulation of contemporary fragrances.
The idea is to dip the enclosed paper blotters into the vials and sniff the essences individually, getting a grasp of what each scent smells like so that you'll be able to better identify these ingredients when you encounter them in full compositions.
It's one thing to read an ingredient list, such as for Parfum d'Empire Equistrius: "orris, violet, rice powder, chocolate, ambrette, sandalwood, vetiver, grey amber" -- but it's quite another to actually know what the essences of orris, violet, ambrette and vetiver smell like on their own.
When the Olfactionary first arrived, there were some problems with the metal case as it hadn't been tied down properly for shipping, but when I contacted Le Labo about it, they were nothing but absolutely polite and snapped into immediate action, shipping me out a replacement Olfactionary before I'd even sent the original one back.
Very impressive. They've made me a customer for life.
Below are some photos of the Olfactionary in all its glory:
You can read more about the Olfactionary at the Le Labo website:
"Our main goal is to help you "open your nostrils" in the same way good books open their readers' eyes to life. Philosophers speak about "men with stitched-up eyelids" when referring to people who are blind to the basics of existence. Most of us live with stitched-up nostrils, having grown up in a world where smells are hidden away, and our olfactory senses left to wither. Le Labo believes that it is about time that we open our eyes, breathe in deeply and take in all that life has to offer."
6 Comments
I flowed you here from POL ('aaagh a stalker' I hear you shout) seriously I love the idea of an olfactionary. Did you say that there is a violet flower essence? If so what does it smell like, I can't get natural violet flower essence anywhere.
Ruth
said:
Ruth! Nice to see you in the neighborhood. I'm happy to see that my trail of cookie-dough ice cream worked successfully as a lure. I was beginning to wonder if maybe I should have used something that wouldn't melt so quickly . . .
The violet essence that's included in the Olfactionary is violet leaf rather than violet flower. I was a little disappointed myself, as I still remain very curious as to what a violet flower essence would smell like. The violet leaf essence is very green, sharp and bitter.
I did notice that The Perfumer's Apprentice carries a violet essence for sale. I don't know if it's a 100% natural essence, but it doesn't state otherwise, and they usually do say if it's a synthetic compound . . . I think?
Ah I have violet leaf, it is like pure chlorophyll, greener than green. The perfumers apprentice one is synthetic for sure. I don't think violet flower natural essence is in supply commercially, but I was hoping. Thanks for responding! I've already shared your blog with friends ; )
said:
Ruth, I did a bit of sleuthing and ran across this website that claims to offer Violet Absolute and Compounded Parma Violet:
http://www.dragonherbarium.com/cgi-bin/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=oil-ess-sy.htm&category=yes&cart_id=79559_17678
The $140.00 price tag for 1/2 ounce of the absolute makes it seem like it could be for real, though I really have no way of knowing and I've read numerous comments on the web like the following: "Every reputable source indicates that there is no such thing as a true natural violet flower absolute, since it went out of commercial production almost a hundred years ago . . . Not since the 19th century when ionone was synthesized, one of the very first synthetic florals. It is just too expensive to harvest all those tiny little flowers which do not produce much apparently."
So, I think you might have to start your own violet farm . . .
Thanks for posting that link. I emailed the company to find out if it is from the leave or the flowers.
Violet perfumes seem to be coming increasingly popular. I recently tried a Parma Violet Eau de Cologne and I'll admit I was smitten, I was disappointed when I discovered that it wasn't natural even though the company I bought it from claimed it was. So even though it was beautiful beyond belief I would rather not promote them, purely on ethical grounds. Pity they had to be dishonest as I would have promoted it everywhere natural or not because it was SOOO good.
I'll be sure to let you know if I ever come across the natural essence of the flowers, or start my own violet farm ;)
said:
oh, very cool! Be sure to keep me posted on their reply -- though, as you mentioned with your experiences elsewhere, I hope they're on the up and up should their answer be that yes, it is a natural essence.
From what I understand, the perfume industry is similar to the supplement industry in that there appears to be no strict regulation regarding what can be called "natural" as an ingredient, so it's pretty much an open field: "Does it exist on this planet? Then it's Natural!"
It's along the same lines as 7-Up running commercials claiming that their lab-modified high-fructose corn-syrup laden soft drink was 100% Natural. Yeah, okay, sure -- but when the only way you can make the stuff is to press, fold, spindle and mutilate the original source in a billion dollar hi-tech facility, it's a bit of a stretch to claim that Mother Nature had anything to do with it . . .
A violet farm actually sounds kind of nice. I'm picturing my retirement now: me on a quiet farm, surrounded by acres of little purple flowers . . . and about a gazillion bees. Ack!
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