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Edmond Roudnitska, 1991
The Thorough Study of Materials
The composer of perfumes works with several dozen natural essences from various countries, and has at his disposal thousands of odorant chemical bodies — a list that is constantly enriched. Knowledge and mastery of such a keyboard implies a considerable number of observations, of experiments soundly reflected upon and correctly interpreted, of efforts of memorisation bearing upon these materials but still more upon their multiple and complex “olfactory” combinations. Olfactory, that is to say aesthetic, for chemistry has nothing to do with it.
The combinations actually realised over the course of even a long career are derisory in number compared with the infinity of those possible. This is why intuition, as we have seen previously, plays a capital role in creation (1). Since one cannot try everything, experiment with everything, it is intuition that will permit the composer to extrapolate from the known to the possible and then to the projected. Intuition is cultivated, like taste, through contact with the other arts. No formal training privileges intuition; the composition of perfumes being neither a science nor a game of chance, one ought not to be astonished if great composers are rare.
If composition is not a science, the study of its materials must nevertheless be conducted very methodically to be more rapid, more efficient, better assimilated. If there is no method for composing, there are methods for working.
A sound pedagogical approach for memorising odours is to group them in families or series. To the few young people I have initiated, I have proposed fifteen series: Hesperidic, Rose, Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Violet-Iris, Anise, Aromatic, Greenery, Spices, Wood, Tobacco, Fruity, Balsamic, Animalic-Musk, Leather.
This order presents a certain logic: from the relatively simple series toward the more complex, from the better known toward the less known, from the light toward the heavier and toward the more savage. Limited series, to avoid dispersion and confusion. Tuberose may be a sub-group of Jasmine; Narcissus, Lily-of-the-Valley, Lily, Hyacinth may be attached to the “Greenery” series, floral sub-group; Carnation belongs to “Spices,” Mimosa is “Anise,” Jonquil is “Orange Blossom,” Gardenia is “Fruity,” and so on.
Each series comprises the natural products that belong to it and the principal known chemical bodies that constitute them. The fifteen series will be found below, with the operating procedure detailed and timed for the study of each.
Beforehand, it is well to know the strict disciplines without the observance of which there could be no intelligent, memorable, and profitable olfaction. It is therefore important to:
“Know How to Smell”
Materials
The great number of daily olfactions to which composers devote themselves and the essential principle of following the evolution of odorants over many days do not permit us to use the apparatuses employed by researchers in the laboratories of sensory physiology. Our methods of olfactory examination must be practical and simple. The reproach one might level at our blotter “touches” or “smelling strips” is not so much that they lack scientific rigour as that they employ a support different from those upon which our perfumes will normally evolve. This obliges us to a mental effort of transposition to which we eventually grow accustomed, no doubt, but which nonetheless does not spare us a few errors of interpretation, or which conceals from us certain “effects” — such as the all-important effect of volume.
The “touches” we use are strips of white paper, 18 cm by 1 cm. They are folded in two lengthwise, so as to form a sort of trough that gives them rigidity. One end is cut at a slant, which allows it to enter easily into small bottle-necks and also, by virtue of its tapered point, to draw up only a minute quantity of the product to be examined. The length of 18 cm has seemed to us most fitting, so that the warmth of the hands does not interfere with olfaction, without, on the other hand, the gestures risking awkwardness as they would with strips that were too long and too flexible. The paper is “uncoated” at 180 grams per square meter.
For delicate examinations, we use strips 18 cm by 2.5 cm in the same paper. These latter strips are neither folded nor pointed, since we do not dip them into the product to be examined. Using a calibrated capillary tube, we let fall a drop of about 20 mg upon one end of the touch, in such a way that this drop, spreading freely and quite horizontally, does not reach the edges of the strip. The tube must be held vertically, so that the drop is always of the same weight, and quite close to the paper (without touching it, of course) so as to have the minimum height of fall. Spreading horizontally, the drops form stains of equal surface, which ensure an equal rate of evaporation and comparable examinations.
This procedure, if applied with care, permits observations of remarkable precision, by an olfactory sense exercised accordingly. When it is a matter of comparing two odorants by means of capillary tubes, it is necessary that two persons operate simultaneously, so that the two strips are impregnated at the same moment by each drop falling from each tube.
The strips must be carefully kept away from odorant products, and it would be useful for perfumers to come to an agreement to standardize the quality and form of the strips. Their ways of judging would have a better chance of being comparable.
Method
It is preferable that the composer train himself to smell only minute quantities of diluted products (2). The mucous membrane, thus spared, will regenerate more quickly and may be more often called upon, with greater fidelity. The sense of smell will sharpen, refine itself, and become ever more apt to seize upon delicate nuances. It is therefore recommended to smell in alcoholic solution, diluted according to the strength of the odorant to be examined — which moreover allows a more valid judgment to be made.
- Dip the strip lightly (the point only), noting the day and hour of the operation.
- Regulate the breathing during olfaction. Smell by slow inspirations, more or less deep depending on the odorant power and on the necessities of mental concentration; smell briefly, in series of one to three inspirations of two to three seconds each, sensitivity being rapidly blunted.
- Note the impressions sharply as they are felt, and to that end smell in an odourless, temperate, normally humid, and calm environment; perfect concentration demands solitude and silence. One smells poorly in an atmosphere too cold or too dry, or in a draught.
- Space each series of inspirations with intervals long enough to give the mucous membrane time to regenerate. Oxygenation, hyperventilation, enormously favours this regeneration. As far as possible, then, after each of these series of olfaction and before the next, take the air, breathe pure air, take a few steps in the open.
The observance of these disciplines bears very greatly upon the possibility and the value of the judgments rendered, and therefore upon the experience acquired.
Oxygenation is evidently linked to the quality of the air inhaled but no less to respiratory technique. Very few people know how to breathe, even among those whose respiratory passages are normal. To breathe well is to inhale deeply through the nose and exhale through the mouth, completely expelling the vitiated air from the lungs, “emptying the bases,” as the sportsman’s term has it.
A great many men have a deviation of the nasal septum, which considerably impairs respiration and the exercise of the sense of smell. Let them not hesitate to consult an otorhinolaryngologist and to have themselves operated upon should he advise it; they will draw great profit from it, both physically and professionally. It seems superfluous to insist upon the harmful action that stimulants, alcohol and tobacco in particular, have upon sensory acuity and upon memory.
The most reliable olfactions are the first of the morning, after a good airing. Reserve this moment, then, for the examination of precious or delicate products, which also allows one to follow conveniently the evolution of the first hours. If there are several series of strips to examine, begin with the most evaporated or the most weakly odorant ones and pass progressively (with intervals of rest) to the strips that are more and more odorant.
A single odorant presenting several “facets” — and thus, in fact, several odours — one must guard against having one’s mind taken up by a single one of these facets, must not become “fixated” upon this or that characteristic toward which the observer would naturally be drawn or which would displease him, and which would utterly prevent him from noticing the other facets. One must furnish that difficult effort which consists in narrowing the field of observation in order to limit it to the odorant, then, upon that odorant, in widening the field of consciousness in order to seize upon all the details of the odorant, in order to take its inventory. The judgment of the perfumer at work must be objective — that is to say, freed from the affective reactions that taint the layman’s judgment; but when he contemplates his work, the perfumer becomes a spectator once more, and he must then make that other difficult effort: “to put himself in the place of others.”
To know an odorant well, one must not smell it superficially; one must strive to discover its different aspects, at the various stages of its evaporation. At the outset, the evolution of the odorant is more or less rapid, depending on its volatility, and so it will be fitting, later, to take up several times the examination of this first stage, in order to give oneself every chance of recording all its characteristics. Then the evolution slows, which permits the spacing of observations. Generally, one carries out several examinations during the first hour, five or six others over the course of the first day, two or three on the second day, and one each morning from the third day onward (3). One notes carefully each time the impressions felt, in quality and in intensity, and pursues the examination until a null impression is verified several mornings in succession, for our own sensitivity is subject to eclipses.
Great differences may sometimes be observed in the appraisals made of the same product by the same observer at different periods. These variations may proceed from differing physiological conditions, in relation to health, the hygrometric state of the air, the temperature, numerous atmospheric phenomena, and so on. I had pointed out, in 1943 (4), some of these differences which were very well explained by the fact that between the first observations and the last there had intervened a nasal operation that had greatly improved my olfactory sensitivity (deviated septum).
To study an odorant is already a delicate matter, to compare two is very difficult, to confront several proves a foolhardy enterprise. One must necessarily resort to stratagems. The difficulty of comparison comes from the fact that sensations are subject to the law of relativity. Each sensation is relative to those that precede it and to those that accompany it; it influences those that follow. Sensations thus make us know not states but relations of states (5).
When one finds oneself before two strips to smell, it is therefore not always indifferent to begin with one or the other. It is reflection that must dictate the choice in the numerous particular cases. If one of the two strips is presumed to be more weakly odorant, one must begin with it; smelt second, it would seem still weaker, even almost odourless, for to the law of relativity (a psychological phenomenon) is added the fatigue of the sense as it dulls (a physiological phenomenon) — habituation being, in sum, the play of these two factors.
At equal intensity, the second strip smelt will always seem a little weaker than the first; these differences in strength inevitably translate, in the mind of the observer, into apparent qualitative differences. Training, reflection, and above all self-mastery permit one to redress the judgment, but it is not easy.
As soon as it is a matter of comparing two strips, one must shorten as much as possible the duration of each olfaction so that the mucous membrane is not saturated by the first. One or two inspirations of two seconds with the first strip, a pause — a slow, deep inspiration to regenerate — then the same operation with the second strip. This pause must be such as to permit a sufficient rest and regeneration of the mucous membrane, but without the memory of the first olfaction having faded.
It is very subtle. For regeneration, it would be desirable that the pause be as long as possible, but herein lies our drama: the olfactory memory very quickly loses its precision, and we can confront only if a very short time elapses between the two successive olfactions. A first vicious circle, from which we emerge in practice by a compromise, fixing the pause at a few very short seconds during which we breathe deeply but calmly, concentrating our mind upon the memory of the sensation. The slightest distraction, and one must begin again. The pause must be the longer in proportion as the first olfaction has itself been longer. The vivacity of our reactions can therefore only serve us, and total concentration is here indispensable. One ought not, then, to be astonished at the irritability of perfumers when they are disturbed. The more so as, we have seen, the same sensation will never be found again (6).
After a first confrontation, one waits several minutes and then repeats it, taking care to invert the order of the strips, and one may thus continue, beginning sometimes with one strip, sometimes with the other, observing attentively whether this or that impression does not always occur with either the first strip smelt or the second. In which case, the impression in question might be set down to relativity.
In the course of these various confrontations, one must guard against always observing only the same “facet” or the same particularity of each odorant. On the contrary, one must strive to remain objective, to pass in review all the possible facets and to confront them one by one; in some sense, to take the complete inventory of each odorant. And this always within an extremely short time.
It goes without saying that the sessions of confrontation (double olfaction interspersed with longer pauses) which immediately follow the dipping will suffer, at that moment, from the too-rapid evolution due to volatility. The examiner will not yet be able to permit himself the quiet observations that will become possible when, the evolution being slower, one may at intervals of several minutes or several hours rediscover and verify the same impression. This implies the obligation to multiply, in order to make them vary, the conditions of examination, so as also to make the points of view vary.
When there is no particular reason to begin smelling one strip rather than the other, and so as not to undergo any influence, it is generally good for the observer to be unaware of which strip he is smelling. One chooses two perfectly identical strips, presenting no point of reference, even by touch, and one notes the reference of the odorants in such a way as not to risk seeing it while smelling. And one begins sessions in four parts:
First part: a strip in each hand, one smells first the right (or the left) and observes, for example, that the right is more flowery than the left. Second part: one inverts the order, smelling first the left (or the right), and notes whether the first examination is overturned or confirmed. One changes the strips from hand to hand (the references still unknown) and begins the two parts again as before, making the same mental notations.
Thanks to these four sessions, one has the beginning of an opinion on the possible influence of the order in which the strips are smelt and on the influence of the hand that holds them. One then looks at the references. If, in the four cases, it is the same strip that seems the more flowery, no question. If there is divergence of impressions, one reasons. In any case, one notes. Then one shuffles the strips and begins a second experiment, also in four parts. If after several experiments one always chooses the same strip, conviction is established. If there is a large majority in favour of one strip and a few accidents of olfaction, the conviction will be less strong but valid; if there is doubt, it is because the odorants are close kin or the judgment is particularly difficult to render (Vanillin, for example).
Confronting several strips in order to compare them is hazardous. The best is to proceed by rapid successive eliminations, to avoid fatigue and so as to find oneself finally in the presence of two strips only, which one may then examine and follow at leisure. But rapid elimination does not mean definitive elimination. It may be that at the dipping or in the moments that follow it one eliminates this or that strip, and then that upon evaporation, the examination being possible at greater leisure and the strip having evolved favourably, one fishes it back. The definitive judgment must be a judgment of the whole, taking account of all the phases of evaporation.
When it is a matter of a very serious comparative examination of several products, it is preferable to compare them two by two, pursuing the examination of each pair as many days as is necessary for the elimination of the lesser of the two to be definitive. It is long, but one is certain at the end of finding oneself before the two best and of being able to compare them with serenity. It is very important that all the olfactory confrontations be made, as far as possible, under comparable conditions: age of the concentrates and solutions, simultaneous dipping, quantity deposited on the strips, and so on.
Here, then, are the fifteen series, a pedagogical schema of the principal odorants, for the use of beginners who must naturally complete each series progressively, as they advance in the study of materials.
General Recommendations
- Try to identify, and to note: the quality and character of the odour (its note, its form, what it evokes or suggests); its intensity; its mode of expansion (diffusion, volume); its stability or its instability; the evolution of the note, of its form, in time (several days, several weeks); its duration of perceptibility. All these traits constitute the attributes of the odour and confer upon it a personality; they are inseparable, and one must take account of them as a coherent whole, but with multiple interactions with other odours, when one introduces it into a mixture.
- Note everything that passes through the head, with the words that come naturally to mind if they make an image, if they permit the thought to be made precise and to be fixed, the contours of the odour to be circumscribed without ambiguity. Avoid at all cost approximations; seek and find the words that define unequivocally the impression felt, in such a way that twenty years later, before the same impression, the same words will come to mind. It is thus that the odour-file (with all the more reason an electronic memory) may acquire great value, by faithfully fixing all the olfactory recollections and holding them at one’s disposal with the name of the corresponding product.
If the first olfaction does not permit the impression felt to be made precise in words, renew the experience at different moments and in different places; but do not forget that only the first impression is virgin. One must therefore protect it, lend it particular attention, and note sharply the first reactions for their spontaneous value, even if reflection should subsequently correct them. It is highly educative to know what kind of errors of judgment one is liable to commit, to learn to mistrust oneself. It is thus that a good critical spirit is formed — and Heaven knows one has need of it in this trade. But do not confuse spontaneity with impulsiveness.
These are the conditions that one must strive to create, in the course of the studies of composition, by spacing the trials sufficiently, by suspending them, if possible, periodically for a few months, in order to escape obsession, to forget form and formula, in order to try to find before the abandoned trial a fresh and impartial judgment. It is difficult, it demands strength of character, much perseverance in effort, great honesty — but what a school! And what an advantage to tend toward objectivity, toward a sure judgment. To pass from one study to another, to return to the first, and so on, may be a profitable liberation. - The products of each series are to be followed on the strip as long as an odour is perceptible in the morning, after toilet and airing, but before breakfast. He who smells must attentively observe how he himself behaves, and how his olfactory mucous membrane fares under the treatments he imposes upon it.
- Strips no closer than one centimeter from the orifice of the nostrils. The odorant molecules must fix themselves upon the olfactory receptor, not upon the external skin, where they would distort subsequent olfactions.
N.B. — The operations to follow must be precisely timed, otherwise they are impossible to bring to a successful conclusion in a single morning. Now, one must arrive at a general confrontation of the elements of the series, already compromised by the time-lag between groups, but a relative and attenuated lag from the next day onward. Extreme concentration of attention, gestures precise and calm. Olfactions brief and few in number for each strip, notations rapid. Dip only the very tip of the tapered strip, attention to the rapid saturation of the mucous membrane. The sessions of oxygenation between each group are indispensable to a sufficient regeneration of the mucous membrane and to an intellectual relaxation.
1 — Hesperidic Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Lemon Oil Italy, Expressed | 10% |
| Bergamot Oil, Expressed | 10% | |
| Bergamot Oil, Steam Distilled | 10% | |
| Orange Oil, Expressed | 10% | |
| Mandarin Oil, Expressed | 10% | |
| 8:45 am | Bergamot Oil, Expressed | 10% |
| Linalool, Synthetic | 10% | |
| Linalyl Acetate, Synthetic | 10% | |
| Terpineol | 10% | |
| Terpenyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Limonene | 10% | |
| 9:30 am | Lemon Oil, Expressed | 10% |
| Lime Oil, Expressed | 10% | |
| Lemongrass Oil | 10% | |
| Lemarome “N” | 1% | |
| Limonene | 10% | |
| 10:15 am | Orange Oil, Guinea, Expressed | 10% |
| Orange Oil, Florida, Expressed | 10% | |
| Bitter Orange Oil, Expressed | 10% | |
| Aldehyde C10 | 0.1% | |
| Methyl Anthranilate | 1% | |
| 11:00 am | Mandarine Oil | 10% |
| Aldehyde C10 | 0.1% | |
| Methyl Anthranilate | 1% | |
| Dimethyl Anthranilate | 1% | |
| Limonene | 10% | |
| Dipenthene | 10% |
2 — Rose Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 am | Bulgarian Rose Essential Oil | 10% |
| Moroccan Rose Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Grasse Rose Absolute | 10% | |
| Moroccan Rose Absolute | 10% | |
| Bourbon Geranium Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Moroccan Geranium Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Palmarosa Geranium Essential Oil | 10% | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | 5 minute of fresh air | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| 8:30 | Geranium (ex-Citronella) | 10% |
| Geranyl Acetate (ex-Citronella) | 10% | |
| Geranyl Propionate | 10% | |
| laevo Citronellol | 10% | |
| dextro Citronellol | 10% | |
| Citronellyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Citronellal | 10% | |
| Rhodinol Ex Geranium Bourbon | 10% | |
| Rhodinyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Nerol | 10% | |
| Neryl Acetate | 10% | |
| Smell rapidly first the five alcohols to differentiate them. | Then pass to the esters, bringing them close to each alcohol | |
| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | Fifteen minutes of fresh air. | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| 10:30 am | Synthetic Linalool | 10% |
| Synthetic Linalyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Phenylethyl Alcohol | 10% | |
| Phenylethyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Cinnamic Alcohol | 10% | |
| Ethyl Cinnamate | 10% | |
| 5 minute of fresh air | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ | |
| 11:30 am | Eugenol ex-Cloves | 10% |
| Alcohol C9 | 1% | |
| Aldehyde C9 | 0.1% | |
| Styrallyl Acetate | 10% |
This series being one of the richest in possible constituents, it is to be progressively completed by all the esters (acetates, formates, butyrates, valerianates, phenylacetates, benzoates, etc.) of all the rose alcohols.
For the most important group, eleven mouillettes, apply the “How to Smell” instructions rigorously. For the others, too, in fact because failing to limit the duration of each olfaction means denying oneself the ability to make a valid judgment, with all the consequences that entails.
We will have other opportunities to resume the study of each of these materials, notably during the methodical examinations by chemical family or within other series sharing common constituents.
3 — Orange Blossom Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Orange Flower Water | 10% |
| Bitter Orange Neroli Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Orange Flower Absolute | 10% | |
| Orange Flower Water Absolute | 10% | |
| Eau de Brouts Absolute | 1% | |
| Bitter Orange Petitgrain Essential Oil, Italy | 10% | |
| Bitter Orange Petitgrain Essential Oil, Paraguay | Bitter Orange Petitgrain Essential Oil, Italy | |
| Lemon Petitgrain Essential Oil, Italy | 10% | |
| 10 minute of fresh air | ||
| Linalyl Acetate, Synthetic | 10% | |
| Methyl Anthranilate* | 1% | |
| Aurantiol* | 1% | |
| Indole* | 0.1% | |
| Indolene* | 0.1% | |
| Phenylacetic Acid | 1% | |
| 10 minute of fresh air | ||
| 10:00 am | Phenylethyl Alcohol | 10% |
| Linalool, Synthetic | 10% | |
| Nerol | 10% | |
| Nerolidol | 10% | |
| Methylnaphtyl Ketone | 1% | |
| Bromelia | 1% | |
| Yara | 1% |
*Nitrated products, colour upon exposure to light.
As in the first two series, here we have materials at concentrations ranging from 10% to 1 per thousand. This must never be forgotten; it must be taken into account throughout the examinations, and notes must be written accordingly. The 10% concentration is to be considered a standard dilution, valid for the great majority of materials. It has the advantage of being dilute enough not to traumatize or excessively saturate the mucous membrane with most materials — and thus not to affect judgment — while not being too far removed from the concentration of perfumes, which makes it possible to judge each material under evaporation conditions comparable to those of a perfume. And this is extremely important for forming a valid judgment.
The image of each material — the image that will eventually become engraved in the composer’s memory — will therefore be, for the convenience, regularity, and effectiveness of his judgments, his identifications, his classifications, and all his mental operations, the image of the material at the standard concentration: 10%, 1%, 1 per thousand, etc., according to its intensity.
This principle will prove very useful when it comes to evaluating materials in relation to one another. When the composer thinks of Linalool, it will be Linalool at 10%; when he thinks of Methyl Anthranilate, he will summon the image of the material at 1%, its strength at this concentration, its form — and he will grow accustomed to estimating, for instance, how much Methyl Anthranilate at 1% 1000 parts of Linalool at 10% could bear. This is the ABC of handling odorant materials. One can estimate the relative intensity of Decyl Aldehyde at 1 per thousand, or even 1%; one could not do so with that same material at 100%, where its strength would be virtually impossible to assess, as would its real (useful) quality.
The empirical establishment of a table giving the proportions in which mixtures of two or three materials would appear olfactively balanced — such a table would be a simplistic and dangerous solution. Simplistic, because the interactions that occur within a medium of fifty to a hundred elements, such as the formula of a perfume, are utterly incomparable to those of a medium of only two, three, or four elements. It would serve no purpose to know that A and B are balanced if introducing the rest of the alphabet calls everything back into question. All the more so because the construction of a perfume is not posed in terms of balance. It is not a matter of “balancing” the constituents of the formula, but of conjugating them in such a way that — balanced or not, it hardly matters — they work together to produce an “olfactory form” which will have such-and-such characteristics. (1)
It is a dangerous solution because, although laborious to establish, this table would be a lazy man’s solution. The composer who, relying solely on the table, combined his constituents in the proportions it indicated — quite apart from the fact that this would become wrong as soon as further materials were added — such a composer would never grow accustomed to considering each material in its relations with all the others, to fixing these relations in his memory in such a way as to build up, for each material, little by little, study after study, an image that encompasses both its physiognomy and its possibilities — that is to say, an image that reflects its entire personality. For it is with this personality that the composer will play; it is therefore this personality that he must assimilate, integrate into his own nature, until it becomes so familiar to him that he can juggle with it easily. When he knows it to that degree, then if he wishes to introduce it into a new combination, he will generally be able to foresee, intuitively, whether it will work or not, and how. For intuition is not a miracle but a spark that flies only when one has accumulated a sufficient charge of knowledge, experience, reflection, and meditation. And it is only by way of intuitions that one progresses, that one moves slowly but surely along the course of the study.
In this series there are also six crystalline bodies. Even less than with liquid materials, the action (form, behavior) of crystalline materials would not be appreciable in the 100% form, because their vapor pressure is generally lower. In studying them, and later in calling them to mind, one must not forget to associate with their image their crystalline form, which plays a role as such within a composition. Crystalline bodies often have a fairly high boiling point and evaporate rather slowly, hence a braking action on the other constituents of the formula, independently of their own tenacity which, naturally, can also play its retarding role.
But the behavior of crystalline bodies must not be systematized; their image must above all take account of their specific action, for there are singularities. Thus Heliotropin melts at 37°C and boils at 263°C. Coumarin melts at 68°C and boils at 291°C, but its tenacity is far greater than that of Heliotropin — more than the difference in boiling points would lead one to suppose. The tenacity of Vanillin, which melts at 83°C and boils at 285°C, is greater still — one of the greatest among odorant bodies.
Menthol melts at 51°C and boils at 211°C, while Camphor melts at 179°C and boils at 208°C. Despite their crystalline form, these are intense odors, and Camphor, although it only melts at 179°C, is extremely so. Another singularity of Camphor is its boiling point quite close to its melting point, its short-lived liquid state, and its ability to sublimate at ordinary temperature. These two bodies, although crystalline, are not to be considered as having an especially retarding olfactory effect within a composition, but rather a propelling action.
The three nitro musks — ambrette (m.p. 83°C), xylene (m.p. 114°C), and ketone (m.p. 137°C) — are, the last one especially, of extreme tenacity. Their retarding action is undeniable, although they “detach” themselves too distinctly at the end of the mixture’s evaporation, and consequently do not really give the impression of having held back the composition as a whole.
(1) Even more than the balance between the constituents of the formula, what should concern us is their sequencing — and that of the accords they will form.
4 — Jasmine Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Indian Jasmine Concrete | 2% |
| Egyptian Jasmine Concrete | 2% | |
| Indian Jasmine Absolute | 1.2% | |
| Egyptian Jasmine Absolute | 1.2% | |
| Ylang Concrete Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Ylang Extra Comoros Essential Oil | 10% | |
| 8:30 am | Linalool, Synthetic | 10% |
| Linalyl Acetate, Synthetic | 10% | |
| Benzyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Propionate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Formate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Phenylacetate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Butyrate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Valerianate | 10% | |
| 9:30 am | Alpha Amyl Cinnamaldehyde | 10% |
| Alpha Hexyl Cinnamaldehyde | 10% | |
| Hedione | 10% | |
| Cis-Jasmone | 1% | |
| Benzyl Salicylate | 10% | |
| Nonane diol-1,3-Acetate | 10% | |
| 10:00 am | Para-Cresol | 1% |
| Para-Cresyl Acetate | 1% | |
| Skatole | 0.1% | |
| Eugenol ex-Cloves | 10% | |
| Isoeugenol | 10% | |
| Indole* | 1% | |
| Indolene* | 1% | |
| Methyl Anthranilate | 1% | |
| Aurantiol* | 1% |
*Nitrated products, colour upon exposure to light.
Materials common to other series, which recur here, are to be studied each time within a new context and from a new perspective. They are all the more important for being universal. One must accumulate reference points with regard to them.
5 — Violet-Iris Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Iris | Orris Concrete, Florence | 6.5% |
| Orris Absolute | 1% | |
| Florentine Orris Resinoid | 10% | |
| alpha Irone | 1% | |
| 8:45 am | Ionones | Total Ionone | 10% |
| alpha Ionone extra white | 10% | |
| beta Ionone | 10% | |
| 9:30 am | Methyl Ionones | Iralia | 10% |
| Raldeine | 10% | |
| Methyl Ionone Gamme | 10% | |
| Raldeine Delta | 10% | |
| Isoraldeine | 10% | |
| 10:30 | Violet Leaf | Violet Leaf Absolute | 1% |
| Methyl Heptine Carbonate | 1% | |
| Methyl Octine Carbonate | 1% | |
| Methyl Nonylenate | 10% | |
| Cyclamen Aldehyde | 10% | |
| Irival (also iris) | 1% | |
| trans, cis-2,6-Nonadienal | 0.1% | |
| trans, cis-2,6-nonadienol | 0.1% |
Ionones and Methylionones have a rapidly inhibiting action upon the olfactory receptor. Do not prolong each olfaction by more than one second, on pain of no longer being able — or only poorly able — to smell these products. Proceed by brief sniffing, one minute’s pause, brief re-sniffing, one minute’s pause, and so on. For comparisons, it is preferable to have a strip in each hand but always to smell with the same hand, presenting each strip quite horizontally one centimetre below the nose, balancing the sniff under each nostril. The change of hand, performed calmly in five seconds, ought to permit a relative regeneration. Relative only — which makes any confrontation difficult. Bear it in mind.
6 — Anise and related Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Star Anis Essential Oil | 10% |
| Anethole | 10% | |
| para-Methoxyacetophenone | 10% | |
| Anisic Alcohol | 10% | |
| Anisic Aldehyde from Anethole | 10% | |
| Anisic Aldehyde from para-Cresol | 10% | |
| Anisyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Methyl Anisate | 10% | |
| Dihydro-dicyclopentadienyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Dihydro-dicyclopentadienyl Propionate | 10% | |
| 9:00 | Tarragon Essential Oil | 10% |
| Methyl Chavicol | 10% | |
| Basil Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Caraway Essential Oil | 10% | |
| laevo Carvone | 10% | |
| dextro Carvone | 10% | |
| Coriander Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Eugenol | 10% | |
| Linalool, Synthetic | 10% | |
| 10:00 am | Thuja Essential Oil (toxic!) | 10% |
| Tansy Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Thujone (toxic!) | 10% | |
| Spearmint Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Wormwood Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Sweet Fennel Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Bitter Fennel Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Cineol (Eucalyptol) | 10% | |
| Camphor Codex | 10% |
7 — Aromatic Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| Day One | 8:00 am | Lavender 50% Essential Oil | 10% |
| Lavandin “High Titre” Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Rosemary Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Sage Officinalis Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Clary Sage Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Terpenyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Terpineol | 10% | |
| Coumarin | 1% | |
| Day 1 | 9:00 am | Siberian Pine Essential Oil | 10% |
| Scots Pine Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Turpentine Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Borneol | 10% | |
| Isoborneol | 10% | |
| Bornyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Isobornyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Codex Camphor | 10% | |
| Day 1 | 10:00 am | Eucalyptus globulus Essential Oil | 10% |
| Eucalyptus citriodora Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Codex Eucalyptol | 10% | |
| Citronellal | 10% | |
| Spearmint Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Peppermint Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Pennyroyal Mint Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Codex crystallised Menthol | 10% | |
| Menthone | 10% | |
| Linalyl Acetate, Synthetic | 10% | |
| Day 2 | 8:30 am | Rue Essential Oil | 10% |
| Methyl Nonyl Ketone | 10% | |
| Methyl Nonyl Acetic Aldehyde | 1% | |
| Day 2 | 9:00 am | Parsley Leaf Essential Oil | 10% |
| Celery Seed Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Carrot Seed Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Angelica Seed Essential Oil | 1% | |
| Angelica Root Essential Oil | 1% | |
| Ambrette Seed Essential Oil | 1% | |
| Ambrettolide | 0.1% | |
| Day 2 | 10:00 am | Cumin Essential Oil | 10% |
| Cuminic Aldehyde | 10% | |
| Valerian Root Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Cherry-Laurel Essential Oil (toxic!) | 10% | |
| Benzoic Aldehyde | 10% |
8 — Greenery Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Nonadienol | 0.1% |
| Hyacinth Absolute | 1% | |
| Galbanum Essential Oil | 1% | |
| Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol | 10% | |
| Phenyl Ethyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Cinnamic Alcohol | 10% | |
| Cinnamyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Phenyl Propyl Alcohol | 10% | |
| Phenylacetic Aldehyde | 1% | |
| Dimethyacetal of Phenylacetic Aldehyde | 1% | |
| Phenyl Oxide | 1% | |
| Diphenylmethane | 1% | |
| Eromostyrene | 1% | |
| 9:30 am | Violet Leaf Absolute | 1% |
| Methyl Heptine Carbonate | 1% | |
| Methyl Octine Carbonate | 1% | |
| Nonadienal | 0.1% | |
| Nopyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Cyclamen Aldehyde | 10% | |
| Dimethyl Acetal of Cyclamen Aldehyde | 10% | |
| Diethyl Acetal of Cyclamen Aldehyde | 10% | |
| 10:30 am | Dimethyl Phenylethyl Carbinol | 10% |
| Dimethyl Phenylethyl Carbinil Acetate | 10% | |
| Dihydro Dicyclopentadienyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Dihydro Dicyclopentadienyl Propionate | 10% | |
| Cis 3 Hexenol | 1% | |
| Cis 3 Hexenyl Acetate | 1% | |
| Cis 3 Hexenyl Formate | 1% |
N.B. The products already smelt in the Violet series are to be reconsidered here as green notes, in a different spirit.
9 — Spice Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Clove Bud Essential Oil | 10% |
| Eugenol | 10% | |
| Isoeugenol | 10% | |
| Acetyl Eugenol | 10% | |
| Methyl Eugenol | 10% | |
| Methyl Isoeugenol | 10% | |
| Benzyl Eugenol | 10% | |
| Benzyl Isoeugenol | 10% | |
| 8:45 am | Clove Stem Essential Oil | 10% |
| Refined Clove Leaf Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Clove Terpenes | 10% | |
| Jamaican Pimentol Leaf Essential Oil | 10% | |
| St Thomas Bay Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Italian Juniper Berry Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Ceylon Ginger Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Madagascar Peppercorn Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Elemi Essential Oil | 10% | |
| 10:00 am | Ceylon Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil | 10% |
| Ceylon Cinnamon-Tree Leaf Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Cassia Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Cinnamic Alcohol | 10% | |
| Cinnamic Aldehyde | 10% | |
| Eugenol | 10% | |
| 10:30 am | Ceylon Cardamom Essential Oil | 10% |
| Cascarilla Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Terpenyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Codex Eucalyptol | 10% | |
| Lebanese Thyme Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Codex Thymol | 10% | |
| Carvacrol | 10% | |
| Ceylon Nutmeg Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Mace Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Marjoram Essential Oil | 10% |
10 — Wood Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 am | Virginia Cedar Essential Oil | 10% |
| Atlas Cedar Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Cedrol | 10% | |
| Cedryl Acetate | 10% | |
| Lixetone (Methyl Cedryl Ester) | 10% | |
| 8:00 am | Cypress Essential Oil | 10% |
| Bourbon Vetiver Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Indonedian Vetiver Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Haitian Vetiver Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Vetiverol | 10% | |
| Vetiveryl Acetate | 10% | |
| 8:45 am | Mysore Sandalwood Essential Oil | 10% |
| Santalol and derivatives | 10% | |
| Santalyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Indonesian Patchouli Essential Oil | 10% | |
| 15 minutes of Fresh Air | ||
| 9:30 am | Ionone Alpha Extra White | 10% |
| Methyl Ionone Gamma | 10% | |
| Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinyl Propionate | 10% | |
| Terpenyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Cyclamen Aldehyde | 10% | |
| Clove Terpenes | 10% | |
| Linalyl Acetate ex-Rosewood | 10% | |
| 30 minutes of fresh air | ||
| 11:00 am | Coumarin | 1% |
| Isobutyl Quinoleine (nitrated) | 1% | |
| Distilled Cistus Essential Oil | 1% | |
| Yugoslav Oakmoss Absolute, Ether | 1% | |
| Yugoslav Oakmoss Absolute, Benzol | 1% | |
| Tree Oakmoss Absolute, Benzol | 1% | |
| For reference | Rosemary Essential Oil | 10% |
| Petitgrain Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Black Pepper Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Angelica Essential Oil | 10% |
11 — Tobacco Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 am | Virginia Tobacco Alcoholic Infusion | 20% |
| Maryland Tobacco Alcoholic Infusion | 20% | |
| Burley Tobacco Alcoholic Infusion | 20% | |
| Ambergris Alcoholic Infusion | 20g/l | |
| 8:00 am | Scaferlati ordinary Tobacco absolute | 10% |
| Tea absolute | 10% | |
| Liatrix absolute | 10% | |
| 8:30 am | Coumarin | 10% |
| Tonka Bean Alcoholic Infusion | 20% | |
| Hay Absolute | 10% | |
| Flouve Absolute | 10% | |
| Flouve Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Lavender Absolute | 10% | |
| 15 minutes of fresh air | ||
| 9:30 am | Clary Sage Essential Oil | 10% |
| Broom Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Fig Leaf Absolute | 10% | |
| Virginia Cedarwood Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Cypress Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Indonesian Vetiver Essential Oil | 10% | |
| 10:15 am | Labdanum Absolute | 10% |
| Labdanum Essential Oil | 1% | |
| Opoponax Resinoid | 10% | |
| Myrrh Resinoid | 10% | |
| 15 minutes of fresh air | ||
| 11:00 am | Orris Resinoid | 10% |
| Oakmoss Absolute Yugoslavia Ether | 1% | |
| Eau de Brouts Absolute | 1% | |
| 11:15 am | Eugenol ex-Cloves | 10% |
| Miel Blanc de Laire (base) | 1% | |
| Phenylacetic Acid | 1% | |
| Methyl Quinoleine (nitrated) | 1% | |
| Isobutyl Quinoleine (nitrated) | 1% |
12 — Fruity Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Vanillin | 1% |
| Coumarin | 10% | |
| Heliotropin | 10% | |
| 8:30 am | Amyl Acetate | 10% |
| Benzyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Propionate | 10% | |
| Dimethyl Benzyl Carbinol Acetate | 10% | |
| Cis 3 Hexenyl Lactate | 10% | |
| Phenyl Ethyl Isobutyrate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Isobutyrate | 10% | |
| Amyl Isovalerianate | 10% | |
| Benzyl Isovalerianate | 10% | |
| 10 minutes of fresh air | ||
| 9:45 am | Dihydro Dicyclopentadienyl Acetate | 10% |
| Dihydro Dicyclopentadienyl Propionate | 10% | |
| Nonadienal (melon) | 0.1% | |
| Ethyl Allyl Acetyl Acetate | 10% | |
| Allyl Caproate | 10% | |
| Allyl Cyclohexyl Propionate | 1% | |
| 10:00 am | Allyl Phenoxyacetate | 1% |
| Aldehyde C10 Caprylic | 1% | |
| Aldehyde C11 Undecylenic | 1% | |
| Aldehyde C12 Lauric | 1% | |
| Fifteen minutes of fresh air | ||
| 10:45 am | Allyl Ionone | 10% |
| Ethyl Methylphenylglycidate | 1% | |
| Methyl Methylphenylglycidate | 1% | |
| para-Hydroxyphenylbutanone | 0.1% | |
| Labdanum Absolute (late evaporation) | 1% | |
| Nonalactone | 1% | |
| Undecalactone | 1% |
13 — Balsamic Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Vanilla Pods Alcoholic Infusion | 15% |
| Vanillin | 1% | |
| Ethyl Vanillin | 1% | |
| Tonka Beans Alcoholic Infusion | 25% | |
| Coumarin | 5% | |
| Heliotropin | 10% | |
| 10 minutes of fresh air | ||
| 9:00 am | Benzoic Acid | 10% |
| Benzyl Benzoate | 10% | |
| Linalyl Benzoate | 10% | |
| Methyl Benzoate (or Niobe) | 10% | |
| Ethyl Benzoate | 10% | |
| 9:30 am | Styrax Essential Oil | 10% |
| Cinnamic Alcohol | 10% | |
| Benzyl Cinnamate | 10% | |
| Ethyl Cinnamate | 10% | |
| Methyl Cinnamate | 10% | |
| Linalyl Cinnamate | 10% | |
| Phenyl Ethyl Cinnamate | 10% | |
| Phenyl Propyl Alcohol | 10% | |
| Ten minutes of fresh air | ||
| 10:30 am | Benzoin Resinoid | 10% |
| Peru Balsam Resinoid | 10% | |
| Tolu Balsam Resinoid | 10% | |
| Opoponax Resinoid | 10% | |
| Myrrh Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Frankincense (or Olibanum) Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Elemi Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Galbanum Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Labdanum Absolute | 10% | |
| Spanish Labdanum Essential Oil | 10% |
N.B. Vanillin, Ethyl-Vanillin (and therefore Vanilla) have a great inhibiting power upon the olfactory mucous membrane. Shorten the duration of each inhalation to one second and increase the spacing between them. Difficult products to judge well. Try to evaluate the difference in strength between Vanillin and Ethyl-Vanillin. Estimates vary between three and five times stronger for the Ethyl. Compare at different dilutions.
14 — Animalic-Musks Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 am | Civet Alcoholic Infusion | 30g/L |
| Skatole* | 1% | |
| Indole | 1% | |
| Civetone | 1% | |
| Phenylacetic Acid | 1% | |
| 8:15 am | Deer Musk Alcoholic Infusion | 20g/L |
| Muscone | 1% | |
| Exaltone | 1% | |
| Exaltolide | 1% | |
| Musk Ketone* | 1% | |
| Fifteen minutes of fresh air | ||
| 9:00 am | Muscomer | 1% |
| Galaxolide | 1% | |
| Phantolide | 1% | |
| Musk D.T.I. | 1% | |
| Musk Xylene | 1% | |
| 10:00 am | Ambrette Seed Essential Oil | 1% |
| Musk Ambrette* | 1% | |
| Ambretollide | 0.1% | |
| German Angelica Root Essential Oil | 1% | |
| 15 minutes of fresh air | ||
| 10:45 am | Ambergris Alcoholic Infusion | 20g/L |
| Ambrarome Absolute | 1% | |
| Labdanum Absolute | 10% | |
| Distilled Labdanum Essential Oil | 1% | |
| 11:15 am | Cumin Essential Oil | 10% |
| Cuminic Aldehyde | 1% | |
| Castoreum Resinoid | 1% | |
| Costus Essential Oil (inhibiting!) | 1% | |
| Phenyl Propyl Alcohol | 10% | |
| Phenyl Propionic Aldehyde | 10% |
*nitrated products
15 — Leather Series
| Time Series | Material Name | Dilution |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Rectified Birch Tar Essential Oil | 1% |
| Methyl Ionone Delta (Raldeine Delta Type) | 10% | |
| Irone Alpha | 1% | |
| Manevoro Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Orris Resinoid | 10% | |
| Para ter Butylcyclohexyl Acetate | 10% | |
| 8:45 am | Yugoslav Oakmoss Absolute, Benzol | 1% |
| Labdanum Absolute | 10% | |
| Distilled Labdanum Essential Oil | 1% | |
| 15 minutes of fresh air | ||
| 9:30 am | Costus Essence | 1% |
| Teak Wood Alcoholic Infusion | 25% | |
| Calamus Essential Oil | 10% | |
| 10:00 am | German Angelica Root Essential Oil | 1% |
| Cumin Essential Oil | 10% | |
| Castoreum Resinoid | 1% | |
| 10:45 am | Ambrarome Absolute | 1% |
| Civet Alcoholic Infusion | 30g/L | |
| Deer Musk Alcoholic Infusion | 20g/L | |
| Phenyl Propyl Alcohol | 10% | |
| Phenyl Propionic Aldehyde | 10% |
Bearings
It must be made clear that this study, capital for the composer’s first stock of knowledge — who is to learn to order odours — has a pedagogical value but does not intervene directly in the work of composition; for one does not compose with families but with individuals, whose particular comportments and interactions one must discover. This trade is, first of all, the school of patience, of attention, and of perseverance.
The methodical and attentive study of materials will allow each olfactory datum to be situated with sufficient precision in a (personal) mental repertoire, where the composer will recover it without fail if his first judgment was just and clear. In this mental repertoire, it is not words (too poor) that are inscribed but forms — more exactly, bearings of olfactory forms. An “odour-file” must nevertheless be kept, with a description that will later serve as an aide-memoire.
In the course of the study of the families of odours, and throughout his career, the composer will strive to make each newly observed odour fit into a scale of olfactory sensations, such as: cool to warm, light to heavy, dry to oily, bitter to sweet, acid to unctuous, sharp to deep, ethereal to balsamic, flowery to fruity, green to candied, fugitive to tenacious. The same product may enter into two or three different scales according to its multiple facets. Examples: Lemon in sharp and fugitive; Amyl Acetate in ethereal, fruity, and fugitive; Labdanum in deep, balsamic, tenacious, and fruity; Violet Leaf Absolute will be at once green, oily, tenacious, and flowery at high dilution, and so on.
These imaged bearings, for their part, have a practical value in the choice of materials the composer will make. Holding these scalar positions present in mind each time he handles an odorant product, the composer will say to himself: it is dry or it is oily, it is acid, it is tenacious, and so on. He will therefore treat and proportion the product, in his formula, as a function of its olfactory coordinates.
Imaged bearings can be recorded on a computer, and later, perhaps, they may be on thinking memories with sensitive sensors. Such as the active memory, of a name as modest as its inventor Doctor Jacques Sauvan — a prodigious machine which, even before microprocessors, had imagination, intuition, invented (7). It will be a new era for perfumery, but an era that can remain artistic only if it is man who directs the machine, and not the contrary. To man are reserved the essential and deliberate choices, the direction of operations; otherwise it is no longer art but industry.
The enormous baggage of knowledge that the composer will progressively accumulate will be constituted of a multitude of bearings: bearings of all the odours that will have struck his attention over the course of his life since childhood, bearings of each material studied, bearings of its reactions successively observed with other materials, bearings of ever more complex combinations, bearings of the great perfumes of the century, when one has had the good fortune to have memorised them in their original glory.
The interactions of materials may vary according to each new context. The greater the number of terms in the formula, the greater the confusion becomes, the less the formula is controllable. This is why formulas of several pages, such as do exist, are a veritable aberration. We have many times recalled that great works are simple, that simplicity consecrates the artist at his apogee. And this is all the more true in proportion as the materials are complex.
Each new formula is thus a particular case posing a new problem of right interpretation. The composer who does not wish to fall into the routine that leads to making the perfumes of yesterday and not those of tomorrow is therefore condemned to put himself back into question each day, with each formula, even if he has more than sixty years of practice.
One could not speak of the art of composition without this first prerequisite, of which what precedes is only a modest sketch. For composition is a construction, and one builds well only upon a prepared ground. Before building, one must draw up a plan, which would not be possible without the prerequisites.
Notes
(1) Edmond Roudnitska — L’Esthetique en Question — P.U.F., 1977, pp. 100–117.
(2) This applies to the study of raw materials. For compositions, the examination will be made at the concentration judged ideal for each composition, which will be smelt on paper strips for the convenience of the work, but verified, as often as possible, by spraying upon a human support.
(3) These figures evidently have nothing absolute about them and may vary according to the case, but we generally smell each of our perfumed strips far too often and especially far too long. We thus far exceed the possibilities of our sense of smell, and we become poor judges.
(4) “Duree de Perceptibilite des Odeurs” — Parfumerie, May–June 1944.
(5) And we shall never know the same state of consciousness twice, since the present minute is conjugated with the memory of all past minutes, and the future minute will be conjugated, in addition, with the memory of the present minute. And so on. This is why the same excitation cannot produce the same sensation twice. And it is also why, Madame, you find that your perfume is not today what it was yesterday. But there is nothing we can do about it.
(6) After sixty-five years of experience, I have come to the conclusion that priority must be given to a sufficient pause between two successive olfactions (several inspirations), the mental effort being directed toward the concentration and memorisation of the preceding olfaction. Otherwise the molecules of the two different odorants will mingle in the receptor.
(7) See detailed description in L’Esthetique en Question — P.U.F., 1977, p. 155.