I am in Grasse for a two-week course at Grasse Institute of Perfumery, GIP. Actually I started this trip three years ago when I wrote to the school to ask if there were places available. I didn't go then, life took a different path and led to me to other priorities. But now I am here and today was the first day. We are eleven students from all over the world and with different perspectives on perfume which creates a very interesting setting for discussions. And we have Laurence, I could not imagine a better teacher.
We spent a big part of the day smelling separate notes from different olfactive categories and Laurence told us how they are used, practical significant things like prices and how they affect creation and gave us fantastic insight into the work of a perfumer. We also looked at the differences between naturals and synthetics, this was absolutely fascinating. Both to hear about strengths and weaknesses with both and to compare by smelling.
No matter how much one reads and thinks and smells perfumes there is nothing that can substitute the enormous privilege of having a real lab with so many notes of such quality to discover separately. This is such a luxury. I cannot wait for tomorrow. As Laurence says, "At 9 o'clock we smell".
I will share more with you during these next two weeks, I am just so overwhelmed today that I do not know where to start. I don't know how many of you reading this have had the experience of brining out a private passion into the spotlight and just doing it, making it concrete, booking that thing you dream about doing and going there. It is a sacred experience. I feel privileged that I can do this and grateful for being here.
To be continued... I leave you with some photos from yesterday and today and wish you whatever it is that you need - money, confidence, support, timing or other - to follow your inner dream and let it take you to really special moments in your life. Sometimes it is closer than we think.
A special thanks to Clayton at What Men Should Smell Like (is there any perfume blog better than this!?) for some much appreciated preparation support.
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| Treasures. |
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| Bought some old perfume posters in the old town. |
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| Very motivated student! |
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| The luxury of all this there to discover... |
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| There is a shop here with only vintage flacons... |
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