A Decade of Scent
It’s been a while <3
January 2010, right around this time 10 years ago, I embarked on one of the scariest journeys of my life. Once I had found my love for perfumery, I set out to find a place where I would learn all that I could, and this was it! Within a year of applying and doing my interview with Clement Gavarry at IFF in New York, I finally started my new life in the south of France as a perfumery student.
This journey has been one of the most creatively challenging experiences, too. Everything was new. I learned about the materials I had dreamed of, absorbing everything like a sponge. I’ve made connections with people that will last a lifetime. I “succeeded” academically all the while struggling to integrate culturally. Personally, it is often a rougher ride than it seems on the outside. Living in Grasse was more isolating than I expected but it gave me the time and patience to be introspective, to focus on the craft I flew across the Atlantic to make my own.
(first day of school)
I also felt like my creative mind made sense for the first time, out there. Perfumery, a blend of so many worlds, gave me the freedom to access my cross-modal and multi-sensory universe and manifest that outward.
(our lab)
I am humbled by the trajectory my life has taken since. The reason I started thescentinel was to share what I had learned at the Grasse institute of Perfumery. The sole intention was to let people into our very closed-off industry. So much has changed in the last decade!
(Me and my fave, Max Gavarry at GIP’s 10 year anniversary)
While the OG scent bloggers held us down, Mark Behnke, EauMG, Kafkaesque, CaFleurebon, Persolaise, to name a few, and Basenotes and Fragrantica became our go-to databases and access to perfumers has increased immensely. We now have a wealth of knowledge available online and we can connect to each other much more efficiently. Look at how much the Institute for Art & Olfaction has done for example!
I hope that I have been able to give you insight and valuable information in these last few years. I do my best to share and there will always be something to discover.
(Entrance to our lab)
I’m so excited to be living my dream. 22 year-old me had so much to learn. Despite life's hardships and curveballs, the passion remains.
How am I different from her now? I ask myself that often. Do I have the same sparkle in my eye? I feel more jaded, to be honest... Sad to say but true. Having to be an entrepreneur when you’re an artist is by far the hardest thing for me. Taking myself out of the artistic practice and into an objective observer of the work. I am, however, stronger, more resilient, still full of ideas and excited to keep exploring my craft and myself in the process.
(On a walk, Grasse)
Ten years later, I look back and wish I had enjoyed it more. I let my sadness get in the way of taking in the moment but I am happy to have ended it with a perfume (and perfumes) I was proud of as well as positive, constructive feedback on what I had created. More importantly, my many memories of this small, charming town, with its narrow walkways and stoned, flowered streets are vivid and alive. I miss it. I look forward to going back.
