The beginner face to face with the

perfumer’s palette

By Edmund Roudnitska
Master Perfumer, Cabris, France

hc way a Iwginncr qq>maches his first ccdlec- pmpriate pmspectiv< for giving pmmnality to frag-

T timb of frctgrmwe matcri:ds

h<, is to itssitniktte
is most importwlt
thi+n properly
cot]sidev<dlle in fltlencc on the wq he will deal with
and will Ilwe
if rances.
categol-ies
present-cfay
By making use of the system of rciei-cmcc
one can umwr the whole gamut of the
pcrlutner’s palette, fir it is easy to irwOr-
them thro[lgho{tt his career. poratc (M most people would agree) unda the cfiffer-
/\ good Inmthod ol tcwhiug }]im to memorise the ent series the Imajority of most commonly used mate-
Larious Iragmncws is to gro,,p thcm in “l:m)ilies” or ri:ds, together with new matrrials as and when they
“s<.ries. ” In the, CMV of the young people b whmc nppear o,, the market. To jmti[y yet another series
(raining I was p:mtly responsible, I restricted the thvre wmtkl Imvc: to Ix: emmgh new individual mate-
tlt,ml>,:r to 15 difte,-ent series: (Zitrt,s, Rose. orange ri:ds which COIIM he assignee] to it and which win-e not
Flow?,, J:lsminc, \:iolet-Iris, At)isc,-like, Hcrhal, to he, finmd in thy swim listed :Ihovc,.
( ;Wc,,) , spice>woody,” ‘fi)hmo>Frwity, 13alsan1ic, In each series are eutwed the relevant natural
At,im;d, ond Lc,athc:r. products, or those: associated with it, together with
‘t’l,e order in which I Iuwe listed them has Iweu the ]muin chemica 1 constituents OS the oils. At the
<+OSCN delihcmtely. 11)? list begins with thv simplest, mttsct one must avoid crammille, the series imd avoid
tnost commm> and u,ost widely usmf f:lmiliw s,lch m overloading the heginncr with too kir~e a nurnher of
,.,itrlls A identiliid)le fhwals and the,} goes 011 to Mottws to compare, for he will fill lmt and wilf not
,nore sprcilic series, ending with those th:lt we the have sufficient time to stlldy them in depth. I cannot
htwicst ancf thv ]rlmt exotic. give here the cmnph,tc list 01 my standard series, km
There is no point i,, rooking the list hmger, ftw this this would t,lke tq] more space than Stw)ley .411tmed
WOIIICIco],,plicite mot{crs needlessly fbr thc~ hegiuner would hc prepared to allow m,. So 1 will henceforth
;md tlpsct ttw clwsif ’icatiml of fr<qqmmcs hy f<unilies. linnit mywlf to the Citrus series :,s m, emmplc of the
So 1 mn not i,] [Link] of hwing a series br each incfi- tmc,thodology fir st!tdyi,,g a series. However, it is easy
vidmd tlmver, since ‘l~ll)eruse cml h{, regarded as a to Iind, in trade literature, the nmnes of oils relating
sl,l)-cotc gory of Jmmine, anc I Narcissl,s, Lily of the to thv 15 se-rim already mentioned imd their main
Vnlley, [Link] y ;m[f f Iyaci)tth Iwlong in tlw Crecm smies. chemical constituents, if one Ii)nits oneself to shout
Similwly, (km)ution is classified tmclm Spice, Mimos:t thirty mimes per series. The kginner will then have
is At)ist-like, Jonquil Iwlm, gs in the (hange Flower all his life to add to thetrl
series, mtd Cwdenia is Fn, ity. There n,ight hc somc- This ckmsification hy series or fimilies is 01 g]-e,it
thi, ]g to lx, said fi]r u Bitter series, hy aniifogy with the teaching wduc; hut it is 0S no interest during the ac-
sq]id t:M, I(mtld i,, fl;ivmms, a typical lXLlnflk of tual process of composition, siucc one does nut cou -
which would he crIIII Ipled leaves from the, hitter pme with swim c)r i:uni lies hut with individual mate-
<w:t,,ge t,-cc:, Rl,t this partic:ukw odour cm alreacly he rials that one must do one’s utmost tc) gauge, first iu
vklssitic<l tlt,dm’ (:itrus, Or:mgc Flower, and (;reen thv course of exercises, ancl kiter during resewch
So wh:,t is the, poiut of crmkting yet another series? work, w as to prmlict the interactions u it whole
The systtvu 01 cklssitk:,ttion we have adopted dso within :Lhknd. It is during the :ihove operations th:it
flas the Mlv<mt:q?,cs 01 appealing immediately to the intuition is of particular importance, fir the complex-
lm:lgm:tion ml{ I o Ihcing easy to memorise. It cmahles ity OF the coml]iuiltirms is suc h that there is not time
the stldcnt to pir,point oclours, to classif’y them, to enough to check everything, and herwe, to grwp ev-
,grcmp thrm, d :tssociatc them with e:tch other 01,. erytlbiug. Without intuition intelligent techl, ical
.jectivcly: >Ltld this ticil it:itm the exchange ol ideas :md stucly of cmnpositiwl is impossible, and rt+earch so
Iwlps to sihmtc a prodlwt under discussion in its q- uncertoin in its Iinciings m to Ix: vil-tuallv useh:ss. This

Vltl Essenii.1 Oil Congress 1980 0361 -8587/80/03 E0-2301 $02. CJ3/0-@> 1980 Allured Publishing Corp. Per [Link] & [Link]/23
The beginner perfumer

,X,>,,,,) w,!,,,, ,1,,>,,,{’

.! %“, ,.,,,,
,,,.,,.,,,,,,
,,,,
,..,,,,,
(,,,
,!,,,,,, , ,!,,.!.,,,
,,.,,<.,),,.!<,.,,,,!.
,!,,) .!,<,,),.
c,,cwp ,,J ,,,,>,,.,s(!,>,,.,+
.,, )>,0 ,,,,
,.,,>,,,,, ,,,, ,0’.
,.,,,)!. ,,,, ,0
,’,.,,,..,, ,,, ,.,,,,,,,,,.,,, ,.,, 1“
,,,,.,
,,!, !!!)..!! If,

The ol)jc,ct (II Grou13 I is to u)mparc the kdlowing

four essvntial Lemo, ), Bcrgamot,
oils: Orange,
‘Lulget-ine. “11)? ol)ject of (; I-OUP 11 is to study Ffe,--
!4tm<)t and its c’onstitucwts. T})e ol,ject of Crotq> 111 is
to stttdl the Lemomlike odours md their COII-
stitucwts. T’hc, ol]ject of (;roup IV is to study the v<lri-
0(, S omngc.s, orange,-like, OCIOU I-S and theil. cotu
stitl]ents, Thv ohjvct OS Crmip v is to study the
‘lhngcrinc,, t:tngc:riue,.like O<IOIIB-SNB)<I tl, eir cot L-
Stlt,, (,, ]ts.
[ choose :1 M<md:iy lnontil,g to st:wt cod] wric:s
([Link] of odmlrs). After :1 fymcl night’s rest, stools,
hrcukllst ot (i ~.w, w,ishi,tg w)( 1 dressitlg (without
using perlll)ne); tl]en jogging Ic)l- 30 tminutes witlt
hre:lthi)lg mcrcisc:s. [)11 returning :1 glws 0S pure
water A the,, to work.
All [Link] hlo(tcrs shou Id IIUVV IIN21 prepawd
th[; previous d;ty witli thv lmmes OS the products and
the dittc :N)cl ti]nc of dipping. The hlot(ers should he
kept in w, OC1OI),-IVSS ho. ovvr,,ight. A not. shwt should
h< m:dc availahlc to trmke )mtes without losing a sc,c-
oncl 01:111 the impr(+sioms arolisrd hy each succwsivv
snlclling.
( ;e),twdly spc;iking, Mlow tltv rt,ks kticl down in
“S:wons -nous srntir’?” (’rl!(: !,111, ,Ig p[:rf’f,lfwr (In(l
.sumb Dr<IgOCI) Report. .4/(2 pttges $X? to 103.)
.% person who is goi)tg to SI,IC, II products unk)lowu
to hiln for the Iirst time t,)llst rcdisc that such i)npres-
si(ms wv ir)-c,pl:lccd)lc (1 will revwt to this point) ad
that c,otlec,)ltr:ttiot,” is itlclis12ctls:ll)le. L)t, ring thc,sc
pvrimls spcmt it] studyitlg series one mllst cut otlest!ll
olY completely I’ltt (q> a “110 ,not dist,lrl)” m)ticw on
the door and disvonlwct the tclqhone ‘331? smtt,cl of
it 1)..11ringing :tt the cmcia I moment when you. ch:c:p
i,, c[)llc(~[)ti-iiti,]r], we cm the, vc:rgc of grq)ill~ n
[,6M,w,: or [incling tllc~ )-ight word to clmoil)e ttw svl I-
s:iti (m, will r(ti~) mmything. h, will never recq]tllre
tht> s:mw imprt+sio)!.
\Vorsv still, th( irritation)] (:wIsc4 hy an untim<,ly

Vlll Essential Oil Congress 1980

Vlll Essential Oil Congress 1980 Perfumer & F1.v.rist125
 The beginner perfumer

Every cflhrt mltst IIP made to ucmte this kind of

suqlriw efkt when stttilyin,g composition, hy spaein~
tests or trials suficicmt[y, hy periodically intwwpting
thmn fhr months on end, in ol-der to :wwid I]ewm]illg
OI]WSSM1 hy thi, m, in orclw to fimget tbnn WK1fimnukt
s<) that 0111,Can 111(,11rmwt to (me’s [Iefiiwed test Wld
tm:lkc a Ihrthcr attempt, q>proaching the t,uk with ii
t)resl, d ilnpwtin] mim I It is diflia,lt fhr it requires a
strong chwwter, much pemevemnce umi gl-eat ,mct, -
td honmty. But what woncldul tv,liuiug! And wh:lt
,i,l Aeiveme,,t, vdmt o wlicl it is, to Ic,c,l your judg -
]Ilent lmcolrlin~ r,iore ol}jectivc :m,d men. rchahlc. 111-
(crruptin~ u task is not tlte SW,,C: tl, ing w giving up
0,,,:’s joh complc>tely Onc is simply gi>in~ oueself ,t
hrcak hy switchin~ frmn mw pivcx of NWMW1, work to
mlolhcr.
‘1’he ptTs(m who st, iffs shm,hl
km;p u &Me wutch on)
his own hehavimu and on his oh’tory mlwmts nlc!Tl-
I)ranc d’tw thv difthnt mcrtions inllicted upon it.
Hr mt(st not hold blotters closer than 1 cm to his
uostrils, otherwise he will contaminate his t)ose A
UPM subsequent snifiux sessions.
;Vmer ,snijf in (L ldmrator!{ or in d plau 111(11is not
f!w .fr<)lll O([o!ir.$ How many firms eu:d>le their per.
fl~mers to respect this c,lementwy rIIle’? I’mtcxt your-
self ixmtinwdly +qainst the iusiclimts attack of odoum,
whotcvc:t they m+, he. Any fiirc:ign oclmw interierm
,,11(1 1),1s all a(iv(!rsc elkct on the judgmcmt. This
should [w c,nough to cot,clemu toh:wco Nmt:r snifl
too SOOB,:Lltcr eating or dri,,ki,)g. .&ltcr cd] IB,ed,
hnish your teeth cwell[lly in older to eliminate ally
tmce of fired that ,might ht. likely to deay :md there-
fi)r[! to l-muse ,, s,r,l’ Il. and rimw your mouth with a
pinch O( hiv,uhon;ite of sod:> it, a glass (If lukewarm
watm so m to t)eutmlise 2U)Y possible acidity I;or
I)rdlillx, 11s<, :111 Lll,sumted toothpaste.
I]o mt suifl less thm m hour aftm YOU. IIIed, hc-
cause ym, will still he snmlling \vhat you ;tte. Take
th[se restrictions into Kcm,nt when drawing LIP sni~-
in~ tinwtahles, imcl do not w,~ste tinw t~fter a mcd if
you Iui.v to snifF ;tfterwards. B,,t the most ef!icient
s,, iKing smsioms or<: those held in the morning.
rhe prwhlds OF Cd sc:ric:s we to be Mowd ml
ttw hh)ttcr ,1s long as a tlmce 1)I Sr;lgratme is still per-
cwptihlc Suiff the dried down blotters in the morm
iux, aft(!r w<uhillg, dressing and taki,lg a hrcath of
fresh air, I]ut Imfirc hrei,[Link] This is a task th:tt mltst pm[h,ct.
necwsswily 1>(, clone :M homw Begin, n:iturcdl!, with The risks OF ,nisjt,dgi!lg wh:tt tit< lxst proportions
the I]k]tters tlmt hove: clried C1OVWthe ,nost, starting we for comhininu Immm)c:w wi II thus Iw less th:tt, ii
with the weakest.
Ouring the study OF odours hy series, I>r(wthiug
sessions hetwtwn each series we itlclisIll:tls:il]lt, to cn -
suw both an adequ:ltc I-cgvtler:ltiotl of the olfktory
m[, cous meruhrane I also ment.d reklmtion.
:111[ De-
vote part of tlw time to a short jog and tlw rc:st to
rvkimtion with I)rw,t},ir,g c,xercism, on vour WWYI):lck
to the ollice. tt is ;IISO i]nportant to know how to M.
gvtlv~<ttc the >nllcous mernhr:me dttring the st,tcly of
sc,-ies, I]etwmm two snillinx phases hy tokinx:> IUBWIU1
of Ire+ ail- i~t the, window. These. det,tils w(! very in-
po]-t;mt to cmsure thd the work at h:md is curried ollt
efficiently m,cl acc!lrately.

26/Per fum.r & [Link]

 simple ;m<l dw, germ, s soltttion It would be over-
simpk: Iwwmse the interactions that occur within, a
I,ltn)d cot~sistit~g of ’fift} or a hundred constituents, M
is the case in a perfumv fimn]ukk, c:ulnot [w cxMTIparm{
with the it~teructio, ts lx,t~,crrl only two, thr~e or eve, )
(hu. comstit,,ents, It is ),,, t,se knowing th~kt A :md B
w’c; lmlaucccl, Ilc:cmusc on<<, you int,-odlwv thy rwt of
the +lldwt twyr?thi,lg is upset.
Such :1 tall]<: is the ,),oT. pointless hwzmsc a pc:r-
fltmc, is not constmctecl in ter,ns of ;, lmloncc:, In a
tiwmuki, m)? is not concc,rned with “lmku~ciu~” (IIC
dillc, rcmt cwnstituvnts, I],,t with Illcncling the,,, l,:it--
,Ilor)iol,sly, i,, s,,ch a v,uy th;tt, wl, vther h:ll:mcm[ or
[lot (this is (If Iittlt, impoi-tance since dissi~[l;t,lct. call
,11s0 Iw exploited), thcw! constitue,lts will comhinc to
crcwtc w, olfktol-y form having such WI(I s,wh ch:uac-
teristics. MIA more import,u)t tlum the hal:mw hv-
twww the constitumlts is the way they merge: with
ewh othor, ond the chorch th:lt they p)mdu<:e, tlmt is
to say th? tnelodic Lspc,et 01 the Colnl]ositioll. A cwlBl-
pmition that is Imerely Ixikuwecl gives u st,ttic per-
It,mc, :, I>locked pcrttm>c., and rvse[uhlc,s n Ikc tlmt is
devoid 01 rxpressiou. A w(:II c,ompwsed pcrl[(mc is
nmwssiuily alive d dynamic.
SuCh u t<thh: would :11s0 he dm)gcrous since even
though drmving it up wo,,ld involve luird work, it
would i,[Link] encoumge kriiness amongst its l,s-
ers. 1,1 [Link] a compose,- who rcliccl solely on the tahlc,
and combined his constituents in) the proportion that
it imlicatd, would SOON he in It)r a mde awakcming,
As soon w you ;tdcl a second pair to the original hitmry
“h;,kmmd” hlencl, the first h:,l:mce will h. upset since
it has Iwcn studied on the hwis 01 twu pmdtmts xnd
,mt I(NU For precisely the sa,r,v rewon disordw will
also occur i onc adds new p:lirs tlmt were pr(!viou sly
,,,,,,,.,<,. ‘
But wh,tt is worst ol d] is that the cmnposcr who
relies thlu Llpoll his td)le wi II !Il+ct to t<dw the
tmuhlc to study eoch of his products in rt+tim to N
the. others. Consmp)mtl y he will nut [)c Ale to fix
these relationships in his ,nemory so M to crcatc in his
mind, gradually Ihr each product iu the course of his
studies, m image that comprises both the q)pearalme
of the product md its possibilities of wsociatiort, that
is to S;LYan image that reflects its whole personality.
For it will he the .wnpos.r’s joh to juggle with that
pers< malit y. I Ie must therefore assimiklte it, integrate
it iuto his own personality so that it Iwcom(:s w tinil-
iar to him that he cm juggle with it with NISC.
once he 11:1srcwc }w<1 this sta~e 01 familiarity witl!
each product. when the time comes to introduce it
into :i new cwmhin:ttion, the composer will hc able to
predict intuitilc,ly whether it will s],ccfwil or not and
to vdmt extent, For intuition is not a miracle hn,t a
spark th:{t is kindled only when the compose. has
accumulated sufficient knowledge, expericnees, rc-
[Link] and n,editations; and it is unly hy strokes of
iutuition that h, will progress :md rnakc his w:,) 16r-
w,urcl, slowly hut wwel y, thrmqgh a piece of reseal-ch.
In certain series d’odmms there are uystdline sull-
[Link]. Even 1<:ss than in the .:,s[: o S liquid products,
the acticm (olfictory form, strength, perkmnwme) 01

Vlll Essential Oil Congress 1980 Perfumer & [Link]/27