in northern France. It’s an overwhelming smell of vanilla and gingerbread cookies from the bakery
nearby. The perfume creator makes scents that can stir strong emotions, such as love or hate. He
should not have personal preferences in the scents he uses.”
On perfumes and music: “I do not think, though, that perfumery and music are strongly connected.
Perfume is already music by itself. Nevertheless, I like to listen to Johann Sebastian Bach, who is my
favorite composer.”
On the allure of perfumes: “There are two types of people who buy perfumes. The first category
determines the perfume like a sociocultural product that helps them create a new identity. This
approach helps to market the perfumes, but the success is very short-lived. In this case, you buy an
idea, not a juice! Another category of people is attracted by pure smell. They choose more personal
scents that relate to them and bring out something new in their characters.”
On personal preferences: “I do not use perfume often. When I work, it is impossible. I prefer to
keep my senses fresh so that nothing interferes with the olfactive tension. However, I wear Ambre
Sultan in the evening sometimes... and a lot of it!”
On natural beauty: “Natural beauty, for me, is to exist as one feels. When something is natural, you
feel it instantly.”
Making Your Own Fragrance Blends
To create your own perfume, you only need water, a spirit, and the essential oil blend of your
choice. Essential oils can also be diluted by means of neutral-smelling lipids such as jojoba or
coconut oil and then blended with wax to create a solid perfume. You’ll also need a pipette and
small, dark glass bottles for storing your fragrance creations.
The most concentrated perfume extract should contain 20 to 40 percent fragrant oils, the rest being
water and spirit mix or neutral oil. Perfume oils should always be diluted because undiluted oils
contain high concentrations of volatile components and will likely cause irritation if applied directly
to the skin. Please note that many essential oils can adversely interact with drugs. I would not
recommend using any fragrances during pregnancy or when breast-feeding.
Nature has provided us with an abundance of beautiful scents—rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, tea
rose, sandalwood, and chamomile, to name a few, all are available as essential oils. Get creative,
save money, and make your own earth-friendly perfumes!
You can blend your favorite essential oils to create your signature scent, but don’t use more than
eight drops of essential oil and fragrant extracts of your choice per ounce beeswax and jojoba oil. Try
one or more of the following traditional essential oils that are believed to stimulate the senses and
reportedly have aphrodisiac qualities: frankincense, black pepper, myrrh, cinnamon, vetiver, neroli,
cardamom, cedarwood, ginger, violet leaf, nutmeg, hyacinth, benzoin, mimosa, and lemon verbena.
Green Eau de Toilette
1 ounce vodka