Natural Perfume Adventures: Part Two

This fall provided some great opportunities for my natural perfume studies. Soon after working with award winning perfumer Jessica Hannah, I attended a workshop with another expert in the world of natural perfume: Charna Ethier of Providence Perfume Co.

Providence has become one of my favorite cities; seeing it in autumn was definitely a treat . . .

This is where the workshop took place: Providence Perfume Co., located in Providence, Rhode Island.

The topic of this workshop was creating Oriental style perfumes. Before we began blending our formulas and perfumes, our instructor passed around incredible vintage perfumes. One of the most famous Oriental perfumes (pictured below) is Shalimar:

What is an Oriental perfume? The scent is often rich and ambery. They tend to convey warmth, sensuality, and sophistication. I especially like to wear these perfumes during fall and winter.

​A few examples of perfumes that could be classified as Oriental:
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• Shalimar
• L'Heure Bleue
• Coco
• Angel

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One of the best parts of the workshop was creating four different styles of Oriental perfumes.
These are the four we created:
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• The Classic Oriental ~ classic, ambery scent utilizing essences like benzoin, vanilla, and tonka
• The Gourmand Oriental ~ has edible and dessert-like qualities

• The Spicy Oriental ~ contains spices such as cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg
• The Floriental ~ Oriental with a floral twist​

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There was a lot of learning and blending packed into this weekend intensive!

After class, it was relaxing to stop by the local coffeehouse where I could sip on a warm drink and digest some of the knowledge I had acquired. I thought back to my original perfume intensive in Providence, which inspired my first (and still one of my favorite) botanical perfumes: 
​Cafe Providence. 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse inside a natural perfume workshop. If you're interested in trying an Oriental style natural perfume, please check out ​Labyrinth in the store.  

Have you ever tried an Oriental style perfume? Feel free to share in the comments below.