11 Hidden Insights from the World of Perfumers

Perfumers are a unique breed, blending artistry and science. They undergo intensive training, commit the scents of countless ingredients to memory, and dedicate years to perfecting their skills. It's said that there are more astronauts than perfumers in the world, as reported by the BBC.

For many perfumers, the job isn't just about selling fragrances; it's about evoking emotions, creating memorable moments, or triggering nostalgic memories. To uncover what it truly takes to craft exceptional scents, Mytour interviewed three perfumers who took very different paths to break into the industry.

1. Perfumers can recognize hundreds of individual ingredients by their scent alone.

Master perfumers are often referred to as a nez—the French term for 'nose'—and for good reason. These experts commit hundreds of scents to memory, distinguishing between ingredients that would be indistinguishable to the average person. Many can even differentiate between an essential oil and a synthetic compound, an impressive skill. 'You’re talking maybe 200 essential oils and about 1500 synthetic materials,' explains Jodi Wilson, a trained perfumer and fragrance sales manager at Orchidia Fragrances in Chicago, describing the ingredients used by perfumers.

The key, Wilson explains, is to link each scent to a specific memory. 'The more life experiences you have, the more memories you form, and that’s how you recall these raw materials when you start your training, because it might remind you of your grandmother, a flower shop, a bakery, or a particular chewing gum,' she shares with Mytour. (This connection between smell and memory is scientifically validated—according to a 2018 study by neurobiologists at the University of Toronto, the brain not only stores information about scents but also memories of where and when you first encountered them.)

2. A good sense of smell alone doesn’t make someone a great perfumer.

Many perfumers possess an extraordinary sense of smell. Christopher Brosius, a perfumer based in Jersey City and founder of the avant-garde fragrance brand CB I Hate Perfume (a nod to his disdain for mass-market scents), is one such individual. He discovered the strength of his olfactory abilities while working as a New York City cab driver. He found himself rolling down the window whenever an “offensive” perfume entered his car, causing an immediate stomach reaction.

However, many aspiring perfumers mistakenly think that having a 'good nose' is all it takes. 'That’s like saying that if you have 20/20 vision, you’re the next Picasso,' Brosius explains to Mytour. 'A sharp nose is certainly helpful, but I’ve met talented perfumers who didn’t have a superior sense of smell. What set them apart was their ability to think differently about scent and blend it in new and creative ways.' More crucial than a good sense of smell is imagination, an innate ability to recognize harmonious scents, and a commitment to developing a specific skill set and knowledge base, according to Brosius.

3. For many aspiring top perfumers, attending France's Givaudan Perfumery School is the ultimate goal.

Like many professional perfumers, Wilson received her training at what is now the Givaudan Perfumery School in France. Established in 1946, the school admits only one or two exceptional students each year out of thousands of applicants—and sometimes none at all if no candidates meet the school’s rigorous standards. Former director Jean Guichard has said that he handpicked students based on their character, talent, and drive. 'A perfumer should be a blend of a scientist and a poet,' Guichard shared with the BBC. 'When I meet someone, I can tell whether they have talent or not. I’m not interested in people who say, ‘I’m going to be a perfumer because it pays well.’ That doesn’t interest me at all.' (As for compensation, Wilson notes that entry-level perfumers start around $45,000 annually, though those in New York City tend to earn more. It's not uncommon for top-tier perfumers to make six figures.)

The Givaudan program, now extended to four years, is demanding. First, students must memorize roughly 1500 raw materials, says Wilson. They then learn to create accords, which are the fragrance notes (like rose or jasmine) that form the core of a perfume. The next step involves understanding perfume schemas (the 'skeleton' of a fine fragrance, made up of 10 to 12 materials) and studying the culture and history of perfume. 'It takes a long time to master all of that, and you’re doing it all day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s intense,' Wilson says. Upon graduation, students are offered positions at the Givaudan fragrance company, where they will continue their training, learning how to create perfumes under the mentorship of experienced professionals.

4. Attending perfume school isn’t the only path into the fragrance industry.

Brosius states that '99.9 percent' of aspiring perfumers would benefit from attending a perfume school. However, he took a different route, learning the basics of perfume-making by securing a job at Kiehl’s and completing their in-house training program.

It's rare for a perfumer to be self-taught, but it's certainly not impossible. One example is Mandy Aftel, a Berkeley-based perfumer who left a rewarding career in psychotherapy to pursue her growing passion for perfume-making. To learn about natural materials, she turned to fragrance books from the early 20th century, before synthetic materials flooded the market. Today, her Aftelier Perfumes company uses hundreds of natural ingredients—without synthetics—to craft distinctive scents, and she has built a loyal following. Despite their varied paths, all of these perfumers agree that this profession is 'a continuous learning process,' as Aftel tells Mytour. Both Brosius and Wilson mentioned it takes 20 to 25 years to truly master perfume-making, and even after 30 years in the field, Aftel still considers herself a 'beginner.'

5. Not all perfumers specialize in fine fragrances.

Fragrance is used in many ways, some of which we encounter daily without realizing it. Some perfumers focus on creating scents for 'industrial applications,' which can range from children’s toys to paint to fabrics, says Brosius. For products like toilet-bowl cleaners, cat litter, and asphalt, the objective is not to create a pleasant smell, but to mask an unpleasant one. Many of the perfumers working in the industrial side of the field have scientific backgrounds and often work for chemical companies rather than perfume brands, Wilson adds.

6. Some of the materials used by perfumers can be hazardous.

Certain undiluted ingredients, like cinnamon, can cause severe chemical burns upon contact with the skin. Brosius takes safety precautions by wearing gloves and goggles when blending materials, and some ingredients in his studio come with a 'do not open without authorization' label. He explains, 'We have a protocol here that when anything new arrives, it’s opened in specific parts of the building or even sometimes outside on the terrace, to avoid accidents like, 'Oops, I just spilled a single drop of aldehyde [an organic compound], and now the whole building is uninhabitable, though next week it will smell like ginger ale!’

7. They want you to be aware that your aromatherapy lotion might not contain the rose, jasmine, or other ingredients promised on the label.

Labels can be misleading. If you’re purchasing an 'aromatherapy' lotion or shower gel that claims to have rose, sandalwood, or jasmine but is priced at just $15, that’s a red flag. Wilson points out that these ingredients can cost thousands of dollars per pound. In reality, it’s more likely that cheaper products contain only a drop or two of the natural oils mentioned—just enough to list them on the label—along with a variety of synthetic ingredients designed to replicate their scent.

8. They don’t always work on fragrances they personally enjoy.

Marketing is a significant factor in the price of perfume, especially at the high end; the perfume industry spent roughly $800 million on marketing in 2016, according to Bloomberg. 'Ninety percent of the time, the cost of the juice in that bottle is a fraction of the price,' says Brosius.

One reason perfumers often can’t fully embrace their creativity is due to marketing pressures. 'Most perfumers at big houses aren’t always satisfied with their work,' says Brosius. 'For every fine fragrance they get to develop, they’re also required to create many subpar ones. A lot of it depends entirely on the demands of the marketing team.'

Companies are increasingly risk-averse, and as Wilson notes, perfumes today aren't necessarily designed to stand the test of time. 'In the past, a 'classic' fragrance would last for 20 years—think Chanel No. 5 and similar perfumes,' she explains. 'Now, it’s uncommon for a fragrance to remain popular even for a decade.'

9. The scent of puppies is nearly impossible to reproduce—but perfumers are still trying.

Brosius has tackled some bold challenges over the years, including recreating the scents of snow and wet earth, but some smells remain elusive. The reason is that the necessary aroma chemicals haven’t been developed yet. This includes the scents of gasoline, champagne, certain wines, and even some animal odors. 'Especially with puppies and kittens, the molecules required to accurately replicate those smells simply don’t exist in a perfumer’s toolkit. You can’t solvent extract puppies and kittens for their smell,' Brosius explains, referring to a method of using chemical solvents to extract aromas from raw materials, like flowers.

Despite the unusual nature of some of his creations, Brosius has mastered the art of crafting 'a context so strong that people believe they’re smelling something that isn’t actually there.' For example, his roast beef fragrance doesn’t contain any roast beef, but it does include hints of parsley and black pepper. This type of scent, and others like it, aren’t designed for personal wear. Instead, Brosius compares them to modern 'smelling salts,' meant to rejuvenate and relieve stress. 'You just open the bottle, take a breath, and your system automatically resets to calm,' he explains.

10. Perfumers sometimes work with whale poop.

One of the more unusual materials perfumers use is ambergris, a rock-like substance derived from sperm whale excrement that occasionally washes ashore. Aftel, who is fortunate to have some at her olfactory history museum, the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents, describes the process of turning this mass of crushed squid and cuttlefish into an aromatic oil. She grinds it with a mortar and pestle, adds alcohol, heats it up, and lets it age. In liquid form, ambergris has a fragrance that Aftel describes as 'heavenly'—an amber, shimmery scent that’s a miracle of transformation. 'It’s been referenced in Herman Melville’s *Moby Dick* and was even a 17th-century ice cream flavor,' she adds, highlighting its rich history.

11. They keep wool nearby to combat nose fatigue.

Wool serves as the olfactory equivalent of cleansing the palate with sorbet between courses. When you’ve been exposed to the same scent for an extended period or sniffed several perfumes in quick succession, your olfactory receptors can become desensitized, a phenomenon known as olfactory fatigue. This explains why you might stop noticing a particular smell after just a few minutes.

'If you’re surrounded by a lot of scents, your nose can just sort of shut down,' says Aftel. To reset her sense of smell, she keeps wool nearby, and taking three big whiffs does the trick. Why does this work? Aftel suggests that the lanolin in wool may absorb and neutralize odors, giving the brain a much-needed break from sensory overload. As for those coffee beans you sometimes see in perfume stores? 'They definitely don't work,' Aftel adds.