Olfactory art and perfumery is a hobby that involves exploring and creating scents using natural or synthetic ingredients. It can be a fun and rewarding way to express your creativity, enhance your sensory awareness, improve your mood and well-being, and discover new scents and sensations. To get started, you will need some basic tools and materials, such as essential oils, alcohol or carrier oil, glass bottles, pipettes, and blotter strips. You will also need to educate yourself on the basics of olfaction, the history and culture of perfume and olfactory art, and the classification and characteristics of different scents and fragrance families. You can find many resources online, such as books, videos, courses, blogs, and podcasts, to help you learn and practice Olfactory Art and Perfumery. You can also join online or local communities of other hobbyists and share your creations and feedback. Olfactory Art and Perfumery is a fascinating and rewarding hobby that can enrich your life and stimulate your mind. Have fun exploring the world of scents!
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Olfactory Art and Perfumery
as a hobby
Smell is a potent wizard that transports us across a thousand miles and all the years we have
The World I Live In, Helen Keller
lived.
Helpful content to start olfactory art and perfumery as a hobby
We aim to provide accurate information, but errors might be found. Always exercise judgment and discretion.
📼 Videos
Short visual inspiration.
🎙️ Podcasts
Play an episode while exploring the page.
Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains.
A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman
📜 Terms
Basic lingo for orientation.
- Olfactory art: An art form that uses scents as a medium. Olfactory art can include perfume as well as other applications of scent. Olfactory art has been a recognized genre since at least 1980.
- Perfume: A liquid mixture of fragrant substances that is applied to the skin or clothing to create a pleasant smell. Perfume can be considered a form of olfactory art, but not all perfumes are artistic. Perfume is also a product of the design and cosmetic industries.
- Notes: The individual scents that make up a perfume or an olfactory artwork. Notes are classified into three categories: top, middle, and base. Top notes are the most volatile and fade quickly, middle notes are the main body of the scent, and base notes are the most lasting and provide depth and stability.
- Fragrance extraction: The separation process of aromatic compounds from raw materials, using methods such as distillation, solvent extraction, expression, sieving, or enfleurage. The results of the extracts are either essential oils, absolutes, concretes, or butters, depending on the amount of waxes in the extracted product. Fragrance extraction can be done at home or in a laboratory.
- Essential oils: Volatile and aromatic liquids that are obtained from plants, such as flowers, leaves, roots, bark, etc. Essential oils are the main ingredients of perfumes and aromatherapy products.
- Absolutes: Highly concentrated and viscous liquids that are obtained from plants, such as flowers, leaves, roots, bark, etc. Absolutes are more complex and closer to the natural scent of the plant than essential oils, but they are also more expensive and difficult to work with. Absolutes are often used in fine perfumery and olfactory art.
- Concretes: Semi-solid and waxy substances that are obtained from plants, such as flowers, leaves, roots, bark, etc. Concretes are the intermediate products of making absolutes.
- Butters: Solid and creamy substances that are obtained from plants, such as seeds, nuts, fruits, etc. Butters are mainly used for skin care and cosmetic purposes, but can also be used to make solid perfumes or olfactory artworks.
- Synthetic molecules: Compounds that have been artificially created or modified by chemical reactions.
- Nez: Nez is a French word that translates to nose in English. In the context of perfumery, it refers to a perfumer’s olfactory sense and their ability to distinguish and identify different scents. NEZ is also the name of an independent group that operates in the field of olfactory culture around the world.
❗ How to start olfactory art and perfumery as a hobby
First moves for getting acquainted and breaking the ice.
- Scents are based on science. It might be overwhelming to start experimenting with scents without any foundation.
- Start by listening to the podcast The Art of Perfume Making: A Beginner’s Guide.
- Consider reading some books.
- In the meantime, you can buy either an essential oils set or a perfume blending kit for initial inspiration. You can also visit a perfume store near you.
📚 Books
Get read-y.
Olfactory art has been a recognized genre since at least 1980, when the Museum of Modern Art in New York hosted an exhibition called “An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture” that included works that used scents as a medium.
🪜 How-tos
Step-by-step tutorials.
📄 Articles
Further reading.
- Art Scents: Perfume, Design and Olfactory Art | The British Journal of Aesthetics | Oxford Academic
- Perfumes, olfactory art, and philosophy | OUPblog
- Do scents affect people’s moods or work performance? | Scientific American
- Olfactory art makes scents – and who nose where it might lead us? | The Conversation
- The First Major Museum Show to Focus on Smell | Arts & Culture| Smithsonian Magazine
- The smell of art | Apollo Magazine
- Art Scents: Exploring the Aesthetics of Smell and the Olfactory Arts | Oxford Academic
- The effects of aromatherapy on stress and stress responses in adolescents – PubMed
🌐 Websites
Go-tos for information.
- Nez, the olfactory cultural movement
- The Institute for Art and Olfaction – Perfume Education and Experimentation
- Bespoke Perfumes & Perfumery Courses | Experimental Perfume Club
- Stories Parfumes | Beginner’s Guide to Fragrance
- The Candy Perfume Boy – Making Sense of Scents
- Bois de Jasmin : a Primer on Sensory Pursuits
[…] the sense of smell can be extraordinarily evocative, bringing back pictures as sharp as photographs of scenes that had left the conscious mind.
To Everything There Is a Season, Thalassa Cruso
🍿 Movies
Nothing like a film for inspiration.
❓ FAQS
Get a clue.
Yes, olfactory art and perfumery can be a hobby for anyone who is interested in exploring the world of smells and creating their own fragrances. Olfactory art is a form of artistic expression that uses scents as a medium, while perfumery is the art and science of making perfumes.
Olfactory art and perfumery can enhance your creativity, sensory awareness, memory, mood, and well-being. You can also express yourself, share your creations with others, and discover new scents and sensations.
📱 Apps
Smart assistance.
📦 Products
Essentials to have.
⛳ Courses
Get smart.
📍 Near You
Get together.
Perfume making is a blend of art and science, requiring a deep understanding of aromatic compounds, blending techniques, and the ability to evoke emotions through scent. Perfumers combine their artistic skills with scientific knowledge to craft unique and captivating fragrances.
💡 Tips
Additional advice for beginners.
- Subscribe to Nez – The Olfactory Cultural Movement newsletter.
Additional information
| Activities | |
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| Fields | Arts, Crafts, Environment, Fashion and Beauty, Food and Drink, Plants, Science and Technology, Spirituality, Sustainability, Wellbeing |
| Locations | |
| Participants | |
| Skills | Attention to Detail, Attention to Health, Concentration, Creativity, Fine Motor Skills, General Knowledge, Innovation, Mindfulness, Patience, Perseverance, Problem Solving, Research |