PERFUME AS MEDITATION

It’s been one hell of a fall quarter, but it’s finally over. Last weekend I took care of a huge backlog of old orders. Yesterday was the first day that I’ve been able to really relax at home, take care of some grading and other academic cleanup operations, and actually make a small amount of progress.

I’m making lots of ready-to-ship stock for the new shelves. This is going to make my life much easier. I also ordered new custom boxes for the little triangular 15 ml bottles, which I’m going to keep because I like the way they look. The new boxes will give them a much-needed makeover.  I was running out of the old brown cardboard boxes that didn't quite fit, and I either had to get more of them or change.  Not surprisingly, I decided to change. The new boxes will match the new 30 ml and 100 ml boxes, making for a unified look.

I’m also finally getting back into my routine of testing one or two perfumes every day, something that I didn’t feel like doing when I was constantly on the go from morning through night. When I experience perfume, it’s like a form of meditation. I like to be in a quiet, calm environment where I can just breathe it in, concentrate on it fully, think about it, and feel its intent and whatever memories or emotions it evokes. I always write down notes, a habit that persists from my pre-perfumer days when I used to post a lot of perfume reviews. These days the notes are mostly just for me, to remind me of what each perfume was like and help reduce the chances that I’ll inadvertently remake something that already exists.

I’m almost ready to start work on formulating a few new perfumes, but this week I’m just going to finish up a good part of the work that was neglected all fall. What a delight to start getting caught up!

[Upper graphic is my perfume bottle photo and the box manufacturer's proof. Lower photo is from Wikimedia.]