Kafkaesque on Elle.com

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Right before Christmas, I was interviewed for an article on Elle.com about fragrances worn by royalty and modern creations which include similar olfactory bouquets or notes. The journalist, Jesse Breeden, was also interested in the most precious ingredients in perfumery and their modern usage. She was rather thrilled to hear that some of the original fragrances worn by various kings, queens, and tsars were actually available on the modern market to the average person.

The main theme of the piece was how the ingredients in your daily scent had once been so rare and expensive that they’d been reserved for royalty. I explained about the use of synthetics these days, and how several things that were once extremely common in perfumery are no longer used in the same way or form due to resource scarcity, cost, animal cruelty concerns, or IFRA/EU regulations. For example, Mysore sandalwood, ambergris, or animal musks.

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Let’s Play Questions… Vol. 8: Your Scented Memories

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Kafkaesque

Source: M.Micallef

A journalism and masters student at Columbia University School of Journalism recently interviewed me for a long-form piece on what compels people to buy fragrance. The questions ranged from my first scented memories to the reasons why I think fragrance is powerful, and more. I thought it might help her to have a range of answers from people with all sorts of different scent memories, backgrounds, and exposure to fragrance, so I’m going to post the questions here for all of you as well. Feel free to answer all or just some of them, and in as much or as little detail as you’d like. Consider it as your own personal interview, as well as your chance to explain to an interested outsider the things that motivated you to pursue this crazy passion of ours in the first place.

I don’t think it matters one bit if you are a newbie or an experienced perfumista. There is a reason why you are here, reading a perfume blog instead of settling for the same old fragrance that you’ve worn for years. So, don’t worry about your degree of knowledge, or think you have nothing to contribute. The questions are about primarily about your memories and feelings. In fact, I think many of our answers on the more emotional aspects underlying the love of perfumery will be quite similar in nature, and I suspect that that very commonality will prove more telling to her than anything else. The world is a very different place in 2015 than back when our grandmothers or grandfathers wore one signature fragrance, and I think society’s philosophy or view about scent has changed as well. Continue reading →

Holiday Gift Ideas 2014

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Source: Pinterest. Original source unknown.

The holiday season is upon us and many of you have already started shopping for gifts. I thought I’d present a few ideas, whether it’s for the fragrance lover in your life, or merely an office coworker for whom you have to get a “secret Santa” gift. A few of my suggestions are suited for those who don’t even have a serious interest in perfume. For example, a book of poetry by 100 contemporary American poets who were each sent a different vial of unnamed perfume (ranging from Jo Malone to Tom Ford, Creed, Kilian or others), and then wrote a poem in response to the unknown scent.

As you will see, very few of my ideas have to do with buying actual perfume. I think it’s a truly terrible idea to gift someone fragrance unless you know them and their tastes extremely well or, ideally, have a precise shopping list of the exact perfumes that they want. Otherwise, it’s a potential disaster and, quite possibly, a huge waste of money. Given the vagaries of skin chemistry, you simply can’t know how a perfume bought blindly will actually turn out on their skin and if they’ll like it.

So, it’s far better to leave the choice up to them. For example, you can send an e-card, even on the day of Christmas if you’re a procrastinator who is truly behind schedule. Some people may see gift certificates as a sign of laziness or lack of thought but, for a perfumista, they’re the best thing ever! Even small amounts give one the freedom to sample new things, each a potential passage to olfactory Nirvana. Non-perfumistas might also enjoy certificates to places that sell luxury candles, men’s beauty products, or home fragrances. Or, you can go another route, and opt for fragrance-related things like books, foodie essences, or perfume-making kits. Here are a few suggestions.

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Let’s Play Questions… Vol. 7: Small Pleasures

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Kafkaesque

Source: Amazing Landscapes, Nature, Animals and Places Facebook page.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the small pleasures in life, and the new things that have caught my attention or made me happy. This summer was an extremely difficult time for me for a variety of reasons, and August was quite exhausting. These days, I am constantly behind schedule on all that I have to do, I’m frequently mentally wiped out, I will never get through my “To Do” list, and there doesn’t seem to be much joyous news in the world in general. Wherever I go, whether on social media sites or simply overhearing people talk in the post office queue, there seems to be a definite sense of grimness in the air. More than usual, I think. The headlines have been filled with an abundance of tragedies or conflicts, to the point where I’ve often had to look away from my Facebook feed, or seek mental or emotional refuge in simpler, happier things. Although one can’t live life as an ostrich sticking one’s head in the sand, there’s much to be said for trying to focus on the small joys in life.

In short, I thought it was time to bring back the Questions game, centered on the things that have brought all of you joy lately. A more leisurely post, en effet, a time to chat, as I work through my daily testing. Right now, I’m finally getting around to an Italian series which I had initially scheduled for some months ago. I will be focusing on different houses, especially some of the smaller, less widely explored ones, and will be making only a few occasional day-trips to other countries. I am working slower than usual these days, undoubtedly due to the aforementioned mental exhaustion, but I wanted to take a small break first to share some of the things that have brought me pleasure in the last few months, and then turn the floor over to hear from all of you.

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