Unconventional Perfume Blending: Petrichor Accord (in person)

Petrichor. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (soon to be rained upon), you may have heard this word, defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as: “a distinctive, earthy, usually pleasant odor that is associated with rainfall especially when following a warm, dry period and that arises from a combination of volatile plant oils and geosmin released from the soil into the air and by ozone carried by downdrafts”.

So, the scent of earth after the rain! Petrichor’s etymology is somewhat more poetic: Australian researchers Bear and Grenfell coined the term in 1964, using the Greek root petras, or stone, and ichor, or the fluid in the vein of the Gods.

In “Unconventional Perfume Blending: Petrichor Accord,” led by instructor Julianne Lee, we’ll start by enjoying some perfumes from the IAO Collections that feature the note of petrichor. Next, we’ll smell a bevy of molecules and natural materials that evoke petrichor in its many forms: wet, earthy, humid, mushroomy, concrete. You’ll then play with those materials and practice balancing a formula. Is your petrichor rising from the sun-baked desert or from the gridlocked city streets?

We recommend having at least one IAO class under your belt, but beginners are completely welcome. By the end of class, you’ll leave with your own petrichor accord formula in hand, along with a working understanding of accord-building that you can apply to any other fragrance notes.

Topics covered:

+ A breakdown of petrichor's scent in the language of aromamolecules

+ An opportunity to smell perfumes from the IAO Collections that feature petrichor

+ Accord-creation: ratios, proportions, evaluation

Take-Aways:

+ Your own working formula of a petrichor accord to take home

+ Small 5/8 dram vials of your experimental trials

+ A greater understanding of the nuances of the scent of petrichor

+ A foundational method for building accords

+ Hands-on experience with blending techniques

IMPORTANT NOTES

Materials: Materials are included in the sign-up cost, and provided by the IAO during class.

Attendance and Refund Policy: This is an in person class that will take place at the Institute for Art and Olfaction. Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds or credit for this class. Note also that event tickets are non-transferable.

On Safety: Some aromatic materials can have side-effects when applied to skin. The information and teaching materials presented in our classes are for educational purposes only. These are not intended for commercial use and do not necessarily reflect commercial best practices or industry safety standards. For more information about commercial best practices and safety, consult the relevant authorities in your country of residence.