it's a very deep fragrance but the Gardenia pops beautifully, i like to think that it smells like the garden of the house Ethel and Willoughby would have together.

i really feel as though it emulates the melancholic acceptance of god allowing you near but not allowing you to stay. the incense notes remind me of church as a child. blackcurrant and liquorice are emulative of the tart sweetness of childhood - maybe the sadness Ethel felt in Gibson Girl - i think the lichen and musk suit this too.

Hi!

You can buy a course for introduction into perfume making, there are books too and some online websites that provide info for free.

You can make different kind of perfumes, mine are alcohol based with essential oils or absolues. Some people prefer to make oil based with essential oils and some make pure synthetical perfumes (there's actually drama between natural vs synthetic perfume makers, synthetic perfume fans look down on us who only use essential oils but there's always drama in every hobby)

You can imagine essential oil to be a distillation of the specific flower/resin/wood because that's in very simplified way what it is. Absolue is more expensive, different more complicated process to get the aromatic part of the ingredient extracted, I read it's more accurate in capturing the actual scent of the ingredient than distillation (essential oil) but high quality essential oil to me is enough.

You can make your own natural perfume by trying to distillate for example lavender or rose at home but without proper equipment and deeper knowledge of the process, the result is not gonna have any "wow" effect, but to some people it will be enough. I want my perfumes to smell more like proper perfumes and so that's why I use the essential oils and absolues because they really get you the best result.

When I'm creating a perfume - first I think of what I want to create - flowery scent? Maybe with a hint of some wood? I put the drops of oils I want to work with on paper testers and try different combinations to see if the scents fit together. Usually I figure out some really don't go well together and try to find different one. Once I'm satisfied I write down the final selection, make a ratio because maybe some scent can be too strong and I want to make it more subtle in final perfume. It's usually wood I need to tone down.

Then I pour it in the perfume bottle and add alcohol. I shake it really well and put a tag on it with a date to know when it was made. Perfumes need at least 3 weeks to mature. Before 3 weeks it's not gonna smell...like perfume. It really needs weeks to develop and then it's amazing. The more the better. My tip is to wait at least month. It's not a hobby with fast results you have to be patient, there's no way to make it faster.

It's lovely hobby that makes you feel like alchemist but you also need to be safe - you're interacting with chemicals. You can spill something or a drop can splash on your face. You might feel dizzy or your throat might feel irritated when you're breathing the essential oils for hours... I can't make perfumes for more than 3 hours in row because I get these symptoms. It's really important to play it safe and keep it as much safe as possible especially when you don't have laboratory, I use special working room for it, I don't recommend to do it in living room or bedroom because you need to rest from the scents that will linger in the air.

It's also very expensive to get the essential oils and I don't recommend to try to buy cheap ones. The results won't be good. If you want to have variety of perfumes you need to also have variety of essential oils to have as many combinations as possible and it really gets very expensive at some point. I started with 12 oils and believe me, soon I ran out of combinations.

I recommend to try different unusual scents than just lavender or rose, some scents are just heavenly... For example honeysuckle, blue passion flower or mimosa are so unusual and so good. But there are so many that are so good hidden jewels really.

I was tagged by @janegoat👋 to share some recent media in the get-to-know me vein. Thanks!

Reading: Blood Relations: The Rise and Fall of the duPonts of Delaware, which is SUPREMELY bitchy gossip. Picked it up for $2 at a used book sale and it is a surprisingly fun read.

Last song:

Last television series: Irma Vep (2022). I adore the Assayas film and his "remake" series dances with and around the history of film, the intricacies and follies of the film industry, and the source material in such a playful and engaging way. Highly recommend.

Last film: The Blues Brothers, because my dad was visiting. I do love this though. It's a Chicago film, the first Saturday Night Live film, has a great soundtrack, and hates nazis

Sweet/savory/salty: savory

Tea or coffee: coffee, particularly espresso

Working on: making a new perfume that smells like summer. I'm close I think: peach, grapefruit, blood orange, chamomile, thyme, hinoki wood. And I'm writing, albeit very slowly, because my job is draining me of all my creative energy

Have you ever dreamed of going beyond just putting on a fragrance and actually becoming part of it? Imagine a scent that's completely unique to you, one that's not sold anywhere else, and that tells your story without you even saying a word. It's time to become your own perfumer.

We discovered this amazing guide that teaches you how to create your very own Eau de Parfum (EDP) right at home. This isn't about just mixing a few essential oils; it's about making a fancy, long-lasting, professional-quality scent that changes as it settles on your skin.

Here's what makes it special:

The Three Essential Parts of Perfume: Every perfume has three parts. The first part, called top notes, is like the first impression—think citrus or herbs. Then comes the heart notes, which are the main body of the scent, often flowers, and they show up after the top notes fade. Finally, there are base notes, which are deep and long-lasting, like vanilla, musk, or wood. Mixing these parts is where the real magic happens. The Right Tools for the Job: This isn't just a haphazard mixing of things. You need to be precise. The guide shows you the key items: perfumer's alcohol (not just regular vodka), glass beakers and bottles, pipettes to measure exactly, and a digital scale that measures in grams. Getting your tools together is half the excitement and makes it feel like real science. Finding the Right Ingredients: Where do you get the best fragrance oils or absolutes? The guide gives you tips on where to find high-quality, concentrated oils and essential oils that really last. Because your personal scent deserves the best, not something that fades quickly.

The Full Process: This is a step-by-step guide that walks you through everything—how to calculate the right concentration (typically 15-20% fragrance oil to alcohol), how to blend everything carefully.

the most important part: the maceration. This is the time when your new scent sits in the dark, letting the molecules come together and mature into something truly beautiful.