Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

Over the past weeks, I’ve been confronted with a surprisingly difficult question: where does carte blanche for a perfumer actually begin and where does it end?

While working on fragrance #2, I realised that complete freedom can also become a creative dead end. With Chester, the inspiration itself already acted as the briefing. With Dario, whose language is more technical and colour-driven, that emotional starting point was missing.

Only then did I understand something almost painfully obvious: a missing briefing does not always create more creativity. Sometimes it creates the absence of a beginning. One perfumer’s childhood memory might be another perfumer’s colour palette. Both can still feel like complete freedom.

I’ll share more reflections on this this Sunday at www.scentlyspeakinglab.com

Now onto this issue!

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: BTWMA Blog, Elevated Manifesto, Anonymous Perfumoholics

2. Niche Newcomers: Luisant Haze, Patch Absolue, Cologne One

3. Quiz: How many kg are needed for one kg of orris butter?

4. Scent MythBusters: Once you mix the formula, it’s done — maceration is marketing

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#BEFORETHEWORLDMOVEDAGAIN: Chester Gibs published a reflection on the making of Before the World Moved Again, and it reads less like a launch text and more like a quiet reconstruction of how the fragrance came into being. What stands out is not a polished concept, but the tension between intuition and structure, between raw material and restraint. He describes the process as something that revealed itself slowly, rather than being imposed from the start. It’s a reminder that even in a highly constructed industry, some of the most interesting work still happens in the space where control begins to loosen.

#ELEVATEDCLASSICS: In her two‑year anniversary manifesto, Elevated Classics founder Hulya explains why she entered fragrance journalism: not to join the perfume “machine” but to promote discernment and investigate how brands actually operate. She rejects the binary that small brands are automatically virtuous and large houses inherently soulless, praising the craft of Chanel, Hermès, Guerlain, Cartier and Serge Lutens. Her frustration lies with the “costume of authenticity”: invented heritage, vague sourcing and founder myths. Elevated Classics now uses its platform to ask uncomfortable questions about who composes, manufactures and finances perfumes, refusing to trade honesty for access.

#ANONYMOUSPERFUMOHOLICS: Valentina Nochka’s Substack piece, Anonymous Perfumoholics, reads like a stand‑up set for fragrance addicts. She riffs on Fragrantica reviews, likening perfume forums to support groups where members confess to midnight blind buys and fragrance flings. Her humour exposes the absurdity of gatekeeping and the endless search for “signature scents” while poking fun at our collective obsession. The article reminds us that behind every poetic note description is a human being with too many samples and not enough shelf space.

Niche Newcomers 🎨 🌟 

A brief disclosure.

Scently Speaking runs without ads and without paid placements.
It exists because New Niche exists.

New Niche is the fragrance publishing house we’re building in parallel.
Obtaining one of its perfumes is not merchandise.
It’s how this work stays independent.

Quiz 🎲 

Scent MythBusters 🎭️ 

The belief

In fast‑fashion perfumery, time is money. Some houses bottle as soon as the oils dissolve in alcohol and water, arguing that any ‘resting period’ is an outdated romanticism. If the juice smells right on the blotter, why wait? This logic treats perfume like a cocktail: mix, bottle, sell.

Reality

Maceration is neither romantic nor optional; it’s chemistry and biology. When fragrance oils are first blended with alcohol, the composition can be “top‑heavy”, the brightest notes dominate while deeper materials remain muted. Over days and weeks, esters and alcohols react, smoothing rough edges and enabling base notes to bloom. The Wicked Good Perfume guide explains that light citrus or floral scents may integrate within a week or two, most eau de parfums need three to six weeks, heavier blends with woods and resins often require two or three months, and artisanal fragrances may age for six months or longer. In other words, patience isn’t indulgence; it is part of the recipe.

Industry practice

High‑end houses still age their perfumes like wine. A quote from Frédéric Malle’s house notes that maceration occurs in large vats “to give [the fragrance] its full measure,” especially when using many naturals or rich base notes. Classic perfumes were traditionally macerated for four to eight weeks. Malle explains that Portrait of a Lady undergoes a two‑week maturation (aging the concentrate) followed by four weeks of maceration (aging the solution), and that fresh lab samples are less powerful, less beautiful and less stable than properly aged products. Houses such as Strangelove and Les Indemodables publish their maceration times because natural‑rich formulas continue to evolve long after mixing. Artisanal perfumers liken the process to spaghetti sauce: harsh at first, cohesive after a month or two.

Why time matters

Natural extracts are complex systems containing hundreds of molecules. In a rose absolute, for example, the proportions of citronellol, geraniol and trace indoles change with harvest and extraction. As the perfume sits, these molecules continue to react, soften and integrate. A forum post citing an updated Frederic Malle description notes that maceration must be done on a large volume before bottling; once in a bottle, the perfume no longer macerates the same way. Denaturing proteins, oxidisation and the slow dissolution of resins all contribute to the evolution. Heating is not an option because it can destroy delicate molecules; only time and mass achieve the desired body.

Judgement

Maceration isn’t a marketing trick; it’s a structural element of fine perfumery. Formulas heavy in synthetics can be bottled quickly because their molecules are uniform and predictable. But when a perfume weaves together naturals, resins and proprietary aroma‑chemicals, the blend needs weeks or months to stabilise. Skipping this step results in a scent that smells sharp and disjointed; allowing it to age produces cohesion, longevity and depth. In an era obsessed with speed and novelty, patience remains the hidden ingredient that differentiates a composition from a mix.