Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

🔬 Another big step! Chester and I just met for the first time and with our compound producer and evaluator Dario Siegel (ISIPCA; ex-IFF, now MD of ScentTalent) in Offenbach, Germany. Together, we blended the final modifications of the Scently Speaking Perfume #1.

🌺 Chester’s creation is rooted in a quiet, transformative moment he experienced on Bali—watching a woman prepare a ‘Canang sari’, the daily flower and incense offerings made by Balinese Hindus. Time seemed to stand still, and he was completely drawn into her rhythm and dedication. The perfume captures this emotional stillness in motion: a spicy, floral, incense-laced composition inspired by the elements of the offering itself.

📍 On July 25th, we’re hosting a casual community meetup in Amsterdam. If you’re nearby, we’d love to say hi—and let you be among the first to smell the finished perfume. Details coming soon.

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Who made my scent, Tariffs, and Notes Shanghai 💁🇨🇳 

2. Strictly Independent: Anatole Lebreton 🇫🇷 

3. QUIZ: Tiny traces - big effects 💪 

4. Scent MythBusters: Natural perfume ingredients smell exactly as we expect them to – a rose is a rose is a rose, right? 🔍️ 

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

#WHOMADEMYSCENT When a simple question to Bvlgari—"Who produces your perfumes?"—led to silence, it sparked something bigger. From evasive replies to corporate smokescreens, the fragrance industry reveals a troubling pattern: outsourced production wrapped in stories of craftsmanship. The real issue isn’t outsourcing—it’s the illusion of artistry. While some brands like Matière Première or Ormonde Jayne embrace transparency, many others sell perfume as myth, not craft. In 2025, truth isn’t just refreshing—it’s revolutionary.

#TariffTurmoil Upcoming 50% tariffs on goods from regions like China threaten the fragrance industry's global supply chain. Osmo CEO Alex Wiltschko suggests "olfactory intelligence" can help by enabling reformulation to manage costs and variability without changing scent. This AI-driven method, used by Osmo's Generation fragrance house, points to adaptive production and potentially more US manufacturing as Osmo expands its American operations.

#ShanghaiScentScene Notes Shanghai, a new perfume trade show by Alex Wu, debuted at Shanghai Fashion Week, heralding innovation for China's growing fragrance market. With 200 brands from 19 countries and 15,000 visitors, it connects the value chain and promotes an emerging "Chinese scent" via brands like Reclassified and Zhufu. The platform aims to be a key gateway for Asian fragrance industries to regional and global markets.

Strictly Independent 🎨 🌟 

Some encounters in the perfume world shift your perspective. Meeting Anatole Lebreton at Esxence was one of those rare moments. He’s a true Urgestein — an artisan whose passion radiates through his work. We always found his early scents original and charming, hinting at something deeper. Then came the Artefacts line — and it floored us. Bold, moving, unforgettable. Lebreton isn’t just crafting great perfumes; he’s building one of the most compelling perfumer-led brands out there. Think Andy Tauer levels of artistry, minus the hype.

The Artefacts collection is where Anatole Lebreton’s vision truly takes shape. As he puts it, “I wanted to explore the mechanisms at work in the creative act by drawing inspiration from emblematic episodes of human history.” The result? Perfumes that feel like time capsules—rich with story, steeped in atmosphere. Each scent is a fragrant excavation, pulling us into forgotten worlds and foreign perspectives. More than perfume, these are olfactory artefacts—history, philosophy, and art, all bottled.

QUIZ 🎲 

Scent MythBusters 🎭️ 

TL;DR

Think that saffron in your perfume is all warm, cozy spice, or that rose is purely sweet, romantic petals? Think again! Natural ingredients like saffron, rose, and jasmine are complex chemical cocktails. The scent we associate with them is often just one dominant molecule, while the raw material itself can unleash a symphony of surprising, sometimes even shocking, notes – from menthol in saffron to metallic tangs in rose, and animalic whispers in jasmine. The reality is far more fascinating (and fragrant!) than the simplified expectation.

The Olfactory Expectation vs. The Aromatic Reality

The Common Sniff-ception 🤔 

We’ve all been there. You read “natural rose absolute” on a perfume label and instantly conjure an image of a perfect, dewy garden rose, its scent a pure, sweet floral sigh. Or perhaps “essence of saffron” evokes a vision of golden, warm, slightly leathery spice. We build these olfactory profiles in our minds, often shaped by marketing, simplified descriptions, or even the scent of a single, prominent aroma chemical used to represent these naturals in mainstream products. We expect nature to be straightforward, to deliver its fragrant promise in a neat, predictable package.

The Reality Check – Nature’s Quirky Surprises 🤯 

But, as any perfumer or dedicated scent explorer will tell you, diving into the true scent of natural raw materials is like opening Pandora’s Box – in the most delightful way! These ingredients are not monolithic scent blocks; they are vibrant, multifaceted personalities composed of hundreds of distinct chemical compounds. What we think they smell like is often just the tip of the iceberg, a mere caricature painted by one or two dominant molecules that represent less than 5% of their total aromatic makeup.

Saffron – The Cool Spice 🧊 

• Expectation: A warm, rich, almost leathery and sweet spice, reminiscent of exotic dishes and opulent perfumes.

• Reality: While Safranal, a key molecule, does give that characteristic warmth, pure saffron threads or absolute can unleash a surprisingly sharp, almost medicinal, and distinctly menthol-like coolness. It’s a far cry from just a cozy spice!

Rose – The Thorny Truth 🌹 

• Expectation: The epitome of floral romance – soft, sweet, powdery, and utterly lovely.

• Reality: Molecules like Citronellol and Geraniol contribute to this classic soft-floral impression. However, a true rose absolute often presents with pronounced green, leafy notes, a sharp metallic tang, and sometimes even a slightly bitter, waxy, or earthy facet. It’s beautiful, yes, but also complex and sometimes even a little fierce.

Jasmine – The Untamed Flower 🥀 

• Expectation: A heady, sweet, intoxicatingly pure white floral, the essence of a summer night.

• Reality: Benzylacetate gives jasmine its familiar fruity-floral sweetness. But dive deeper, and you’ll encounter the wild side of jasmine, thanks to molecules like Indole and Skatol. These can introduce surprisingly animalic, almost “dirty” or fecal notes. It’s this indolic character that gives jasmine its profound depth, sensuality, and a touch of the untamed – far from just a simple sweet bloom.

So, is the myth busted?

Absolutely! What we perceive as a “typical natural scent” is often a beautifully orchestrated illusion, a chemical symphony far more intricate and surprising than we might initially assume. The next time you smell a natural ingredient, lean in closer – you might just discover a whole new world beyond your expectations. And that, fragrant friends, is where the real magic of perfumery begins! ✨