Somehow, I knew I was destined to be involved in a life involving scent. Ever since I was a young child I would often sneak into my parent’s room and privately indulge in my mum’s alluring collection of perfumes. These perfumes would take me away to exotic places and evoke my emotions.
Aromatherapy has allowed me to fulfill my passion for scent, my desire to help others through natural means, and at the same time, allowed me to express my artistic and creative urges to create blends that seduce the hearts and minds of people.
In The Book of Perfumes, written back in 1875, Eugene Rimmel was in awe of the exquisite beauty of the ephemeral scents of nature, and suggested that the individual who is able to compose a beautiful perfume using the scents of nature is indeed an artist.
When I say ‘The Art of the Perfumer’, let me explain this phrase, which might otherwise appear ambitious.
The first musician who tried to echo with a pierced reed songs of the birds of the forest, the first painter who attempted to delineate on a polished surface the gorgeous scenes which he beheld around him, were both artists endeavouring to coy nature;
and so the perfumer,
with his limited number of materials at his command, combines them like colours on a palette, and strives to imitate the fragrances of all flowers which are rebellious to his skills, and refuse to yield up their essence.
Is he not, then, entitled to claim also the name of an artist, if he approaches even faintly the perfections of his charming models?
By the way, I have the original publication of Rimmel’s book in my personal library and it is my most treasured possession.
In The Art of Blending Masterclass, I would like to share with you my personal journey of discovery and how essential oils have opened the door to my soul.
We will explore the various skills and approaches I have adopted in creating the exquisite range of aromatherapy blends and perfumes that have become the heart and soul of Perfect Potion. This year, Perfect Potion celebrates its 30th anniversary and I am so humbled that many of our classic blends have withstood the test of time and are still as popular today as they were 30 years ago when I first created them!
I will even share with you the secrets behind some of our classic blends such as Elixir of Wisdom, Elixir of Mystery, Green Goddess, Kyoto Blend and Sacred Journey.
As the amount of information available on blending essential oils within aromatherapy is rather limited, I turned to perfumery for some answers. I remember reading in one perfume text book the necessary attributes of a skilled perfumer:
A perfumer has to be a chemist, laboratory technician, pharmacist, must learn to differentiate up to two thousand or so fragrant components, but more importantly their senses must be open and receptive to beauty, harmony, sounds, pictures, nature and above all, people.
In The Art of Blending Essential Oils Masterclass not only will you be introduced to the sensory skills used by professional perfumers to blend essential oils, but most important the need to be ‘open and receptive’.
By being ‘open and receptive’ you will discover how to open yourself to the beauty and harmony of essential oils and the power that they have to embrace and heal the body, mind and soul. You will develop the skills to use essential oils to inspire calm, exhilaration, spirituality and other desirable, yet often elusive states of mind.
As aromatherapists many of us may wish to use essential oils to promote wellbeing and health. Dare I say this requires comprehensive knowledge and study of the pharmacological and therapeutic role that essential oils have, and it also requires a strong knowledge and understanding of anatomy, physiology as well as an understanding of pathology.
I have found the approach to blending essential oils often taught in aromatherapy courses to be very limiting and narrow-minded as it follows the Western pharmacological paradigm. I have always argued the case for integrating aromatherapy with more holistic traditional healing systems such as Ayurveda and TCM. Such frameworks give us a more holistic perspective on wellbeing by integrating physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of our health. In this masterclass I will show you how the scent of an essential oils reveals its energetic qualities allowing you to create unique holistic aromatherapy blends to address the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual components of our wellbeing.
It is obvious that aromatherapy involves scent. However, it is very unfortunate that our understanding of scent and olfaction is poorly understood. As a result, our interpretation of scent is often very subjective. This is another reason why it is very difficult to establish clear guidelines for blending. In this masterclass we will also examine the relationship between smell and the influence it has on our psyche. It is well known that many factors can influence our response to scent - whether it be our emotional state, our personality, our cultural upbringing, our memory association or our desired lifestyle. All of these factors must be examined and understood when creating an aromatherapy or perfume blend.
The Art of Blending Masterclass is an invitation to open the door to a magical and sensory world of essential oils – please enjoy.
Session 1 - The art of smelling (one hour)
- We will be introduced to the Spirit of Koh Do (how to listen to scent).
- We will learn the language of scent and how to classify essential oils according to their odour family, type and characteristics.
- We will learn how to become open and receptive to scent and how to create our own fragrant vocabulary.
Session 2 - Therapeutic blending techniques (one hour)
- We will examine a range of therapeutic blending strategies based on pharmacological principles, psychotherapeutic principles, personality profiling and vitalistic energetic approaches such as TCM or Ayurveda.
- We will learn about IP (Individual Prescription) developed by Marguerite Maury and the importance of a signature and regulating oil in a blend.
- We will explore how the concept of synergy and perfume accords can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of your blend.
Session 3 - The psychology of scent (one hour)
- We will examine the role between emotions and olfaction.
- We will discuss the factors that may influence fragrance selection.
- We will examine the relationship between personality and scent.
Session 4 - Perfume blending techniques (one hour)
- We will identify the basic skills required to be a perfumer.
- We will examine some of the innovative blending techniques used by professional perfumers
- We will examine the purpose of top, middle and base notes in a perfume.
- We will investigate the role of perfume accords and their relevance to aromatherapy blending.
There will be many blending activities in the masterclass in which we explore the aesthetics of scent and learn to become open and receptive to the ephemeral nature of essential oils.
NAHA have included in the price of the masterclass a collection of 14 essential oils along with empty bottles, pipettes, smelling strips base oil and perfume grade alcohol.
I hope you can join me for this wonderful and fascinating masterclass in which you will expand your creative blending skills.
To enrol, please visit: https://naha.org/store/entry/workshop-salvatore-battaglia-blending-masterclass
