One of the highlights of 2014 was the Institute of Art and Olfaction’s first annual fragrance awards. Director Saskia Wilson Brown has created a perfume competition truly without politics

Photo of finalists and judges: Art and Olfaction Facebook page

In this photo we can identify: front Yosh Han WINNER, Josh Meyer Back Row: Ellen Covey, Beau Rhee, Doug Bender,Michael Coyles aka MIK, Amber Jobin WINNER, Tanja Bochnig WINNER, Bruno Fazzolari and Lisa Fong

The winners of the first annual awards were ‘KONIG’ by YOSH (with Olivia Jan), ‘Ashoka’ by Neela Vermeire Creations (with Bertrand Duchaufour) in the independent category. Winners in the artisan category were ‘Calling All Angels’ by Tanja Bochnig of April Aromatics and ‘John Frum’ by Amber Jobin of Aether Arts Perfume.

 2015 will bring some exciting changes.  There is now a third award, The Sadakichi Award for Experimental Scent which honors the work of people who engage with scent outside of the realm of commercial perfumery. In addition Esxence Milan and Bern University for Applied Sciences are new production partners.  CaFleureBon is a new media sponsor along with Fragrance Belles Lettres.

As in 2014, the judging is blind; the submissions are given an anonymous tracking number.

Submissions are due postmarked by Friday December 19, 2014. IAO allows two weeks for submissions to arrive, after the postmark date. If you would like to submit your perfume please click here. If you are Independent, there is more information HERE. For more info on Artisan Category  HERE  More information about the Sadakichi Award: HERE

The FINALISTS in each category will be announced on the weekend of March 28 and 29, at Esxence in Milan.

AWARD CEREMONY: The Second Annual Art and Olfaction Awards will take place on April 17, 2015 at The Goethe Institut in Los Angeles.

Saskia Wilson Brown Director of the Institute of Art and Olfaction

According to Saskia, “Submissions in the independent/artisan categories are judged on a scale of 1 to 5 in four categories: First impressions (The judges’ impressions of the scent in the first 15 minutes),Wear-down (The judges’ impressions of the scent’s performance in dry down), X Factor (Does the scent have that something special, but undefinable, that warrants note?) and Intentionality (How well does the scent fulfill the intention stated in the brief)”, she continues, “Submissions for The Sadakichi Award for Experimental Scent will be judged on a scale of 1-5 in the following categories: Overall Project Concept (Originality, quality of execution of the overall project), Use of scent (How well thought-out was the use of scent?), Intentionality of Scent (How well did the scent fit the project’s needs?), X-Factor (Does the project have that something special, but indefinable, that warrants note?)”.

The Art and Olfaction Awards judges are drawn from various creative industries, with diverse fields of interest, backgrounds and specializations.

For more information about the competition, sponsors, judges, media partners and criteria click here,

–Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief