Elise Pearlstine’s World Perfumery Congress 2022 badge and literature

The World Perfumery Congress 2022 was held in Miami June 29th-July 1st. It was my great pleasure to attend with CaFleureBon Editor-In-Chief Michelyn Camen, friend since my first post for ÇaFleureBon on perfume notes nearly 12 years ago.  We were conference buddies for four days of sniffing and learning. From the opening reception hosted by Quintis Sandalwood to the awards ceremony held on July 1st, it was an amazing olfactory journey but also a time to connect or reconnect with new and old friends-in-fragrance.

Pierre Bénard of Osmoart, Editor-in-Chief  Michelyn Camen and Dr. Elise Pearlstine at the World Perfumery Congress 2022 (photo by Quintis)

As a previous CaFleureBon press attendee also in Miami,  (2016) there were familiar topics such as the widespread discussions of sustainability, but also support for local growers, and transparency. We also learned about the future of perfume in the metaverse! The exhibitors at the World Perfumery Congress 2022 provided a banquet of new and unusual fragrance ingredients as well.

Keep reading for some of Michelyn’s and my favorite people, innovations and topics.

We learned about functional fragrances and how they can act to improve cognitive awareness and their popular role in self-care. Companies and perfumers are listening to their customers and outlining actions and goals to achieve sustainability while supporting an interesting perfumer’s palette with ingredients new and familiar. Sustainability, carbon recycling, and achieving environmental goals all impact perfumer’s palettes and companies are searching for molecules that match these goals, have high odor impact.

Pierre Bénard Of Osmoart Parfums Couleurs et Sons (and a CaFleureBon contributor) photo by Peter Wynn Thompson, official photographer for the World Perfumery Congress 2022  

On Wednesday morning audience members were treated to two discussions on formulating with woods with an emphasis on sustainable sources. We sniffed and listened as Michelle Bruckman of Berje (Part 1: Formulating with Woods) described her perfume Sundance, meant to evoke youth and summer fun with citrus notes over a woody base that included upcycled, sustainable cedar. Michelle was followed by our friend and Guest Contributor Pierre Bénard (Part 2: Formulating with Woods) who presented in-depth evaluations of the multiple facets of sandalwood from suave and milky to dry, woody and even floral and spicy. Quintis Sandalwood provides a spectrum of sandalwood blends with notes from their Indian and Australian sandalwood oils sustainably grown and skillfully blended for effect. After listening to Pierre’s knowledgeable summary of the facets of sandalwood, it was lovely to meet him, embrace and discuss our common love of tuberose!

American Society of Perfumery Vice President Sherri Sebastian courtesy of Sherri and American Society of Perfumery booth with ylang ylang at the World Perfumery Congress 2022 ©Elise

American Society of Perfumers VP-Executive Board Perfume and Contributing Editor (Notes from The Lab) Sherri Sebastian was actively working behind the scenes throughout the conference. Wish we could have spent more time with Sherri, an experienced perfumer, owner and founder of PROVISION. She tells us “For the past 15 months I’ve worked closely with Quintis Sandalwood on behalf of the ASP to help produce the Sandalwood Reimagined Competition.  Each step of the journey was marked by a shared desire to honor the long-awaited return of Indian sandalwood. There’s no greater joy for a perfumer than to fully realize the conception of a fragrance. This competition was special because it honored the creative process of fragrance makers and the importance of high-quality sustainable ingredients. It was a joy to see the winners acknowledge at the Award Ceremony on the final night of the World Perfumery Congress 2022. “ During a break in the program, I headed for the exhibit hall where I found the American Society of Perfumers display of new and unusual aromatics including a lovely Philippine ylang ylang.

Alex Lee of MANE, Darryl Do of Delbia Do, and Michelyn Camen at the World Perfumery Congress 2022 (photograph by a kind vendor)

While wandering the huge exhibition hall, we found other perfumers to chat with and especially enjoyed Alex Lee who presented with Samantha Mane both of Mane Flavor and Fragrance. They spoke about inclusivity, engagement, and walking the talk (Future-proofing Fragrance: Impacts of Gen Z & Millennials). I enjoyed a short conversation in the lobby with Alex about today’s trends in fragrance in China and Korea. Michelyn caught up with him and Darryl Do of Delbia Do later. Darryl was tasked with creating fragrance accords showcasing P2Science’s  green chemistry molecule Herbenone.

Quintis Sandalwood Booth photo by Peter Wynn Thompson, official photographer for the World Perfumery Congress 2022  

As a natural perfumer, I was very impressed with the variety of new and unusual botanical ingredients and sniffed my way through varieties of natural aromatics, isolates, rectified natural oils, and especially the various facets of sandalwood skillfully blended by Quintis Sandalwood ((please read Michelyn’s Behind the Bottle Q and A with CMO Vanessa Ligovich here). They track each tree and can achieve specific sandalwood scent profiles highlighting milky or woodsy facets among others. In addition to being able to supply large businesses, they assured me they have not forgotten indie brands that use smaller amounts.

Frank Voelkl speaking about the “Changing Landscape of the Perfumery Industry” Photo by Peter Wynn Thompson, official photographer for the World Perfumery Congress 2022

Frank Voelkl, Principal Perfumer and Ilaria Resta, Global President Perfumery, both of Firmenich spoke about changes to the industry in The Changing Landscape of the Perfumery Industry. We learned about Firmenich’s research that has found links between ingredients and brain waves so they connect those to create fragrances that are soothing and comforting. In response to changing times we live in; perfumers have shifted towards scents that make people feel good about themselves whereas usually perfumes is about attracting others.

Metaverse image from Fragrance Conservatory

The Metaverse: both professional organizations and exhibitors were aware of the need to teach perfumers (from indie to classically trained) about The Metaverse where perfume trends are influenced. The Fragrance Creators Association educates perfumers from businesses small and large. They announced their presence in the Metaverse during their presentation, Fragrance Stewardship in a Digital Age, making history as the first trade association to do so. We were so intrigued that Michelyn and I visited their booth numerous times and filled out a survey on the next trends in home care and fine fragrance: favorite answers from attending perfumers were Home Fragrance=Sandalwood and Fine Fragrance=White Musk. They also developed and maintain “The Fragrance Conservatory”, an easy-to-use and in-depth resource for anyone interested in the creation, ingredients, history, and sustainability of the fragrance industry.

Calice Becker and Rodrigo Flores-Roux, both photos by Peter Wynn Thompson, Chris Collins

Calice Becker, President of the International Society of Perfumer-Creators or  spoke eloquently about the future of perfumery (The Future of Perfumery from a Perfumer’s Perspective), highlighting the role of perfumer as an artist who creates a work of the mind (Francis Kurkdjian gave a video presentation). As artists, perfume creators use raw materials, knowledge, and experience to create their composition—defense of their palette is critical to a perfumer’s art and re-defining olfactive language.

Perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Stephen Nilsen of Givaudan illustrated their depth of experience as they discussed iconic perfumes and the equally important roles of inspiration and evocation, illustrated by the example of creating a fragrance that may be guava identical or guava inspired. Rodrigo told me “It’s safe to say that in perfumery, the creative approaches are varied and personal. In my opinion, there’s invention and imitation… Not all fragrance structures come from nowhere (invention). Even more: Sometimes, the failed copy takes us onto a path of discovery. Oscar Wilde’s adage, ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’, proves extremely true.”

Chris Collins of The World of Chris Collins with Linda Levy President of The Fragrance Foundation, Bernardo Möller, and Itika Grimble by Peter Wynn Thompson official photographer for the World Perfumery Congress 2022

Friday’s afternoon session by Linda Levy, President of The Fragrance Foundation Fresh Faces in Fragrance Panel featured Bernardo Möller of The House of Bo, Chris Collins of The World of Chris Collins and Itika Grimble of Old Vine Florals in a discussion of their inspirations and challenges. Linda later told Michelyn and me that “The Fragrance Foundation’s #1 priority is Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, to Grow & Expand our community to include diverse members, We are proud to include indie members who are new to the fragrance industry to nurture their talent & provide connections to support their growth.”

 artisan perfumers Darryl Hunter, Bontu Itana, Helida Dodd and Manuel Cross

As we went from booth to booth, hung out in the lobby, and ate our lunches, walked around (Michelyn clocked in 10, 000+ steps each day), we enjoyed catching up with artisan perfumers Manuel Cross (Rogue Perfumery), former student Darryl Hunter (Dragon Perfumes), fellow Floridian and Guest Contributor Helida Dodd (Marbella Perfumes), and Bontu Itana (B Parfums)

Sarah McCartney by Peter Wynn Thompson official photographer for the World Perfumery Congress 2022

We were held “captive” by Sarah McCartney of 4160Tuesdays’s presentation “What can we Learn from the Indies”?  Sarah’s message is to understand your customer, to create with passion and to be “pirates” in the mold of British sailors who ran away from the navy rather than being kicked out. Her challenge to all perfumers was to visit a few department store perfume counters to understand how facts from creators may get lost on their way to consumers and fall into the “Valley of Dead Truths”.

Yosh Han and Miriam Vareldzis (photo provided by Yosh)

Yosh Han and Miriam Vareldzis finished  up the four day conference with an important and game-changing presentation (Diversity Discussion: How to Implement Change in Fragrance) of the importance of changing the olfactive language and storytelling. To illustrate the diversity of fragrances, Miriam shared with us her Rich Amber, Spice B, Vanilla, Incense, and Neroli natural blends.

We want our readers to embrace the importance of their presentation on diversity and scent culture as well as how it must change past perceptions.

July 1st award ceremonies were a fantastic finale to the days of perfume, perfumers, and ingredients we had experienced.

American Society of Perfumers LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT PERFUMER AWARD to Givaudan’s Olivier Gillotin.

QUINTIS SANDALWOOD REIMAGINED AWARD Jennifer Jambon for her Indian sandalwood composition using green florals and powdery orris, sandalwood, and balsamic base notes. Emerging Perfumer Fanny Ginolin was also awarded for her perfume telling the story of sandalwood’s odyssey from India to Australia.

Photo of Art & Olfaction Winners, judges and finalists via Art and Olfaction (CafleureBon has been a media partner since 2016)

ART AND OLFACTION INDEPENDENT AWARD WINNERS

Aged Tea by Pan Seven International, Perfumer: Pan Yu Ching, Huang Chien Shun, Creative Director: Pan Yu Ching

Saskia by Grandiflora, Perfumer: Christophe Laudamiel, with Ugo Charron, Creative Director: Saskia Havekes

ART AND OLFACTION ARTISAN AWARD WINNERS

Mayan Chocolate by Aether Arts Perfume, Perfumer: Amber Jobin (During the Art & Olfaction Awards, Editor- in-Chief Michelyn Camen was honored to accept the award for Amber Jobin, who was unable to be there.

Oolong Tea by One Day, Perfumer: Michael Wong

AFTEL AWARD FOR HANDMADE PERFUME

Behold, Patchouli by Gallagher Fragrances, Perfumer: Daniel Gallagher

SADAKICHI AWARD FOR EXPERIMENTAL WORK WITH SCENT WINNER

Viral Parfum by Maki Ueda, Perfumer: Maki Ueda

CONTRIBUTION TO SCENT CULTURE AWARD WINNER

Nez La Revue

SEPTIMUS PIESSE VISIONARY AWARD WINNER

Mandy Aftel

 BEST OF SHOW at the World Perfumery Congress 2022

Yosh Han and Miriam Vareldzis at World Perfumery Congress 2022 photo provided by Yosh©

 Re-Orientation of Fragrance NOW: When we re-orient the way we communicate the story about “oriental” fragrances from Asia, Far East, Southwest Asia/Middle East, Southeast Asia and South Asia, we start to acknowledge traditional and modern scent culture from these regions from an insider’s perspective, not as tourist/visitor (Westerner) looking in. We must center the respective cultures whose fragrances we are inspired by so as clearly distinguish between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. When we speak about raw materials and their provenance, we can deepen our knowledge about genealogy and get more specific about nomenclature and include local words, traditions, and rituals.”-Yosh Han for CaFleureBon.

Be A Pirate: Sarah McCartney of 4160Tuesdays was one of the most engaging speakers at the conference and gave a relevant call to action presentation. One dead truth she relayed was the myth of a field of black orchids cultivated specifically for Tom Ford’s Black Orchid perfume. Sarah’s voice resonated with many indie perfumers in the audience. She also wins best dressed!

As many readers know Sarah worked with MIchelyn on CaFleureBon X White Queen, Red Queen, and Dark Queen. 2023 will bring a new Queen composed by Sarah.

Symtrap Taking Nature to the Next Level by Symrise

Symrise’s SymTrap® new sustainable, renewable, and natural fruit and vegetable ingredients for perfumer palettes. Their patented technology produces true to life notes like strawberry, banana, blackcurrant, cauliflower, and onion. As part of a press event, Michelyn and I sampled the exquisite fruit notes and loved the banana and apple scents.

Anosmia is the lack of ability to smell and can be mild and short-term of longer lasting. What we didn’t know was that some people are what is called a perfect anosmic and they have never had a sense of smell. We heard from perfect anosmic Emmanuelle Dancourt and Mane Perfumer Ugo Charron about using synesthetic language to create a perfume for Emmanuelle called UMEMA. More on this to follow.

There are many more stories to tell, stay tuned!

Elise Vernon Pearlstine, Senior Contributor and Author with contributions from MIchelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

#Perfumerand Flavorist #worldperfumerycongress

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