Esprit magazine asked me to write about the changing face of men’s fragrance and the way that male shoppers have changed in buying their own fragrances. The piece is available in the October 2017 issue ..read more

Coty recreated L’Origan for the Somerset House Perfume Exhibition this year. Basenotes tasked me to write all about the process. Read the piece here ..read more

I wrote an article for CNN Style about advances in technology for fragrance, from the historic process of headspace to the more modern biotech developments. Read over on CNN style ..read more

6 months ago, my scented partner in crime Thomas, aka the Candy Perfume Boy, had an idea that we should start a perfume podcast. So we did just that. The first 2 episodes of Fume Chat have already ‘aired’. The first was an introduction to the concept and round up of new fragrances, followed by a ‘battle’ episode where we go head to head to decide who has the best taste in the subject matter – be that a fragrance house, note, or style of perfumery. New episodes are available every 2 weeks on a Sunday morning. Please do subscribe on iTunes or listen on Soundcloud. We’re still updating Fragrant ..read more

Since leaving permanent employment in February, I’ve been steadily freelancing and working on a variety of interesting projects with clients old and new. In July, I co-founded Olfiction with Pia Long, industry veteran and independent perfumer, to offer our combined services to clients throughout the fragrance industry – be that brands, retailers, distributors, suppliers or manufacturers. Our combined passion and knowledge is a boon to our clients – who get much better value for money by engaging us as a pair, because our best ideas happen when we’re bouncing them off each other. You can also ..read more

As part of a service for one client, I’m regularly contributing content to Riddle Magazine. This month is all about the renaissance of wet shaving, and how guys are taking time with their grooming routines. Read The Wet Shave ..read more

So, I’ve been working behind the scenes on a YouTube project with Pia of Volatile Fiction, where we sniff all sorts of smelly things and talk about them in our usual, enthusiastic style, getting carried away with ourselves. It’s the start of many of our combined adventures. We’ve filmed a whole bunch of episodes already, and are filming more in the upcoming weeks. There’s a website with shownotes to keep you informed about the products we’ve sniffed and where they come from. We’ll be uploading them weekly from June 3rd onwards. Please give us a watch ..read more

Alexander McQueen teased the launch of the brand’s new perfume through a series of posts across social media yesterday. A banner image, as well as gorgeous visual campaign, herald the forthcoming McQueen Parfum, described as The Signature Scent for Women alongside the hashtag #BLOOMATNIGHT. The name of the fragrance appears to be simply: McQueen Parfum. Details are scant, yet a 15-second video, as well as some stunning visuals, suggest that the perfume will be a white floral bouquet, with jasmine sambac, tuberose and ylang-ylang featuring amongst the notes. At present, the brand have a beauti ..read more

Those of you that haven’t read Septimus Piesse’s seminal 150 year old text, The Art of Perfumery, should pick up a copy and absorb it. Piesse was a British perfumer far ahead of his time. He wrote that “scents, like sounds, appear to influence the olfactory nerve in certain definite degrees.” – an idea that I explored back in the first issue of ODOU. Lenor in Japan took his concept of scents on a scale, and the concept of a perfumery organ, one step further – creating a literal Perfumery Organ, an instrument that plays both sound and smells. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA2E3MhllMo ..read more

As is now an annual tradition, we look back at our favourite launches or discoveries from the past year over at Basenotes. For me, my favourite discovery was the gardens at Art et Parfums, which I was lucky enough to visit back in early September. Sadly, the legendary lily of the valley from which Roudnitska draw the inspiration for Diorissimo was not in bloom (too late in the year), but I did visit the spot and imagine how he must have been inspired by the incredible gardens. You can read the article here ..read more