Are you interested in becoming a perfumer but going to a perfumery school is out of the question? And you are wondering if it’s possible?
Becoming a perfumer without any degree or formal training is totally possible, as well as selling your perfumes worldwide. There are many self-taught perfumers and artisan perfumers who have done it before and have their workshops and independent perfume brands.
This list is filled with 6 such great perfumers who have been doing it without a degree or formal perfumery education.
- Mary Lynne
Mary Lynne is one of a kind perfumer, who is also known as an alchemist perfumer and is known for her finest collection of scents that the perfumery world has ever known. Her book Galaxy of Scents: The Ancient Art of Perfume Making, is now a culturally significant book and is not available for buying at the moment.
While I have not read this book(for obvious reasons), I have drawn out some conclusions from the reviews of the book on Amazon: Her perfumery techniques are anything but ordinary, and her personal beliefs on how a perfume should be made play a part, none of which the modern perfumery can teach in years of schooling in perfumery which is now mostly dealing with synthetics. This somehow makes me think of alchemists of medieval Europe, who believed in turning base into metals.
I believe, to be known as an alchemist perfumer, your method does have to be somewhat unconventional, and it is said that she made perfumes using the biblical formula mentioned in Exodus 30:34. She comes from a long line of similar solo practitioners and her perfumes are also known to serve the purpose of more than just smelling good because they are also used for psychic and medicinal purposes
It comes as no surprise that Mary wasn’t fond of synthetic perfumery, and considering she didn’t find anyone to take up her unconventional work, I believe many others weren’t fond of her methods either. But her perfumes are now very rare, as is her book. However, I did find one of her perfumes on eBay if you are wondering.
I would be interested in reading her book getting introduced to her techniques and methods, and getting new insights into her beliefs and world of perfumery.
- Sarah Ireland
Sarah Ireland’s story of self-taught perfumery has appealed to me in various ways. In fact, it is so beautiful and authentic that it might someday motivate me to design a fragrance for myself. She had worked multiple roles as an occupation before realising she wanted to connect more with her surroundings through scents.
Sarah uses music and memories to inspire her to create her perfumes, which are not just highly appreciated and successful but also vegan and cruelty-free. After reading about her story and her perfume collection, I wanted to buy a sampler set right away. But they are only delivered to the United Kingdom it seems.
- Ernest Daltroff
Ernest Daltroff has given 35+ scents to the perfumery world and founded one of the known perfume houses in France, Parfums Caron. Again, this legendary perfumer is known to have learned the art of perfumery and developed a unique olfactory memory without any formal training.
His mother used to wear perfumes, which inspired his sense of smell since his childhood. Even today, many modern perfumes draw inspiration from his creations. Taback Blond is one of his popular creations.
- Andy Tauer
Andy Tauer was(still is?) a tech guy, and if he can do it – follow his dreams of becoming a perfumer that is – you can too. This mention in this list is a unique one as he does have a chemistry background regardless of whether he chose it to become a perfumer.
Andy is quite available on the internet too and seems to have taken the world by storm with his creations. Not only did he bring great popularity to his own brand, but he also brought recognition to the artisan and independent perfume community.
Coming into perfumery wasn’t a conscious choice for him, and he was mostly practising his hobby, I believe that is one hell of a beautiful story we can all learn from.
By the way, if you want to read his blog, it’s right here.
- Dominique Dubrana
Dominique Dubrana, known as AbdesSalaam Attar, is a Sufi convert, and while he doesn’t have a formal degree in perfumery, he did seem to have travelled places from tales and learned about alchemy and spirituality in those places, which you cannot find in the West.
If you are a perfume lover, you must already know that the perfumes of the Muslim world are a different thing altogether. They are known for their quality, and concentration – attars, and that’s what he sells. He took advantage of the aromatherapy trend when it started in Germany and began selling his perfumes at competitive prices, which are, by the way, very highly rated even by industry professionals. He has also catered to custom scents for many people who requested them.
I am intrigued to read the story of AbdesSalaam Attar, who seems to have found religion, spirituality and Sufism while exploring natural scents. He also believes creating scents is very easy and compares it to cooking. And I do believe, it’s the synthetics that mostly need a degree to design and create. If you want to read more on this, you should check out Kafkaesque’s blog post on AbdesSalaam Attar. It was an interesting read for me.
- Yusuf Bhai
My list will not be complete without mentioning this perfumer, who is native to India and is known to be able to replicate any fragrance you bring him. I first came across this person while watching YouTube, where YouTubers are bringing him scents, and he just starts to create the scent right after smelling it.
I find this perfumer a little similar to AbdesSalaam Attar because I believe none of them have big marketing to their name. No company they work for except their own. Although Yusuf Bhai is different in the sense that he was exposed to the world of perfumery since the beginning of his days his family was into this profession.
Yusuf Bhai is also unique in the sense that he gets weird requests for perfumes – people come to him to recreate memories like clothes that belonged to a loved one, or a dead cat. And he is known to create fragrance in very little time.
Takeaway
Learning about the stories and their philosophy of perfumes intrigues me, and makes me want to learn more about them and the world(or worlds) of perfumery. These stories also gave me an idea or a motivation that my journey in exploring this world is just the beginning, and now I don’t know if I want to read about more such stories or smell more perfumes from across the world.
What about you? Are you ready to start your own journey as an independent self-taught perfumer?
