Inspiration from my trip to Grasse this summer

Coffee, pizza, pasta, lavender, black sesame. But first, my natural perfume workshop.

Grasse has been the heart of perfumery since before the 1700s, and that's obvious. Every street downtown seems to have a perfume shop, an independent perfumer, or an old-school manufacturer tucked into it. Most work almost entirely in synthetics, but I managed to track down a few houses working with naturals.

Pure Signature Grasse caught my eye first, so I booked a workshop, and lucky me, I ended up with the place to myself.

They had me pick from a handful of pre-composed natural formulas to build from, and I went straight for the one with tonka (no surprise there, I'm obsessed). I added a single drop of tuberose to round it out. The full ingredient list: tonka, Madagascar vanilla, Bulgarian rose, sandalwood, ambrette, vetiver, immortelle, iris, patchouli, grapefruit, and that added tuberose. The formula is pictured below. https://puresignature.fr/en/ateliers

It was a good reminder that there's no single right way into scent. It's different from how I teach my own workshops, where I love walking people through building a perfume or cologne from scratch, note by note, so they walk away with something that's really theirs. But there was something nice about having most of the work already done for me. I'll admit, I was a little nervous going in, since my French will only get me so far. 

As a bonus, I asked them what raw material I could bring home for my own work, something unique to France, a true specialty note. Their answer: carrot. It's made in France and smells surprisingly sweet, not at all what you'd expect. Close your eyes and smell it, and carrots are the last thing that comes to mind. It reads more like a soft, subtle flower.

I capped off the day with a black sesame latte from a café up the street. It arrived with a little cat drawn on top. Perfect day.