By Hannah Powling
Last Wednesday, on the 21st October Handpicked Media hosted a special workshop all about perfume, as we are all in the same HP family here I got to go along; and here is what I learnt on the night…
What is there to learn about perfume? Well, this was a night with a difference; as it was all about gaining confidence and skill when talking and writing about fragrances. Whether you’re a budding blogger or an established journalist, this event was for anyone looking to build on their skills and get a exclusive insight into the world of fragrance.
Fragrance is a tricky subject when it comes to writing. You can’t see it, and you can’t feel it. So how do you put scent into words? Well, there’s the obvious list of ingredients like sandalwood, extract of rose etc – sure, we can all familiarise with that. But sometimes these words just don’t quite capture the real feeling of a scent. Our sense of smell triggers so many memories, so when you smell something it can often be associated with something so personal to you and can take you to many places. This is what you should tap into when you are writing to really make your content unique and descriptive.
The evening was held at the Condé Nast College on Greek Street, and was hosted by Handpicked Media and Kenneth Green Associates, who is one of the biggest fragrance PR’s in London.
After a warm welcome and introduction from Krista, beauty industry expert and MD of Handpicked Media, The Perfume Society‘s co-founder Jo Fairley came to the front to kick off the evening with a workshop.
Jo enlightened us about her journey in the fragrance world, and how to improve your sense of smell. We were handed different spritzed perfume paper strips and were told to literally write down what thoughts and feelings were evoked, without thinking too much about it; to express the fragrance in a much more engaging and personal way.
I was impressed at some of the descriptive words coming form the crowd from just using their noses; from warm embraces, to freshly washed glasses drying on a wooden board. I remember one in particular instantly took me right back to age 7-8, playing doll’s houses at my friend’s house in primary school. It must have been similar to a scent her mother wore, I figured afterwards. It really is remarkable how just one smell can awaken memories, in the most vivid way.
Jo’s expertise suggested that by doing a simple exercise such as smelling around three perfumes per day (ideally in the morning), and writing down what emotions and memories that are triggered in your brain, you work on strengthening your sense of smell.
We were lucky enough to meet Camille Goutal & Isabelle Doyen and hear about their fascinating story that took them from Paris to New York with their luxury Perfume brand Annick Goutal. Camille, who is Annick’s daughter, certainly followed in her mother’s footsteps, sharing her passion for fragrance. Camille admitted she completely follows her instincts when creating a scent and pays little attention to the marketing aspect of things. Camille and her partner Isobel also shared some fantastic stories, everything from how Annick Goutal started her company to more recent experiences of their exotic travels in the pursuit of their iconic fragrances.
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The evening as a whole was a complete eye-opener, and I look forward to getting my next perfume to sniff; it’ll definitely get my mind going out of its safe zone, and I can experiment and (let’s hope) impress you all with some pretty impressive writing. Watch this space…
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