Experimenting

Excel-ing a scent

1:40

Have you ever thought that the fleeting experience of a scent boils down to something as prosaic as a spreadsheet?

Scents appear ephemeral, volatile, elusive, and transient. Thus, one of the main challenges in the process of scent development is how this seemingly immaterial experience is materialized, that is, how the perfumer moves from first ideas to the final product. At the end of the day one needs to break down the scent into numbers. Along this experimental journey a spreadsheet is used for writing formulae, analyzing modifications and documenting the various stages of the process. A common perfume is composed of odorous materials, using sets of approximately 15 to 80 natural or synthetic ingredients selected from an olfactory palette of approximately 2500 available ingredients. Some of these ingredients are single molecules whereas natural ingredients are combinations of 50-300 molecules themselves. The final product is the result of several dozen smaller experiments that are documented horizontally on the spreadsheet. Vertically, the spreadsheet lists the ingredients used in the experiment. The precise documentation allows the perfumer to go back to an earlier modification if needed. A typical scent development process requires several dozen stages. But we also witnessed extreme cases with several hundred modifications. Have you ever thought that the fleeting experience of a scent boils down to something as prosaic as a spreadsheet?

No one can smell pepper

1:21

Modification by modification Christophe seeks a numerical feedback on digital scent technology project.

In an increasingly digital world the proximate senses of smell, touch and taste stand out. One cannot capture a smell and send it like a photo via email or other digital communication service. At least not yet. Nevertheless digital scent technology is a vibrant field attracting smart minds all over the world. As a perfumer, Christophe Laudamiel has been involved with some cutting edge projects from the very beginning.

During our observations Christophe developed some realistic scents (e.g. pepper, croissant; French bread etc.) that could work with some innovative digital scent transmission applications. In fact, it was a surprise to see how much the technology of the application can be a challenge to the design of a fragrance. Thus, the choice of a raisin as a carrier material can have a huge impact on the formula. In this case the evaluation followed a more systematic procedure as this clip shows: How precisely does this modification capture the desired scent? In other words: Is this really pepper? And how strong is the scent within the application? In other words: How strong is the pepper? Modification by modification Christophe Laudamiel seeks Christoph Hornetz’s numerical feedback on both questions.

Mundane lab work

4:00

Perfumery is not always glamorous. Creativity unfolds in a nexus of mundane work practices.

Perfumery is practiced in a lab. The lab serves several functions. It is a storage space for the ingredients that are alphabetically shelved. More sensitive materials are kept in a designated refrigerator in the lab. Moreover, the lab provides specific tools and equipment (e.g.  scientific scales). As a special workplace the lab is the place for creating solutions of solid materials or weighing formulae. The lab also serves as the perfumer’s archive where modifications of completed projects are stored. All in all, the lab provides access to the world of the volatile molecules. While observing Christophe’s creative process we were surprised how often he went to the lab to reconnect to his material base. 

Leading Perfumery schools often expect a formal education in chemistry. For example, Christophe Laudamiel studied chemistry in France and eventually earned a Masters degree from MIT. Nevertheless there are other eminent perfumers who never studied chemistry: Francois Coty, Ernest Beaux, and Jean Carles, to name three titans of perfumery. Thus, the relevance of a formal education is certainly debatable. But there is no doubt that a profound understanding of chemical compounds, how they behave or react with each other is essential. At the end of the day the scent development process must follow scientific practices and comply with technical standards and procedures. Hence, this clip zooms into the mundane, less spectacular aspects of lab work. The current discussion of design thinking often reduces design practice to an immaterial, intellectual problem solving technique. In this one-sided context, a closer look at mundane lab work put renewed emphasis back into material practice.

Making of Hemingway in 6-Major

4:08

An upcoming gallery show changes the rules of the game. 

«Clients are the difference between design and art», as a common saying goes. In fact, it is the client who sets the goals, decides on the budget and approves the final scent. Hence, perfumers work under constraints defined by the client whereas creative work is often associated with freedom and autonomy. Yet, constraints can also be helpful because they stimulate creativity rather than suppress it. This clip shows how Christophe copes with a set of self-defined constraints and highlights the importance of independent work for the creative practice. A few days later, the project Hemingway in 6-Major was actually exhibited at a fancy gallery in Chelsea.

Wet dog: Chasing the villain

5:52

This clip features a puzzling mystery Christophe encounters when developing a new scent for Strangelove NYC

In most cases, a perfume is meant to be a pleasurable odor. Technically, it is a mixture of essential oils, aroma compounds, and solvents used to provide an agreeable scent. Yet, the process is more complex than often explained. A useful fragrant ingredient might turn out to be an objectionable odor in a specific combination or concentration: Skatole (from the Greek root skato – meaning «dung») for example, is an indole with a strong fecal odor at high concentrations, but it is often used in perfumery at a much lower concentration where it has a pleasing floral scent. Following the development of a jewel-like fragrance we witnessed how Christophe Laudamiel and Christoph Hornetz suddenly discovered an unpleasant facet, an annoying animalic note. Laudamiel calls it a «wet dog» that only appears after some delay. The two perfumers are puzzled. The phenomenon seems to be really special, if also undesired. They investigate the composition, ingredient by ingredient. In the end, the detective search for malodor delivered a suspect for which Christoph Hornetz had noticed the same unexpected effect in other previous instances: Natactone®. The odor of this chemical compound is often described as «tropical coconut, tonka bean and tobacco». Thus, this clip tells the detective story of a puzzling mystery.