This isn't so much a question; it's mostly a report of a hilarious failure.
I tend to be an experiential learner rather than an abstract one, if that makes sense. I've been reading a lot of background material, of course, but new hobbies don't make sense to me until I've tried them first hand. This is particularly true of such skills as cooking and perfumery, where your perceptions of the results are vitally important.
Long story a little longer (as is my tendency) I read somewhere that one of my favorite vintage fragrances, Tabu, contains both civet and castoreum. I thought I'd just try these two together to get an idea of what they smelled like. As I am learning about making perfumes I am also trying to educate my nose about different combinations and notes.
Anyway, the civet nearly made me faint. The castoreum was quite pleasant. At first, the combination (which I added to a base I had made earlier) was quite interesting, if a little strong. Then a couple of days later it had become unbearable. Somehow the combination had bloomed into a stench that took over my entire house as soon as I opened the bottle. I couldn't get it out of my nostrils for days. I scrubbed and scrubbed at my skin (naturally I had to try it on) but still made friends sick later in the day. I dumped the bottle down the kitchen sink, followed by bleach, big mistake. Kitchen smelled like a ... I don't know, sickening rotting earthy biting awful thing for days.
Now all that said, it was an interesting lesson. Again, not really a question, just thought I'd share. There are few hobbies that have engaged my senses in quite such an elemental and immediate way. After all, a failed stew can just be dumped into the garbage, with no one the wiser. (Unless you burn down the kitchen.) A badly knitted sweater can be unraveled. Apparently a lousy perfume lives on for quite a long time.
I tend to be an experiential learner rather than an abstract one, if that makes sense. I've been reading a lot of background material, of course, but new hobbies don't make sense to me until I've tried them first hand. This is particularly true of such skills as cooking and perfumery, where your perceptions of the results are vitally important.
Long story a little longer (as is my tendency) I read somewhere that one of my favorite vintage fragrances, Tabu, contains both civet and castoreum. I thought I'd just try these two together to get an idea of what they smelled like. As I am learning about making perfumes I am also trying to educate my nose about different combinations and notes.
Anyway, the civet nearly made me faint. The castoreum was quite pleasant. At first, the combination (which I added to a base I had made earlier) was quite interesting, if a little strong. Then a couple of days later it had become unbearable. Somehow the combination had bloomed into a stench that took over my entire house as soon as I opened the bottle. I couldn't get it out of my nostrils for days. I scrubbed and scrubbed at my skin (naturally I had to try it on) but still made friends sick later in the day. I dumped the bottle down the kitchen sink, followed by bleach, big mistake. Kitchen smelled like a ... I don't know, sickening rotting earthy biting awful thing for days.
Now all that said, it was an interesting lesson. Again, not really a question, just thought I'd share. There are few hobbies that have engaged my senses in quite such an elemental and immediate way. After all, a failed stew can just be dumped into the garbage, with no one the wiser. (Unless you burn down the kitchen.) A badly knitted sweater can be unraveled. Apparently a lousy perfume lives on for quite a long time.
