Welcome to a perfumer's blog on perfumery

So, I got this thing coming along and I really look forward to going to Munich, with Vero, to the opening ceremony of Sands Murray - Wassink’s exhibition at Lothringer 13. Both of us,  and Konstantin, will give a perfume talk, presenting some sort of ideas, visions, thoughts. Like some other mornings, I gave the most beautiful speech this very morning, but when waking up the words faded like an eau de cologne, leaving me in bed, wondering about this coming week. But as we are talking art and performance here: No reason to worry, I guess. Worst case scenario: I stand there in Lothringer 13, and do not have more to say than…. “take this!” and I perform and spritz my scents around the public…..

Thus, this is going to be a true fun week; it is -like many weeks before- filled with exciting stuff. And the idea of being off the office for two days is more than welcome. The only reason for worries: The German trains may not run due to strikes. Maybe my old SAAB will be called on duty.

And then, yesterday evening, I realized that there is more exciting stuff waiting for me…I haven’t figured out what ribbon colour to use for packing the Incense extrême.  You see, life is rather coloured these days.
(picture: my favourite ribbon supplier’s palette, with the Incense extrême flyer on top)

Finally, November rain and winds and leaves flying through the air!
With the following November impression, a picture taken 30 min ago from where I live, looking into the sky over Zurich, I send you all fragrant wishes for the upcoming week end.

So I was in the movies,  with my movie (..and beyond!) friend, followed by drinks afterwards. Unfortunately, the bistro did not have anything else to offer (talking wine here) than entire bottles of red wine, thus, it turned out to be an exciting evening.
We watched Persepolis and I can only recommend it. It makes you think, laugh, it brings about tears and memories, it highlights how paradox and twisted life is. Not simple to live, not simple to do right. And suddenly you realize that you discussed this archetypical revolution more than 25 years ago and that by now entire generations in Iran have not seen anything else than this coal bag theocracy. Finally, it makes you think about where freedom starts and any religion/believe must be stopped, how integer you are and what kind of solidarity you expressed in the past.
Thus, I rode my bike to the station this morning, thinking about black bags and other exiting things happening to us. The most exciting stuff happening to me so far this morning: Reading the newspaper diagonally and drinking my morning coffee (DOW down by 2.6%, Swiss Franc at 1.13 to the $US, approaching the 1994 all time low, coffee excellent), opening the mail box, not being able to decide whether to wear Knize Ten, not wearing anything in the end, and crossing the road with the bike.

If you are a christmas cactus (Schlumbergera truncata), you are supposed to flower around Christmas. Nomen est omen.

My Schlumbergera is somewhat premature this year. It was allowed to life a wilde live in the summer months, being outside, playing with the elements. And like the Cattleya (orchid) that only blooms later in the year when it had a chance to face cool nights and hot days, rain and sun, plant louses and other enemies, the Schlumbergera blooms bigger, larger, more colourful than ever before. It is like an explosion in red.

Happening right there, in the living room, where a human eye behind a couple of lenses took pictures. Documenting summer memories, imprinted on Schlumbergera.

I was, more or less in batch mode, wondering since end September about a motive to come up with for my Christmas and Happy New Year cards.  

When looking at the picture below on the computer screen, the X-mas card batch job came to an end, another step forward…..

X-mas= Yes,/var/local/2007/brain/Prioa,yearly,Private
Owner=tauer, brain
Christmas_Card_07Querry.exe 
Summary=executed
Validate= Yes,Confirmed
(Picture: X-mas cactus flowering in November in Zurich)

If you are a chemist at heart, producing perfumes might bring you back to the roots of your joy being a chemist or once having been a chemist. Even a rather simple formula for a fragrance like the Incense extrême features hundreds of individual chemicals being mixed together. Complexity is intrinsic when working with naturals.

Being a chemist at heart and having seen universities form inside all the way through a post-doc without serious harm to my creativity, I thus enjoyed this weekend working on the production side of the incense series. First, after one month maturation the Incense extrême was ready to go into dilution. This is always a thrilling, exciting moment. Standing next to the 20 lt aluminium can, filled with a fragrance that unfolds, like a flower opening up, the fragrant molecules dissolving and mixing in pure ethanol. I took a bottle sample, for tests wearing it eagerly yesterday (and got a compliment yesterday in the office, hurray!), the rest will continue maturing in dilution.

Furthermore, there was heavy production activity for the incense rosé in Zurich  that same Saturday evening. Like heating labdanum resinoid, dark brown viscous delight gently to get it pourable, measuring CO2 extracted B. serrata (Frankincense) in large measuring cylinders, shining golden, and transforming an ordinary place into a gigantic church. This measuring, writing down lot numbers, checking and controlling takes hours and is a truly sensual experience. Like immersing totally into all different compounds that make a fragrance. What follows is cleaning and more cleaning of cylinders…immersing into the nightmare of a cleaning lady.
After all this mixing and measuring: Time to put up a page on my website, telling my clients that there is heavy pouring and measuring activity taking place in Zurich. At least these activities are successful, contrary to my baking ginger bread over the week end, which resulted in flat pieces of brown things (they taste excellent), being hard enough to survive continental drift. A dentist’s joy.

A reminder why I left chemistry.
(picture: Frankincense C02 extract, ready to be poured, shining golden in a measuring cylinder, Saturday evening, November in Zurich)

(picture: Pouring fragrant material into large funnel, to make up a master mix, ready to be stored at 5-10°C for maturation)

November, here in Zurich without any autumn storms so far. Trees burning in all colours, lit by a sun in low orbit. Time to get for the warm stuff in the ward robe. Or even better: Buy new stuff!

Well, that was the plan for Saturday afternoon, but in the end there was no time for extensive shopping, but the weekend continued there were it started: Perfume making.

But before talking mixing and pouring tomorrow, some November thoughts first. With Princes and others having to leave their well paid jobs in their banks: Time to wonder where we are heading there. Looking back, things are clearer, the fog disappears, of course. But: We rent or mortgage payers pay the check at the end, already do, and I just wonder how naive you are allowed to be when heading -for instance- a Swiss bank.

Thus, I am convinced that it is time to go for your warm clothes in money matters, too. And, living in the US, get ready to pay more for your favourite Non-US perfumes. The $ is loosing ground faster than the leaves fall of the trees around here. The mix we are facing is no good. Optimistic voices for the next couple of months remind me in folks wandering in November woods, through a rain of beautiful coloured leaves. They talk about spring, which will come for sure, but first: There is tough winter to come. The trees know.

Picture: November leave picked up in Zurich area yesterday.

Yesterday, I have to admit, I did not indulge in any mixing, nor did I try to close the foreseeable gap between demand and offering (samples!), no: Yesterday I mailed a couple of mails, and did the catwalk with incense rosé in the office, and besides walking around leaving an incense tail, larger than the wave of comet Halley, I was trying to catch up with some of the most urgent office deadlines.
And, hurray, I got a compliment! Right in front of the printer. Yes! And I am proud on it, as I rarely get compliments, for Swiss girls and boys are rather shy in these matters. Maybe they do not want to ask the perfumer what he walks around with, scared they might compliment me on some off-the-shelve grocery market scents?  Like the W.-factor last Tuesday before my departure for the gym, finding my hand, soaked in the latest vetiver trial, in front of him, between nose and computer screen. “What do you think”, I asked and “Hmm, this is good! Where did you buy it”, he replied, and I trot off and wonder…