Scent education at the IAO
2012 – ongoing
Are you new to the IAO and looking for where to start? Check out our page for newcomers.
Since 2012, the IAO has provided accessible perfume education programs for students of all levels and interests. We accomplish this through our in-house laboratory-based programs, our library of perfume related books, and lectures and workshops in the larger community.
While our mission is complex and our programs are diverse, our core belief is that all people have a right to engage in the historic and deeply cultural practice of working with scent. We’re devoted to open access in education, and have a dogma-free approach to teaching. We believe that there is no right or wrong way to engage in the historical field of perfumery, as long as you are being respectful, safe, and – of course – responsible.
We are currently operating in a hybrid online / in-person capacity – with a rich roster of online classes supplemented by small in-person sessions, art openings, in-person lectures, and more. We anticipate adding more in person sessions, but we will also keep our online programming.
Below you will find a list of our regular classes. To sign up, visit our calendar of events and click the link below each class listing. That will take you to our eventbrite page where you can register. If you don’t see your desired class on the schedule, send us an email at hello@artandolfaction.com and we’ll let you know when we’re planning the next one.
While our teachers come from various backgrounds and practices, we all share the same values: cultural openness, learning through practice, self-direction, facts without dogma, free spiritedness, tough love, real life roots and historic accuracy. Read more about our values, here.
+ Check the upcoming schedule here
REGULAR CLASSES
Lab Time and In-Person Classes
All our in-person programming, including lab time, talks, and much more can be found on our calendar. We add things all the time, so keep an eye out!
Open Sessions (in person only)
with IAO staff
Open Sessions are the IAO’s longest running program, and are designed precisely for beginners who learn best by diving in, intermediate perfumers who want to explore new materials, or advanced perfumers who want to be part of a diverse and creative community! Relaxed and self-directed (don’t worry, we’re here to help), these informal sessions are a great chance to get your first experiences, or refine your blending techniques, using the IAO’s abundant organ.
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Perfume 101: Perfume Literacy (in person or online)
with Minetta Rogers
In this theory-focused introduction to perfumery, participants will learn the difference between top, middle and bottom notes, how to make a dilution, get a brief introduction to perfume math concepts, and more. As a group, the class will explore fragrance families and classifications, get an introduction to perfume-making in a lab, and get an introduction to the different kinds of aromatic materials.
No materials are needed for this class.
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Accord Classes (online only)
with Ashley Eden Kessler
Bi-monthly examination of the technical components of fragrance types, with working formulas. Each session focusses on helping students understand the molecular components of the various facets and types of the material, leading to a greater adeptness at blending, and well-trained noses.
Materials are needed for this class and must be purchased separately: information is sent upon signup.
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11-Week Materials Evaluation Class (online only)
Ashley Eden Kessler
Offered three times a year, this eleven week session explores the crucial materials in the perfumers’ organ. In each 2.5 hour online session, the class smells and discusses five crucial perfume materials, systematically exploring the materials organ category by category, going into the function, aesthetics and technicalities of each material and its fragrance family.
Materials are needed for this class and must be purchased separately: information is sent upon signup.
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Perfume Intensive (in person or online)
Spyros Drosopoulos
A bi-annual five day intensive that covers lab work, aromatic materials, formulation, perfume types and so much more. This class is taught both in person and online, and we alternate between the two.
For the online course, materials are required, and must be purchased separately for this class.
For the in-person course, materials are supplied.
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Atlas Obscura: Experimental Perfumery (online only)
with Saskia Wilson-Brown and Atlas Obscura
Working with scent can extend beyond the perfume bottle. With a history of creative applications in galleries, concert halls and more, scent can expand a practice, subvert an expectation and serve as a powerful communication tool. If you’ve been curious about using scent in the context of your creative practice, this is where you start.
Materials are needed for this class and must be purchased separately: information is sent upon signup.
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Scent and Society (online only)
various speakers, curated by Nuri McBride
Launched in 2018 with an exploration of scent practices across the Middle East and North Africa (curated by Dana El Masri), Scent and Society currently takes the form of a series of talks that explores the multiplicity of perfume history – unlearning the Euro-centric narrative of perfumery by presenting research and practices from around the world. Ongoing online lectures will highlight the various historical threads relating to perfumery and scent-making across time, and across the world – from the practices of ancient people to today’s independent perspectives. Our current program is curated by writer, perfumer, researcher, and community organiser, Nuri McBride.
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Sensing: ____ (in person)
with Maite Gomez-Rejón, Saskia Wilson-Brown
‘Sensing: ____’ takes the form of multi-sensorial sessions that explore art through scent, taste, sound, touch and sight. Connecting two artworks at an institution to the broader cultural context in which they were made, Maite and Saskia share insight into the trade, the history and the material culture informing the paintings, with a special emphasis and food and perfume history. Each session gives participants an opportunity to experience the tastes, sounds and smells of the period through hands-on creation.
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SEMI-REGULAR CLASSES
Writing About Smell, Parts 1, 2, 3: The Aromatic Word, Form and Editing (online only)
with John Biebel
John Biebel leads a series of interactive talks exploring the unique proposition of translation sensation into the written word. Part 1 introduces writing ideas, concepts and methods, covering specific kinds of written forms in scent writing with a particular focus on creating rich and vivid interpretations of smell in writing. Part 2 covers form: how to understand our audience, different writing approaches (using forms available across different media platforms), and how to move between the verbal and the written word. This class hopes to help guide your creative writing into effective – and inspirational – channels. Part 3 covers editing: looking at how revision impacts the value of our words, and how to edit to focus the emphasis of our arguments. Let’s kill our darlings for the sake of focused communication in writing.
Creative Development for Perfumery Parts 1, 2, 3 (online only)
with Michael Nordstrand
With thousands of fine fragrances in the market, how do you distinguish your fragrance and your brand from those around it? How do you develop the idea, the story and the mood of the scent, perhaps before you have even begun to blend it? In a two day online class, perfumer Michael Nordstrand teaches creative development for perfumery, from conceptualization to writing briefs.
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Perfume 202/303: Lab Strategies (online) / Perfume Composition Techniques (online)
with Ashley Eden Kessler
Pefume 202: Good lab practices can provide the backbone for a thriving creative practice. This class is designed to provide you with the important next steps in your practice: from making solutions to storing your materials.
Perfume 303: Perfume composition and evaluation techniques, including how to organize your library of aromatic materials, how to select your palette for composition, how to best track your formulas, and how to evaluate your trials.
No materials are needed for these classes.
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Foundations of Independent Perfumery (in person or online)
Introduction to Lab Work (in person or online)
Perfume Math (in person or online)
with Saskia Wilson-Brown
Foundations: Perfume is created in a vast, complicated and multi-pronged industry, that only recently has begun to open up. IAO’s Saskia explains all, covering the history and the most important touchpoints in contemporary perfumery.
Lab Work: An introduction to setting up your home laboratory, including making solutions by weight and volume, handling tricky materials, tracking formulas, deciphering a materials safety data sheet, a quick introduction to IFRA, and basic lab safety.
Math: A lecture-based class that is designed to help new perfumers make sense of the mathematics of working with scent. Topics covered include an overview of solution percentages and how to move seamlessly from one to another, tips and tricks to help you formulate with expansion in mind, how to convert from drops to ml, ml to grams, and etc., how to expand a formula.
No materials are needed for these classes.
Essential Components 1 and 2 (online only)
with John Biebel
A generous introduction to basic perfume materials, itemizing and describing important components for a new perfumer. Participants will be able to learn what these components do, and the importance they play in creating fragrances, with – of course – a look at suppliers. Attendees receive a handout of materials covered.
No materials are needed for this class.
Perfume Design Challenge / Special Blending Sessions (in person only)
with Minetta Rogers
Inspired by the “design charettes” of architecture schools, the IAO Perfume Design Challenge is a hands-on timed challenge, intended to jump-start the creative process and teach students quick design problem-solving with a limited olfactory palette. The program is intended to allow participants to learn how to respond to design briefs of all varieties, while experimenting with aromatic materials and creative briefs.
Tinctures, Hydrosols, Distillation, Enfleurage (online only)
with Lakenda Wallace
A series of classes that cover how to work with harvested materials from nature, with an emphasis on technical aspects of creating hydrosols and tinctures for applications in artisan beauty and scent practices.
No materials are needed for this class.
Meet a Nose (in person or online)
Various guests, moderated by Saskia Wilson-Brown
Each edition of Meet a Nose takes the form of a one-hour moderated discussions, where extraordinary thinkers, singular artists, and distinctive perfumers from around the world share their unique perspectives on what it means to be a sensorial human in the world.
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The Science of Smell (online only)
with Anna D’Errico
Perfumery is an art. But it is based in science. While it is easy to forsake rigour in our quest for beauty, it is important not to lose sight of empirical truths. Neuroscientist Anna D’Errico is here to help, in the Science of Smell series. Over an ongoing series of talks, Anna D’Errico covers some of the hot-button topics in perfume science – from pheromones, to the link between scent and memory, with many other topics in between. The series is rooted in science thinking, and intends to present researched truth in the face of misunderstanding and half-truths – busting a few myths, along the way.
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Signature and Styles: Perfumer and Genre Spotlight Classes (online only)
with Dana El Masri
Signatures and Styles explores important perfumers, and – occasionally – important aromatic genres, providing an excellent way to get to know your perfume history, and understand the trajectory of a perfume material in fine fragrance.Focusing on perfumers with 20+ years of experience, these sessions will examine the careers and output of influential artists and movers in the field, creating a better awareness of the impact of individual styles.
No materials are needed for this class.
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A few notes about our classes
Many of our online classes have recommended materials, which we send to you before class in the Eventbrite confirmation email. You are responsible for buying your materials, and we have put together a handy list of suppliers, which you can find here.
All our classes – unless otherwise noted – engage in the full range of available perfume materials, including naturals, synthetics, and etc. We choose to teach in this way because we believe that having full access to knowledge will empower our participants to make informed decisions about their own practices.
If you are looking for naturals-only education, please consult our map of educators to find curriculum appropriate to your desires.
Useful lab tools for new practices:
Pipettes
Scent Strips
15ml bottles (for your materials in solution) + dropper tops
Solvents for making lab solutions
A scale (we recommend the MyWeigh iBalance 101 as a starter scale)