The Institute for Art and Olfaction

Introduction to Perfume Blending: Structured (in person)
2026-06-24 17:30 - 20:00 (America/Tijuana) | The Institute for Art and Olfaction, 932 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-perfume-blending-structured-in-person-tickets-1988027678302?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
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Join us for a structured approacg to perfume blending. This class is designed for newcomers and beginners of the craft as an onboarding to working with scent at the Institute for Art and Olfaction.
In this class, Minetta Rogers will introduce you to the foundational terminology and techniques of perfumery as we guide you through the steps of working with aromatic materials in our labspace. The class will begin with a guided smelling session that introduces you to the world of aromatic materials. You’ll smell a selection of materials from our organ that shine light on the difference between naturals, synthetics, and bases; top, middle, and base notes; and different dilutions and odor intensities. As a group, you’ll take part in several group blending exercises to demonstrate proper technique in writing perfume formula iterations and blending scent trials.The second portion of the class is dedicated to individual blending time, with a selection of 5 materials chosen and decanted into blending vials by you.
Minetta Rogers is here to assist with material selection, formula tweaking, and basic perfume arithmetic as you experiment, explore, and learn. At the end of class, you’ll take home 5 aromatic materials, a final spray vial of your own formulated blend, and perfume-making knowledge!

Tracing Perfume: Amber and balsamic, 1 (online)
2026-06-30 10:00 - 11:30 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tracing-perfume-amber-balsamic-part-1-online-tickets-1989624295828
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Dana El Masri explores the history of fine fragrance through a series of classes that cover the genealogy of scent. How did aromatic materials influence perfumery? How did perfumers draw from the same source to produce such diverse expressions? Each class in this series explores the most important perfumes in 20th and 21st perfumery from the perspective of the materials that inform them.
In this class, Dana covers perfumes highlighting amber and balsamic materials, focusing on benzoin, frankincense, myrrh, peru balsam, and styrax. She will explore the material provenance, aromatic aspects, and notable perfumes that make use of these notes in various ways. Then, as a group, the class will discuss a series of notes and perfumes that elucidate the category.

Topics covered:
History and cultural impact of perfume materials
Technical information about perfume materials
Overview of these materials in classic, contemporary, mass market, and niche perfumes

Introduction to Perfume Blending: Freestyle (in person)
2026-06-30 17:30 - 20:00 | The Institute for Art and Olfaction, 932 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-perfume-blending-freestyle-in-person-tickets-1988879025705?keep_tld=true
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Join us for Introduction to Blending, a class for beginners to perfumery that is focused on learning how to blend with aromatic materials, and how to create (and balance) a formula. Perfume-lovers and burgeoning olfactory artists have the opportunity to jump right into making their scent dreams a reality, with access to the hundreds of aromatic materials in the IAO lab space.
The class will begin with a quick primer to the world of aromatic materials: synthetics vs. naturals, top/middle/base notes, and dilutions. Participants will be guided through the process of setting up a workstation and how to write a perfume formula, with proportions and balance in mind.
The second portion of the class will be the open exploration of the IAO Organ by all participants. After making individual selections, we will get to blending! With Julianne Lee guiding the class, each participant will learn to make bold changes, subtle refinements, and expand their final formula into a small spray vial to take home.

Olfaction Beyond Gravity: Human Scent Experience in Space
2026-07-07 10:00 - 11:00 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/olfaction-beyond-gravity-human-scent-experience-in-space-tickets-1988011607233?aff=oddtdtcreator
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Dr Caroline McMillan joins the IAO to share her research into human scent experience in space in the latest talk in the IAO’s Olfactory Research Notes series.
On Earth,scent molecules disperse primarily through rising air and diffusion. In microgravity, olfaction changes dramatically. Without aggressive ventilation, air pockets stagnate, odours linger, and bodily fluids migrate toward the nasal cavity, congesting the passages and dulling the sense of smell. The result is sensory monotony, olfactory fatigue, and altered perception. Additionally, astronauts navigate unavoidable, intimate realities in confined, shared spaces. These circumstances create persistent atmosphereswith no fresh air or open windows, and are often marked by avoidance or taboo.
Olfactory cues bespeak identity and anchor well-being. So how do we create meaningful olfactory experiences in orbitwhen our understanding of smell is profoundly altered, both physically and perceptually?
Drawing on astronaut accounts and research from the commercial space industry, this presentation explores scent as an untapped dimension of spatial design. Smell offers subtle, temporal, functional layers that ease discomfort, support mental health, and social cohesion in high-performance environments.

Introduction to Perfume Blending: Freestyle (in person)
2026-07-07 17:30 - 20:00 | The Institute for Art and Olfaction, 932 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-perfume-blending-freestyle-in-person-tickets-1990620501506?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
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Join us for Introduction to Blending, a class for beginners to perfumery that is focused on learning how to blend with aromatic materials, and how to create (and balance) a formula. Perfume-lovers and burgeoning olfactory artists have the opportunity to jump right into making their scent dreams a reality, with access to the hundreds of aromatic materials in the IAO lab space.
The class will begin with a quick primer to the world of aromatic materials: synthetics vs. naturals, top/middle/base notes, and dilutions. Participants will be guided through the process of setting up a workstation and how to write a perfume formula, with proportions and balance in mind.
The second portion of the class will be the open exploration of the IAO Organ by all participants. After making individual selections, we will get to blending! With Julianne Lee guiding the class, each participant will learn to make bold changes, subtle refinements, and expand their final formula into a small spray vial to take home.

Tracing Perfume: Amber and balsamic, 2 (online)
2026-07-14 10:00 - 11:30 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tracing-perfume-amber-balsamic-part-2-online-tickets-1989624871550
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Dana El Masri explores the history of fine fragrance through a series of classes that cover the genealogy of scent. How did aromatic materials influence perfumery? How did perfumers draw from the same source to produce such diverse expressions? Each class in this series explores the most important perfumes in 20th and 21st perfumery from the perspective of the materials that inform them.
In this class, Dana covers perfumes highlighting amber and balsamic materials, focusing on beeswax, cistus-labdanum, and vanilla. She will explore the material provenance, aromatic aspects, and notable perfumes that make use of these notes in various ways. Then, as a group, the class will discuss a series of notes and perfumes that elucidate the category.

Topics covered:
History and cultural impact of perfume materials
Technical information about perfume materials
Overview of these materials in classic, contemporary, mass market, and niche perfumes

Botanical Oil Extracts: Traditional and Machine Methods (online)
2026-07-14 17:00 - 18:30 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/botanical-oil-extracts-traditional-and-machine-methods-online-tickets-1989953043120?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
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Perfumer Lakenda Wallace (Modern Peasant Beauty) is here to help open our eyes to the beauty in our backyards, and harness our favorite herbs and aromatics for applications in artisan beauty and scent practices.

In this online session, Lakenda covers the how-tos and what not-to-dos of extracting oil from botanical materials.
With plenty of time for questions, Lakenda will guide you through the steps for converting enchanting aromatics from your home garden into lovely and meaningful aromatic oil-based materials.

Hsuan L. Hsu and Olfactory Worldmaking (online)
2026-07-15 17:00 - 18:00 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hsuan-l-hsu-and-olfactory-worldmaking-online-tickets-1986805424508?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
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Hsuan L. Hsu shares his research into how smell reshapes human connections, and resists racial and colonial capitalist systems.

Smell is a vital, if underappreciated, medium through which we inhabit and imagine the world. In his new book Olfactory Worldmaking, Hsuan L. Hsu traces how olfactory experience communicates across visceral, material, and affective registers to offer new ways of relating, which challenge the extractive logics of racial and colonial capitalism. Blending environmental humanities, sensory studies, and critical ethnic studies, the book highlights how scent animates suppressed histories and marginalized memories.
Hsu theorizes olfaction as a speculative, reparative practice. Examining projects from historical novels, memoirs, and speculative fiction to conceptual art and experimental perfumes, he reveals how these works mobilize scent to imagine alternative ways of sensing, relating, and creating more equitably livable worlds.
Learn more about ‘Olfactory Worldmaking’, here

ABOUT HSUAN L. HSU
Hsuan L. Hsu is professor of English at the University of California, Davis. He is author of Geography and the Production of Space in Nineteenth-Century American Literature; Sitting in Darkness: Mark Twain’s Asia and Comparative Racialization; The Smell of Risk: Environmental Disparities and Olfactory Aesthetics; and Air Conditioning.

ABOUT OLFACTORY RESEARCH NOTES
Olfactory Research Notes is a lecture series presented by the Institute for Art and Olfaction that highlights important research done in the field of olfaction, directly from the scientists, researchers, academics, and artists who do it.

Citrus, Raw to Refined: A Natural Perfume Workshop (in person)
2026-07-16 17:30 - 20:30 | The Institute for Art and Olfaction, 932 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Learn more: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/citrus-raw-to-refined-a-natural-perfume-workshop-in-person-tickets-1988879196215?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
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Learn how to think and design like a natural perfumer, using solely botanical materials. Citrus, Raw to Refined is a sensory-driven class designed to introduce beginners to perfumery, and to learn to work with a palette of natural materials.

CLASS PROGRAM
Perfumer Jeffrey Paul leads an immersive introduction to natural perfumery, with a focus on citrus materials and the Eau de Cologne fragrance category. Over several hours, participants will smell and assess beautiful natural aromatics and learn to create classic Eau de Cologne structures using a palette that includes fresh citruses, aromatic herbs, elegant woods, and some unexpected surprises.
This class will help train your nose while sharpening your olfactory perception, providing the tools and knowledge that will allow you to transform a handful of raw aromatics into a traditional, structured cologne, based on your own formula developed in class.
ABOUT THE RAW TO REFINED CLASSES
Inspired by the methodology of Jean Carles, the Raw tothe Refined classes are rooted in materiality. Each class begins with a smelling session, where participants will discover a group of curated materials chosen to support the olfactory topic of the day. Over repeated scent evaluations, students learn to sharpen their olfactory perception, a crucial tool in learning to blend perfumery. Students will then be guided through the process of building a blend on top of a foundational citrus-eau de cologne accord to create a fragrance that is rooted in a strong concept and specific fragrance family.
In these classes, perfumer Jeffrey Paul will teach you how to transform olfactory instinct into blending based on a foundation of critical evaluation and an appreciation for the complexity of natural materials. The classes aim to provide a foundation of knowledge about material extraction and fragrance families, and techniques for blind smelling and formulation, resulting in a clear, repeatable method for perfume creation.
Specific class themes will progress seasonally, with citrus in the summer, woods and resins in the fall, gourmand compositions in the winter, and florals in the spring. While each class can be taken as a stand-alone experience, the full series helps build skills, over time.
TOPICS COVERED:
+ Odor evaluation: How to smell and appreciate perfume materials (and reset your senses!)
+ Guided reflection: Documenting smell experiences and ideating for perfumemaking
+ Material understanding: Learning about the qualities and extraction of the chosen ingredients
+ Structural accord construction: Construction of a group accord with an emphasis on formulation techniques
+ Sensory brief creation: The development of a sensory brief in class, with the knowledge required to further refine it, after class

Perfume’s Most Notorious Book and Its Scents: Smelling Session (In Person)
2026-07-17 17:30 - 19:00 | The Institute for Art and Olfaction, 932 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/perfumes-most-notorious-book-and-its-scents-smelling-session-in-person-tickets-1988018267153?aff=oddtdtcreator
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The library at the Institute for Art and Olfaction contains a perfume archive of over a thousand fine fragrances, pieces of olfactory art, and more. Smell through the pages of perfumery’s most notorious book as we smell aromatics mentioned in and perfumes inspired by Patrick Suskind’s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. The novel follows super-smeller Jean-Baptiste Grenouille as he travels through France in the 18th century, honing his sense of smell as he becomes a perfumer and a murderer. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a worldwide phenomenon, inspiring multiple adaptations into film, television, music, and fine fragrance, and influencing decades of enthusiastic readers to enter the world of perfumery — and vice versa.

The Institute for Art and Olfaction team leads a guided smelling session of notable aromatics discussed in the novel, as well as several fine fragrances created as an homage to the work. Scent strips will be handed out by your instructors, before we spend time smelling and discussing our impressions of both the materials and perfumes.
Our discussion will focus on the impressions of aromatics, perfumes and their concordance with the accompanying text. Familiarity with both the original novel and the movie adaptation is not necessary but is highly recommended!
This smelling session will be a special opportunity to smell aromatics and fine fragrances from our library archive. Session will be guided by Minetta Rogers.

Tracing Perfume: Uncommon Florals (in person)
2026-07-21 17:00 - 18:30 | The Institute for Art and Olfaction, 932 Chung King Rd, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tracing-perfume-uncommon-florals-in-person-tickets-1989625143363
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Dana El Masri explores the history of fine fragrance through a series of classes that cover the genealogy of scent. How did aromatic materials influence perfumery? How did perfumers draw from the same source to produce such diverse expressions? Each class in this series explores the most important perfumes in 20th and 21st perfumery from the perspective of the materials that inform them.
In this class, Dana covers perfumes highlighting uncommon florals, including hyacinth, osmanthus, and narcissus. She will explore the material provenance, aromatic aspects, and notable perfumes that make use of these uncommon floral notes in various ways. Then, as a group, the class will smell and discuss a series of notes and perfumes that elucidate the category.

Topics covered:
History and cultural impact of perfume materials
Technical information about perfume materials
Overview of these materials in classic, contemporary, mass market, and niche perfumes

Citrus, Long Lasting: Perfume Accords (online)
2026-07-30 10:00 - 12:00 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/citrus-long-lasting-perfume-accords-online-tickets-1963642634981?aff=oddtdtcreator
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Explore fragrance categories through specific classes designed by The Institute for Art and Olfaction to help new perfumers gain sensory understanding and technical perfumery skills.

For newcomers to the Institute for Art and Olfaction or beginners to the art of blending, this class can be an easy entry point into our Perfume Accords series.
In the latest of her accords classes, Ashley leads an investigation into a long-lasting citrus perfume accord. Learning how to assemble perfume accords leads to a greater adeptness at blending, and well-trained noses. Learn how to construct accords as you explore the individual aromatic components of these perfume accords.

Our accords series helps students of perfumery understand the molecular components of the various facets and types of the most important notes in perfumery. By attending this class, an emerging perfumer or scent artist will expand their capabilities and training, gain the materials knowledge to add a new accord to their arsenal, and leave with a deeper understanding of the artistry and science behind perfumery.
Materials Needed/Pre-Class Homework: We will send you a master document containing the materials list and formulation exercises upon signup via the confirmation email from Eventbrite. Please purchase these materials before attending class. The estimated cost of the perfume materials is $62, not including any labware you may need to purchase. The formulation exercises must be accomplished before the class meets.

Perfume 101, 202, 303 Course (Online: Live + Video)
2026-08-05 10:00 - 2026-08-12 12:00 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/perfume-101-202-303-course-online-live-video-tickets-1990665849142?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
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This class meets online on Wednesday August 5, 2026 from10am to 12pm PDT for Perfume 101 and Thursday, August 20th, 2026 from 10 to 11:30am PDT for Live Q&A for Perfume 202 and 303. The prerecorded lectures for Perfume 202 and 303 will be shared with all registrants on August 12, 2026.

Perfume is an art, a science and a craft. This set of classes serves as an orientation session for newcomers to the field, olfactive adventurers, curious minds, and budding scent enthusiasts who need a little boost.
Perfume 101
In this lecture-based introduction to perfumery, participants will learn about perfume basics such as fragrance families and classifications, get an introduction to perfume-making in a lab, and get an introduction to the different kinds of aromatic materials. Participants will leave with the basic knowledge they need to start a journey down the rabbit hole of appreciating and even making scent, as well as a more considered understanding of what they encounter at the fragrance counter.
Topics covered:
Introduction to scent literacy
Introduction to aromatic materials
Introduction to perfume creation
Introduction to learning resources provided by The Institute for Art and Olfaction
This is an online class that will occur live on Zoom. The video for this session will be available to replay on Zoom for one week after the session ends.

Perfume 202 + Perfume 303
Thoughtful creative preparations and revisions can provide the structure for a thriving artistic output in perfumery. Join Ashley Eden Kessler in two pre-recorded lectures and one live Q&A as she guides you through the important first steps of setting up your own perfume laboratory and working on perfume blends.
Perfume 202: Lab Strategies
Good lab practices can provide the backbone for a thriving creative practice and – for that reason – perfumer Ashley Eden Kessler leads a class that is designed to provide you with the important next steps in your practice. Providing crucial information for setting up a professional perfume lab, and helping you ensure that your practice is built on a solid foundation, Perfume 202 covers the important technical minutiae of your perfume practice, from how to use a scale to how to make a lab solution, an overview of lab hygiene and organization, and how to set up and maintain a working scent organ. This class will allow you to orient yourself as an aspiring perfumer, and help you set up a thriving independent perfume laboratory of your own.
Topics covered:
Pipette techniques (basic and advanced)
How to use a scale with confidence
Overview of lab hygiene and organization
Setting up your work station
Overview of perfume organ set-up and maintenance
Making dilutions from pure, for safe use in perfume-blending
Perfume 303: Perfume Composition Techniques
Designed to provide important next steps for budding perfumers, Perfume 303 will teach you the crucial information for setting up a professional perfume organ, conceptualizing and creating perfume formulas, and helping you ensure that your practice is built on a good artistic habits.
This recurring online class will cover the important creative minutiae. We will review how to organize your library of aromatic materials, talk about how to select your palette for composition, discuss how to best track your formulas, and learn strategies for how to evaluate your trials.
This class, in short, will allow you to ground yourself as an aspiring independent perfumer, and help you develop a methodological approach that will support your long-term practice and give structure upon which your creativity can thrive.
Topics Covered:
How to choose a material palette for perfume composition
Overview of perfume formula writing and maintenance
Introduction to organizing perfume formula writing
How to evaluate perfume trials and revise formulae
Techniques for saving perfume trials
This class is a hybrid video and live online Q+A session. We will send the link to the video portions before the live Q+A. All participants must watch the prerecorded videos for Perfume 202 and 303 before attending the live Q&A session.
For the live event, Ashley Eden Kessler will join for a 1.5 hour Q+A session to cover questions and more.

Schedule of Classes
Wednesday, August 5, 2026 from10am to 12pm PDT
Perfume 101 – live on Zoom, with video replay until September 4, 2026.
August 12, 2026
Access to pre-recorded lectures for Perfume 202 and 303 – video replay until September 4, 2026.
Thursday, August 20, 2026 from 10 to 11:30am PDT
Live Q&A for Perfume 202 and 303 – live on Zoom, with video replay until September 4, 2026.
A ticket allows for access to the live classes, prerecorded lectures, and videos of the classes after they’ve taken place. All videos are will be viewable until September 4, 2026; these videos are not available for download.

Marine: Perfume Accords (online)
2026-08-06 10:00 - 12:00 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/marine-perfume-accords-online-tickets-1963644758332?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
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Explore fragrance categories through specific classes designed by The Institute for Art and Olfaction to help new perfumers gain sensory understanding and technical perfumery skills.
In the latest of her accords classes, Ashley leads an investigation into a complex, oceanic marine perfume accord. Learning how to assemble perfume accords leads to a greater adeptness at blending, and well-trained noses. Learn how to construct accords as you explore the individual aromatic components of these perfume accords.
Our accords series helps students of perfumery understand the molecular components of the various facets and types of the most important notes in perfumery. By attending this class, an emerging perfumer or scent artist will expand their capabilities and training, gain the materials knowledge to add a new accord to their arsenal, and leave with a deeper understanding of the artistry and science behind perfumery.
Materials Needed/Pre-Class Homework: We will send you a master document containing the materials list and formulation exercises upon signup via the confirmation email from Eventbrite. Please purchase these materials before attending class. The estimated cost of the perfume materials is $112, not including any labware you may need to purchase. The formulation exercises must be accomplished before the class meets.

Soft White Woods: Perfume Accords (online)
2026-08-27 10:00 - 12:00 | On Zoom
Sign up: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soft-white-woods-perfume-accords-online-tickets-1963648779359?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true
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In the latest of her accords classes, Ashley leads an investigation into an adaptable, soft, white woods perfume accord. Learning how to assemble perfume accords leads to a greater adeptness at blending, and well-trained noses. Learn how to construct accords as you explore the individual aromatic components of these perfume accords.
Our accords series helps students of perfumery understand the molecular components of the various facets and types of the most important notes in perfumery. By attending this class, an emerging perfumer or scent artist will expand their capabilities and training, gain the materials knowledge to add a new accord to their arsenal, and leave with a deeper understanding of the artistry and science behind perfumery.
Materials Needed/Pre-Class Homework: We will send you a master document containing the materials list and formulation exercises upon signup via the confirmation email from Eventbrite. Please purchase these materials before attending class. The estimated cost of the perfume materials is $77, not including any labware you may need to purchase. The formulation exercises must be accomplished before the class meets.

Five day perfume intensive: Chateau Le Grippault
2026-10-05 - 2026-10-09 | Chateau Le Grippault, 47 Avenue de la Coupure du Parc, Chaveignes, 37120, France
Learn more: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IefleUZoOofkl1Ro3F_UipXKPls_fOGL6YLuQ2paGng/edit?usp=sharing
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Program dates: October 5 to October 9, 2026
Schedule: 10am – 6pm, daily
We return to the charming Chateau le Grippault in the Loire Valley for a five day perfume intensive with Spyros Drospoulos.
The stunning historic castle sits on a beautiful wooded estate just minutes from the historic town of Richelieu (former seat of the famous Cardinal Richelieu), and provides a perfect retreat: A place to focus on learning, in a small group of eight people, led by Spyros’ methodical, materials-based approach. Mornings are spent in lecture, and afternoons are spent applying what you have learned to your own compositions. Group dinners every night, with plenty of opportunity for excursions to the nearby town.
Limited to eight participants.
