In this episode, Karen shares valuable insights on transitioning from experimentation to a more structured approach in perfumery. Karen discusses common challenges such as feeling overwhelmed by raw materials, creating balanced accords, and translating ideas into finished fragrances. She provides practical tips like simplifying your palette, starting small with accords, and focusing on fragrance structure and storytelling. Tune in to gain a fresh perspective on your fragrance creation journey and grab her special Black Friday offer: The Foundations of Fragrance Collection

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• It's easy to feel stuck when you're trying to pull all of these pieces together by yourself, but it doesn't have to be that way.

• Every successful perfumer has been where you are now. We all start out with the same basic challenges.

• It's tempting to try everything, but without an understanding of the materials and the specific roles that different materials play, it's really easy to get completely lost or frustrated.

• Successful perfumery does not happen by accident. It's not just about throwing materials together and hoping for the best. It's about having a clear process and the knowledge to guide your decisions along the way. And that is why I have put together the Foundations of Fragrance Collection.

BEST MOMENTS

“Every successful perfumer started where you are now.”

“Simplify your palette. Pick a few materials you are curious about and get to know them deeply.”

“Using a mind map, brainstorm or mood board is a great starting point to help you map out your fragrance.”

EPISODE LINKS

Foundations of Fragrance Collection

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Getting Started Guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind

ABOUT THE HOST

Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way.

Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances.

With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques.

Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.

CONTACT DETAILS

Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Email

After receiving a couple of emails from people who were reluctant to join Karen’s online workshops because they were to be hosted on Facebook, Karen has been inspired to produce an episode on social media. Whilst social media is ever present in our lives and can be seen to have negative effects on our health and wellbeing, if you use it correctly, it can be an extremely powerful tool for business. In this episode, Karen gives a full overview of social media, its many platforms, the areas to be wary of and how you can leverage it to get the most out of it for your business.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

● Karen started her first business long before social media existed. For those of you unsure of how much social media has benefited small business marketing, Karen outlines the differences between then and now.

● Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Youtube, Pinterest - There are so many social media platforms that could help you but, which one, or combination, is right for you? Karen breaks down the pros and cons of each.

● Despite some people’s objections to social media Karen continues to use Facebook to deliver her training courses. She outlines why she thinks it's a platform that works.

● Messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp are also considered social media. Karen details what these apps can do for your business and also their pros and cons.

BEST MOMENTS

“Social media is an incredible tool to help single person businesses reach millions of customers for pennies.”

“It’s essential that you look at social media as a business tool and not as a consumer space.”

“The best thing about social media - You don’t pay for advertising.”

EPISODE LINKS

The Scent Shift

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Getting Started Guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind

ABOUT THE HOST

Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way.

Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances.

With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques.

Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.

CONTACT DETAILS

Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Email

Running a successful perfume business doesn’t just require someone who can blend materials to create a sweet scent, or someone who can market effectively. A truly successful perfume business also requires someone with the right mindset. That’s why, this week on the show, Karen is taking a break from regular programming and presenting an interactive episode designed to change your mindset. With exercises on planning your future, overcoming fears and stepping into the unknown, this episode will give you the tools to be successful and elevate your journey as a perfumer to the next level.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Can any of us know what your future looks like? What if we could actually create the future we want for ourselves? Karen invites you to participate in an exercise that can help you create the future you want.
• What are you afraid of? Lack of money? Time? Karen shares an exercise that encourages you to face your fear and, in doing so, may reveal that the thing you are afraid of is not what it first seems to be.
• Nobody likes to fail, and we often partner failure with thoughts of quitting. However, as Karen explains, failure can be better than success for our long term growth. And, she shares an exercise for reframing your failures.
• Stepping outside of our comfort zones is a daunting prospect, especially if we find ourselves in a place of relative success. Karen shares an exercise that will help you take a leap forward, and it’s not as scary as you first think.

BEST MOMENTS

“Let your vision be your anchor.”

“When we start to make progress it is often our fear of failure that can hold us back.”

“Our fears are there to keep us safe, but they can also keep us stuck, if we don’t acknowledge them.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Getting Started Guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind

ABOUT THE HOST

Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way.

Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances.

With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques.

Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.

CONTACT DETAILS

Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Email

Karen recently received an email asking for her advice on launching a perfume brand. However, the author of the email had only given themselves a 6 month deadline to get everything ready to launch. Karen’s instant reaction - “This is not enough time.” Perfume making is not just a science, it’s an art. And, like all art, it can’t be rushed. In this episode, Karen doubles down on the importance of taking your time to get where you want to go and explains the process and procedures for making sure you do it right.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• It’s natural to want to jump to the end when starting your own business, after all, you want to start seeing the money coming in. But, as Karen explains, your role will change dramatically once your business is active so it is important to master one area before moving to the next.
• Perfume making isn’t just about creativity, it’s about understanding the materials. Karen explains how this essential aspect of perfume making should not be rushed and the consequences if you do rush it.
• When you launch into the perfume market, you compete with countless other brands. The one thing that can, and often does, set you apart is presenting a product made with care and attention. Karen explains how to do this without rushing.
• Karen ends the episode by sharing her top tips on how to embrace and enjoy the process of perfume making, making sure you spend the right amount of time on the right things.

BEST MOMENTS

“The most important and enjoyable part of the perfume making journey is the learning and creating.”

“The more time you spend trying things out, the more confident you’re going to become as a perfume maker.”

“When you’ve taken the time to find your voice in your brand, it really shows in your work and that’s what will make you stand out.”

EPISODE LINKS

The Scent Design Challenge

Deep Work - Cal Newport

The Artist's Way - Julia Cameron (Morning Pages)

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Getting Started Guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind

ABOUT THE HOST

Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way.

Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances.

With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques.

Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.

CONTACT DETAILS

Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Email

This week Karen is joined by Liz Grech, an alumni of Karen’s Artisan Perfumery Mastermind course and founder of Olentium, a perfume brand based in Malta. Liz started her career as a journalist before the birth of her son unexpectedly moved her into the world of fragrance. In this interview with Karen, she discusses her career trajectory, how it takes time to find your voice, what you can do as an indie brand to compete with the big boys and how it felt to be a finalist at the Art & Olfaction Awards in 2024.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Liz had a successful career in journalism. When her son was born she began to be interested in various skin care products and how they would affect a newborn. She explains to Karen how this eventually led her into the world of fragrance.
• Coming from a journalistic background, Liz has a deep understanding of the importance of having a story to your fragrances. She describes to Karen how she uses classic literature, the seasons and her home in Malta to create these stories.
• Olentium wasn’t Liz’s first iteration of her business. She explains to Karen how her brand and philosophy have changed over the years and how she finally found her groove.
• One of the restrictions all indie brands face is access to certain materials and packaging as suppliers will not sell in small quantities. Karen and Liz discuss these challenges and some unique ways they have found to work around them.

BEST MOMENTS

“One of the best pieces of advice I can give is ‘know when to stop tinkering’.”

“Do what you can with social media, don’t think you have to be everywhere doing everything.”

“The people that have opted into your email list are the ones that have said ‘I’m interested.’, so don’t ignore them.”

EPISODE LINKS

Olentium Website

Olentium Instagram

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Getting Started Guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind

ABOUT THE GUEST

Anglo-Maltese Olentium founder Liz Grech started out in magazine journalism and digital communications. Pivoting interests over the past decade, Liz gained a diploma in organic cosmetic formulation before taking up perfumery, training both with Karen Gilbert and teaching herself through experimentation.

Liz uses a high percentage of botanicals in her mixed-media perfumes, drawing first on those ingredients native to the Mediterranean where she lives. She launched Olentium to merge her life-long passion for fragrance with her desire to capture the spirit and soul of the Mediterranean in scent stories. Her perfume Bal Baroque was a 2024 Finalist in the artisan category of the LA-based Institute of Art & Olfaction Awards.

Liz designs Olentium fragrances in her atelier-lab in a Maltese village house, and sells worldwide online as well as through a growing number of niche perfume stockists.

ABOUT THE HOST

Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way.

Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances.

With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques.

Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.

CONTACT DETAILS

Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Email

This week on the show, Karen is taking a break from regular programming and presenting you all with a diary-style episode after spending the last week thinking about staying in alignment with your actions, not just in business, but in life. In this episode Karen covers what it means to stay true to your values and creative goals, the importance of avoiding the shoulds, and her top tips for achieving a work-life balance so that you can stay in perfect alignment.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• What does it mean to take aligned action? From her experience, Karen discusses what this means to her and how you might be waiting for the right time when it’s now.
• One of the best pieces of advice Karen received was to “Stay out of the shoulds.” But what does this mean? How can you do it? And, how can it impact your life?
• A work-life balance is incredibly important, especially when you work in a creative industry and your job can also be your hobby. Karen talks about how she achieves this balance and how important it is to have one.
• Karen has recently lost one of her close friends. As with any bereavement, this has put things into perspective. Karen shares her thoughts on the importance of finding what’s important and living life for the now.

BEST MOMENTS

“Trust your gut, start with where you are and what you’ve got. You can always make changes further down the road.”

“You are always going to get more opportunities, so don’t feel bad about the ones you turn down.”

“There is no perfect time, the time is now.”

EPISODE LINKS

October 5 Day Scent Design Workshop

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Getting Started Guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind

ABOUT THE HOST

Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way.

Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances.

With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques.

Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.

CONTACT DETAILS

Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Email

This week marks the fourth and final part of Karen’s mini-series on fragrance families. And, she’s ending the series with one of the most important families - Fougere. Created over a century ago, Fougere has had an immense impact on the perfume industry, from its pioneering use of synthetics to its worldwide appeal with the launch of ‘Brut’. In this episode, Karen tells you all you need to know about Fougere, from why it's lasted so long, the key ingredients, and how to make your Fougere fragrance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Karen gives a detailed overview of the history of Fougere fragrances, from its initial creation in 1882 by Paul Parquet of Houbigant, its pioneering use of synthetics, and its impact over the decades.

• What makes a Fougere a Fougere? Karen breaks down which notes make up the main accord, what qualities each of them adds to the fragrance, and what other materials can be added to enhance the fragrance.

• One of the most famous examples of a Fougere fragrance is Brut. But, underneath the marketing and packaging, it is a quite feminine fragrance. Karen talks about the crucial role marketing plays in selling your fragrance.

• Karen give a breakdown of some of the most famous Fougere fragrances and how they impacted the family and its evolution.

BEST MOMENTS

“The success of Fougere Royale showed that synthetics could enhance and expand what was possible in perfumery.”

“If you’re studying music, you go back and look at the roots to understand it properly. The same is true for perfume.”

“As long as you are creating safe perfumes there are no rules as to what a fragrance can be.”

EPISODE LINKS

Karen’s Book

October 5 Day Scent Design Workshop

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Getting Started Guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind

ABOUT THE HOST

Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way.

Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their personalised fragrances.

With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen can offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques.

Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.

CONTACT DETAILS

Website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

Email