It’s easy to believe that the secret to creating great fragrances lies in having more materials - more naturals, more synthetics, more obscure aroma chemicals. But as Karen explains in this episode, the opposite is usually true. Expanding your organ too quickly can overwhelm your creativity, stall your progress, and make it harder to build the strong foundation you need to truly master the craft of perfumery.

Karen breaks down exactly why “more” is rarely the answer, why many professionals still work with a limited palette, and how to experiment, build skill, confidence, and clarity by initially using a focused, small set of materials.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In perfumery, progress comes from starting simple and structured learning - not from collecting hundreds of bottles. Most trained perfumers work with a tight palette that they fully understand.
Don´t be tempted to start by exploring big scent concepts; they can lead you to collect unusual materials prematurely. Start by making simple scents first.
Remember: most powerful or “interesting” materials only work in tiny amounts. Without practice and proper dilution, they can easily unbalance a blend.
Start by practicing with a focused set of ingredients. Learn to dilute them correctly, carefully observe how each material and combination behaves and make notes.

BEST MOMENTS

“Weird, wacky, interesting materials do not make you more creative. They don't make you a better perfumer - knowing how to use them does.”

“You are literally trying to build this whole city before you've built your shed in the garden.”

“If you change everything in a formulation over and over again, you're going to keep going around in circles.”

“You can own hundreds of materials and still be guessing and floundering, or you can have 20 core materials and be working with them and learning about how they interact with each other.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

Use the discount code shared during the show to master the 70 most important materials you need to build a strong skill foundation for your perfumer career by going here -

Materials Mastery - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/materials-mastery

Studio Classes - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/studio-classes

Getting Started Guide - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/podcast-getting-started-guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/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: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/karengilbert/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KarenGilbert.co.uk

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@KarenGilbertPerfumeMaking

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

Why Buying More “Magic” Materials Won’t Make You a Better Perfumer