small talk

"Well, actually it was 2012, so not quite so long ago and far away...but still; it was then that I created my first perfume just for myself to wear - New Musk.  This was two years before I founded Dame Perfumery, and the New Musk formula was mixed up just because.  I wore New Musk back then because it calmed me and made me smile; and New Musk was always good for a compliment or two.  I still wear my New Musk regularly now ten years later because...it calms me and makes me smile.  New Musk is my go to scent, it relaxes me and I just know I smell wonderful."

"You know I've got to know something about you, whether you're happy - what flowers you like - your favorite books, music and perfume."  Fred Astaire to Ginger Rogers in The Gay Divorcee (1934).

"My approach to perfume formulation always begins with a rich heart of natural ingredients which are then enhanced, accented and elevated with modern aroma chemical notes.  The result is...magic; light and depth all at once.   With my new Pinyon Pine Man Cologne though I am reminded of the subtle quiet beauty of old-school formulas where the preponderance of naturals creates an unexpected sense of peace. There are no leaps and bounds to be found with Pinyon Pine Man Cologne,  just a constant steady tone which glides along through the day.  So distinct, quiet and unobtrusive.  There but not there but everywhere.  I love it for me and just maybe for you."

"Placing my new everyman Pinyon Pine Man Cologne on the bureau reminds me of the special delight and sense of elegance and anticipation in a full bottle on display at home.  Too often as a perfume maker my daily perfume applications are various formula trials and tests in small unremarkable lab glass samples.  The same scent smell, but certainly not the same enticing experience.  This morning I reach for my full bottle and smile, completely entranced.  Treasure indeed."  

"My early summer reading list includes Jennifer Egan's The Candy House, Richard Powers' The Overstory and Sinclair Lewis' Babbitt.  Indie bookstores only of course. Early summer perfumes include my Minty Man Cologne, Mandarin, Neroli & Cedar for Woman and SOLIFLORE Orange Flower perfume.  Indie also, of course.  I know, I know, that's why you're here. Thank you.  Greatly appreciated."

"Deep into author Ann Patchett's latest and highly recommended collection of essays These Precious Days I came upon this quote which for me applies to both books and perfume. "If owning a bookstore had taught me anything, it was to broaden my interests and forget my assumptions about what I liked and didn't like."

"Including my new Pinyon Pine Man Cologne, there are seven everyman colognes from which I might select one to wear on any given day.  When I wear the first one though, New Musk Man Cologne, it places my mind and body in a particular place of comfort.  It's a gentle smile, and I know this is my fragrance, one I created for myself before Dame Perfumery was even started, a scent I wear often and always because it's just me.  Fragrance is that way, always an exploration and journey, and you always come home to the one you love."

"With the exception of my pure JD Musc Neutre parfum which is quite magical layered everywhere and anywhere, I am not a fan of layering my perfume creations together.  Maybe for you, but it's just not me.  Each of my perfume creations have been made as a composite whole with particular elements in the formula from start to finish designed to speak to you with its own melody.  Two perfumes worn together confuse me, and I fall back to my more is not more approach to perfumery."

"You never forget your first love which for me was my New Musk Man Cologne.  But lately, this fine spring of 2022 I find myself exclusively wearing Minty Man Cologne which is exceptional.  I smile at the memory of developing this scent where I went back and forth between a peppermint theme verses a spearmint theme.  Back and forth, minty peppermint or minty spearmint.  In the end I went with peppermint in the formula and am so glad I did.  Just magical and superb.  Such are the travails of a perfume-maker."

"In conceiving a new perfume formula, do I approach the recipe as a chocolate scent with a rose accent? Or, will it be a rose scent with a chocolate accent? There is indeed a difference in both development and the final result. I decided a rose dominant perfume with a gentle chocolate accent was the way to go, and this is what you will find in my new for '22 Chocolate+ Rose Eau de Parfum."

"Sometimes using the same fragrance in two different forms creates the impression of two different scents entirely.  A fragrance formula recipe blended into an alcohol base is bright, sprightly and dances into the air.   That same fragrance formula recipe blended into an oil base is buttery smooth and lays close to the skin.  Same perfume, two effects.  The solution is of course to wear the oil and EdT together."

"A few years ago I was inspired to make a Mexican Hot Chocolate perfume but all the ingredients which brought the formula to life ultimately detracted from the beautiful pure chocolate essence at the base.  So I removed all the excess ingredients leaving only the chocolate and Chocolate Man Cologne was born. So there, less was more.  Now in 2022 I'm introducing Chocolate+ EdT, an intensified and powered up interpretation of that same chocolate base from back in the day.  Here then, more is more.  Just a matter of time, perspective and want."