Choked Up: The Perfumer's Grief

Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#1
#1
So it's been an agonizing time here at the office in Amman... I'm literally out of breath. Lungs full of fumes as I agonize over the new Sultan Rose Attar. I don't know what got the idea of making a frankincense heavy oud attar this time around in my head and I'm seeing the last of my precious Qaboos rose disappear as there is no end in sight to this experiment in fragrant suffocation....

The best part was during iftar and tarawih prayers, when someone went around with a roll on, swiping everyone with a chemical warfare juice from hell. The only break my lungs got was ruined by the household cleaner frag the brother thought to grace everyone with. I gave him an earful afterward but to what use?.... By then I could taste the detergent worthy 'fragrance' in my mouth!

I guess this stuff is not very much fun to read, but it is my reality, the life of a nose plagued by smells....
 
Last edited:
RobertOne

RobertOne

Well-Known Member
#2
#2
My sympathies.

I have certainly become more sensitive to artificial scents by at least an order of magnitude after using only natural fragrances, it's making some shopping experiences quite an anerobic dash to get past the fragrance department.

However, I suspect fasting and the hunger and thirst from it might be whetting your senses even further than normal for you, so perhaps this might be a superb time to step away from your bench for a while and just experience the aromas of everyday living.

Due to my near perpetual jet-lag with working at night I have forgot to apply Oud on many occasions now but this means that the next day it becomes even more of a joy....

Strength to you.
 
Philip

Philip

Well-Known Member
#3
#3
Sultan Rose + frankincense heavy? :eek: Just admit it, you're basically making this for me :p I'm so glad to hear that you're choking hehe - Can't wait to sample this!

Btw, I can totally relate to your plight. Except instead of prayer at a masjid, for me it usually happens at the mall when vendors at the "perfume" section readily and unsolicitedly spray me with their nasty stuff. I often feel like Neo from the Matrix dodging bullets.

Cheers ;)
 
kesiro

kesiro

Well-Known Member
#4
#4
No question, @OudforLife. I have developed a strong aversion to synthetic scents, of any variety. Makes it tough to get everything 100% natural, like soaps, shampoos, detergents, etc.
The Matrix analogy is so perfect at the department stores.
 
mec09nr

mec09nr

Member
#6
#6
@Ensar how does one experiment with blends?! I assume you would just keep trying ingredients in different quantities until it hits the spot?! You must have to use tiny drop no?! As I would imagine a lot of expensive ingredients would go to waste in the failed experiments?!
 
Kruger

Kruger

Well-Known Member
#7
#7
@mec09nr, we’re talking like .03 of this, .1 of that, 0.66 of the other one. You need to get your micro-pipettes out to be able to do some of it – it’s not a matter of drops… more like parts of a drop. Then try doing such minuscule amounts with solid aromatics that are too delicate to heat-to-make-them-liquid… and you’re making different permutations, with minor variations. So it can get extreeeemely time-consuming, and stressful if you’re working with utterly irreplaceable ingredients like the Qaboos rose. By the end of the day you need a nose brace!

I don’t think Ensar will mention this out of his own accord, but professional perfumery isn’t just about sitting down and throwing a bunch of things together. Anybody can do that. He usually has a very specific vision in mind and then he sits down and composes the work on paper first. He drafts 2, 3, 4 compositions, goes back and forth to review them, adds notes, etc… all before uncapping a single ingredient. You’d see the same approach with many musicians. They’d often write the score before they’d even play a single note out loud. Or they’d just honk, tap, or strum a chord here and there to see if their imagination matches true sound. It’s quite a sight to behold!
 
hasans1

hasans1

New Member
#9
#9
Ensar said:
So it's been an agonizing time here at the office in Amman... I'm literally out of breath. Lungs full of fumes as I agonize over the new Sultan Rose Attar. I don't know what got the idea of making a frankincense heavy oud attar this time around in my head and I'm seeing the last of my precious Qaboos rose disappear as there is no end in sight to this experiment in fragrant suffocation....

The best part was during iftar and tarawih prayers, when someone went around with a roll on, swiping everyone with a chemical warfare juice from hell. The only break my lungs got was ruined by the household cleaner frag the brother thought to grace everyone with. I gave him an earful afterward but to what use?.... By then I could taste the detergent worthy 'fragrance' in my mouth!

I guess this stuff is not very much fun to read, but it is my reality, the life of a nose plagued by smells....
Click to expand...
Lol. Bad adab to say 'no'. So you're just stuck offering a grimacing smile and a 'shukran brother' as he coats your wrists with his favorite scent of chemical death; right on top of the last notes of the Yusuf you put on 6hrs ago that you were looking forward to getting a whiff of during tarawih.
 
A

Alkhadra

Guest
#10
#10
Ensar said:
The best part was during iftar and tarawih prayers, when someone went around with a roll on, swiping everyone with a chemical warfare juice from hell. The only break my lungs got was ruined by the household cleaner frag the brother thought to grace everyone with. I gave him an earful afterward but to what use?.... By then I could taste the detergent worthy 'fragrance' in my mouth!
Click to expand...
Seems like you got away lucky! I was at a dinner gathering a couple weeks back. My friends were hunting deer and we decided to cook the kabsa. After eating and snipping our tea, a good intentioned gentlemen brought out a bottle of Oud with a roller. He goes around the majlis and rolls it on everyones hand, when he comes to me he says "Oh Malik, you love Oud!!" and grabs my hand and rolls it a good 4 or 5 times. The smell was so horribly rancid! Those Laos Ouds that aren't even made from Oud, but fermenting random white wood until maggots are found in the barrels, mixed with your favorite synthetics. :D I thought my nose was going to bleed!

They kept asking me how it was, if it was good and "high quality". All I said was "Do you like it?", to which he replied "It's my favorite", and I said "then that's all that matters brother"
 
saint458

saint458

Well-Known Member
#11
#11
Ensar said:
The best part was during iftar and tarawih prayers, when someone went around with a roll on, swiping everyone with a chemical warfare juice from hell. The only break my lungs got was ruined by the household cleaner frag the brother thought to grace everyone with. I gave him an earful afterward but to what use?.... By then I could taste the detergent worthy 'fragrance' in my mouth!

I guess this stuff is not very much fun to read, but it is my reality, the life of a nose plagued by smells....
Click to expand...
Same here. Even often all over the year. Some people come to join 5 times prayer with their cheap heady synthetics which surrounds air around with rotten vomit 'aromatic' clouds..... nothing I could do with it. After collective prayer I remove myself from the place I stood every time instantly which is even a Sunnah.

In here there is absolutely no idea about natural aromatics or artisanal ouds. Probably I'm the one among thousands in my community masjid.
 
Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#12
#12
saint458 said:
Same here. Even often all over the year. Some people come to join 5 times prayer with their cheap heady synthetics which surrounds air around with rotten vomit 'aromatic' clouds..... In here there is absolutely no idea about natural aromatics or artisanal ouds. Probably I'm the one among thousands in my community masjid.
Click to expand...
When I moved to Singapore, I chose my apartment mainly because of its proximity to a mosque that I liked. After finally moving in, as I started to frequent the mosque daily, I noticed they have these automatic air freshener spritz machines up on each wall. You know, the kind that are manufactured for public restrooms. Every few minutes, it will spray the praying folk with a megadose of carcinogenic fumes from each direction.

After praying with my hand on my mouth a few times, I mustered enough courage to approach the administrator (in Singapore, you need courage to do such a thing).

"Look, pak, this stuff is toxic. We're praying and getting sprayed with dangerous chemicals. Please trust me, I work in the fragrance industry. I know what I am talking about. These things are very bad for your health."

At this point, he gave me a cunning look: "So you're trying to sell me something?" his eyes were saying.

"I'd be happy to donate free natural perfumes for you to perfume the mosque with. Incense, essential oils, you name it. You don't have to pay a cent. I'll be happy to do it for the mosque. Just please remove the chemical air fresheners."

To this day, the bathroom atomizers are up on the walls.
 
Oudamberlove

Oudamberlove

Well-Known Member
#13
#13
I train myself to have no aversions to fowl scents. I have to behold the good and the bad. But TOXIC stuff is a different story. Being exposed to toxic substances is not good in any way, shape, or form.
But it's sad that toxins are everywhere nowadays:(
 
Larry K.

Larry K.

Active Member
#14
#14
The ones who have the synthetic scents probably have good noses and enjoy fragrance, but have not had the experience to develop taste or discrimination. My guess is that with a little guidance, these are exactly the people who will be willing to learn, and whose lives will be improved as their knowledge increases.
 
Ensar Oud

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#15
#15
Ensar said:
So it's been an agonizing time here at the office in Amman... I'm literally out of breath. Lungs full of fumes as I agonize over the new Sultan Rose Attar. I don't know what got the idea of making a frankincense heavy oud attar this time around in my head and I'm seeing the last of my precious Qaboos rose disappear as there is no end in sight to this experiment in fragrant suffocation....

I guess this stuff is not very much fun to read, but it is my reality, the life of a nose plagued by smells....
Click to expand...
@all: You guys are like family to me, so I wanted to share this with all of you..... An incredible honor bestowed on my new Sultan Leather Attar (and the new Aroha Kyaku) by the amazing Kafkaesque!
http://www.kafkaesqueblog.com/2017/12/17/ensar-oud-aroha-kyaku-oud-sultan-leather-attar/
 
kooolaid79

kooolaid79

Well-Known Member
#16
#16
D

Dorje

Member
#19
#19
Ensar said:
Thanks for the suggestion @Philip. This is as close as I've come to a Ghaliya:
https://ensaroud.com/product/sultan-red-rose-attar/635
Click to expand...
Darn it, you got me on that one. :) I've been very good at resisting spending on non-essentials lately but this sounds amazing.
One day I hope to place an order for one of everything from you and AA. ;) I think it will happen eventually, once oud is 10x the price it is now, lol...

Speaking about smells one must tolerate, loud fragrance isn't popular here which is both good and bad. Any natural perfume is by nature not even close to a synthetic powerhouse, but otoh people aren't used to smelling anything on anyone either. I don't mind though, and as a single guy I find most women appreciate a guy who cares about hygiene and wears some scent. If others find it odd I don't care so much. :)

I also don't mind some synthetics, but I do mind how they are used by a majority of perfumers. IMO companies like Robertet who make Roja and Puredistance are much more skilled and these kinds of fragrances rarely bother me, in fact I use a couple of them myself and I consider Puredistance M to be one of the best fragrances ever made. It's fragrances that use harsh, powerful synthetics as main notes with no naturals at all that seem the worst. I can only imagine what folks who have chemical sensitivities must go through.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.