Chemistry has always been my bête noire as far as academic subjects go. It was my favorite and I was good at it in early high school, then suddenly I wasn’t, and its various sub-disciplines have perplexed me ever since.

That didn’t stop me from diving into learning everything I could about perfumery, from plants to animals to aromachemicals to brands to noses, and getting my hands on books and ingredients to play with like a little kid brandishing a miniature toy cooking set.

Now that I’ve indulged my novice excitement in my perfumed playpen over the past full year, gaining some firsthand (first-nose?) experience and internalizing new knowledge from light reading about all things perfume on my daily commute, I think I can finally calm down enough to stick my nose in some textbooks and learn some basics of chemistry.

It’s a little scary for me, because I’ve attempted this twice before for other reasons and not succeeded. But maybe the third time’s a charm. And perfumery is a much bigger personal motivator than the other reasons were. I’ll be glad to make less waste and more effective ingredient combinations than I’ve been doing by smell and imagination alone.

Cheers to good chemistry and great perfume in 2020!