Philosophy of Perfume (part 1): Bases for a revolution
A philosopher is always a revolutionary because he aims at discovering truth and he does so by uncovering and denouncing falsehood.
Philosophy lays the foundations of morals and ethics in whatever field it inquires into, because when it reveals truth from falsehood, it also reveals right from wrong.
This is also the limit of philosophy; any philosophy is worth only the philosopher.
The first thing taught to students who want to enter a Way, a profession, a trade, or an art is its ethics and philosophy.
Guerlain is reported to have said to perfumery students: “Have simple ideas, work on them scrupulously, never compromise on the quality and make good products”.
He said “have simple ideas“, because simple ideas are clear, and having a clear idea of what one wants to do is indispensable to reach a result diligently and straight to the point. Complicated ideas are wrong because they are difficult to implement and likely to fail.
This sentence is Guerlain’s lesson to perfumers: be practical and modest. Above all, it affirms that a perfume starts with an idea.
“Work on them scrupulously.“ Scrupulosity is the quality of someone who works meticulously, curing details thoroughly and rigorously. Scrupulosity confers on a person the professionalism that belongs only to those who do their work with utter seriousness.
The antonym of scrupulosity is carelessness. Carelessness is wrong for anybody doing anything.
“Never compromise on the quality”. It is interesting to note that he did not say “do not compromise on the quality”. “Never” implies that, under no circumstances, for no reason, and in no way, the perfumer should cheat. “Never” implies discipline and a moral rule from which an ethic springs. Compromising on quality is wrong; it means cheating. The perfumer has the opportunity to do it, knowing what others don’t.
“and make good products”. This is a call to modesty, reminding student perfumers that these are just perfumes, products that people will use. People will benefit from them only if they are good.
In this simple sentence, he affirms the humility of the perfumer’s work, shying them away from pride and ego trips, like one who thinks himself a genius and believes that all he is doing is great.
Guerlain’s sentence contains a moral teaching.
Making good perfumes that will benefit people is enough; conceit, pride, and self-importance are wrong.
For natural perfumers, Guerlain’s teachings are only the starting point for ethics and philosophy, because the materials we use are quite different from Guerlain’s.
Our philosophy of perfume springs from the nature itself of the materials that we use.
In Guerlain’s time, perfumers were using natural and synthetic materials. There was nothing wrong with using synthetic ingredients if people liked them, if they caused no harm, and if they were legal.
Unfortunately for us, this is not the case; many synthetic ingredients lavishly used by perfumers of the past have since been banned because they have harmed people.
More distressing is that many ingredients still in use are not yet banned, because hazard studies on the industry’s synthetic molecules are conducted by the industry itself, and these are the only ones taken into consideration by law-making bodies. Then, if the studies do not exist, they, of course, cannot be taken into consideration. The industry is not shooting itself in the foot.
Instead of studying the toxicity of its toy molecules, the industry is rapidly and progressively banning all natural ingredients through its “self-regulating” arm, the IFRA.
Life for the six big corporations will be much easier when it is clear to all that natural perfumes are dangerous and chemical ones are safe.
For modern perfumers in the industry, the only ethical rule governing their activity is legality. If it is legal, it is good; if it is illegal, it is wrong.
The question a philosopher will ask is: “What is legality really worth today, when the industry of fragrance and flavor, strong in its multi-billion dollar power, uses all its weight to determine what is legal and what is illegal, exclusively to protect and foster its own interests?”
For natural perfumers, it is not sufficient that an ingredient be just legal or even be made “legally natural” by the industry.
Our philosophy of perfume springs from the nature itself of the natural materials we use, so it is important for natural perfumers and students to understand what makes natural perfume ingredients different from synthetic ones.
Philosophy of Perfume (part 1): Bases for a revolution
Philosophy of perfume (part 2): The language of scents
This is such an inspiration. I will keep these thoughts close to me when composing.