The Perfume Making Podcast

This week Karen is joined by Fiona Humberstone, also known as ‘The Brand Stylist’. Fiona has worked with clients ranging from tiny artisan brands to large country estates, as well as being a published author and course facilitator. With a lifetime of experience, it’s safe to say that what Fiona doesn’t know about branding isn’t worth knowing. In this interview with Karen, Fiona gives an insightful...

When Karen started this podcast, she expected to do no more than 20 episodes that would address the most common questions she receives. However, things took a turn and here we are at episode 100. To celebrate this landmark, Karen isn’t going to do the usual and look back at the show’s highlights, instead she is beginning a brand new mini-series based on things that still hold true after 100 shows....

This week Karen is addressing a question she is asked all the time on social media and through email -  “I’m obsessed with perfume and I want to start my own brand, but I don't have the money to invest…can you help me for free?” Well, the answer is yes and no. In this episode, Karen breaks down the hard truths of starting a perfume brand, and whilst you can’t do it for free, it doesn't have to cos...

This week on the show, Karen is joined by Thomas Dunckley AKA The Candy Perfume Boy, 6 time Jasmine award winner, writer, trainer and industry consultant. After taking a step away from the industry Thomas has returned with a new mission and a new branding - ‘Making Scents Make Sense’. Thomas’ mission is to cut through the snobbery and gatekeeping traditionally associated with the perfume industry...

This week Karen is joined by Artisan Perfumery Mastermind alumni Gabrielle Durand, the founder of natural fragrance brand ‘On the Nose’ perfumes. After a long career in the corporate world of HR, Gabrielle decided to take a leap of faith and follow her lifelong dream of being a perfumer. Changing your career late in life can be a very daunting prospect, but Gabrielle was determined to succeed. In...

This week Karen is joined by Kate Beavis, a social media strategist and content expert. Kate has been working with Karen since 2018 on her social media presence to make her brand feel authentic and not overwhelming. And, after Karen’s initial reluctance to use social media, Kate has shown her the many benefits that can come from embracing your online presence. In this interview, Kate spills the ma...

The world of indie perfumes has become extremely crowded, leading people to wonder if there is space for their product in a marketplace full to the brim. And, that is the question Karen is here to address this week. Entering any marketplace as a beginner can feel daunting, but facing one that is over-saturated and full of high end brands posing as independent can easily be enough to give you secon...

Last week Karen took the time to reflect but, as most of us do after we have a brief rest bite, she now feels the pressure to act with urgency creeping up on her. So, what happens when ambition and energy are at complete odds? The pressure we place on ourselves to be instantly successful, coupled with the pressure from society, is very real and can cause us to doubt our every move. However, the on...

Karen has just returned from a four week trip around Australia where she attended a family wedding and spent time catching up with old friends. However, what struck her unexpectedly, was what she discovered about herself, and her creative process, once she actually stopped and got off the hamster wheel. On this week’s episode, Karen shares both her travel experiences and what they revealed to her...

This week Karen is joined on the show by Karen Haller, an expert in behavioural colour psychology and author of ‘The Little Book of Colour’, to discuss how colour shapes our experience of scent. The first thing any consumer sees when they interact with your product is the colours, and whether you mean it or not, the consumer will have an emotional response to that colour. In this fascinating inter...

This week Karen is talking to Silvia Yonkova, founder of Rose Overdose, a company that grows roses and produces stunning fragrances from them. But, on top of this, Silva also hosts a yearly ‘Rose Retreat’ where budding perfumers can experience what it’s like to harvest roses and work with organic materials. In this interview with Karen, Silvia shares her family's rich history with roses, what insp...

Following on from last week’s episode, Karen is once again joined by Pia Long for part 2 of her interview. In this second part, Pia gets into the passionate side of her career. As she explains to Karen, she has long been an outspoken advocate for regulation reform and fragrance compliance. She explains her views to Karen, and how her work and advocacy led her to be the recipient of unexpected reco...

This week Karen is delivering the first of a two-part interview with Pia Long, head perfumer at Olfiction. Pia has worked in almost all areas of the perfume industry from sales and marketing to product development and quality control. She has, to use a cliche, seen and done it all. In the first part of this interview, Pia goes into depth about her incredible journey from student to master and talk...

This week marks the final episode in Karen’s back to basics mini series, and as a special treat, she is focusing on something that often gets overlooked - fragrance journaling. Although many people don’t have one, a fragrance journal is a key tool to helping you progress as a perfumer. Whether its notes on your formulation or mood boards for inspiration, your journal should be your personal bible...

Karen is back for part three of her ‘Back to Basics’ mini series and this week she is taking a look at how to set up your workspace so you can create perfume safely and efficiently. When we start something new, diving in and trying everything at once is exciting and refreshing, but without proper preparation and organisation this way of working can lead to headaches down the road. In this episode...

Karen’s ‘back to basics’ mini-series continues this week with part two, which takes a look at ‘Formulation’. Formulation is, as Karen says, “The reason you are here.” It is the very essence of perfume making, but it is also an area that most beginners rush into and, by doing so, make a number of costly, but easily avoidable, mistakes. In this episode, Karen breaks down the basics of formulation, g...

This week Karen is introducing a new mini series that will be looking back at the basics of creating your own fragrances. In this first part Karen is tackling the topic of selecting the right materials. With so many options out there, material selection can be an overwhelming task for first-timers. But Karen is here to guide you through everything from synthetics or naturals to choosing the right...

This week, Karen is going all the way back to a fundamental topic for those starting their journey in perfumery - “Why alcohol based perfumes are the best starting point for beginners.” Alcohol, as a base material, often gets overlooked and has many false narratives surrounding it. But, it is actually the best place to start your perfume journey. In this episode, Karen is here to explain what make...

Karen recently received an email from a listener that posed an interesting question…”Should I keep my business doing what is already working or should I branch out and try something new?” Stepping into a new world can be daunting and can leave you second guessing if you’ve made the right choice, however, there is a way to do this and minimise your risk. This week, Karen is here to explain how you...

On this week's show Karen is joined by a leader in the tech world of fragrance, Camila Thomas. Founder of Air Parfum, a device that allows you to test multiple fragrance without sensory overwhelm, WikiParfum, a digital encyclopedia of fragrance, and ScentXP, a platform that bridges the gap behind online and in-store scent discovery. In this interview with Karen, Camila explains how technology and...

Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of 2025. Before bursting into the new year with a host of new content, Karen is here to deliver an interactive episode that will allow you to look back and reflect on 2024. Whilst you may not think you achieved much last year, Karen is here to offer you some prompts and advice that might just make you think different. And, once you’ve completed your...

This week marks the third and final part of Karen’s mini series on her scent shift programme. This time of year we all make promises to ourselves about how the next twelve months will be different but, as we all know, these promises never last. The reason they never last is that we always fail to create new habits, which are the key to lasting change. Karen is here to help. In this episode, she ex...

Welcome to part two of this mini series inspired by Karen’s ‘Scent Shift’ programme, which looks at how scent can be a tool for meditation and wellbeing. This week, Karen is looking at how to create emotional anchors with scent. Emotional anchors are an incredibly powerful tool that can be harnessed to bring about positive changes to all aspects of your life. But, how do they work, when can you us...

This week’s episode marks the first in a series of shows inspired by Karen’s ‘Scent Shift’ programme, which looks at how scent can be a tool for meditation and wellbeing. In this first part, Karen is looking specifically at how fragrance interacts with our brains to influence our emotions. Drawing from the evidence based research, Karen explains not only how this happens, but why. And, teaches you...

In this episode, Karen shares valuable insights on transitioning from experimentation to a more structured approach in perfumery. Karen discusses common challenges such as feeling overwhelmed by raw materials, creating balanced accords, and translating ideas into finished fragrances. She provides practical tips like simplifying your palette, starting small with accords, and focusing on fragrance s...