Online Intensive, with Spyros Drosopoulos

Our online intensive returns, over five sessions in April and May, 2025. Starting with a pre-recorded introduction to lab work video, the intensive covers the most important information and materials for a new perfumer hoping to start their practice - or for an experienced perfumer who needs to level up their technical skills.

Taught by veteran independent perfumer and frequent IAO collaborator Spyros Drosopoulos, (and assisted by IAO founder Saskia Wilson-Brown), this course will help newcomers to the practice get started on the right foot through fast-paced, factual, science-based education. Lectures will focus on materiality, accord-building, perfume creation, and other crucial information in independent perfumery. More experienced perfumers will gain technical tips and tricks to help expand their knowledge and control over aromatic materials.

This intensive will be an online series, over five Tuesdays. 
There is a pre-class introduction to lab work video that attendees are expected to review. This video will be sent upon signup. 

Class meets on: April 1, April 15, April 22, April 29, May 6
Every class takes place between 9:00am to 12:30pm Pacific Time (Los Angeles). Convert to your local time, here.

Classes will take place over Zoom, and will be recorded. The class recordings will be available for two weeks after class ends to everyone who signs up. We do, nevertheless, encourage students to attend live.
Between classes, we expect students to make the accords covered in class.


The intensive culminates in a certificate of completion, which will be sent as a digital file to all who attend and complete the course.


There are no transfers or refunds for this class. Do not sign up unless you are sure you can attend.

MATERIALS

As part of this class, we have partnered with Perfumer’s Apprentice to provide a materials kit containing the aromatic materials required for the class, with which you can implement Spyros’ lectures to create a number of accords and compositions. The materials kit must be purchased separately.

Materials Kit Cost: $367.50

This price reflects a 30% discount that IAO students receive on the kit. Information about how to purchase the kit (or a list of materials for people with exsiting labs) will be provided upon sign up. Note that there will also be miscellaneous lab needs that will be required for this intensive, including pipettes, scent strips, blending tubs and more. A list of suggested lab supplies will be sent upon signup.

Pre-class video - Introduction to Lab Work
Saskia Wilson-Brown gets us all on the same page with an introduction to setting up and preparing your at home perfume lab. Topics covered will include how to organize your materials, how to create lab solutions, basic perfume terminology, types of materials and a brief overview of the fragrance industry. After viewing the video, students will be expected to prepare their organ before the first class with Spyros, and prepare the first formulas.

April 1: Session 1, Classic Fragrance Types: Chypre
Spyros Drosopoulos kicks off the course by exploring the materials in our palette and we do that while studying the key materials to build Chypre type formulas. The aim of session 1 is to familiarize you with the terminology, the type of materials in our pallet, the stylistic and technical choices to pay attention to and basic principles for formulation. Homework: After this session, students will be expected to prepare next week’s formulas before class, on their own time.

April 15: Session 2, Fougère, Cologne, Vanilla & Amber Accords
In order to ensure a good familiarity with important classical fragrance types, on day two we’ll continue to explore important fragrance families and their related materials. Today we will smell and discuss the materials relating to the fougère, cologne, vanilla, and amber families. We will also do a brief cover of some “fantasy” fragrance types. Homework: After this session, students will be expected to prepare next week’s formulas before class, on their own time.

April 22: Session 3, Flowers Part 1
Most flowers smell great, however only a few of them return good oils or absolutes, and in most cases those materials are very expensive or restricted due to allergens. For this reason, every perfumer is well served by learning to make their own reconstructions or accords. We will start our morning with an overview of materials that are present in different flowers, and how nature has organized them. We will discover common denominators between different flowers and how changing the proportions will give you a whole different flower. Also we will propose alternative materials to work with than the ones present in the actual flowers. We will start this exploration with rose, violet and iris. Homework: After this session, students will be expected to prepare next week’s formulas before class, on their own time.

April 29: Session 4, Flowers Part 2
We will continue our exploration of floral accords with a thorough analysis of the aromatic components of the so-called "white flowers" (though we prefer to use the term "hedonistic") – including the delectable jasmine, tuberose, with an examination of gardenia and magnolia. Homework: After this session, students will be expected to prepare next week’s formulas before class, on their own time.

May 6: Session 5, Fruity Accords, Green & Woody Notes, Textures
After the flowers, fruits. As fruit extracts are so rare, a perfumer must often rely on skill to make a good, fully-fleshed fruit reproduction. As we explore the aromatics, we will experiment with how to vary proportions to create the effect of different fruits, how to funk up or tone down a fruit aroma, and much more. Specifically, we will focus on yellow, red and tropical fruits and a fig thrown in for good measure. We will continue by covering green and woody notes. Finally, we will briefly cover some texture effects. Many materials are incorporated into a formula not for their own odor but for the effect they can elicit on the overall result. Mastering these subtle details are as important to your perfume as your formula’s star players: they give your perfume its character. We will study materials that will allow you to manipulate the texture of your perfume, its longevity, projection and much much more.

Host or Publisher The Institute for Art and Olfaction