Hello, Fragrant Friend 👋,

Three weeks ago, you helped spark the vision for our first fragrance—crafted by Chester Gibs and inspired by the theme of Reflection. Here's what’s next in the creation journey:

🧪 Follow a formula in the making: Chester is now blending the initial scent—including your inspiration. We’ll preview it live in early May, and our Scently Speaking Evaluators get early access.

🎨 Help shape the brand’s look: After reviewing 8+ top design and packaging studios, we’re close to choosing one—and your vote will help decide the creative direction.

🎙️ Learn perfumery the fun way: In our first video podcast, my friend Aron and I deconstruct one of perfumery’s great white florals using both naturals and synthetics. If you're curious about how material experts like Aron think, this one's for you.

Want to be involved? 💌 

If you want to get closer to the action—following the scent development, brand building, and behind-the-scenes moments—join the Scently Speaking WhatsApp Group for irregular updates from Chester, the community, and me.

🚀 Join the WhatsApp Group here

🗓️ Contents of this Issue

1. Note Worthy: Scent Database, Scentzine, and Paris Perfume Week 📚️ 🇫🇷 

2. Strictly Independent: Mabelle O’Rama 🇱🇧 / 🇬🇧 

3. QUIZ: Marine-like scent 🎲 

4. Scent MythBusters: Fragrance only changes because of skin chemistry 🧪 

Note-Worthy 🔎🌸

• #SCENTDATABASE: A new era of ingredient transparency is here. ScentsAndFlavors.com just launched with 46,500+ entries covering materials across the flavor and fragrance industries. Developed by BeWiDo (of Volatile Compounds in Foods Online) and backed by the British Society of Flavourists, it’s free to access and smart-search enabled. Each entry includes chemical, physical, organoleptic, safety, and sourcing data—all in one place.

• #SCENTZINE: From perfumes to printing presses—Immortal Perfumes founder J. Ruth dreamed of newspapers before she dreamed of fragrance. That love lives on in The Scent Strip, a community-driven perfume zine where scent meets storytelling. Expect deep dives into perfume history, interactive features, and scent mysteries in each issue. With quarterly themes like Wanderlust and Spellbound, readers can contribute writing, art, classifieds—or just soak in the fragrant lore.

• #PPW2025REVIEW: Paris Perfume Week 2025, curated by Nez, offers a welcome contrast to the spectacle of Esxence—slower paced, indie-leaning, and thoughtfully curated. Over 60 brands show up, from under-the-radar Velvetvelo and Judith to names like Amouage, Frassai, and Atelier Materi. Highlights? Essential Parfums' Velvet Iris, Thomas de Monaco’s teased trio, and Neela Vermeire’s Eshal. Iris fans can indulge in Jorum’s Trimerous or Angelos’ Irida. For those craving depth over noise, PPW remains a quiet yet compelling stage for artistry.

Strictly Independent 🎨 🌟 

Mabelle O’Rama is the kind of serendipitous discovery that reminds us why we go to Esxence. We’d never heard of her before, but the encounter felt like uncovering a secret. A visual artist and self-taught Lebanese-British perfumer based in London, Mabelle channels memory, mythology, and cosmic wonder into scent with a delicate yet resolute hand. Her perfumes glow with meaning—poetic, personal, and beautifully executed. Forbidden Bloom is a 2× Finalist at the Fragrance Foundation UK 2024 Awards, and after smelling it, we’re not surprised.

Mabelle O’Rama – Olfactive Stories

• For Fans Of: If you’re drawn to the quiet soulfulness of Haeckels, the storytelling of Francesca Bianchi, or the artisanal elegance of Stora Skuggan, Mabelle’s work will speak to you.

• Founded: By Mabelle O’Rama in London, where she still handcrafts and bottles every perfume in her studio.

• Perfumer: Mabelle (Phoenix Flame, Lunar Dust, Forbidden Bloom)

• Number of Scents: 3

QUIZ 🎲 

Scent MythBusters 🎭️ 

TL;DR

Turns out, it’s not just “your skin chemistry” at work—your skin’s microbiome (yep, the tiny microbes living on you) may be changing how your perfume develops. These microbes can actually break down fragrance ingredients and shift the way a scent smells over time. Science is just catching up, but it’s already reshaping how we think about scent.

Unpacking the Myth 🕵️‍♀️

The Misconception

“If we wear the same perfume, it’ll smell the same on both of us.” People often assume that a fragrance smells how it smells—period. If it smells floral and warm in the bottle, it should smell the same on anyone, right?

The Reality Check 🛑

Not exactly. Your skin is home to a microbiome—a mix of bacteria that live naturally on your body. These microbes don’t just chill there; they interact with your perfume.

They can actually transform some of the scent molecules, which means a note that smells creamy on your friend might turn sharper or muskier on you. That’s why a fragrance can evolve so differently from person to person—even with the exact same spray.

Why This Matters 🎯 

Perfume isn’t just what’s in the bottle—it’s a collaboration between the formula and your body. As science learns more about how the microbiome affects scent, perfumers might even start designing fragrances that adapt better to different skin types.

In the future, your ideal scent might be one that plays well with your personal microbes—not just your preferences.

So, is the myth busted?

Fully busted. It’s not your imagination: perfume really can smell different on different people—and your skin’s microbiome is a big reason why.

Your perfume journey might just be more personal than you ever knew!