Welcome to a perfumer's blog on perfumery

The bag is packed (heavy) and I am ready for London.

I wish you a lovely weekend!

Enjoy!

Yesterday, I had the most thrilling meeting in my entire life. Sort of  a poker meeting with a lot of goodies on the table. But in the end, we found a deal and I look forward to sharing with you the poker face and how much we won and lost as soon as things get official.

Another meeting took place today with my branding guru and the IT magician. Smart guys. We finalized finally, hopefully, the internet of Tauer with the new shop and blog and if all goes smoothly, we shall have all ready for the 5 years anniversary of this blog.

Imagine: 5 years…

Anyhow: Today’s topic in the meeting was among other things how to present dynamic content from the blog (a title, a teaser picture, etc.) on the website front page. My guru brought it to the point (he is a communication guru, too): If you want folks to read your stuff, you need to have flashy titles, to lure them in… like: You have this cool story about the Swiss Alps. What title to choose? “Sex in Graubünden” sells your story. Actually, to be honest: I chose this title for this post to see what happens over there on twitter with it. ….
Which brings me right to the end of this post: I am off tomorrow for the Alps, but no no, no sex:  I will do some hiking there, collecting as many sun beans as I possibly can. You never know these days.

And today’s picture: A couple of sample boxes for the UK press this Tuesday in London.

Today, I am traveling within Switzerland. Later tonight /early tomorrow morning depending on your time time zone, I will pick the winners of the UNE ROSE VERMEILLE samples draw, and contact you (if you won).

In the mean time, I invite you to read on a chat I had with Atanas, from Ecomaat in Bulgary. Ecomaat produces natural (many of them organic) extracts, using high tech Carbondioxide extraction and I bought a few bottles from them.

Here is the summary of my talk with Atanas, where we discuss on why Bulgary is a hotspot for roses and whether organic or not matters and more….click here to access the page on perfumism…>

Trust me: I have smelled a lot of rose extracts. The Ecomaat CO2 extract is heaven on earth and combines the best of the two worlds: Steam distillation and solvent extraction. I also bought from them:  elder extract (WOW), linden flower (Oh my …) and got a few free samples like the lavender CO2 extract from fresh lavender: You would not believe how long it lasts. First it was spicy and minty, green campherous like the herb, in a sense, and then the most beautiful fresh flowers appeared and they lasted for ever and finally slowly moved over to the softest Tonka base imaginable: The coumarin showing off, and there again, the CO2 extract showed a concrète quality that you miss otherwise entirely in a steam distilled lavender.

Wonderful.

In invite you to get a insight into Ecomaat and what makes them special. Enjoy your reading here:
click here to access the page on perfumism…>

And to get into touch with Ecomaat: Visit their website

Visit Ecomaat on the internet: Click here ..>>.

Ecomaat Ltd.
24, Krum Popov str.
1164 Sofia, Bulgaria

Yesterday, I mentioned that I will meet the press next week in London. It will be a day, where I will try to explain what I do and why I do it and how it all started to small groups of journalist. Sort of elevator speeches in endless repeat mode. It is a fantastic opportunity as -like it or not!- the press is still very influential. A GQ note, for instance, on a new perfumer kid in town means a lot of interest from perfume lovers who do not follow the blogs. To be honest: If you are small like I am with my little brand you rarely get more than a little note. I cannot afford to pay any ads and I am not working with the big distribution companies that can afford to push brands into the magazines.

Thus, we have to work with our lips (smiling) and a story that is beyond ordinary and true, and with products that rock the guys and girls writing their notes. So far, I have done quite well there. But we, brands and perfumers like me, like Dawn Spencer-Hurwitz, Vero Kern, Michael Morris and many many more, we need all the printed attention that we can get. I think. Actually, it would be great if perfumism one day would be an awareness platform bringing the artisanal perfumery some interest. A little promotion note on perfumism: Tomorrow, I will post an interview here and there… stay tuned…
Here is a thought: Maybe we, the true artisanal perfumers, should one day build a PR machine for us. Like a pool for the top ten artisanal perfumers…
But then, there is more! Sometimes you get a full story in a magazine, and you realize that the journalist was truly interested in what you do.

And then, there is even more! Sometimes you get a full story in a blog, and you realize that the author was weighing polishing every word. Like I never do. The number of blogs out there, still in some sort of explosive growth, has left me somewhat behind as I do not have enough time to follow what is happening in its entity. Of course, I have my blogs that I follow on a daily basis, lurking and smiling and enjoying myself without commenting.

Quite often, I get the question how I handle critical reviews and negative comments. On a very serious note: I like it if folks are critical and innovative and come up with their own pictures and ideas on a fragrance. A nice copy-paste of my PR texts with the notes is of little interest to me. On the other hand, I have learned so much by reading what perfume lovers discovered in my fragrances, and how they laid out the weak points in my constructions and why work for them or not.

I invite you to immerse now into the world of Orange Star, experienced by a gifted writer. It was such a joy reading these lines, on Persolaise.com. Click here….>>
Enjoy!

Yesterday, I diluted the concentrate of UNE ROSE VERMEILLE, after 30 days in the (non-smelling) fridge. And today, I took the first sample to test it. Yes! It is there, as expected. Please do not miss yesterday’s draw of samples: I pick the winners in the coming days. If you want to join in the draw for a sample of this rose vermeille: You must leave a comment on this post here (click here: http://www.tauerperfumes.com/blog/2010/06/20/after-days-of-rain-a-little-draw ).

A few words on this rose, trying to answer a few questions of yesterday:
It is called rose vermeille because of the red raspberry. But the fragrance itself is clear with a hint of beige. Actually, it looks pretty pale for the fact that it contains red raspberries.
The rose is from Bulgary, but it is not an absolute that you find in this rose (contrary to the incense rosé), but it is an essential oil, steam distilled, with peppery lines and a velvet layer of marzipan.

The rose vermeille is quite a different take on roses compared to what I have done so far and quite a different Tauer if you ask me. The vanilla CO2 and the Sandalwood from Fidji play a trick with the raspberry and the rose and the violet that is special, and in a sense quite feminine. Thus, Vasily, let’s wait and see ;-) In terms of quality of the raw materials in it: This baby rocks.
And yet, there is a little metallic shine. Not golden, but slightly silvery. I think… But you: Never ask a creator what he sees in his creations.

What is next: We make a few samples for the draw. And then I need to make a lot of discovery sets for the press in the UK (my meet the press in ten days).
And in the course of this week, we talk with a guy doing the hard work of extracting roses. He does magic! Stay tuned….
Picture: The first, very first milliliters of the rose vermeille in a spray sample tube to test. June 21 2010.

=== THIS DRAW IS CLOSED=====

THE HAPPY WINNERS GOT A MAIL.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!

==================

(ORIGINAL POST)We look back to a few amazing days, with rain from morning till evening. Amazing and wet. In between, we were shipping parcels on pallets to Italy, trying to assemble everything in the dry, and to Russia, whereby my partner for Russia was nice enough to pick them up, to Belgium where I will soon appear in the nicest shop thinkable, to Lithuania, where I am already in the nicest shop with Gintas and Gintvile, at VDK (>link to the VDK online shop).

What a week, indeed. But now, it gets better. We will soon get evidence for the fact, that planet earth is close to a star called sun and that this sun is visible for about 16 hours in summer, producing a lot of light and warmth that reaches planet earth on a daily basis.

I cannot think of another summer like this one so far.
To warm our hearts: I dilute the UNE ROSE VERMEILLE today. Finally.  30 liters of rosy delight. And guess what: I make a little draw. Leave a note and I will pick five winners from the comments for a 1.5 ml spray sample of the ROSE VERMEILLE. I will pick the winners in a few days and will contact the winners by e-mail.

(This scent is not in the shops, yet. I will show it the first time to the public officially during Piti, September 10 in Florence, Italy. I will only use your e-mail once for sending you information if you win a sample. The sample draw will be on a strictly random basis, using the random number generator from random.org .  I will not use your e-mail for any other purpose, nor forward or sell it to other partners. If you wish not to leave your email, you can do so by entering a test@tauerperfumes.com address. I will then announce you as winner on the blog and you can send me your e-mail).
Enjoy your Sunday!

Picture: raindrops on a rose branch, seen this morning in Zurich, after 48 hours of rain.

My blogging pattern is still far away from normal…BUT! Our guest is leaving this Saturday, the last big order for this week will be picked up on Saturday and my life will go back to normal again.

This means: I will fly to London again, end next week.  ;-)

Wishing you a lovely day. I will be back over the weekend with news and roses….
Picture: Wild rose, 2010, Zurich.

this week, we have guests with us and I spend some time there. And I am sort of busy preparing a few boxes that should get out of the studio this week.
Thus, I only share a little picture today. I look so much forward to this summer that will bring a bit more time to play and mix a few ideas that I have in my head /nose. One theme that bothers me is….roses again. Roses still seem to linger in my head and as posted a while ago: I got my hand on a quality of rose material that is truly outstanding, beyond comparison. Maybe it is not such a bad way of approaching new constructions anyhow: Think first, for weeks. And then try to compose.
But then: I do not want to confuse you. First things first: The rose vermeille is waiting to finally show off. I wear it on a more or less daily basis in bed and , well… I like it a lot. The W.-factor prefers things a bit less flowery on me, though. Anyhow: The rose vermeille will get its first public appearance in Florence, September 10 2010.

If you are in the area…. Tauer will be at Piti again!
Anyhow: I am off for a meeting with the gurus now. Wishing you a lovely day!
Picture: Wild rose flower, scanned, 2010 in Zurich.

Since 6 am I am working on the autumn launches and prepare my meeting with my gurus. The design gurus. Trying to come up with a fine timeline and the text its and bits for the labels.

You know: HEAD NOTES, HEART NOTES, BODY NOTES.

And trust me: This is not easy. Sometimes I wish I did not have to do this: Defining and communicating the “notes”. It is very one-dimensional and does -in my humble opinion- not really help a lot. But then: I learned that many perfume lovers still insist on getting this information, I guess as sort of a starting point for their own explorations.Thus, fine with me: Let’s define the notes…
What makes it difficult is: You need to make a choice. I have to describe what others might find relevant, too. And what is relevant for me does not need to be relevant for others. Difficult.

An example: The scent number 11, UNE ROSE VERMEILLE, has building blocks that might show up as head notes: lemon oil, bergamot, lemongrass oil, lavender oil, geranium oil, citronellol, geraniol, and there is the rose essential oil that has spicy aspects (pepper!). Thus, actually, I could add pepper as note, although there is no pepper in it. And then, the question is: Is this pepper aspect of rose oil present enough? Furthermore, there is some geraniol supporting the natural geranium oil, thus, I could include the geranium in the head notes, too. It shows up there, as does the juicy raspberry.
And then, it needs to be concise for aesthetic reasons and you do not want to be too detailed.
Difficult.
I came up with:

HEAD NOTES: A citrus chord with lemon and bergamot with a hint of lavender.
HEART NOTES: A lavish bouquet of roses, raspberry and violett flowers.
BODY NOTES: A rich body with vanilla, sandalwood, tonka beans and a hint ambergris.

Nice about it: It does not really matter and is not match making… a simple question of perspective and how to look at things.
With this, I am wishing you a lovely weekend!
Picture: the shop with the red doors in Amsterdam is Dany Diop’s shop, having my products over there, Spiegelgracht 6

During the press event, me meeting the press in Amsterdam last Tuesday, I was asked by one lady “What means IMMERSIVE SCULPTURES?” You find this statement on my letter paper, my box inlay and a few other items. Soon (we hope so…) you will also find it on my new designed website and shop and blog. But as always when it comes to IT: Things take longer than you’d think.
Since I launched the new design of the brand, this was the first time that I got this question. Finally!

“Immersive sculptures” is the claim of Tauer.

For me, it means two things.

First: Tauer fragrances are artistic perfumes that go beyond a simple scent. They are like sculptures multidimensional and they change there shape and form.

Second: Artistic perfumes are immersive in the sense that you can step into them, experience them from inside, unify with them. They are multidimensional and more than just a fragrant line, but  they are rather like a second body forming with and around you.

This is what I feel my perfumes are about.
Picture: Human beings somewhere in London, 2010