The Raw Materialist

“Have you ever been fooled by a flower’s scent? If not, it might be the case with this peculiar orange-colored flower called osmanthus! If your eyes were to be blindfolded you might confuse Osmanthus fragrans – its scientific name – with a fruit… How come? Well, osmanthus smells just like apricots and peaches – no surprise it’s also called sweet osmanthus.” This fall has got a brand new perfume to explore the depths of your soul (alongside your nose)…Smoky Soul – and in a fruity-floral way! The birth of a smoked Sri Lankan Black Tea infused with Osmanthus flowers gave The Raw Materialist the opportunity to write our latest ingredient article for OLFACTIVE STUDIO Parfums: OSMANTHUS, A FLORAL IMPRINT IN THE EAST Inspired by a hundred-year-old Chinese tea-tradition – radiating in all of Eastern Asia – this symbolic flower is at the core of “Osmanthus absolute” production for the perfume industry, which originated and perpetuates in China. I had the chance to participate in the development and launch of Smoky Soul alongside its perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato, right hand Alexis Toublanc, and Olfactive Studio’s founder Céline Verleure. Et pour les plus francophones voici l’article en français : https://lnkd.in/eXp4K8fz – https://lnkd.in/eczyjUdG

🚨 NEW SOURCING REPORT ALERT 🌿 🌏 📍 SOUTH WEST SRI LANKA 🇱🇰 I am publishing my reporting paper on Ceylon cinnamon as The Raw Materialist, conducted with major ingredient producer VERGER last June in Sri Lanka. Cinnamon represents 30% of Sri Lanka’s billion dollar spice market, which makes up for 250-300 million USD annually! This is some spicy business, as 90% of the country’s spice production is exported worldwide – the world is fond of it! Harshe, Isuri, Udayakumara, Aruna… These are a few names of the hard-working farmers and laborers whose involvement in the production and extraction of cinnamon & cinnamon essential oil is crucial for the flavors and fragrances industry. They are the very base of this ingredient’s supply-chain, and without their work ours would hardly be possible. This is their story: RAW MATERIAL DIARY:  A SPICY SERIES CEYLON CINNAMON, SRI LANKA’S PROTÉGÉ The Raw Materialist X VERGER Don’t hesitate in sharing! Many thanks to Nuwan Delage, Guillaume JOUBIN, Théo MARTINEZ, Shanaki Perera, Shyamal Makalanda, Céline Verleure without whom the writing of this paper wouldn’t have been achievable. #perfume #perfumery #rawmaterial #ingredient #sourcing #cinnamon #ceylon #srilanka #flavors #report #research #paper #article #supplychain #production #extraction

⚠️ NEW SOURCING ARTICLE ALERT 🌱 🌏 At the end of last May throughout early June I had the opportunity to visit one of Sri Lanka’s top producer & ingredient house VERGER to report on the production and extraction of their main product: spices! Ceylon Cinnamon, black pepper, clovebud, and nutmeg are among their principal exports – as raw materials or essential oils for the spice/flavor industry or the fragrance industry. I was received as The Raw Materialist for OLFACTIVE STUDIO Parfums by Nuwan Delage to conduct my report on-site with their amazing team Guillaume Joubin Théo MARTINEZ. My visit to the plantations in Nindana and factory in Warakagoda (South Sri Lanka) led me to write the first sourcing article of a Spicy Series: The Raw Materialist X Olfactive Studio X Verger “CEYLON CINNAMON, SRI LANKA’S MOST PRECIOUS INGREDIENT” “The history of Ceylon Cinnamon – or true Cinnamon – goes way back hundreds of years ago. In the fragrance industry, Cinnamon is used as a raw material of the spicy family in both fine and functional fragrances. Endemic to the Island, Cinnamomum verum, is only found and produced in Sri Lanka before being exported all over the globe to become part of unique fragrant compositions such as Sidonie Lancesseur’s creation Lumière Blanche”. Read more to learn about today’s Cinnamon essential oil market, and the incredible ancestral heritage behind it – dedicated hardworking Sri Lankan farmers and their families! ⬇️ Link for international readers abroad: https://lnkd.in/erDQ5FTt 🇨🇵 Version française : https://lnkd.in/er_Uqcy7 🔜 🔜 A longer more detailed version will be published very soon on LinkedIn for the most curious & passionate!

Pink pepper, pink berries, pink peppercorn, bourbon pepper, false pepper…  So many appellations to describe one of the freshest spices out there! A natural raw material cherished by niche perfumery these past decades and full of sparkly D-limonene, pink pepper turns out to be the most repeatedly used essence in Céline Verleure’s creations for OLFACTIVE STUDIO Parfums. Indeed, the ingredient behind this short description is no other than Schinus molle – originally from Peru – co-starred by its closely related Brazilian cousin Schinus terebenthifolia in The Raw Materialist's latest article: “PERU’S PEPPERY DELICACY, PINK PEPPER” https://lnkd.in/etFgmnqY “Ety(molle)ogy speaking the latin word “molle” in Pink Pepper’s scientific name comes from “mulli”, meaning “tree” in Quechua – language spoken in the Peruvian Andes. This cold spice, also used as a culinary spice, is native to South America where the tree still grows mainly in Peru. The country provides the perfume industry with an expensive essence which can be obtained by two different chemical processes.” Stay tuned as I am currently reporting on more spicy ingredients in the Pearl of the Orient, Sri Lanka – motherland of Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum)!

Winter is soon to be over... It's the perfect occasion to discover vetiver! Enough with the rhymes, The Raw Materialist's latest natural ingredient article is an overview of one of OLFACTIVE STUDIO Parfums's favorite raw material – sublimated in six fragrances imagined by Céline Verleure. "EARTH´S ROOTED WONDER, VETIVER" https://lnkd.in/eCgtCdNK "Are you familiar with Haitian Vetiver, known for its both woody and smoky scent with subtle green and vegetal nuances? Its surprising – one in a million – scent also possesses nutty and grapefruit facets. We can say Chrysopogon zizanioides, funny scientific name isn’t it, is a magical plant… Why? Because having proved to be a precious ingredient in perfumery, and help in various fields, it’s gifted with an enchanting essence." And because we don't forget French speakers: "LE VÉTIVER, LA MERVEILLE ENRACINÉE DE LA TERRE" https://lnkd.in/erXdtMea Check out the full article on our olfactive blog!

As Grandiflorum jasmine season has just come to an end, a new year has just begun. Raw materials are part of the cycle of life, eternal restart is no secret to them, just like each new year. This past year was full of discoveries for myself The Raw Materialist, reporting for Céline Verleure‘s OLFACTIVE STUDIO Parfums, throughout the world. My last published sourcing report of 2022 was conducted in Tamil Nadu, South of India, where I was welcomed by NESSO and Anirudh Ranga. I had the chance to capture – on paper and film camera with photographer Mr Arneti – the production, harvesting and extraction of jasminum sambac, jasminum grandiflorum, and polianthes tuberosa flowers. Going to India was a little girl’s dream come true in the warmest hospitality of such a scenic and scented environment – worth sharing more photographs. Make sure to read the article this journey gave birth to – available on our olfactive blog: “INDIA’S SACRED FLOWER AND SCENTED HERITAGE: SAMBAC JASMINE AND GRANDIFLORUM JASMINE” https://lnkd.in/e4dqbNhm “Every day Mr Ravichandran, the farmer we visited, gets 80 kg of fresh flowers from his crops. He owns 11 acres, out of which 7 to 8 acres are dedicated to Sambac Jasmine cultures. The whole land belongs to his entire family (father, mother, wife, and children), and the Jasmine crops were started by his father 6 years ago. Within the land dedicated to Sambac Jasmine, one area flowers at once. After the flowering is completed in an area, it starts in another one. This provides the farmer with a continuous flower supply and maintains labor steadily. The plucking is also done by area because it is difficult to get employment for the entire land all at once — given its surface. Mr Ravichandran has 20 to 22 pickers working each day. They pick the unopened buds which will slightly bloom in the evening.” Many thanks to Ashwath N, Nanda Kumar, Anirudh Ranga, the entire NESSO team, along with all those who have welcomed me in their homeland and have allowed me to tell the tales of their natural ingredients and work. Oh! And happy fra-great year – pun intended – to all of you! #rawmaterials #sourcing #natural #ingredients #jasmine #tuberose #india #article #niche #perfumery #film #photography

Roses are red, violets are blue and violet leaf absolute is… Absolutely green ! For this Christmas season and new year to come, Céline Verleure and The Raw Materialist have focused on Violet Shot – the last opus of OLFACTIVE STUDIO Parfums’ floral trilogy from the Sepia collection – and its peculiar star ingredient, violet leaf absolute! “If most flowers are employed for their petals, in perfumery sourcing Viola odorata has the particularity to be wanted for its round shaped green leaves from which is obtained violet leaf absolute!” Composed by master perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour Violet Shot is under the spotlight with my last natural ingredient article of the year: “LAST BUT NOT LEAF, VIOLET LEAF ABSOLUTE” https://lnkd.in/eTdWyZkA And for those who prefer “la langue de Molière” (Molière’s language): “PLEINS FEUX-ILLES SUR LA VIOLETTE, L’ABSOLUE FEUILLE DE VIOLETTE” https://lnkd.in/eewjquTd Check it out on our olfactive blog!