MY FIRST RENDEZ-VOUS WITH ESTONIA’S VERY OWN ‘’NOSE’’ AT HIS T-PERFUME LAB
On a windy Monday in August, Tony invites me to his exclusive perfume lab. Having no clue what to expect really, I am super excited to go see how and where an actual ‘’nose’’ works. Conveniently located in Tallinn city center in an office building on Parda street, I find myself stepping into a place beyond time and space. I sense some kind of a shift in my mindset as I try to control my olfaction. The premises ooze mystery and yet everything is perfectly dosed.
First room we go into is where Tony receives his clients and guests and where a stylish presentation of his perfumes is layed out for us. There are currently three perfume bottles with their packaging and samples. Of course I can’t resist and make myself comfortable on one of the two armchairs facing a lushious peonies’ hued wall with T-Perfume’s golden logo in the center. I could almost lose track of time.
But my road to discoveries is still long and so we continue to the next room. It is quite literally the back office. Here too I smell something special that I can only describe as the smell of hard work and dedication. This is a place where Tony spends hours of his workdays preparing orders for clients and making sure business is running smoothly.
But the most fascinating is yet to come. As the next door opens, we step into the magical world of his scent lab. This is something. Technical, squeaky clean and the promised land of all possible fragrance combinations. I make sure my itchy fingers don’t do anything stupid, but all I want is to start sniffing and mixing different aromas. My imagination is simply running wild. I start to fantasize about what could go with what and how I could create my dream perfume. Well, let’s not get carried away now. Tony has spent years perfectioning his skills and I should better leave this insanely difficult work to him.
As we sit down again, he kindly offers me some tea and pastries and I guess all this intense curiosity has sparked my appetite. Then he sprays on me some perfumes that are already on the market and I actually know I love. It sets the perfect ambiance to continue talking about fragrances. But then he opens his secret stash of work in progress scents because he wants my opinion on them. How cool is that !
Now how to act smart and sound intelligent? Obviously I’d like to recognise as many aromas as possible, but it turns out to be trickier than I would have imagined.
No rationality left, only emotions. It feels very powerful, how the first perfume cleanses my head and then suddenly I notice a huge transformation. In all honesty, there is always movement, flow and a sort of element of change to Tony’s creations. The most exciting part is to literally feel it on your own skin. So coming back to this first new work in progress, from the get go it is fresh, spicy, feisty. If you give it some time, it turns into a warm hug, like some comforting sensation. As you wait even longer, and that’s never a problem with us, because our conversations are known to last for hours and hours, you arrive at, what I would maybe call, the endgame of this scent, and it is a tranquil yet sensual undertone. I mean, I am trying my best here to do this perfume justice, but you simply have to smell it for yourself.
Now, the next newcomer that finds its way to my forearm, is a whole nother story. Tony gives me some indications, of what he put into this magic potion and a vague idea of the name it could one day bear. I instantly get him and what’s even more awesome, is that I teleport back to my childhood. Those intense flashbacks of my grandparents’ rose garden make me feel oh so nostalgic. Of course it is wide known that scents have the power to make you remember things and places and moments. This time though it comes over me with such precision. I get the rose petals, the vegetative freshness, the earthiness of the soil, the humidity in the greenhouse, the love and care my grandmother put into growing each and every demanding variety of these beauties. And then Tony’s genious touch, I get the smoke, and the boldness of fire. What a combination ! I can’t stop sniffing my arm, I have become addicted. And then I remind myself that however lovely this emotional timetravel is, I am not that young girl anymore, we all change and transform in time, not only a good perfume, but we, as creators of these memories. Perpertuum mobile…If I had to choose, I’d pick the second fragrance, but probably for sentimental reasons. The first one for sure could come in handy in so many situations in life, where one needs a little self esteem or confidence kick from a perfume.
Now our next topic is framing. My ignorance about this had been complete. I felt like inventing the wheel when Tony explained the reasons behind layering different scents on top of each other. Simply put, two different perfumes will already do the trick. I mean, I wouldn’t go as far as to say whatever two perfumes, but Tony showed me what he had envisioned. And so a unique new perfume is born on my skin. Logical and magical at the same time. Well, truth be told, until recently I had pretty much always been a one-perfume-girl. But this ‘’invention’’ makes me want to play around with combinations. Then again I don’t think Tony leaves anything to chance really, I takes months to come up with variations of molecules and essences that work well together not only on paper but in the bottle as well. And most importantly as I had just witnessed, on my skin. Impossible to leave his atelier empty handed. I rejoyce even more knowing I’ve picked out a unisex perfume for me, because from previous times I remember my husband was very fond of it too. As I walk home from T-Perfume’s HQ I feel my head a bit in the clouds, or is it a cloud of perfumes that follows me around? Who knows. Bottom line is, I can’t help but to feel emotional and I realize the right perfume never really leaves you indifferent. It provides like a time travel vessel to hop on to and take you back and forth in time wherever you dare to go. I guess subconsciously my expectations about meeting Tony that day were quite high but really he did deliver and more. I am genuinely happy that he uses his talent, vision and hard work to create beauty in such a universal way. I am lucky to have gotten a sneak peak into the magical realm of perfume making and I sure hope it wasn’t our last meeting.
Maria Külvja
Article by T-Perfume's first guest blogger Maria Külvja
Instagram: @maria.kulvja
HOW WELL DO WE REALLY UNDERSTAND THE ROLE THAT SCENTS PLAY IN OUR LIVES?
Aromas carry lots of information and values that help us navigate and make the right choices. They can easily influence our sub consciousness over which we have no control. Therefore we can quite easily be manipulated by fragrances. How well aware are we of the effect scents have on us?
Through scents we understand the world
We might not apprehend how important scents are to us until we lose our sense of smell. Those of us who have experienced a proper blocked nose or gone through COVID-19 know exactly how losing the ability to smell can affect our overall conception of the world. Food loses its taste, much of the information is not received, we become insecure and perplexed about what is really happening around us.
Odours surrounding us reassure us that everything is under control and according to our expectations. This is the rational side of scents – providing information for our mind so we can make conscious decisions. For example, when smelling something unpleasant, the brain signals us to keep our distance.
Aside from assisting us with rational analysis and decision-making, aromas mess with our sub consciousness over which we have no control. They awaken memories, affect our mood and help us choose a partner or friends.
Looking for a partner? Trust your nose!
Every human being has a specific odour and their own perfume preferences. This can say quite a lot about a person. We don’t have to be with a trained nose to know, when whiffing someone, if they are ‘’our kind of people’’. In that situation we don’t need to rationalize anything, we just know, feel it deep down.
So what kind of a perfume should we choose to help us find a partner more easily? First of all, we should ourselves smell good, take care of our personal hygiene that also shows we appreciate others around us and value general aesthetics. As for picking out a perfume, it is a truly personal decision that should be based on our very own preferences. If we wear a scent we really love, it will attract people who also respect and cherish it.
A perfume as a reminder
A scent becomes personal once we attach a certain memory or experience to it. Although we perceive space with different senses, it is most often the smell of an event or a place that sticks with us and stirs up emotions.
It functions like a memory stick – even decades later a specific smell can trigger images and details of a place or an experience. It can also work the other way around. You think about something or someone and suddenly smell what you associate with this particular place or person.
The same area in the brain – olfactory cortex, runs both the sense of smell and our emotions. It has been scientifically proven that this area communicates with the hippocampus where information is stored for long-term memory. Therefore when we smell something, this information is directed to the ‘’pantry’’ of our long-term memory and from where specific memories can later be dug up.
You could turn this phenomenon to your advantage. For example when having a special occasion (wedding, anniversary etc.) you could choose an entirely new fragrance. If years later you smell it again, you will feel overwhelmed with those powerful emotions and sweet memories.
Another clever idea is to surround yourself with a new perfume or a scented candle when studying for exams. Then, when it is time to pass the test, reapplying the same scent will trigger memories linked to the study session and help you find the right information from your brain.
A perfume as a means of communication
It is no secret that scents have an important role to play in communication. They can even be used as instruments of persuasion. Scent marketing is a scientific approach to influence customers’ shopping behaviour through aromas.
Have you ever smelled freshly baked cookies in a food store? It might not instantly make you want to buy baked goods, but it very well can send your brain a signal to snack on something and therefore make you engage in more impulse purchases. On another note, when doing business, it is also recommended to use certain scents that help build up trust in the other party.
A perfume as a mood influencer
As we breathe in a perfume, the aroma particles interact with our brain and our nervous system. This consequently influences our mood. So by choosing how we perfume our home or ourselves, we can actually change the way we feel. To impact our feelings, we could even use aromatherapy. Regardless of our own personal preferences, there are types of scents that influence us all in a similar way, may it be calming, cheerful, irritating etc.
A perfume as our body chemistry influencer
Perfumes can help us gain self-confidence, battle depression and increase creativity. We also know by now that scents can affect our body chemistry. This means boost the production of serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin. For example vanilla, lavender, coffee and rose aromas enhance our feel-good hormones. The perfume industry also uses components to act as aphrodisiacs to trigger sexual passion and attractiveness.
A perfume as a part of our identity
The fragrance we wear becomes a part of our identity. It tells a story about our values, opinions and characteristics. We are known for and remembered by much thanks to the way we smell and how others sense us.
Why should we prefer niche perfumes?
As we already know, scents can affect our health situation and emotional wellbeing. If we have to be surrounded by a cloud of perfume on a daily basis, it would be nice to know it doesn’t in any way harm us and that the ingredients of the fragrance are natural. This is where niche perfumes come into play and why they gain more and more recognition in the perfume business.
For niche perfumes, the production is usually very limited, so automatically we are more unique when wearing them. Also, they are mostly made of natural ingredients for example powerful essential oils that are environmentally – and skin-friendly.
A niche perfume is a piece of art. The ‘’nose’’ knows the philosophy behind all scents and assembles a bouquet that has a story to tell, influences our mood and grants us with a decent dose of originality.
Estonia’s only niche perfume producer T-Perfume offers fragrances in three categories: for women, for men and unisex. The perfumer Tony Veiler explains that niche perfumes made in Estonia have their advantage: when mixing and assembling the perfumes here, he can be inspired by trends and sensations that matter to our own people.
Where to find T-Perfume’s exclusive niche fragrances:
- T-Perfume atelier-lab on Parda Str. 4 (by appointment only)
- Krunnipea Design Shop in Solarise Center
- Eve Hanson Design Boutique in Telliskivi Center
- T-Perfume e-shop