About the Perfumer
"Psychedelic Patchouli" is masterfully blended by award-winning perfumer Michael Nordstrand. Michael is an independent perfumer, teacher and multidisciplinary artist. He holds degrees and certifications in Perfume Creation from Givaudan, ISIPCA, and The Grasse Institute of Perfumery as well as a certification in Medicinal Plants from Cornell University, where his focus was on aromatic plants popularised during the Middle Ages. His unique approach to fragrance is informed by boundless curiosity and a love of history, science & the arts.
With a deep respect for raw materials and the stories they can tell, Michael approaches each project with an inquisitive and open mind, applying his knowledge to solve problems creatively and produce elegant solutions that satisfy client expectations.
It's the Summer of '69...
You check the air in the tires of your 16-window Volkswagen tie-dyed Hippie bus and check all the fluids. You and five of your Hippie friends load up with nothing but the clothes on your backs, a few sleeping bags, and a tent. You hit the road for the most far out groovy road trip ever. The itinerary: you're driving cross-country from California to upstate New York for Woodstock Music Festival. You have no idea what's in store, but you know there's peace and love that awaits!
This scent captures a time lost to memory. A generation that lived it, now left with a tale of what was. Today's generation wishing they could step back in time to relive it. The era was that of free love, experimental psychedelics, expanded consciousness, cannabis culture, incense burning in head shops, fragrant patchouli, flower children, and rock-and-roll.
When we approached perfumer Michael Nordstrand with the narrative for this scent, we wanted this first and foremost to be a patchouli fragrance, with an almost elevated, electric type of energy to it. We didn't want a dark, "damp soil/leaves" type of patchouli, but one that was bright and fresh, appropriate for modern times. We also wanted it to have a slight aromatic "cannabis" type of a nuance, but once again, not taking away from this being a "patchouli fragrance" at its heart. We didn't want the addition of a "cannabis" note to overpower. Michael suggested we use pineapple leaf absolute. The scent obtained from the leaf of the pineapple plant is very different from its fruit counterpart. We all know the scent of pineapple in perfumery... very sweet, tropical, fruity. Pineapple leaf absolute is an exceptional fairly new raw material that yields an aromatic "green" quality VERY similar to the scent of cannabis flower. We were all for the use of this raw material to provide the nuance desired, and I must say, it blends BEAUTIFULLY with the formula!
Michael got to work. About 8 months later, we received nine different trial formulas. ALL of them absolute works of art. But one of them absolutely took us by an unexpected surprise... the addition of plum. We had not even entertained the idea of plum being included in this scent, but let me tell you, it was a welcome surprise. The way the plum interacts in this formula, it's a match made in heaven! The plum adds the PERFECT texture and color to the scent, and is what attributes to that "electric" vibe... taking what is an exceptional creation to an extraordinary three-dimensional scent that is both nostalgic and modern all the same.
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- Hez Binkowitz, perfumer
