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Citrus & Colognes + Lab 101 Masterclass begins November 1st

Citrus & Colognes + Lab 101 Masterclass begins November 1st, 4:00-5:00pm Israel/Palestine Time.

You're invited to begin exploring the world of perfume creation though wonderfully accessible raw materials, some of them even from your grocery store, garden and citrus grove.

We'll learn how to create historic Aqua Mirabillis and Eaux de Colognes-style fragrances, Agua de Florida, and more. This is your entry ticket to learning in-depth perfume composition, and get over any fear you may have had from working the bench (scale, dilutions, complex looking formulae, etc.). If this sounds like magic to you, enjoy a 50% off the normal price for this correspondence course, and pay $450 instead of $900 for 12 Zoom classes, as well as online group support, email support and much more fun and friends all over the world! Students from all over the world have enjoyed connecting and learning through this format in our Spring & Summer sessions via Zoom and I'm excited to offer this introductory course again this fall. Looking forward to meeting you soon XO Ayala 

Summary of Citrus Week Spring 2018

Citrus Week, Spring 2018, Clil
Summery of Citrus & Cologns + Lab 101 Course (April 22-26, 2018)
Citrus week began with scratch & sniff of real fresh citrus fruit, picking lemony and refreshing herbs from the garden, lots of sniffing, and lots of delicious tea breaks.
Citrus Week, Spring 2018, Clil
Once we start mixing, the table fills up with fragrant vials and the whole studio smells like Eau de Cologne!
Citrus Week, Spring 2018, Clil

Field Studies: Exploring the medicine garden by my studio, and finding inspiration, which is later on developed into a perfume brief.

Citrus Week, Spring 2018, Clil

Citrus Week, Spring 2018, Clil

Citrus Course, Clil, Spring 2018
Visiting Jullius Craft Distillery: The first of its kind in Israel, using cutting edge technology to preserve the most delicate aromas found in grapes, citrus and other fruit.
This is the special still that produces fine Etrog Eau de Vie, Tangerine Eau de Vie, Marc (out-of-Italy grappa) from fine local grapes.
Jullius Distillery
Joov explaining to the class how alcohol is made, how the still works (it's an advanced version of a column still that cools the distillates more efficiently than the previous generation, and therefore preserves the aroma much better).
Jullius Distillery
These juniper berries are just one of the local ingredients used to make the pure, ethereal Akko Gin. This is the only gin in the world which uses these types of berries, which are endemic to Mount Meron and the Golan Heights, and to this Joov adds many fragrant, fresh local plants, including mastic, etrog and tangerine peel, each ingredient distilled separately and later on the distillates are blended and fine tuned. The process of making this unique gin is on and of itself like perfume making.
Juniper Berries
There is always time for more tea... And delicious vegan food by Hagit Lidror who nourished our body and soul during this week.
Citrus Week, Spring 2018, Clil

Display of the various citrus perfumes and eau de colognes we've studied this week.
Citrus Week, Spring 2018, Clil





Citrus & Cologne Week

Citrus & Cologne Week May 4-8, 2015

The other week, five students from all over the world gathered at my studio to dip their toes in the waters of cologne and experience what studying perfumery is all about. The Citrus & Colognes Week is the ideal course to start studying perfumery. You get to work with really simple, fun materials that are familiar (mostly citrus and herbs, but also some basic woods, spices and floral notes such as sandalwood, cedarwood, rose and neroli). Students learn all the nitty-gritty details of lab etiquette, how to handle the materials, dilute, measure and tincture them, etc. We also unveiled the mystery of aromatic extractions: how essential oils are distilled, how absolutes and other extracts are extracted, etc. and how to make your own macerations and tinctured.

Zest, juice, flowers, twigs and leaves - these are all fragrant components that come from the citrus tree and are used in both perfuming and flavouring. This week, we attempted to dissect the characteristic of each citrus note, draw connections between all the sub-categories of the citrus building blocks (citrus-leafy, citrus-lemony, citrus-orangey, citrus-sulfur and citrus-floral) and be able to discern between a sweet and a bitter orange; between grapefruit and bergamot; and between neroli and petitgrain (among other similarly related citrus notes). It's not an easy task, and one that I always wish my more advanced students would spend more time on doing...

Citrus & Cologne Week May 4-8, 2015
In particular, we learned how to tincture citrus zest (Meyer lemon... mmm...), and leaves (i.e.: Kaffir lime leaves); as well as dried orris roots (which turned out beautifully although they still need a little more maturing).

On the technical trouble shooting frontier, we learned how to added distilled water or hydrosols to create true eaux de colognes and eaux de toilettes and understand the technical difficulties that arise from this. We also learned about the chemistry of citrus oils, and how their unique characteristics makes them popular not only as a flavour but also as an active ingredient in many cleaning products such as soaps, solvents and detergents.

Last but not least: We've created historic formulae of eaux de colognes from given tried-and-true formulae from my new book; as well old historic recipes from various historic books in my library. Students also learned how to analyze classic and commercial citrus and cologne-type fragrances, and try to pick out the notes and re-create the scent based on the smell alone. On the last day, we also attempted at creating our own original citrus perfumes without any given starting point of a formulae, but rather drawing on a personal inspiration that emerged from an exercise we did together in class.



The next course will take place in September: Fougere Week (September 21-25). It is suitable for beginners. Ideally, you should have read Ayala's book "Foundation of Natural Perfumery" and taken the Citrus & Colognes and/or Lab 101 course prior to that. If this is your first time applying for the program, email ayala (at) ayalamoriel.com with your CV and a coverletter explaining why you'd like to study this program. Suitable candidates will be contacted to schedule an interview in person or via Skype.


Citrus & Cologne Week + Lab 101 (May 4-8)



There are 2 available spots at the Citrus & Cologne Week-long Course.

Designed for students who want to excel in their studies of natural perfumery. This week-long intensive course runs Mon-Thu from 9:30am-4pm, and Friday from 9am-1:30pm and offers theoretical and practical guidance alongside hands-on lab exercises and experiments. Friday is dedicated for feedback, summary and one-on-one sessions with Ayala for each participant. 

This course is mandatory introductory course to all new students, and focuses on the basic lab skills (tincturing, dilutions, measuring, weighing, recording) through studying the earliest form of European/Western perfumes: Aqua Mirabillis AKA Eaux de Colognes.


You'll really enjoy discovering historic formulae, as well as learning about the unique properties of the citrus oils in body care and cleaning products (functional perfumery), learn a bit about organic chemistry, and - the biggest challenge of all: learn to discern between the sutble nuances that differentiate the many varieties of citrus oils, i.e. red mandarin vs. yellow mandarin; grapefruit vs. bergamot; lemon vs. lime; sweet orange vs. bitter orange.

The main objectives and topics that will be covered this week: olfaction (studying the raw materials), how to follow an existing formula, scale-up, how to write a formula, building cologne-type accords and creating simple solid perfumes, as well as cologne and citrus formulation in an alcohol base.

Featured Lecture: The Role of Citrus Oils in Functional Fragrances

Featured (Practical) Workshop: Tincturing citrus zest and citrus leaves

Course Schedule and Structure:
The course runs May 4-8, which is a full week - Monday through Thursday from 9:30am to 4pm; and Friday from 9am-1:30pm and takes place at Ayala Moriel's private home studio.
The mornings (9:30am-12pm) are dedicated to theory and studying olfaction (discerning between notes). The afternoons (1pm-4pm) are a lab session which is dedicated to the practical implementations of what was studied in the morning, i.e. weighing, measuring, recording, formulation, composition and compounding.

The fee includes book*, materials and supplies.

Dates: May 4-8, 2015

* For new students only. Returning students will be using the same textbook they received in the first week, which accompanies the entire program.

Citrus Week (May 4-8)



There are four more spaces remaining for Citrus Week (May 4-8).
This is a week long course at my Vancouver studio, suitable for all levels. It focuses on the basic lab skills (tincturing, dilutions, measuring, weighing, recording) through studying the earliest form of European/Western perfumes: Aqua Mirabillis AKA Eaux de Colognes. You'll really enjoy discovering historic formulae, as well as learning about the unique properties of the citrus oils in body care and cleaning products (functional perfumery), learn a bit about organic chemistry, and - the biggest challenge of all: learn to discern between the sutble nuances that differentiate the many varieties of citrus oils, i.e. red mandarin vs. yellow mandarin; grapefruit vs. bergamot; lemon vs. lime; sweet orange vs. bitter orange.

Featured Lecture: The Role of Citrus in Functional Fragrances

Featured (Practical) Workshop: Tincturing citrus zest and citrus leaves

Dates and Structure:
The course runs May 4-8, which is a full week - Monday through Friday from 9:30am to 4pm and takes place at Ayala Moriel's private home studio.
The mornings (9:30am-12pm) are dedicated to theory and studying olfaction (discerning between notes). The afternoons (1pm-4pm) are a lab session which is dedicated to the practical implementations of what was studied in the morning, i.e. weighing, measuring, recording, formulation, composition and compounding.
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