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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.

How 2 Make Perfume

How to make perfume? 
My niece's nightgown teaches us to use the following ingrnedients: Petals, water, and a the magic ingredient - little bit of glitter...
Alternatively, you can sign up for my Citrus Week (May 4-8) and learn the ins and outs of the craft and the trade. Advanced students are also qualified to attend the Leather & Tobacco Week (May 11-15). 
Registration is now open. Email me with your CV and a coverletter, and arrange for a phone/Skype interview. There are only limited spaces in each (6 students maximum). 

Perfume School Updates: Fall Courses + Private Lessons + New Book Pre-Order

A wonderful week of Oriental Perfumes Studies took place this past month (May 26-30, 2014). Students from around the world participated and thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

We began by learning how to make incense - the most ancient form of perfume (we made traditional Indian-style incense cones), then proceeded to learn about the history of the spice trails, discovery of distillation methods, and how the ancient traditions of incense and attars from India, Egypt and Arabia influenced the art of French perfumery at the turn of the century. We studied vintage classics such as Shalimar, Emeraude, Tabu, Youth Dew and Opium. and learned to make our own amber bases, accords, and then build a fully-developed Ambery Oriental perfume and Spicy Oriental perfume. It was fun and another one of the week’s highlight was a trip to a Chinatown to immerse in the aesthetics of authentic classic Chinese garden and its fragrant plant, and learn how to translate a concept or an inspiration into a beautiful perfume with unique structure.
Now it’s time to plan the next term in my perfume school, coming up this fall, with two courses at the end of September and beginning of October: Chypres week (September 22-27, 2014) and Leather/Tobacco Week (September 29 - October 3, 2014). Early Bird rates (20% off) are in effect till June 22nd. If you're a new student, please apply by emailing me with a CV and a coverletter. 

Correspondence Course, Private Lessons & New Book!

If you were not able to attend in person, you can sign up for my correspondence course which includes the Foundation of Natural Perfumery Book plus 5 one hour sessions with me via phone/Skype. I also offer private sessions - either in person at my studio, or via phone/Skype for $200/hr -  perfect for students who live remotely and need to brush up on certain lab skills, techniques or want to get personal feedback for their work. The 2014 edition of the  Foundations of Natural Perfumery Book is now available for pre-order, and will be completed late summer/early fall. Pre-orders are helping me greatly in setting off some of the printing and graphic re-design costs, as this will be self published. We are printing it here in Vancouver; and also will be offering an electronic edition online later this year.

Here's what one of my private students had to say about her lesson this spring:
"Thanks for an amazing, special day and I learned so much.  I can't believe how much we covered and yet I want to meet with you tomorrow, the next day, and the next!  I love the blend and it brings back wonderful memories of the beach".
- Elizabeth Michaels
Aromatherapis & Reiki Healer
Bellevue, Washington, US

And here are a few more testimonials for your amusement - from all four students who attended the Oriental Week this past May:

"Thank you for the wonderful Oriental Perfumes Study that I attended with you in Vancouver.  The entire experience was an amazing one – falling in love with the city itself, the ambience of the workshop that we were in – making it feel like home and a cherished place, all the vital information that you lavishly shared with us and the insight that you managed to give us into the magical world of natural perfume blending…it all sums up to a remarkable experience that I hope I will repeat very soon".
- Mohammad Khalaf
EmmKay Beaute
Toronto, Ontario 
 
"Studying under Ayala far exceeded my expectations. I entered the program with no previous blending knowledge or hands-on experience with raw materials, and left with the confidence to further pursue my intrigue back home. While I'll continue to blend on my own, I'm really looking forward to next season's session."
- Kacey Ivey
Nashville, Tennessee 
 
"I learned about Ayala and her work through Twitter, and in my nascent attempts to compose fragrances for my homemade soaps, she provided helpful advice and input. Later, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend her week-long perfumery course on the fougère family of fragrances.  Although the emphasis of study was fougères, we students also learned a lot of fundamentals of perfumery, including getting to know various essences and composing perfumes. I particularly enjoyed the blind scent tests at the beginning of each class.
Ayala is a very supportive teacher, and having her immediate feedback was invaluable, since there is no substitute for a well-trained nose. One can learn a lot of things from books and the internet (including Ayala's course book), but there is currently no technology that allows us to smell things from a distance. I am very pleased with my experience attending the course, and I hope to return someday to learn about the other fragrance families".
- Schuyler Corry
Chemist / Soapmaker
Open Source Soap
Eugene, Oregon, USA

"Thanks again for an extraordinary week!"
- Elizabeth Michaels
Aromatherapis & Reiki Healer
Bellevue, Washington, US

Attention Early Birds: Leather & Tobacco Week

For those among you interested in getting deeper into the world of perfumery and study how to create your own in much detail - Ayala Moriel's professional natural perfumery training course is a must!
Creative, fun yet structured and nurturing learning environment where you will meet other students and professionals, and learn the basic as well as advanced concept of constructing your own natural perfumes. We cover all areas of perfumery studies: olfaction (aka study of each raw material), how to sniff, perfume history, technical and lab skills, and - most importantly: composition.
The program is flexible and spans over the course of 4 years, in which you will attend bi-annual week long sessions at Ayala Moriel Parfums studio in Vancouver, every fall and spring (usually the 3rd week of September/ 1st week of October; and the 2nd week of May. Additional dates other locations where she takes her "traveling perfume school". Each week is dedicated to one of the main fragrance families: Chypre, Oriental, Fougere, Citrus & Colognes, Florientals, Leather & Tobacco, Floral Bouquets & Soliflores, Aquatic/Marine/Oceanic.

The next sessions are in the following dates, and are offered at Early Bird Rate of 20% off, thru July 30th:

Leather & Tobacco (October 1st - 5th, 2012)

Florientals (May 13th - 17th, 2013)

Course fees include tuition, course handbook with wealth of information, guiding exercises and resources, and of course - all the equipment, tools and natural raw materials used during the week long course at the studio.

Also only thru July 30th: Ayala's Foundation of Natural Perfumery Book (and correspondence course, which entitles you to 5 x 1hr sessions over phone/skype to address any specific questions and challenges you come across in your study) over the course of 1 year. This is a great way to start your studies for those of you who can't yet attend in person. It is full of hands-on exercises and theoretical assignments that will enable you to study natural perfumery thoroughly and understand the classic structure and principles of European natural perfumery. This correspondence course is usually $1,000, but until July 30th you can have access to this knowledge and training for only $350!
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