A Different Kind Of Magic - How Perfume Making is Magic in its Own Right

This week on the show Karen is joined by Michael Paul from Day 3 Fragrances. From childhood Michael was fascinated by magic. Supported by his father, he became a professional magician and toured the world. However, he would always turn to his hobby of perfumery when he was stuck. In time he realised that magic and perfumery were one and the same. During COVID his ability to perform magic ceased, and so his daughter inspired him to start a new form of magic ...perfume making.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• During Covid Michael's ability to travel and perform magic shows was taken away from him. It was during this time that his daughter inspired him to take his perfume ‘hobby’ seriously. Michael talks about letting go of his fears and taking the leap into a new world.
• From an early age, Michael was fascinated by magic. When he was stuck with a magic problem he would turn to perfumery as an escape. However, he soon realised that magic and perfumery shared many commonalities, some of which he discusses here.
• Michael has no relationship with his biological mother. When he met his wife, her mother began to treat Michael as her own son, so touched by this Micheal created his first perfume in her honour. He tells the story of how this launched his company.
• The rise in the number of artisan perfumers has led to a rise in the number of online reviewers, especially on youtube. Michael talks about the positives and negatives of this trend and how the customer always reacts differently to the reviewers.

BEST MOMENTS

“There’s something to be said for telling yourself to stop making excuses and to just start.”

“Being able to tell the story of your perfume tells the customer so much more than if they just read the list of ingredients.”

“Break the rules. But know them first.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Day 3 Fragrances

Day 3 Fragrances Instagram

Michael Paul

Getting Started Guide

Artisan Perfumery Mastermind

ABOUT THE GUEST

Michael Paul is a recipient of the prestigious Art and Olfaction Golden Pear award, and the creative force behind the viral new fragrance house, Day Three Fragrances.

Before his transition into the perfume industry, Michael garnered acclaim as a world-renowned close up magician. Today, he uses the principles and philosophies learned from his time as a performer to shape his thoughts on the art of perfumery.
Thanks to his unique approach to creative perfumery, Michael Paul has been featured in "Profiles in American Perfumery", and was invited to speak at the 2024 Experimental Scent Summit in Portugal. This year, he was chosen to create a "Special Edition" perfume for the international ScentXplore fragrance convention in New York City, where he will also be a featured speaker.

ABOUT THE HOST

Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way.

Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances.

With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques.

Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing.

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