Épisodes

  • Layering Like a Pro (or a Rebel): From TikTok Hacks to Indie Perfume

    Layering Like a Pro (or a Rebel): From TikTok Hacks to Indie Perfume
    Dec 15 2025
    Ever wondered why everyone’s suddenly talking about layering their favourite scents? In this special year-end episode, Karen dives into the layered world of fragrance - examining the trend that’s gone from perfume-enthusiast secret to must-try for, indie creators, everyday scent lovers and brands. Discover how scent layering is shaking up traditions, what it means for your personal perfume wardrobe, and why this mix-and-match approach is more than just a passing fad. KEY TAKEAWAYS Scent layering isn’t a passing fad, it’s transforming how we wear perfume, from “one signature scent” to full fragrance wardrobes. This new layering culture is about ownership: making scents personal, playful, and aligned with who you are, not what a brand tells you to wear. TikTok and social media have blown layering wide open, but not every “hack” is safe or even smells good. Mixing random perfumes together can lead to skin issues. Purpose-made layering scents are safer and smarter. They are building blocks that home users can combine to create their own unique scents. Being a scent minimalist can make layering easier. A small, well-chosen collection often works better than shelves of half-loved bottles. Sustainability, biotech, wellness, healing, and ritual will all play bigger roles in the future of fragrance. AI and online tools can inspire ideas, but they can’t yet replace real perfumery skills or safety knowledge. Take the time to stay up to date with this and other tech. BEST MOMENTS “There's some interesting stuff going on with how people relate to scent now, as opposed to how they used to five, ten years ago.” “There are companies that create, I suppose, what you would call a cord - simple fragrances that they actually actively sell as being able to be combined together.” “It's about fragrance becoming something that people participate in, like cooking or mixology, rather than something that they are relying on an expert to tell them what to buy.” EPISODE RESOURCES In Person Classes: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/studio-classes EPC layering sets - https://experimentalperfumeclub.com/pages/perfume-creation-sets VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/podcast-getting-started-guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/artisan-perfumery-mastermind Website: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk 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. CONTACT DETAILS Website - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/karengilbert/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KarenGilbert.co.uk YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@KarenGilbertPerfumeMaking Email - karen@karengilbert.co.uk This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    48 min
  • Don’t Sell Yourself Short! Building a Perfume Business Without the Discount Spiral

    Don’t Sell Yourself Short! Building a Perfume Business Without the Discount Spiral
    Dec 8 2025
    It’s easy to think that the best way to stay ahead in business is by watching your competitors—and lowering your prices when they do. But as Karen explains in this episode, that common fear-driven reaction often backfires. Responding to competition by undercutting your value can leave you overwhelmed, undervalued, and unsure of your direction. Karen breaks down why “cheaper” is rarely the answer, how to build a business rooted in confidence and authenticity, and what it really takes to attract the right customers, whether you’re a perfumer or creative entrepreneur. KEY TAKEAWAYS Don’t let fear of competition dictate your choices. Competing on price is a race to the bottom; focus on your quality and what sets you apart. When each business focuses on its unique strengths and client experience, they can all thrive. True customer loyalty comes from trust, quality, and connection. Not from your being the cheapest. If you are struggling to resist simply lowering your prices, Learn from those who have been where you are now. Seek out courses, community, or mentoring to strengthen your mindset and business skills. BEST MOMENTS “Please, for the love of everything, don't compete on price ever. It never works. It always falls flat.” “Cheap perfumes aren’t true competitors to original, high-quality fragrances—each attracts a different customer and fulfils a different need in the market.” “Fear often shows up when you are not fully sold on your own value yet. It's never about the competition.” EPISODE RESOURCES In Person Classes: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/studio-classes Bespoke Perfumery Course: https://karengilbert.info/bespoke-perfumery-masterclass Mindset Course (included with The Artisan Perfumery Mastermind):https://www.onlineperfumeschool.com/mindset-magic-masterclass-online-course VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/podcast-getting-started-guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/artisan-perfumery-mastermind Website: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk 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. CONTACT DETAILS Website - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/karengilbert/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KarenGilbert.co.uk YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@KarenGilbertPerfumeMaking Email - karen@karengilbert.co.uk This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    31 min
  • Making a Mod: Embracing Iteration in Perfume Making and Doing It Right

    Making a Mod: Embracing Iteration in Perfume Making and Doing It Right
    Dec 1 2025
    This week Karen follows on from the conversation she had about learning to evaluate your perfumes. She covers something that is done as a matter of course in the industry. It's something a lot of people, especially when they're new, don't really get - making more than one version of your fragrance. Or, in industry terms, making a mod. Karen explains why learning to be patient and tweaking your perfume gradually is an essential skillset and how to perfect the art of iteration. KEY TAKEAWAYS Feeling disappointed with your first perfume draft is normal; instead of interpreting your setbacks as a lack of talent, treat each version as a learning step that even experienced perfumers face. Change only one element at a time and refrain from altering your original batch. Record each change and its impact on a spreadsheet so you can clearly track what makes things better or makes things worse. If you reach a creative block after many iterations, it’s fine to set a project aside and return later with a fresh perspective. Sometimes, solutions only emerge with time and new experience. Perfumery is a journey of constant learning and self-improvement. Make use of community resources and classes as needed, and keep up the habit of practice and iteration. BEST MOMENTS “The truth is nobody makes a perfect perfume in one go….you are creating your first draft.” “Without a clear direction (a brief) you are not going to be able to evaluate anything - if you can't evaluate it, you are not going to be able to improve it.” “The whole point of creating mods, or iterations of a fragrance, is comparison.” VALUABLE RESOURCES In-Person Classes: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/studio-classes Fragrance For Skincare Course: https://www.onlineperfumeschool.com/creating-fragrance-for-skincare-products-online-course Fragrance Formulation blog post - ⁠https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/fragrance-formulation⁠ Last week´s evaluating your perfume episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/evaluating-your-fragrances-how-to-judge-your-scent/id1693602939?i=1000738045728 Getting Started Guide: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/podcast-getting-started-guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/artisan-perfumery-mastermind 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. CONTACT DETAILS Website - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/karengilbert/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KarenGilbert.co.uk YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@KarenGilbertPerfumeMaking Email - karen@karengilbert.co.uk This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    27 min
  • Evaluating Your Fragrances: How to Judge Your Scent Like a Professional

    Evaluating Your Fragrances: How to Judge Your Scent Like a Professional
    Nov 24 2025
    Do you really know if your fragrance works? Or are you just hoping for compliments? In this episode, Karen reveals why friends and family are not likely to be giving you the feedback you really need. She shares the essential steps needed to truly evaluate your perfume - like a pro. Karen takes you through setting a clear brief and mastering technical checkpoints. She shares the tools and mindset that separate hobbyists from serious creators. Tune in to transform the way you judge your scents and take yourself one step closer to making fragrances that always deliver. KEY TAKEAWAYS The opinions of friends and family feel good, but their noses can´t be the final word. Often, they are biased and rarely fit your target demographic. Investing time in learning how to professionally evaluate your scents is essential. Without a clear goal for your scent, you’ll never know if you’ve hit the mark, so start every creation by writing out a solid brief and use a checklist to keep your evaluation honest and well organised. Don’t just sniff and forget. Track and assess your fragrance over hours to see how it really lasts, evolves, and performs on skin or in the bottle. You need to test for smoothness, strength, longevity, harmony, diffusion and evaluate it in the base and conditions your customer will actually be using your scent in. Sensory fatigue is real. Periodically, step away and reset your nose. Allow plenty of time to evaluate your scents. BEST MOMENTS “Evaluation is a whole separate skill. You could be good at blending, you could be good at putting different materials together, but also still not know whether what you made actually works.” “If you don't know what you were intending to create, you're not going to know whether you hit that mark or not.” “Make yourself a little checklist that you can actually go through every time you create a fragrance, every time you do modifications.” EPISODE RESOURCES In-Person Course - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/studio-classes Fragrance For Skincare Course: https://www.onlineperfumeschool.com/creating-fragrance-for-skincare-products-online-course How to create a scent story episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-and-why-to-create-a-scent-story/id1693602939?i=1000630627487 VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/podcast-getting-started-guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/artisan-perfumery-mastermind Website: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk 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. CONTACT DETAILS Website - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/karengilbert/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KarenGilbert.co.uk YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@KarenGilbertPerfumeMaking Email - karen@karengilbert.co.uk This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    32 min
  • Why Buying More “Magic” Materials Won’t Make You a Better Perfumer

    Why Buying More “Magic” Materials Won’t Make You a Better Perfumer
    Nov 17 2025
    It’s easy to believe that the secret to creating great fragrances lies in having more materials - more naturals, more synthetics, more obscure aroma chemicals. But as Karen explains in this episode, the opposite is usually true. Expanding your organ too quickly can overwhelm your creativity, stall your progress, and make it harder to build the strong foundation you need to truly master the craft of perfumery. Karen breaks down exactly why “more” is rarely the answer, why many professionals still work with a limited palette, and how to experiment, build skill, confidence, and clarity by initially using a focused, small set of materials. KEY TAKEAWAYS In perfumery, progress comes from starting simple and structured learning - not from collecting hundreds of bottles. Most trained perfumers work with a tight palette that they fully understand. Don´t be tempted to start by exploring big scent concepts; they can lead you to collect unusual materials prematurely. Start by making simple scents first. Remember: most powerful or “interesting” materials only work in tiny amounts. Without practice and proper dilution, they can easily unbalance a blend. Start by practicing with a focused set of ingredients. Learn to dilute them correctly, carefully observe how each material and combination behaves and make notes. BEST MOMENTS “Weird, wacky, interesting materials do not make you more creative. They don't make you a better perfumer - knowing how to use them does.” “You are literally trying to build this whole city before you've built your shed in the garden.” “If you change everything in a formulation over and over again, you're going to keep going around in circles.” “You can own hundreds of materials and still be guessing and floundering, or you can have 20 core materials and be working with them and learning about how they interact with each other.” EPISODE RESOURCES Use the discount code shared during the show to master the 70 most important materials you need to build a strong skill foundation for your perfumer career by going here - Materials Mastery - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/materials-mastery Studio Classes - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/studio-classes Getting Started Guide - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/podcast-getting-started-guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind - https://www.karengilbert.co.uk/artisan-perfumery-mastermind 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. CONTACT DETAILS Website: https://www.karengilbert.co.uk Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/karengilbert/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KarenGilbert.co.uk YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@KarenGilbertPerfumeMaking This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    35 min
  • You’ve Made Soup! - How to Avoid a Muddy Fragrance

    You’ve Made Soup! - How to Avoid a Muddy Fragrance
    Nov 10 2025
    “You’ve made soup!” is a phrase French perfume teachers often say to their students. In the world of fragrance, soup refers to a perfume that smells muddy, flat, or undefined. But what causes a scent to turn into “soup,” and how can you prevent it? In this week’s episode, Karen breaks down the many ways a perfume can lose its clarity and character, often through well-intentioned choices that seem right at first. Tune in to learn the common pitfalls. KEY TAKEAWAYS One easy way to achieve a muddy scent is by constantly adding materials on top of each other, just because you like them. Karen explains why this is a bad idea. Copying a notes list from a perfume you admire is another fast track to achieving a muddy scent. So why do people do it, and why should you avoid it? Understanding scent structure is crucial to creating a well-balanced perfume. Karen breaks down why this is and why it should be the first thing you master. Nose fatigue is a very real thing, and it can lead you to make crucial mistakes when creating a scent. Karen shares her top tips to avoid this trap. BEST MOMENTS “Adding more materials won’t fix anything; it will just make your fragrance more dense and confusing.” “Sometimes a space in a formulation is what gives it its strength.” “Every time you make a formulation, make notes, and you will be moving forward.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Studio classes Materials Mastery Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind 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. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    34 min
  • Raw Notes - What I Learned from Bruce Springsteen

    Raw Notes - What I Learned from Bruce Springsteen
    Nov 3 2025
    Karen recently went to the cinema, something she doesn’t do very often. However, on this one-off trip to see the new Bruce Springsteen film, something resonated with her. We often chase perfection, either from our own standards or from what we assume others expect from us, but sometimes, the real beauty lies in imperfection. In this week's episode, Karen is here to talk about how the thing you create might be more successful if you just let go and be true to yourself. KEY TAKEAWAYS One of the main storylines of the new Springsteen film is how the record he created sounded raw and unfinished, but how that sound added to the beauty of it. Karen describes how you can apply this working method to your perfume creation. Karen tells the story of Mark Buxton and how creating an accord based on the markets of Marrakech ended up launching a perfume brand. A lot of indie perfumers try to replicate the big commercial brands, but, as Karen points out, they are not your competition. Karen shares what really matters when creating your fragrances. BEST MOMENTS “Sometimes that raw first version might be exactly what it needs to be.” “If you try to make something more commercial, you're in danger of moving away from what you set out to achieve.” “Whatever the thing is that you create, if it expresses what you want it to express, that’s what it should be.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind 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. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    18 min
  • The Evolution of Musk - Part 2

    The Evolution of Musk - Part 2
    Oct 27 2025
    Following on from last week's show on the history of Musk, Karen is here to tell you all about the synthetic musks. First developed by accident in the 1930s, synthetic musks have evolved through many different variations, each one advancing from what has come before. In this episode, Karen gives you a full and comprehensive overview of the history of synthetic musk, how they changed the perfume industry, and the musks that you should have in your toolbox. KEY TAKEAWAYS Nitro Musks were the first synthetic musks, discovered in the late 1880s by accident. Karen gives you the history of this fascinating discovery and how it changed perfume-making. In the 1930s, macrocyclic musks were developed as a safer and more elegant alternative to nitro musks. Karen details their history, the perfumes that pioneered them, and the impact they had. Polycyclic musks were developed in the 1950s with the intention of being lower-cost and more commercial. Karen explains how they brought musk into the mainstream, including the Body Shop’s ‘White Musk’. Due to biodegradability issues of polycyclic musk, alicyclic musks were developed in the 1970s. Karen explains why they were created and how they burst into popularity in the 1990s. BEST MOMENTS “Musks are often more of a feeling than they are a specific smell.” “Musks change when they interact with other materials, so don’t just smell them on a strip, use them.” “If you’ve ever smelt laundry and thought ‘that smells clean’, that’s a polycyclic musk.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Materials Mastery Studio Classes Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind 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. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    40 min