Latest Posts
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un petit coucou (a little hello)
Hello everyone, It is April already and here on the Cote d’Azur spring is fully in bloom. Once again the purple wisteria is covering wrought iron gates and climbing the stone walls. Even the oaks that cover the hills behind Mane and Fils are finally popping their tiny green leaves. The birds have been celebrating
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the ups and downs of life
Well….lots of time has passed since my last entry and also many thoughts and events. First and foremost, I decided to work toward finding ways to stay in France! This part of the decision was clinched when a perfumery student from this year decided not to take over my apartment. I felt a sense of
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Crossroads
Bonjour a tous! New Year’s has come and gone, school has finished and I received my diploma as <<student perfumer>>. So now what? you may all be wondering? Well, so am I!! I am now officially, a student of perfumery! The next step, technically, classically, is to train under a Nez for 9 more years before ever hoping
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Entering 2008 in Cannes
Another year gone by- it’s amazing how quickly! In 18 days, it will be the one year anniversary since my arrival in Paris. And so much has happened since then. Now I am standing at another cross-roads; waiting to know how to commence from here. In the meantime, it is winter here, finally, and today
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The last day of school
Today was the last day of school and in the evening as I walked through the rooms turning off all the lights, I was struck with how fast time goes by. So much has happened since the beginning, since I first entered this space- tears, fights, camaraderie, many shared lunches in the sunshine, laughter and
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the Finale! (part I)
Last night was fantastic! We got to the hall mid afternoon to get all set up for the evenings festivities, and by 5:30, when the guests started arriving, we were ready. The evening began with speeches from the director ASFO (the organization that created GIP), followed by the Mayor of Grasse, then the owner/director of
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Friday- and the 3rd presentation
Well…a report as promised in my last entry….this afternoon was the 3rd presentation….we went to the headquarters of Mane & Fils to give our most convincing (hopefully) performance yet. After enetering the huge Mane compound, we were escorted to our parking places by two pompiers (firemen- it’s high security at this company-as there are many volatile
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2.5 hours to go
Here we are at school working like crazy to finish the marketing material, packaging and products themselves before the final presentation for the I-Community competition at Mane. At three o’clock (or later- this is France after-all) we will present the result of the last 3 monthes work to a panel representing these three areas of
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Jean Claude Ellena
A week or so ago, our class was granted the honour of a private visit with Jean Claude Ellena (a master perfumer in his own right and the in-house exclusive perfumer for Hermes) in his studio in Cabris. We were escorted by our chemistry teacher to the outskirts of the small beautiful village that is
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November 27
Bonjour! Just a quick note to say that life here is very busy these days and rather than not write at all due to the lack of time for essays, I intend to attempt mini entries just to keep you up to date…. It is definitely l’Automne now here, with the hills behind Grasse turning
A Perfumed Pilgrimage 