The Certificate in Perfumery Art

Enrolments for the session starting on 28 October 2024 are now closed...

What?

For decades, perfumery has been considered as the best kept secret of a handful of masters more commonly known as 'noses'. It was thought that one needed to know those secrets in order to create a perfume.

Indeed, if you prefer to create a synthetic perfume i.e. one composed with a high percentage of CHEMICAL AROMATIC MATERIALS, a few years of studies are required to discover the 4000 or so molecular ingredients that are added to modern perfumes. But the trend has recently reversed back to pre-1970's perfumery, the era when the focus was on creating a perfume based on a limited palette of no more than 400 natural ingredients and as executed by such master perfumers as Jean-Louis Fargeon, Jean-Paul Guerlain or Gellé Frères.

In the Art of perfumery, creativity and intuition are playing an important part; they are the essence and the Nose needs to be able to blend raw materials in a way that creates a harmonious work of art.

The aim of the course is to empower the student with sufficient knowledge so as to be able to create their own fragrances, using traditional perfume-making methods from the HOUSE OF GRASSE.

This is a unique course that is different from any perfumery course you might come across as it focuses on the ART of perfumery and not on the Chemistry of it. This Certificate course is certified by CPD UK and is ideal for hobbyists or people who have zero knowledge of the Art of perfume-making.

The Certificate in Art of Perfumery Course

The Certificate in Perfumery Art course introduces you to the key principles for creating perfumes using such ingredients as essential oils, absolutes, waxes, tinctures, infusions and natural isolates. It includes two modules detailing:

how to develop your sense of smell and guides you to getting your nose acquainted to all your raw materials (The Sense of Smell)
the process of fragrance creation (Fragrance Creation) using various methods that have been proven and tested over the years. The focus is on naturals and on unleashing the Artisan Perfumer in you.

The methodology we use is based on our unique S.C.E.N.T.© approach. With the Certificate, the focus is on:

Smell: Discover the main raw materials, their structure and get acquainted to your sense of smell; learn to build up accords and to harmonise notes
Create: Learn the architecture of a perfume and the traditional methods used to create fragrances and use your knowledge in other applications

The student also has an option to upgrade to the Diploma in Art of Perfumery at a later stage should they decide to expand their knowledge and to market their products or to subscribe to any standalone courses available.

Certification by CPD UK

Learn more about CPD UK certification

Who for?

Perfume enthusiasts who are interested in learning the fundamental principles of perfumery using naturals for the purpose of making their own perfumes and scents that can be applied in functional products.
Employees working in a fragrance-related career (retail sales, consulting, marketing, olfactory marketing, product design) willing to expand their understanding and knowledge of perfumes behind the scenes.
Marketers and media people, bloggers writing about the Art of perfume-making
Spa staff involved in signature treatments where scents might be required
Flavourists, perfume evaluators willing to develop their knowledge of natural perfumes.

Note: The Certificate course is ideal for hobbyists or people with no knowledge of perfumery. Students may apply to pursue with the Diploma should they wish to do so upon completion of their Certificate.

Duration and Qualifications

You have up to 12 months to complete The Certificate in Perfumery Art program. Most of the hours will be spent on developing your knowledge of the ingredients and your sense of smell as well as focusing on creation.

Your nose needs to be spared from too much smelling in order to avoid loosing your sense of smell. This is why the module on Smell will need to be approached slowly and gradually and is considered as the FOUNDATION of the whole program.

After each lesson, the student is required to complete self-tests and online assignments or credited practical work and there is one essay/paper assessment at the end of the program. The final exam for the completion of the Diploma consists in submitting the credited assignment together with a mindmapped outline of your perfume project, prepared throughout your course and a finished composition for evaluation.

With a lot of practice and patience combined with a Passion for what nature offers us, you too can become a Master perfumer.

Program level
Duration of the program
Total learning hours
Qualification/Accreditation

The program level is considered as an academic level 2. It is part of Continuous Professional Development and is different to a National Vocational Qualification.

The learner has up to 12 months to complete the Diploma course program. However, if no external circumstances prevent from taking up the lessons regularly, this program may be completed within 8-10 months.

The estimated number of learning hours is 500 hours.
* Please note that this is only an approximate figure and is dependent upon how much time you can dedicate to your studies and also how well you grasp the learning concepts in the course material. Furthermore, at the end of each module there are one or several assignments which need to be completed.
Only if the assignment is PASSED can the learner move to the next module.

The Certificate is granted after assessment of a perfume sample sent by the learner to the school, even when all modules and assignments have been completed. In order to remain as objective as possible, the school has set up criteria which are sent to registered learners. This perfume assessment is REQUIRED and no exception will be made.

Upon completion, the student receives the Certificate granted by the school in PDF format, a printed version of the Certificate sent by post and the CPD UK Certification by email.

Course Syllabus

The aim of the Certificate course is to introduce the student to Art of perfumery so as to be able to create his/her own scents. On completing the Certificate course, the learner will be able to:

Compare and explain the various materials extraction methods;
Identify the major raw materials used in perfume-making;
Outline the fragrance families and classification;
Analyse the architecture of a perfume;
Plan and compose formulations;
Describe the olfactory function;
Understand and apply the chemistry of the aromatic compounds in perfume-making

SENSE OF SMELL
FRAGRANCE CREATION

300 Hours

On successful completion of this module, the student will be able to:

Describe the olfactory function
Assess and recognise the various raw materials
Detect the aromatic compounds and decipher their chemistry
Explore his/her own sense of smell and work towards improving it
Differentiate the different types of perfumes
Explain Gas chromatography and Mass spectrometry
Know the most common extraction methods of raw materials
Plan a perfume using the accords and matching methods
Select the right aromatic oils for the targeted type of perfume
Create a Chypre and an Amber accord

200 Hours

On successful completion of this module, the student will be able to:

Plan and compose a complete formulation using his/her creative skills & intuition
Calculate measurements and prepare a formulation sheet to the industry standards
Record formulations and procedures for regulatory purposes
Create different aromatic bases and tinctures and use them in accords and perfumes
Create and modify the most classic perfumes including Chypre, Fougère, Arabian/Oriental, Floral, Cologne
Outline the constraints in perfume creation using naturals
Use and add natural isolates appropriately
Create a solid perfume and alcohol-free perfumes
List the technical steps and processes from the creation to the bottling of a perfume