Perfume has been linked to civilisation as far back as we can go. It is known that before the Battle of Thermopylae the Spartan warriors, knowing they were going to die fighting off the Persians, bathed and perfumed themselves to meet their death smelling good.
In this episode, Ikramuddin Zwane, a self-taught perfumer from Johannesburg, South Africa, opens a door onto the world of scent, olfaction and the art of perfumery alongside reflections from his journal of perfumery.
Parfums Ikram Website
Follow Parfums Ikram on ...
Perfume has been linked to civilisation as far back as we can go. It is known that before the Battle of Thermopylae the Spartan warriors, knowing they were going to die fighting off the Persians, bathed and perfumed themselves to meet their death smelling good.
In this episode, Ikramuddin Zwane, a self-taught perfumer from Johannesburg, South Africa, opens a door onto the world of scent, olfaction and the art of perfumery alongside reflections from his journal of perfumery.
Parfums Ikram Website
Follow Parfums Ikram on Facebook
Follow Parfums Ikram on Instagram
Timecode Guide:
02:43 The beginning of Ikramuddin’s journey mixing perfumes just for fun and his Moroccan Taxi driver
04:45 From mixing existing perfumes to learning how to make perfumes via Peter from the UK
06:43 Started mixing by experimentation drawing from instinct
07:58 The 5% of perfumers that are artisans
09:46 Three levels of Perfumery - 1st Designer Perfumes
10:57 Three levels of Perfumery - 2nd Niche Perfumes
11:46 Three levels of Perfumery - 3rd Artisanal Perfumes
12:02 The traditional way of becoming a perfumer
12:52 The non-traditional way of becoming a perfumer
13:45 How the non-traditionalists break the rules and the example of the Chypre
16:25 The subjectivity of perfume
17:43 The price tag of perfume and how perfumes smell different on different people .
19:44 The driving force behind artisanal perfumery
20:04 The smell of the Springbok
20:58 Deer musk - where it comes from and what it is
23:11 Ambergris - where it comes from and what it is
26:15 Oud - where it comes from and what it is
Out of all the perfumery in the world the 'oud' is the most diverse, basically its like all the other raw materials you can find - in a tree
28:40 With Hardship Comes Ease
29:50 The Ayat: “Which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?” and inspiration from Allah
30:28 The hadith of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wassalam) on his love of perfume
32:10 Spirituality linked to certain scents and the link to the heart
33:11 Dr Muhammad Cassim on the link between scent and inspiration
34:20 Scent and memory
There is a strong connection between scent an memory. And it immediately takes you back, you are transported. Its basically timeless!
38:00 Do the ancient perfume recipes still exist and if so are they accessible?
40:38 The Battle of Thermopylae and the warrior’s perfuming themselves in preparation for their death
42:02 Khoi San perfume of Southern Africa
42:20 Perfumes comes from one of the Prophets just like martial arts - where does the inspiration come from?
43:00 How do you choose the smells in a perfume?
45:10 A perfume as the imagined smell of places in the past
48:22 The scent of a horse
49:08 The difficulty of making a clear distinction between masculine and feminine in perfumery
51:11 Life is fluid. It’s very hard to remain structural. Things change. They move
51:35 Anosmia and losing the sense of smell - sensory overload
53:07 Scent and Sex
Music by Ian Cattanach
