The Nose Knows

The United States Botanic Garden — by virtue of the fact that it is a garden — always offers up a pleasant olfactory experience.  However, on Wednesday evening, when the glass plated doors of the conservatory were opened, guests of the International Fragrance Association of North America were treated to even more spectacular scents.

World reknowned perfumer and President of the Academy of Perfumery and Aromatics, Christophe Laudamiel (at right), presided over a room full of industry professionals and Hill staffers alike, to share an extraordinary olfactory experience.

Laudamiel was in DC from Versailles, France where he acts as curator of L’Osmotheque (or as he referred to it, “the Library of Congress for scents”), which is dedicated to the preservation and conservation of some of the most historic scents of the past… everything from the fragrance of Marie Antoinette to a musk made by the Chartreux monks in 1609.

Ever wondered what Napoleon smelled like when he stormed the Bastille? He was wearing a scent made from Spanish Rosemary and Lavender from Morocco — a perfume he kept in a flask in his boot, and used not only to smell nice, but also as an antiseptic for wounds, and as a refreshing libation after a long day of battle. This scent, recovered in a bureau of drawers in 1815, has been painstakingly recreated and preserved, and now only exists within the walls of the L’Osmotheque museum in Versailles — and now on a scent stick tucked between the pages of my copy of The Art of War.

Laudamiel, who is also responsible for creating such fragrances as Polo Blue, Clinique Happy, and Burberry Brit among others, was happy to share about the history of scent.. as well as offer up some advice for modern day fragrance lovers:

• Two puffs of any perfume is adequate, any more is offensive.
• A spritz of any citrus fragrance will neutralize an accidental overspray.
• And lastly, it only takes only one experience with a foul odor to embed a bad memory, but a pleasant scent will stay with you forever. Always put your best scent forward.