I've recently completed the course "Natural Isolates" and have found Shelley Waddington to be a very helpful and generous woman. She answered my emails within a few days and they always contained the information I was seeking. The course notes were interesting and in-depth and have lit a new passion in me to delve deeper and experiment with the use of isolates in natural perfumery, my natural cosmetics/bath/beauty products, and desserts. I feel honored to have taken this course from Shelley. She is definitely the pioneer here, out in front and leading the way. My article "Natural Isolates" will give you more information on my take of this fascinating topic. I have recommended this course to my Natural Perfume students and some are already taking an interest in this topic. With Highest Regards and many thanks for your tutelage, Shelley.
Lyn E. Ayre,
Ph.D. www.scentofnature.net
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Shelley, I am constantly amazed at your wisdom, level of expertise, and the range of your knowledge. It seems that no matter what my interest or concern about perfume, you have either the answer, the reference, or extended knowledge. I was interested in literature and perfume and you sent me a beautiful, extended piece of research on scent in the works of Marquez and Faulkner. You answered my questions about the warming effect of Shalimar with extensive scholarly notes and references in a matter of minutes! You post interesting questions about scent on FB that get me in touch with aspects of my experience of the aromatic world that I never would have thought about. For instance, when you asked about what our first smell was, I thought I had no memories at all about my childhood scents. But then I began to recall all kinds of childhood smells. An I loved the memories that started coming back…you’re a font of wealth about the world of aroma. Thanks for being there…
Marlene Goldsmith
Psychologist, Poet, Author
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I would say that this has been one of the best classes I have had the opportunity to attend. The amount of material presented, the professional manner in which you conducted the class, the depth of understanding on you behalf, and the others you used is just top shelf. This class has afforded me the opportunity to learn from the bottom up about isolates. This learning curve is huge, but thru your class you have made it interesting enough that I want to learn more, and more. Thank you again
Cindy Whitaker, owner
Windmill Soaps
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I really enjoyed and learned a lot from your Introduction to Natural Isolates course. The three lessons were clearly and concisely presented and offered a wealth of information that will take some time to digest. I especially enjoyed the third lesson with the monograph on each isolate. This provided a context and a solid framework for students to proceed with their own experimentations. You are uniquely qualified to teach this kind of course because you straddle the natural perfumery and chemistry worlds. Your enthusiasm also shows your love and appreciation of the materials themselves which is important quality for a teacher to have. I look forward to continuing my studies and learning how to work with these wonderful materials.
Thank you!
Maggie Mahboubian, owner
Lalun Naturals
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Thank you for your informative course on the isolates that i found really interesting and instructive.
If you make a new class on blending, please keep me informed, I'd be very interested.
Thanks also for the surprise of the end of the course, it would be nice to have for a future website I'm planning to make. Wishing you all the best
Patricia Bensoussan
Le Bois Heux, France
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Thank you for providing a wonderful forum for discussion and also invaluable information on perfuming with natural isolates. The class was as I said "An embarrassment of riches".
Kellie Bright, Perfumer
Randwick, Australia
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Shelley Waddington's Natural Isolates Course
After being years in the NBP trenches, I took Shelley Waddington's Natural Isolates Course and it was like starting over at square one, the first building block, as it were. The information provided by Shelley is invaluable. Not only did I learn about the individual natural isolates, I learned how to use them. Having a few years of formulation experience under my belt has helped immensely in understanding how to work with isolates, however, the way the course is written I believe even a beginning perfumer can learn to build fabulous (or at least near fabulous) perfumes incorporating natural isolates. It was quite the eye opener when upon dry down of the natural isolate vanillin (in the natural isolates kit), the scent of cassia wafted off the scent strip. Why? Because cassia happens to be the source of the vanillin in the kit! I've had a problem for years getting myself to start considering using natural isolates. This course makes it easy to transition from hard-headed purist NBP to hard-headed NBP who uses natural isolates. Knowledge is power.
Justine Crane, Editor in Chief of Le Parfumeur Rebelle, an NBP ezine; teacher/tutor at Nature's Nexus Academy of Perfuming Arts, and owner/perfumer of The Scented Djinn"
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Pêche Noir, eau de parfum
“Shelley, you have truly shown your talent as a perfumer once again.
Your blend is well thought out and I foretell a great desire for this fragrance.
You have learned well the balancing act of alchemy and put forth a wonderful and
finished perfume for all to enjoy.”
Jo Lasky,
Gardens of Pan-Jo-Ra
Los Angeles, CA
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“If black peaches would ever exist …or if the forbidden fruit would have had a
scent, it will be like Peche Noir. It's a fruity chypre with leather and animal facets. It's feminine,
velvety and sensual with a "femme fatale" quality.
On my skin it starts with a very juicy and fresh natural smelling "furry" peach.
I don't mean peach skin fuzz, it's more like a peach covered with black panther
fur in the sense that I smell an animalic edge to it. The animalic part is quite
noticeable from the very start and was very tame, never smelling dirty or
repulsive and it very well contributes to the sensual part of the fragrance.
There's a smokiness at the start of the fragrance too that adds some mystery to
the composition.
I do smell green transparent floral notes. Maybe it's the hyacinth part what I'm
smelling?
The heart on my skin is powdery and floral with some dryness probably from the
orris part? This part is quite feminine and elegant and it mixes later with delicate leather notes becoming more powdery down to the drydown.
It smells definitely like a finished perfume with a VERY good sillage. I'm more
into ‘transparent’ fragrances and I'm a bit sensitive to strong chypre and
earthy fragrances but I never felt overwhelmed with this one.
I think the best part of the fragrance
was something between the heart and the base when a leathery note starts to get
noticed among the powdery floral heart. The fragrance lasts forever in the
sultry heat of the Caribbean!
Congratulations Shelley!!! IMHO You did an excellent job with this fragrance!.
To me you've reached your goal, specially when you say this fragrance is
"evocative of an elegant second skin". To me is just like that!”
Juan Perez, Owner, Exotic Islands Fragrance
Lares, Puerto Rico
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Carmel de Ville, eau de parfum
“RE: Your mouth watering audacious perfume
You bold woman you! What a fabulously shameless perfume! Thanks!”
Gail Adrian, Fragranceur®
New York
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Phoenix, natural eau de parfum (SOLD OUT)
“The presentation must be acknowledged. This is the most exotic and beautifully adorned vial I have ever seen. It is rich and ornate with its orange and gold decor. I am so impressed by your cleverness and artistic expression. Wow!
The Blend
It opens with green spiciness, I think I smell Carnations, rootiness, stems. Very fresh, very spring-like. I want to inhale it to the core of my being. I feel like I just stuck my head into a florist shop. I am smelling anise/angelica and what else?. This is fantastic. It's quite intoxicating. I mean literally, I have to stop for a moment.
I step back and look at your formula. No carnation, perhaps this floral wonder is honeysuckle extrait/rose/ jasmine? The addition of cassia, bitter almond, violet leaf and the herbal accord perhaps are amplifying the florals? However you achieved this, it is really phenomenal. I am not familiar with apple blossom concrete, I wonder how that smells. I love the almondy aspect of this. I can pick out the almond on the strip but not on my skin curiously. I think I can almost pick out the blue tansy on the strip. Bitter almond/blue tansy chord, very nice. I think the basil must be a factor too in the green carnation-y effect.
I like that you let the floral heart be the star of your blend. The base notes are wonderful, they are so subtly present that I cannot pick them out. The drydown is still quite floral I never do smell any of the base notes individually.
Shelley, this is magic. There is absolutely nothing that I would change or add to this. This is genius.
Earth, flowers, spice, wood
Nose to wrist, forever good
Awesome, love this 'fume
a 2nd Haiku
Green spice, rooty sweet
floral splendor this is it
intoxicating
You put so much into this perfume and I admire your wide breadth of aromatics. However you achieved this, it is really phenomenal.”
Donna Groom, Natural Perfumer
Fountain Hills, AZ
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Architectural Fragrance Installation, The Netherlands
“I met Shelley while finishing my Masters degree in interior architecture in Utrecht, the Netherlands. My research and inspiration came from the French philosopher Deleuze and his notion of smooth and striated space. Inspired by the implications for architecture, my design focused on using all of the senses in the creation of spaces. In my design, I called for specific scents in the study/library of the apartment I was redesigning.
My inspiration for the scents I wanted included tea and tobacco, the scent of a violinmaker’s shop, and the smell of old libraries. I had no idea what constituted these scents, only an image of what they should be. I went to the perfumemaking list online to look for assistance, since I knew I wouldn’t be able find the scents, or make them without expert advice.
Shelley and her perfume colleague Lisa jumped in when I needed the help in a very short timeframe and helped me figure out how the scents should be built. They researched what constitutes the scents which so fascinated me, and quickly and professionally created and sent samples to me via international mail. It was a joy to receive their work, because they were able to recreate the scents I had been only dreaming about. I appreciate their attention to detail and sensitivity in building the scents and their use of organic, hard to find ingredients. The quality and level of the finished product far exceeded my expectations. I would happily work with them again.”
Erika Jacobs Lord, Interior Architect
Utrecht, the Netherlands
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Taking time to create an olfactory profile of a specific place is far from the main stream fragrances' motives, which take the market surveys as the starting point. Even this concept alone is enough to explain the artistic approach of Envoyage Perfumes and the nose behind the brand, Shelley Waddington, which remind us of the glorious days of "perfumery as an art".
I was also lucky enough to sample some of the perfumes mentioned in this article and my initial feeling was a shock which made me think "could something like this marvel be possible to create?", followed by the secondary feeling of a selfish question asked to my own self, "If it was possible -and in this case it was obvious-, why couldn’t I do something like this?".
While trying hard to replace my primitive jealousy with a positive envy, i thank both the creative nose Shelley Waddington of Envoyage Perfumes and the reviewer Mr. Mark Behnke for bringing these liquid and fragrant artistic pieces in our olfactory agendas -especially in these days at which glamourously packed crappy juices are invading the shelves and counters.
Vedat Ozan, Perfumer
Istanbul, Turkey
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Shelley is that rare individual who can plumb the depths of chemistry analysis and come out with a soul-satisfying perfume that will always impress and delight. An ethobotanist of Place, the muse within her draws from generations of seasons of the Carmel flora to craft exquisite vignettes in scent. Shelley’s class in Perfume Isolates, an innovative first in the field, is so thorough you will come out feeling like a master chemist/exclusive perfumer!
Dabney Rose, Master Distiller
North Carolina
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For our wedding, we wanted something unique to give away to our guests as favors. We wanted to create a custom room spray that our guests could bring home with them as a remembrance of us.
We knew Shelley had a gift with fragrances and we approached Shelley with our idea. Shelley was so receptive to what we had to say and patiently guided us through the process of developing a scent.
The results of Shelley's work was a blend of orchid, tuberose, bergamot, muguet, jasmine, ginger, sugar and a touch of Vanilla Bourbon. Combined, these notes were both delicate and exotic—a perfect fusion that would represent our union as a couple.
As suspected, the room sprays turned out to be a big hit at our wedding. There were barely any left behind because our guests were so enthusiastic to bring one home with them. Shelley helped to make our wedding that much better with her extraordinary gift to blend and create the most captivating fragrances.
Mr. & Mrs. Erich Stiegler
Los Gatos, California
