Kaolia Academy
To know fragrance, to encounter it, to put it into words, to reflect on it, and to compose it.
The Academy offers video courses in two forms: a Knowledge Course that builds the fundamentals systematically, and PROPOS, a series of thematic lectures that can be taken individually. Courses are currently taught in Japanese.
Première Classe
Knowledge Course · Fundamentals · Six lectures
A systematic foundation in fragrance: the vocabulary of scent, the science of smell, the classification of fragrance materials, the training of a perfumer and the language used to describe what we smell.
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01
Odour and Fragrance
The Japanese words for smell and fragrance — nioi and kaori, in their various written forms — and how their meanings differ today, compared with equivalent terms in other languages.
The origin and meaning of the word kōryō (fragrance material). What is currently understood about the mechanism of olfaction, and how humans perceive odour.
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02
Classification of Fragrance Materials I
The systems used to classify fragrance materials — by source, by method of production and by application.
A focus on natural materials: what they are, how they are produced and how they are used.
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03
Classification of Fragrance Materials II
Synthetic materials: the conditions and history behind their emergence, their types and classification, and the chemical properties that matter when handling them.
The essential knowledge for combining synthetic and natural materials in composition.
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04
The Practice of Perfumery
The training perfumers undergo in their apprenticeship, presented in simple form.
Learning the odour and name of each raw material is the first step; the lecture explains how materials are memorised, what it means to "know" a material, and the stages of the curriculum that lead from single materials to composition.
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05
The Language of Fragrance I
The terminology of odour families, which allows unfamiliar materials and new fragrances to be placed and understood, and the terms used to classify types of perfume — a basis for appreciating and evaluating perfumes on the market.
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06
The Language of Fragrance II
Techniques for describing a fragrance so that a general audience can grasp its character — and, in turn, for reading the fragrance copy found in advertising and online.
Includes synaesthetic expression: the borrowing of vocabulary from taste, touch and hearing to describe smell.
PROPOS
Thematic Lectures · Each lecture may be taken individually
Propos is French for a talk. From how to smell, through the changes in the perfume industry, to the history of olfactory families, each lecture in the series takes up a single theme.
PROPOS — Series I
Six lectures-
01
How to Smell: Using Smelling Strips (Mouillettes)
Smelling is closely tied to breathing, yet it is rarely taught.
The lecture explains how to smell correctly, the types and characteristics of smelling strips, and how to use them — including uses that can inform the creation of a fragrance.
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02
Talks on Perfume I
Reflections on forty years in the industry: the arrival of memorable perfumes, shifting trends in olfactory families, the rise and fall of brands, and changes in the perfume business.
Looking back in order to understand the present — and to consider what makes a truly good perfume.
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03
Talks on Perfume II
Two or three typical ways in which perfumes are developed, as a window onto the realities of the perfume and fragrance-materials industries.
Also, from the perspective of contemporary perfume history, the rise of niche perfume houses and the "collection" strategies with which established brands have responded.
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04
Marine and Fruity Notes
Two olfactory families now taken for granted, yet relatively late arrivals in the history of perfume.
Their history and the changes they brought; the use of related terms such as marine, ozonic, transparent and sheer; and the development of fruity notes, at times close to these and at times far apart.
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05
Chypre and Amber
Two of the best-known terms in perfumery, examined through specialist vocabulary.
The difference between "oriental" and "amber", and the many meanings of the word amber — followed by a selection of celebrated perfumes in each family.
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06
Talks on Perfume III
François Coty, creator of the first Chypre: his extraordinary life placed within the history of perfume, the circumstances of Chypre's creation, his revolution in perfumery and his innovative marketing and advertising — and a look at the company that bears his name today.
PROPOS — Series II (in preparation)
Six planned themes · Programme subject to changeSeries II is in preparation and is not yet open for enrolment. The planned themes are:
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07
Green Notes and the Turn to Naturals
Green as an olfactory character; the recent return to natural materials.
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08
The Birth of Synthetic Fragrance Materials
The history that led to synthetic materials; the nineteenth-century revolution in perfumery.
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09
Safety and Stability of Fragrance Materials
The regulation of fragrance materials; their stability.
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10
Fragrance in Literature I
The poets Kitahara Hakushū and Tsukamoto Kunio; a lineage of poetry about scent.
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11
Gourmand and Edible Notes
The emergence of "delicious" scents; flavour and fragrance.
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12
Eros and Gender
Fragrance and eros; fragrance and gender.