Scratch+Sniff – heaven scent for perfume lovers
In the realm of the senses: olfactory adventures
Scratch n Sniff is a monthly event, taking place at The Book Club in Shoreditch, that provides olfactory adventures for the curious.
“Let the eyes have their art galleries and the ears their music, for we have need for more novel stimulation,” declares Odette Toilette, its creatrix and host, “that of our sense of smell, and the delights and stimulation that may unfurl from a provocative scent.”
The night was Jackanory night. We sniffed samples of scent and asked to consider: How can a perfume capture a zeitgeist? How do the stories that the perfumes conjure up for us compare with the ones sold to us by advertisers? And can a scent be tragic or comic? Later in groups we were given three more bottles and invited to create our own stories based on their fragrances.
The friendly crowd seemed to be mostly made up of people like me: perfume lovers who just wanted to spend the evening exploring and indulging their passion with like-minded others. It worked very well as a sophisticated but unpretentious night out. Above all, it was loads of fun.
Previous events have involved music and poetry, and Odette also hosts the Vintage Scent Sessions, which explore the cultural and social context of fragrances from decades past.
“I get inspiration for events from many places,” says Odette. “In February I’m planning an event which is a scent and food banquet in tribute to Dame Barbara Cartland. The event was triggered both by meeting her personal perfumier but also from her cookbook.”
A career as purveyor of olfactory adventures wasn’t always part of the plan; Odette’s childhood ambition was to join the Famous Five or, failing that, set up a sofa showroom. But a ‘private passion’ with scent which began after being given a bottle of strawberry perfume for her fourth birthday has grown into a vocation.
“I wanted to do something interactive, about meeting people, something accessible and fun. Perfume is intimidating. It’s relatively straightforward to learn about different genres of music or what is distinctive about a composer or artist, but that’s an awful lot harder with fragrance. But once you get past this scary stuff, perfume and the nose is about personal stories, it’s about nostalgia, and it’s about enhancing your day, carrying a little bit of magic and beauty wherever you’ve sprayed it.”
One of Odette’s most exciting projects is Ode, which is supported by the Department of Health and works with people suffering from dementia. “I’ve always been interested in food aromas and how they can stimulate appetite, and so we wanted to put this into action with people who have lost weight because they are unwell or frail. We’ve been developing different fragrances from Bakewell tart to coronation chicken.
“One man we’ve worked with, Kevin, was showing little interest in eating and was spending all his time in one room. His carer prepares food at the other side of the house, so those food-scents that come with a meal never reach the lounge. When we started introducing food fragrances in the living room, Kevin walked up into the kitchen three times just in that week, asking when lunch would be ready.”
Odette has also carried out workshops taking perfumes into in care homes and day care centres and chatting to residents about them. “The scents I bring are usually those that date from past decades, as they lead wonderfully into reminiscence and conversation about that era. So I’ve used everything from Christian Dior’s Diorissimo from the 1970s, to Ma Griffe from the 40s and Cabochard.”
Any future plans? “Maybe more events, taking perfume into non-traditional settings, or giving people who can’t come to a live event another way of getting that experience. Then I want to retire and set up that sofa showroom…”
The next Scratch n Sniff event is Scenta Claus Grotto on 11 December.
For more go to Odette Toilette.