Mandrake Apothecary ~ The Seventh Sign

Interview by Justine Crane for LPR

 
Justine: Hi Sara.  It's so good to finally have a chance to talk with you about your art. We’ve (LPR) been putting it off for so long, it seemed like it might never happen, but here we are ~

First, tell the LPR readers a little about yourself; your background, and what brought you to perfumery ~

Sara: I have an eclectic background in terms of interests and courses of study, and regardless of the tangential road I wander along, or the rabbit hole I trip into as I go, it always returns to the plant world and to aromatics in some fashion.  It wasn't until I got very seriously into blending aromatics and dabbling in alchemy as a means of transformation that things literally clicked into place.  It was a matter of many roads leading back to the same place: my workbench and culturing tubes full of aging blends, leading up to that.

I don't have a fantastically complicated lineage in that 'Sara studied with ___ who studied with ___ who was apprenticed to ___' sort of way, which strikes me as kind of contrived.  And it is not that I'm some nose-governed genius either, so much as I tend to be a Jill of many trades and mistress of a few of them.  On a good day.

However, I was always nose-governed.  A couple of my earliest scent memories are of the star jasmines my uncle grew in Palo Alto, where I'd visit with cousins every summer, and of the lack of overt smell but fleshy green plantness of my great grandmother's fuschias in her backyard in Berkeley.  I just smell either of those and am there.  We always grew aromatic plants and flowers when I was a kid, even though we lived in an apartment.  I remember the sweetly spicy, and dirty odor of baby carrots, from the summer my mom handed me a terracotta pot of soil and a packet of seeds, telling me to press a bunch into the soil.  I also remember the distinctive smell of tomato leaves and stems sinking into my hands, from being sent out to the side yard to harvest tomatoes from the planter boxes.

I studied anthropology, which was not about perfume (if only I'd found and read Lise Manniche back then), but proved to be inspirational in nudging me to study herbalism more closely, and to spend more time outside in wild places.

Justine: So, what is the strangest perfumery ingredient you've ever used? ~

Sara: Skunk essence.  Antique, no less.  I was producing what wound up being a revenge blend of sorts.  I wasn't even heading in the direction of anger and unsublimated irritation, but skunk helped me exorcise some demons.

It doesn't smell bad, btw.  Reminds me of acrid leathery coffee, mixed with cigar smoke, almost.  But I like earthy smells.  If you age skunk oil, it picks up a very smooth patina, where all the angular cracks and jagged edges of the source material have been smoothed over and burnished to a shine, in some spots.

Justine: What scent, or combination of scents, slams you in the solar plexis? Y'know, the smells that really touch you. ~

Sara: I must admit to being a temple prostitute for the aromatic wonder that is Patchouli, with a capital 'P'.  Patchouli is so many things in so many different applications.  It is darkness, the forest floor and damp soil.  It is a universal blender and base ingredient.  It can be grassy, golden and syrupy, fruity, musky.  Patchouli is one of those essences I like to buy in lots and age.

Wanna hear something funny peculiar?  I don't put patchouli in every thing I possibly can.  Sometimes less is more.

Justine: You're an urban gardener , do you think working with plants and soil has helped you with your perfuming skills? ~

Sara: Definitely.  Being an urban farmer has really brought plants back to their most basic elements, to my nose and blending instincts.  In the past year I've tinctured oxalis blooms, rose petals, five different lavender species, rosemary flowers, pomegranate blossoms, and common weed flowers.

It's also given me an excuse to germinate and grow exotics you don't see in many gardens, such as Abelmoschus moschatus.  My prized seedlings are a trio of mandrakes I grew from seed, go figure.  I've been fascinated with Mandragora for years and it was time to get my hands dirty and learn from growing them; though they've nothing to do with perfumery.

I've also learned a new appreciation for more mundane aromas such as wheat straw, petrichor, finished compost, and even coop litter from the chickens.  You get to know a lot about your animals based on smell, and chickens have their own distinctive and not at all objectionable odor when you treat them well and keep their living quarters clean.  It almost reminds me of the warm furry smell of the top of my youngest cat's head when he burrows into my neck.

Justine: Are there any fragrances or perfumes out there that you wish you'd created? ~

Sara: Back in 'the day' (circa 1986), I had a thing for Lauren, by Ralph Lauren.  Tea roses and Sicilian lemons, and ambrette.  It had a start, a middle, and a powdery finish, like a well-crafted perfume that evolves.

I also have a soft spot for Byblos eau de parfum, which is no longer manufactured, but was based around fruity marigold heart notes, black pepper, and I seem to remember boronia, too.

Justine: I know your perfumery is on hiatus at the moment. Any indication as to when you'll be dusting off the shelves and opening the shutters for customers? ~

Sara: I was really really hoping to be back after my birthday in June.  It may have to be July, though.  This may sound a bit woowoo, and those who read my blog will recognize that, but things have been happening in 7s for me, and I might have to keep up that theme just to see if there's value in that exercise.  Seventh month?  (Cue up the theme music from the Twilight Zone.)

Watch for the reopening of Mandrake Apothecary (www.mandrakeapothecary.com) coming the 7^th month.

Perfumer's Palette

by Lisa Abdul-Quddus

Perfumes are composed of top (head), middle (heart) and bottom (base) notes. By definition in perfumery head notes are the opening scent. The less tenacious of the three, head notes can last anywhere from 10-30 minutes leading you into the heart of the perfume. Heart notes are the body of a composition or the theme that identifies the perfume. Base notes being the most tenacious are the foundation of the perfume and the longest lasting. Although separated into three categories you will find, however, that some essences can cross over into another area or even last throughout the life of the perfume. Head notes can be smelled in the heart or a hint of one in the base. Base notes can come forward early on blending with head and/or heart notes. Heart notes can go in either direction; giving a lift to head notes or adding to the body of base notes.

Head Notes

You will find citruses fall into this category. I have had the experience of evaluating a perfume that gave an initial burst of citrus before quickly fading, only to have that note return in the heart of the composition. There are several choices when it comes to citrus essential oils like orange (bitter, sweet, wild, blood), grapefruit (white, pink, red), mandarin (yellow, green, red), lemon, lime, tangerine and yuzu. Herbs also fall into this category. Common are basil, bay, cardamom, coriander, mints and sage (to name a few).

Heart Notes

For all the floral lovers this is where jasmines, roses, geraniums, etc., shine. There are herbs, spices and some woods that are heart notes. Examples are (spices) clove & cinnamon, (herbs) chamomile & melissa, (woods) ho wood and katrafay.

Base Notes

Base notes are the heavier and most tenacious group of essences. Most woods and absolutes fall under this heading. Cedar and Sandalwoods for example are included, as well as, 'stinkier' (highly fragrant) leaves and roots like patchouly and vetyver.

As you're building your palette you'll want to select essences from each group. Adding 2-3 of each head, heart and base notes over time will give a very good beginner's collection.

*Lisa is a graduate of NNAPA Natural Botanical Perfumers Antiquarian Perfumery Course, and writes the blogs 'Blossoming Tree' and 'Scent, You Say?', and is owner of Blossoming Tree Bodycare at Etsy.

Interview With Andy Tauer

by Tonie Silver

Le Parfumeur Rebelle is privileged to present an interview with Andy Tauer. Andy is a perfumer in Zurich, Switzerland. Le Parfumeur Rebelle's Editor In Chief became smitten with Andy after extensive perusal of his site.

Welcome to LPR Andy.

Well, thank you! It is a pleasure you invited me to this chat and I hope you and your readers will enjoy our conversation. 

Can you tell our readers what fragrance means to you?

Fragrances mean different things to me. For sure fragrances are a means of expressing myself in a creative way. I like the process of constructing a fragrance, going through rounds of trials, trying to find the best scented picture fitting with my vision/idea in my head. My fragrances and my fragrance making are also a way of talking to people. I feel that- besides reading about me on my blog- people get a glimpse on my way of thinking and feeling by looking at my perfumes, respectively sniffing them. Nowadays, with increasing sales figures that still make me wonder why this is, my fragrances have also become a commercial issue and I tend to think a lot about what next steps to make in terms of marketing or packaging, pricing etc. This world of business has nothing to do with scent itself, but it became a part of my fragrance-related world. I am still learning the lessons that it is simply not good enough to just make a good fragrance, you have to tell the world and make sure that people understand your message, for instance by selecting the right visual communication, too.And then: I am a fragrance user, too. Here, fragrances mean to me: Simply enjoying to cover myself with a sheet of scent. In these scented clothes I am then ready to go through my day, enjoying it.

Here at LPR we don't employ the use of synthetics. I'm interested in your choice to include them; is this because there are things you just can't get with botanicals?

Thank you for this question; I appreciate it a lot. Well, I started perfumery using all natural components only. Recently I posted on my blog about the way a perfumer apprentice should get to know his/her palette of scents. I think naturals are the best (and only way) to learn about creating perfumes. Nature provides us with some wonderful scents that a perfumer absolutely needs to know thoroughly (like roses essential oils, or absolutes). I find the compounds isolated by man from natural sources to be more inspiring for a future perfumer, too. And I find a beauty in naturals that I do not find as such in single synthetic compounds. Hence, I want to make use of this beauty and maybe- if I am good enough- lift it to something different, master them to create something new. Why did I not stop there, using my naturals and creating so called natural fragrances? Simply because I realized that I can do much more by employing synthetics in a clever way. I use man made compounds somewhat carefully, in a complementing way. I use them to set accents, to highlight things, to extend lines and to fix notes. On the other hand, mastering synthetics is not easy. Some notes need extremely careful handling! Maybe one word on the distinction between naturals and synthetics. I feel that most of the discussions on naturals vs. synthetics are unnecessary, in the sense that we are discussing content before form. Sometimes it reminds me of people discussing which church to visit, instead of asking how to make the world a better place.

Andy, can you give LPR readers a glimpse into your creative process?

My creative process is a mess, somehow. And a pain, mostly. Initially, I start with an idea, sometimes very simple, like I want to make an orange flower soliflor or I want a woody cologne for myself. I start with such an idea, or a picture in mind, like the campfire, the cowboy, the leather, the grassland for the Lonestar Memories, and then I draw the first lines. I usually do this in Excel first. Sitting in front of my computer and just entering a few compounds, like Tonka, Sandalwood, Myrrh in the base, a few notes for the heart and a few notes for the head. With this simple list I then go to the lab which basically is a table and a chair with lots of bottles in a shelf next to it. Here I mix and while doing so I constantly compare the result with my idea in my head. I usually start adding other things on the go and the formula gets more complicated. Usually, I start with naturals as the corestructure and then add synthetics in a later phase to change tonalities etc. Thus, the formula gets more complicated, and sometimes I try very different routes to reach the same goal. The most promising is then followed, whereby I gradually, incrimentally move towards an imaginary target. This target- of course- I never reach, but sometimes I feel like I'm getting closer at least. Sometimes I reach a point where I feel happy with it, happy enough to show the result around. Mostly, I don't and simply throw it away. Things get messy and painful, when I do not get closer to my goal; it brings me into a state of fever somehow, where I tend to think about my challenge in a phobic way, starting in the morning and ending in the evening. If things do not work out, I may also just give up for a while, and come back later again with new ideas or concepts.How do you incorporate fragrance into your daily life?I do not wear perfumes every day, some days I don't simply in order to keep my nose fresh for my perfumery work. Mentally, fragrances or better: scents are with me daily. I bring up scents from my memory, assemble them in my brain's biological virtual space, arrange them and play with them. Often, I go to bed with a fragrance, too. Falling asleep with the cozy embracement of scents is wonderful!

Five favorite smells?

Rose absolute from Morocco

Orange flower (natural scent or the absolute)

Birch tar

Fresh brewed coffee in the air in the morning

Sandalwood on the skin in the evening and so many more....

Least favorite odor?

I really dislike the scent of: an old, wet, used for too long, never really dried washcloth or a even worse: towel. There, I am somewhat pathologically fixed.  (I'm with you on that one Andy~ TM)

Let's play a bit of olfactory word association Andy; I'll throw a word at you, & you reply with whatever smells they evoke.

Love: Milk, sweat

Fury: The warm chest of a red haired fellow youngster at school, one evening, some 27 years ago.

The Ocean: Algae

Switzerland: Hmm... home, a mix of 200 scents.

Happiness: Frankincense

Any advice for the Rebel Perfumers out there?

Yes, please follow your fragrance dreams. I try to, and I know, it is not easy, but it is worth the pain.

Sage advice Andy. Thank you for the generosity of your time Andy, from all of us at LPR.
Auf Wiedersehen:)

My pleasure.

For more information about Andy Tauer, Perfumer, please follow this link: http://www.tauerperfumes.com/

Reprint from LPR 2006

NBP Education ~ Natural Perfume Course by Lyn Ayre

Natural Perfume Course by Lyn Ayre

Natural Perfume Course 

My first order of business is always: DO NO HARM, which is why I include the following statement and I make it up front. 

When making natural perfumes, we are dealing with the wondrous, powerful, highly scented, and generally medicinal plant chemical components. Please refrain from taking this course if you: have major internal organ damage, have severe breathing or skin allergies or sensitivities, or your health is otherwise severely compromised. 

Those who are pregnant or lactating, can complete and email the following 'paper projects' for the correspondence course: 1- on Anosmia, 4- on another descriptor for rose oil, 6- on descriptive words or phrases, project 16- on tincture and infusions, project 19- Passion for Perfume, project 25- philosophies; half of the Perfume Projects on accords. The reading, gathering of supplies, and preparation of a safe Atelier can also be accomplished while you are waiting to begin the course.

"Attention Professional Registered Aromatherapists: Study from home to earn your CEC's or CEU's. Achieving a Certificate of Completion for this six-month correspondence course in Natural Perfumery may satisfy the requirements for the 24 CEC's that you need to maintain your professional membership. Check with your association for more details. If this course is not listed by your professional body, perhaps you would like to suggest it to them." 

If you feel you have all of the below knowledge in place, please check out my Five-Day Perfume Intensive at http://www.scentofnature.net/five-day_natural_perfume_intensive.htm 

Correspondence Course

Natural Perfumery Course 

~a path to the Heart of Spirit~

Introduction to the art of Natural Perfumery. 

We will be covering twenty-one oils/absolutes; various bases; 

scent profiling; the language of natural perfumery; formulation; 

accords; scent-similars; tinctures; macerations; and many other aspects. 

Specific assignments are given for each of the six sections. 

In order to attain a Certificate of Completion for this course, you will 

need to do these twenty-six assignments and reports, send in sixteen perfume samples, and take the final proctored written exam, and practical exam. The exam can be taken six months after you begin your studies. This is an in-depth course and there is no need to rush. Most people take two years to complete it.

Perfumery Course Goals & Objectives

This course would suit learners who are true novices and know nothing about this topic, but have a passion to learn, as well as those who have been making some perfumes for family and friends but would like to take it to the next level of endeavor. There is a section on marketing and preparing for an interview and review of your perfumes.

At the end of this perfumery course, you will know how to make perfume in various bases. You’ll be given recipes for all of these bases, and some of my perfume formulations, which I've created for this course. You will also learn how to create your own formulae. You will know where to get top quality oils, absolutes, concretes, and attars. You will learn the vocabulary needed to describe the scents you are creating, sniffing, and/or profiling .  

You will learn how to create vertical and horizontal accords, preparing parts of future perfumes in advance of needing them. Learning about tincturing, infusing, and maceration will be included as part of the course, as well. Some plants do not yield up their aroma readily, so my notes and ideas are given on how to make a doppelganger of the desired scent. 

We will not spend much time on the history of perfume though several links are included in the resources section. It has been romanticized and theorized about in books, magazines, and on the internet, and you may read this material at your leisure. It is all very interesting, exciting, and wonderful to know where we’ve come from, as a population of people who have loved perfumes since the dawn of time. However, for my course, I am opting to leave that aspect of writing to those more deeply involved in it. I just love to make perfumes and I want to share that with you.  

We won't spend any time examining, comparing, or trying to re-create commercial perfumes as this is a course on Natural Perfume. 

Creating a natural perfume today is quite different from how it was created a hundred years ago simply due to the myriad botanical ingredients that are now available to us. We live in a time that is ripe for the making of our own household, bath, and beauty products. We are very fortunate, indeed.   

In this course, we will simply concern ourselves with the art of making perfume, the science and chemistry behind it will be included in the resource section. Again, there are many great books that one can study about the structure of essential oils, and botanical components. There is a reading list included in the courseware. 

The book called: The Scent Trail provides a wonderful olfactory journey into the origins of some of the materials we will be using in this course. It is recommended reading, though there are no projects or exam questions arising from it.

You will learn how to work with the energy of the substances you are holding: their colour, viscosity, tenacity, scent profile, and how they operate with one another, in other words, the spirit of the plant. One of the assignments is to create a Spiritual Perfume. 

We will create a Scent Song as we look at the work of Piesse. There are several supporting .pdf files that I will email to you for further reading and learning. 

The profiles of the twenty-one oils and absolutes covered in this course are given in three parts: aromatically, therapeutically, and spiritually. This includes safety information, as that is key to creating a wonderful product. You'll learn how to create a perfume for use in your personal spiritual rituals.   

There is always a lot of solid  information in my courses. You will need to purchase supplies, essential oils, and absolutes, so here is the list. Supplies List for the Natural Perfumery Course 2011.pdf Ambrette absolute can be used in place of the CO2.

Please have an in-depth look at my Links & Resources page for Suppliers. I have listed numerous ones in North America as well as several in Europe, UK, and AU.

If you would like to know more about this informative and aromatic course, please email LynAyre@telus.net with any questions you may have. It can be ordered through the PayPal button below. 

Here are the essential oils and absolutes we will be covering in the course so you can go ahead and begin to order them.  It's easier on the budget when you don't have to do it all at once. As well, if you look at my links page, you will see many tried and trusted suppliers to get you started. Make sure none of these essential oils/absolutes are diluted in jojoba as they won't mix with alcohol if they are. As well, you want 100% not a 10 or 20 % dilution. You will be making your own dilutions.

Base Note	Heart Note	Head Note
Ambrette Seed CO2 or absolute	Cinnamon Leaf	Bergamot fcf
Frankincense	Jasmine grandiflorum absolute	Black Pepper
Labdanum	Lavender absolute	Clary Sage
Patchouli	Litsea	Coriander
Sandalwood Santalum vanutua	Neroli	Galbanum
Vanilla absolute	Rose maroc	Palma Rosa
Vetiver	Ylang Ylang extra	ethically sourced Rosewood or you can use Ho wood

Kind words from a student who is just completing Project 19-Passion for Perfume: 

I’m so grateful to you Lyn, who has been such a marvelous and patience teacher and still is when I’m writing this essay. Without your way of sharing your knowledge in perfumery with me, I would never have know how it feels to get deep into my selves and my olfactory in the way scents can do. 

Every morning and every night I think in Scents, Notes, Chords, Accords and how to combine the fragrances to the outstanding perfume. But after I have been thinking for a while I know that I don’t have that experience that I need and that I have to take all the time and read as much as I can to learn what I have to learn.

Today I’m not quite done with the course but I feel so satisfied that I chosen the course that suited me and from here I can develop my life while spending it with natural perfumery. VG, Sweden

*****

Registration and Investment

All students must complete a Registration Form, which

I will send upon receipt of payment.

The Course: I am offering an in-depth, correspondence E-course on the basics of natural perfumery, so you can work at your own pace. The manual is well-written, professionally edited, with good photos, tables, and interesting assignments and experiments. There is on-going email support at no further cost.

The Investment: Going green? Great. I offer the entire manual by email and we can save a lot of trees by using this method. All projects can be sent to me by email and so can the Exam. $350.00 Should you wish the manual and supporting documents mailed, there is a $25.00 printing charge and a $35.00 shipping charge so the course will then be $410.00

The Exam: I don't offer the proctored exam until the six-month point as there are 26 projects and 16 samples to complete and send in. This doesn't happen overnight. There should be no rush to complete this course. The exam consists of 56 questions. There are no multiple choice so no option for guessing the right answer. You need to know your material before you write the exam. It takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete this exam and you will need a Proctor to be with you. There is a form they will need to fill out, and mail to me, attesting to the fact that you did the exam from memory. When you request the exam, you will need to let me know where to mail it to your Proctor. You will then sit the exam at their home or office. The Exam can be emailed to his or her office and the completed exam can be emailed back by your Proctor. The Proctor Form needs to be signed and sent via postal mail with a legible signature. The exam is not to leave the hands of the Proctor except for the time you are actually writing the it.

Natural Perfume Correspondence Course green $350.00

Natural Perfume Correspondence Course mailed out $410.00

 

Return Policy

This is a correspondence course and as such may be started at any time convenient to you. I do not offer a refund once the course has been emailed out as, by that time, you have the full course material hence all that you need, and that I have put my heart into creating, to learn the art of the course you have ordered.

Thank you.

 

The students who have gone through this course have all rated it Five Star

 

Student Comments, so far:

 

"My passion for perfume was again ignited when I signed up for Lyn’s Natural Perfumery Course. It truly is a path to the heart of my spirit. I enjoyed the course immensely. Lyn is a dedicated, wonderful teacher with lots of information to share. I enjoyed the alchemy of creating scents for the soul. It was one of the greatest gifts for me and for my personal and spiritual development. Thank you Lyn!" GB, Ontario, Canada

 

"Many thanks to Lyn. Her teaching was so useful for me. Before I met her, I was so unsure about myself and my ability to create perfumes as a Professional Independent Perfumer. I have to say that I really enjoyed this six-month course in which I made such great progression, thanks to her help. I recommend her course to everyone who wishes to be assisted with much respect from one being to another." Therese Steigert, Paris, France

 

"Lyn is one of the most generous teachers I've ever had. Her patience with me while I asked all kinds of questions, most of the answers were in the manual, really kept me going. She would answer and/or refer me to the page number to look at in the manual. I am not the same person after completing this course. I have a deep affinity for our planet and all that she offers. I look at scent in a different way and can really smell what's out there. My garden has doubled in size and I'm really looking forward to it blooming this summer. Lyn has blessed me with a deeper look at my spiritual side. I'll be forever thankful to her for her kind heart and generous soul. Thanks, Lyn" Love MM, Southern USA

 

"I'm working towards my degree and use the course as a reward for when I've done my other homework. Lyn is a great teacher who knows her stuff; a true gem of a person." IM, USA

 

"I'm working on creating abundance in my life so I can come and meet Lyn in person. Her course is amazing and I'm learning so much." BB, USA

 

"I enjoy to Lyn courses so much. My English not good. but course is good. Thank You." JC, USA

 

"I love this course! This is the best thing I have done for myself. It's as if my soul is saying to me...'you finally listened to what I want you to do'." MN, USA

 

"I am grateful to find your course. For many years when I smell a scent of a flower I feel so curious how could I recreate that same natural scent and share the beauty of it with others. That is why a wish to take this course and find out am I creative enough  to make fragrances. Again I deeply thankful to find this course teaching about NATURAL perfumery but mostly to connect with you,-someone who is not afraid to share this secret knowledge with others." JI, AU

"I'm loving this course. It is opening up spaces within me that I did not know where there. I'm happy to recommend this course to anyone interested in having a better understanding of natural scents. With love and gratitude for your wonderful gift to the world." JG, AU

"I am an intuitive learner so I knew right away it was the course I wanted to take. I felt very good about your approach to the essences. For my Birthday, I decided to give myself the perfect gift for me - your course. I've been happily enjoying it ever since - the gift that keeps on giving. Thanks, Lyn" CN, Japan

      Hyacinth

... a five minute meditation. If you will have all your components ready (listed in the text below) you can go ahead and make up this lovely perfume called "Perfumers' Journey". If you create it in alcohol, use a 5 ml bottle you will need to add 68 drops of Perfumers' alcohol to these 32 drops of blended essential oils for a 32% Perfume. Enjoy.

Perfumers’ Journey… 

 

First, we want to ground to Gaia, our Mother Earth. The base notes of Vetiver grass, the tree resin from Frankincense, the heartwood of Sandalwood, and the root of Iris are rich and grounding; all of these connecting us to the earth and manifesting the full-bodied notes from the spiritual into physical realm.

Creating the Centre of Being from the floral heart notes of Rose maroc, Jasmine g, Ylang Ylang, Osmanthus, Orange Blossom absolute, and Neroli, we flesh out the aroma and give it heart. One by one, we drop them in to form the whole and find synergy as a group, creating something else, entirely.

Finally, those elusive head notes, which momentarily flicker before leading the way to Spirit; teasing, frolicking, promising the Light touch of the Ethereal. Eventually, these are the ones that will make the first fleeting impression on the sniffer. Rosewood, Coriander, Bergamot, and Cinnamon leaf. 

 

When the last drop is in, they react to one another forming alliances and taking the traveler to exotic destinations. 

 

What do you want the wearer to feel? Where do you want them to go? … leading the willing deeper and deeper, note by note,  into the depths of  the scent. Journeying whiff by whiff to bygone and long forgotten times; except by the nose.