FAQ
Here are some answers to the most frequently asked questions relating to our courses.
Q. Tell me more about PerfumersWorld
A. PerfumersWorld was formed to focus on promoting fine creative perfumery and opening the art of perfumery to a much wider audience. Increasingly the perfumer has become just another member of the production team and the bulk of perfumery work has become restrictively cost controlled for purely commercial purposes. PerfumersWorld is one of the few places of its kind where you can visit us at our showroom and talk with your instructors in person, buy raw materials, bottles, cosmetic and toiletry bases or just smell the thousand plus smells on display.
Q. Who is the "perfumer" at PerfumersWorld?
A. Stephen V. Dowthwaite is the principle instructor and founder of PerfumersWorld. He has been the industry since 1971 and trained in fine perfumery in the UK (Picot Laboratories - one of the last creative perfumery houses in the UK - the perfumes are now in the Jovan stable).
For more, click here.
Q. How big is PerfumersWorld?
A. PerfumersWorld now has students working in 8 out of 10 of the top ten perfumery houses from more than 40 countries worldwide including USA, UK, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Holland, France, Italy, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, China, Israel, Poland, India, Bangladesh, UAE, Hong Kong, Australia, Columbia, Brazil, Pakistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Venezuela.
PerfumersWorld probably has more students than all of the other courses in the world put together.
Q. How do I pay for the courses?
A. After we have received and checked over your application we will confirm whether our courses are suitable for your objectives. If we believe you can benefit from them then we will then send you a choice of alternative payment methods. We accept payment by PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Western Union Cash Transfer, Bank Transfer etc.
Q. Do you accept all applicants?
A. Most, but if we do not think you will benefit or move towards your stated objectives we may direct you to alternatives, although these alternatives are few in number. We have high school age students to students in their 70's, never too young to learn.
One student that completed our application questionnaire, scoring 98%, and then after completing a second more difficult one again scoring over 90% we advised him that he didn't need to do the course. He insisted that he wanted to continue and we allowed him to enroll. After recently completing a 2 week Master Class he declared that they "have been the most fulfilling weeks for a long time". We have many "students" with well over 10 years professional perfumery experience (and as much as 30 years!) and we have to confess that we learn as much from them as they do from us.
Q. Where can I find out about other perfumery courses?
These are main courses in the world that we know about:
1) King Mongkut University - Bangkok. Masters Degree Option Course in BioTech Faculty run once a year in Thai language by PerfumersWorld
2) Shanghai University - have a comprehensive 7 year course for Chinese students, mainly chemistry and technology.
3) There is new course in Yokohama/Tokyo Japan - content is mainly academic and in Japanese.
4) Plymouth University - UK "The Business of Perfumery" (linked to IFEAT course)
5) ISIPCA - very good residential course (up to 7 years) French speaking advisable. Short courses available for students sponsored by companies. http://www.isipca.fr./
6) Cinquième Sens - (Monique Schlienger) offers customized training programs in perfumery for professionals and interested individuals. http://www.cinquiemesens.com
7) Dragoco, Firmenich have limited courses for their employees.
We know of no major courses in the USA, India, Australia.
Check with your local Universities they may have short courses that cover perfume/cosmetics.
Check with the Cosmetic Society in your country they may have courses with a perfumery element.
Some perfumery aspects are covered by Aromatherapy courses on the Internet.
Q. How is PerfumersWorld training different from other courses?
A. There are very few courses available as we have already pointed out, but the focus on all of the other courses we know of, with the exception of the French course, is on the theoretical aspects of perfumery chemistry and business studies rather than hands on perfume creation techniques. PerfumersWorld training is much more focused on the practical training in the art of perfumery. In covering technical issues we assume no prior chemistry knowledge and provide the information you need in practical terms without going deeper than necessary. We figure you will go on to do a degree in chemistry if that's what you want and being a subject that's taught already at hundreds of universities worldwide, its best left to them. We do find however, even for our chemistry graduate students (we have hundreds, even PhDs and Professors) that the courses add a perspective on chemistry that is not covered in mainstream University Courses. If you want to learn practical skills and techniques that you can use every day then come to us.
Q. Do you award a certificate or diploma?
A. Yes, we supply a uniquely named and numbered certificate at the end of each course with your grade, even for the Foundation Course. If you join one of our courses at a university then you get a joint PerfumersWorld/University certificate (below right). Certificates are verifiable online by any prospective employer.
Q. Are student places really limited for the courses?
A. Yes,
FOUNDATION COURSE - No limit set at present, this may be reviewed in the future
SENIOR COURSE - 20 students accepted per month
PROFESSIONAL COURSES - 10 students per month
Note: If no places are available at the time you apply then we will offer you the first available vacancy.
We may use results of the Foundation Course to prioritize students that demonstrate that they will be able to keep up with the intensity of the Senior and Professional Courses.
Q. I am very eager to learn the basics of perfumery (for commercial purposes)- but am particularly interested in the "natural perfumes" (made without synthetic ingredients). My question to you is therefore if you think I can follow your courses and then substitute for all natural ingredients with time? Or are "conventional perfumery" and "natural perfumery" two completely different things? MK
The principles of perfumery are the same whether you are using natural or synthetics or a combination of both. There are some effects that are impossible(?) without synthetics and there is a depth and richness that only naturals can provide. If you decide to follow a course in perfumery, where ever that may be, even if you only use naturals - make sure it introduces chemistry too - natural essential oils and floral absolutes are mixtures of naturally produced chemicals and to understand the oils properly (smell, classification, emotional and therapeutic effects, irritation, toxicity, stability, colour changes etc) some background knowledge of the chemistry is really important. I note too that you used the word commercial which implies quantity, consistency and price - which means that a deeper knowledge of your materials sources, supply and availablity is crucial. NB. Don't be too put off if you have a phobia about chemistry - the knowledge that you need only takes a few hours to master and is even quicker during one of our workshops with our innovative techniques.