We rarely, if ever, get the chance to smell raw perfume materials in isolation. What we experience as a fragrance is always an intentional composition: dozens of materials layered together, their individual voices coalesced to form something new.

The Smell Library at PDA brought the perfumer’s laboratory forward, showcasing some of our favourite materials used in our range.

Each material on the table was accompanied by some notes on it’s story: where it grew, how it was extracted, how long it was aged for, its historical significance in perfumery, and the unexpected tales collected along its journey. These materials form the vocabulary a perfumer works with, each with a distinct character, purpose and role within a composition.