Secret of Scent Course in Provence with Turin and Frolova

by: Elena Knezhevich

If you are planning a vacation for October, or if you're lucky to have spare time, you can spend it in the heart of Provence (Luberon, famous for its lavender fields) in the company of Luca Turin and Viktoria Frolova. Join Turin and Frolova who will talk about perfumes and offer opportunities to smell true vintage rarities, Osmothèque-worthy treasures like original Chypre Coty and Guerlain Mitsouko, all while sampling wine and good food.

The Secret of Scent course will take place in a splendid hotel in one of the mountain villages of the Luberon region, Provence, on October, 20-24th 2016. To book your vacation, visit Science & Vacation webpage.
 

In the course of our 3-day program, lectures will begin daily at 9 a.m and last for about 1h 45 min. Following a coffee break, you will have the opportunity to engage in a one-hour discussion with the lecturer. In your abundant free time, you will be at liberty to explore numerous local attractions and cultural monuments.

Luca Turin Luca is best known for his work on olfaction, in which he proposed a novel mechanism for odorant recognition by receptors. This mechanism, inelastic electron tunneling, is one of the three instances in biophysics where an explicitly quantum explanation is required to account for experimental facts. In 1992, Luca wrote his first perfume guide.	Viktoria Frolova Viktoria writes for her well known Bois de Jasmin perfume blog. Viktoria is a writer, journalist, vintage perfumes collector and professionally trained perfume specialist, who explores the world of senses, along with art, literature, and history.

Drawing on his long-standing experience in biophysics, quantum biology, molecular biology and fragrance chemistry, Luca Turin will explain what is known and — just as importantly— what hasn't been established yet about smell.

Fragrance expert and journalist Victoria Frolova will explain the principles of fragrance construction and history. Her professional training gave her a glimpse inside the secret and competitive world of the perfume industry, and in turn, she will share her experience with you. You will learn about the perfumer’s palette, smell rare vintage fragrances and learn exercises to sharpen your sense of smell.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

October 21 st , 2016: How We Smell
The participants will learn about the anatomy and physiology of olfaction and will master the language of fragrance as they draw on their personal experiences. They will also perform exercises to sharpen their sense of smell.

October 22nd, 2016: Smells and Messages
The participants will learn how something as shapeless as smell acquired such an impressive history and culture. They will find out how professionals transform ideas and visions into scents and smell some of the greatest examples of the perfumers’ art, including legendary fragrances in their original formulations. Participants will also discover a connection between smell and taste via wine tasting.

October 23rd, 2016: Olfaction, Hearing, Vision and the Art of Perfumery
The participants will find out what processing happens in the brain as their senses are stimulated and acquire some understanding of how the brain processes information coming from the sense organs. Similarities and differences between visual, auditory and olfactory perception will be described and discussed. They will also learn the basics of fragrance composition and will get a glimpse into the métier of a perfumer by creating a fragrance accord. They will use classical materials from the South of France to compose their personal olfactory etude.

For price and accomodation please see here. More details about the course here.

Provence, Luberon