Independent Perfumer Sherri Sebastian of Provision Scents

When I left my job as a professional perfumer last July I found myself in a familiar situation—somewhere in between the fragrance industry and the independent world of perfumery. The last time I was in this position was over fifteen years ago. Since then I’ve worked as a professional perfumer at two fragrance houses, written thousands of formulas, spent countless hours in the lab, and developed dozens of unique fragrances for successful brands on the market today. 

 Indie work station. On her yoga mat outside, relaxing and evaluating materials.

My move to Los Angeles ten years ago has also influenced my current decision to work as an independent perfumer. Moving back east, where the fragrance industry is concentrated, to work as as a professional perfumer just doesn’t feel resonant to me anymore. Since my early days working late nights, weekends, and even holidays on large briefs to meet demanding deadlines (which I loved by the way), the industry has changed a lot and so has the role of the professional perfumer.

Sherri lives in Los Angeles

There are many factors that have led to these changes: brands demanding faster turn-around times, which allows less time for development; marketing and evaluation teams ascending to roles of “fragrance directors;” and the unfortunate trend of copy-cat fragrances gone wild. (“Just twist it” perfumers are often told when being handed a successful market fragrance to work from). Relying less on the expertise and creativity of experienced perfumers, the result is a marketplace filled with lovely, but less unique fragrances.

Evaluating formulas

As I observed these changes over the years I quietly worked behind the scenes learning, evaluating ingredients, and writing formulas.  As a professional perfumer and now as an independent perfumer, I’ve taken pride in my ability to convey the essence of a brand by creating unique and new fragrances. As an independent perfumer my focus is broader and the time I spend on the development process is infinitely more immersive.

Pure rose wax…Sherri's personal potpourri. Also I use this in Provision Connection lip balm treatment. (chosen as Best Holiday Gift 2018 by Michelyn)

Instead of spending weeks in an office taking direction from evaluators, marketers, and salespeople, my development work for a shampoo fragrance now consists of weeks of fully immersing myself in the process by shampooing my hair, connecting with a brand’s desired message and writing and reworking formulas immediately based off my experience and intuition. Tossing aside the noise and mad rush to cater to the latest fragrance trends, I’ve found my work has become much more intuitive and on point than ever before.

Rose from Sherri's garden

Some of my habits have remained the same—like waking up to smell dry downs of materials I’m working with and following freshly dipped blotters throughout the day. Others have changed. For instance, instead of working on 15 projects at a time and spending the majority of time in an office, I write formulas late at night, when I’m naturally more focused on numbers and science.  Daytime is for taking action: working with suppliers, buyers, manufacturers, designers, photographers, customers and labs. My natural ability to direct, coordinate, and organize takes over and it feels invigorating to have this level of engagement. 

Sherri's inpsiration can come from anywhere… here in a Joshua tree

My current fragrance development as an independent perfumer involves pure intuition—no briefs, no consideration of application, gender, or color of the packaging, and no “creative exercises” designed to inspired clever compositions. Washing my hair, doing laundry and taking a bath has become a routine part of my job.  My method is to strip away all of the excess “stuff”—trace notes, overdoses, and trendy marketing notes like oud for instance. This time I’m working off of pure intuition combined with years of practice.  I’m not sure where this will lead, but no matter what, I know that if I continue to stay true to my vision I’ll be on the right path.

–Sherri Sebastian, Contributor

Sherri Sebastian is an independent perfumer and founder of clean beauty brand, Provision Scents.  She’s based in Los Angeles and holds a seat on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Perfumers. Her new collection (provisionscents.com) is available online and in stores nationwide.