Of the five senses taught to kindergarteners (yes, neurologists say there are many more), sense of smell is likely at the top of the list for taking the most abuse.
Leading the charge against the poor nostril is the department store cosmetic counter where one must zigzag to escape the pungent eye-scorching weapon of fragrance. And lest we forget about the souls trapped in an elevator with a perfume-doused neck.
The culprit, said certified aromatherapist Arline Trividic, is synthetics.
“There are a lot of synthetics out there and those synthetics are really irritating to the nose,” Trividic said. “I get so tired of hearing ‘aroma-free.’ Go to hospitals, it’s ‘we’re scent-free,’ doctors offices ‘scent free.’ To me, I wish people would differentiate between me wearing an essential oil roll-on that helps me, helps people around me, because I don’t consider it to be scent.”
The difference is there are no chemicals in essential oils. The natural oil is typically obtained by distillation, which is why a 10-millilitre bottle of rose will cost anywhere from $200 to $400.
“Because it takes thousands of petals to make it,” said Trividic. “Originally, when the perfumers back in France started out, this is what they’d use. But it’s expensive to do it this way.”
It’s a deal, then, for those who showed up at Trividic’s mobile scent bar, which was set up at ROAM Gallery at City Square mall Saturday afternoon. For $20 dollars — of which a portion went to Beauty Night, a local charity that helps women and youth living in poverty — people could make their own scent to take home.
Helping was Trividic, her daughter Nicole O’Keefe who also designs the pop-art inspired labels for her mother’s company Smell This! Aromatherapy, and granddaughter Paige O’Keefe who was doing double-duty as scent designer and artist as she was also showing pieces on the walls at ROAM.
The process of experimentation at the scent bar started with picking essential oils from the blue-labelled bottles called “top notes” — the first smell that hits the nose. Top notes include basil, lemon, lime, mandarin and other citrus-based scents. Next are the “middle notes” such as cinnamon, lavender and black pepper, which add warmth and fullness to the blend once the top note fades and, following that, the long-lasting “base notes,” which include cedarwood, jasmine and rosewood. Wild experimentation is encouraged but the family is on hand to steer people away from what Trividic delicately refers to as creating “stink.”
“Perfumers will tell you you need a top, middle and base to make a well-rounded perfume. However, I’m not a perfumer, I am an aromatherapist. This is the chance for people to sit down and create an aroma which is exactly what they want,” said Trividic. “So what if that person just liked all top notes? It’s not perfection, according to the perfumer, but if you like all top notes then your perfume is going to be light, fresh, and you’re going to apply it more — that’s the only difference.”
And unlike synthetic perfumes, essential oils have healing properties, said Trividic, adding that the health benefits, both physical and emotional, are endless. For example: peppermint is said to help those who suffer from asthma, headaches, as well as help increase memory and concentration. Jasmine is believed to help with sensitive skin as well as stress. The list goes on.
In addition to producing scents, Trividic makes a range of natural body care products out of the Smell This! lab in Richmond. While she is obviously in favour of using natural products, she readily admits she’s not perfect, citing the instance of her use of hair dye.
“I’m honest with people, I will read and educate myself so I have the least amount of scary things onto my body,” she said. “Just know what you’re eating and what you’re putting on your body, because it is going into the body. My job is to have people turn the bottle around and make them read the back of it.”
Trividic trained at the West Coast Institute of Aromatherapy after losing her previous job as a production manager for a large printing company in 1998. In addition to learning about the origin and chemistry of essential oils, during her education she came up with the eventual name of her aromatherapy company, Smell This!
“All the way through the course, I was creating things. Smell this! Smell this!” she said. “It’s amazing when we do the scent bar with how many people turn to each other and say smell this! Smell this! This, is a place where you go to smell.”
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