What Linguistics and Perfumery Share in Common

I’ve always thought of Perfumery as a place where the sciences meet the arts. And as I practice and hone the skills required for this profession, I still reflect on this idea at work every day. I first came to this concept of where science meets art while at university where I trained to become a linguist. I saw it in my discipline of study. Since then, I’ve noticed it more profoundly in many aspects of the world we live in.

Perfumery is undeniably a science. A perfumer’s palette of thousands of esters, ethers, aldehydes, pyranes and terpenes attest to this. Yet putting them together coherently to make a stable, impactful, beautiful fragrance really requires some artistry.

I exchanged my toolbox of speech sounds, linguistic syntax and grammar structure, for a toolbox of musks, terpenes and aldehydes. The building blocks changed but the overall concept of design and construction remains.

Perhaps this worldview was shaped by multicultural Singapore, the beautiful city I call home and where I grew up. Languages, smells, cuisines all blend together to form the city that many people across the globe describe as a food paradise and thus an experience for the senses!

Given the privilege to work with you, I hope we can enjoy an exciting journey of technical and artistic creation. Together, we will create the next fragrance that meets your desires and needs.