World Theatre Day: The fragrance of characters

In this day, I unite two of my passions: Theatre and perfume

I discovered during my latest adventure, aka the Masterclass exercises, that one of my main sources of inspiration is smell.

I love me a good perfume, and while I’ve previously worked with perfumes I had, now that I’ve kind of learnt how to make a perfume, I’ve been wondering on what kind of smells remind me of Lady Anne from Richard III (which is the character I picked for my monologue).

The first thing that came to mind was roses. After all, this is a character that lives during the Wars of the Roses, so well… duh. Obvious choice and all that.

Other two fragrances that instantly sprung to mind were patchouli and sandalwood. I tend to associate them with spiritual things, and thus they are perfect for a character that is currently undertaking such a faith-charged thing as attending a funeral.

And yep, more flowery stuff: Jasmine and lily of the valley. Jasmine is one of my favourite ever flower scents, and lily of the valley, while soft, also has a name that thematically, is fantastic: «Our Lady’s Tears».

Closing the whole matter, I would also add vanilla (I just love it), and something citrusy. Because, after all, citruses bring this youthfulness, and let’s not forget Anne is a young character, despite all what she’s been through.

So the Pyramid might go like this:

Top Notes: Citrus (In my case lemon-lime, and tangerine)

Middle Notes: Jasmine, lily of the valley, and roses.

Base Notes: Sandalwood, vanilla, and patchouli

I’ll try it, and I’ll come back with the results in a week.

In the meanwhile, do you have any scents that remind you of a particular character, or play?