Fragrance Appreciation for Curious Beginners
Taught by Jessica Murphy
Jessica Murphy is an art historian and educator who works in visitor engagement at the Brooklyn Museum. She’s also a freelance writer and she happens to be obsessed with perfume, so she’s been contributing fragrance reviews to the leading perfume blog Now Smell This since 2007 and teaching at the Brainery and other venues since 2015. She’s always looking for new ways to connect her passions for art, fragrance, history, and popular culture. Jessica blogs at Perfume Professor.
Location: Prospect Heights Brainery (190 Underhill Ave in Prospect Heights, BK)
According to industry reports, more than 7,000 new fragrances were released in 2024. How can anyone begin exploring perfume without feeling overwhelmed?
In this class, we'll take a more cultural and intuitive approach to learning about scent, moving away from technical jargon and traditional information like "fragrance families." Instead, we'll think about perfume as an art form we can sample and study, similar to wine, film, or fashion. We'll also discuss strategies for finding perfumes that suit our personal tastes, from shopping suggestions to recommended readings and more, and we'll do some smelling exercises throughout the class.
