WA:IT Within> Where Scent Takes You with Joseph Colbourne

For this edition, we meet Joseph Colbourne, fragrance writer, Basenotes contributor and podcast host whose work explores the many ways scent intersects with memory, emotion, creativity and human experience.

With a background that bridges aromatherapy, perfumery and storytelling, Joseph approaches fragrance not simply as something we wear, but as a medium through which we experience the world.

In this conversation, we explore the memories that shaped his olfactory sensibility, the relationship between scent and emotion, the role of ritual in contemporary life, and why fragrance continues to captivate us in an increasingly fast-paced world.

You often speak about scent as something deeply emotional and transformative. When did you first realize perfume could become your language?

«While perfume has fascinated me since I was quite young, it wasn’t until my explorations with fragrant raw materials that I realized scent could be a powerful metaphor. Each essential oil, botanic extraction, and aroma-chemical was enthralling to me, and I was excited to potentially tell a story through composing perfumes with them. Even though I took a reprieve from perfume-making some time ago, I’ve found great pleasure in the past few years writing about (and through) perfume. Connecting through this medium has been immensely gratifying.»

Growing up in Massachusetts, surrounded by woods, wildflowers and the ocean, how much did those early sensory memories shape your olfactory world?

«Significantly so! I was blessed to have fragrant flowers and plants surrounding me: pine trees, lilies of the valley and jonquils in my backyard, lilacs, roses and tomato vines at my grandmother’s. We lived right near a pond and cranberry bogs I remember the distinct earthy, damp aromas of those landscapes. Of course I wasn’t too far from the ocean either! I also want to mention that I was drawn to smell of every day objects like rubber erasers, magic markers, new cassette tapes, and I loved collecting scratch-n-sniff stickers. Both of my parents wore their share of fragrances as well, a few that left a strong imprint in my mind—and I wanted to have my own one day as a grown up».

Your journey into perfumery came after a moment of personal loss and introspection. Do you think scent helped you reconnect with yourself in a deeper way?

«Losing my mother in 2014, I felt an intense gravitational pull from grief and I sought the comfort of scent as a means of grounding myself. I completed a certification in aromatherapy around that time and I explored its benefits on my own mental well being. I began to understand just how powerful the limbic response is to our sense of smell, and that I could explore my grief and pain, along with my whole kaleidoscope of emotions, through tuning in to my response to smells. Harnessing its power through this aromatherapy and eventually perfumery itself is what really burgeoned my life-long passion».

Burning balsam fir incense became a turning point for you. Do you still remember that feeling?

«Oh yes, the doldrums of that one winter, and the Paine balsam fir incense cones. I remember thinking that it felt like aromatherapy while having little knowledge of what that really meant. I thought to myself: “if this gives me a feeling of calm and ease, what about these essential oils that are used in aromatherapy?” That was where that path started. Now I liked fragrances for quite some time, having had a collection of my own for several years, but they idea of dabbling with essential oils was new frontier, and had me approaching my relationship with my sense of smell in an entirely new way. I purchased all sorts of oils that I might like: vetiver, cedar, patchouli, birch tar for its smokiness. It began to expand to oils yielded from all manner of herbs, spices, flowers. I learned about their therapeutic properties, which led me down the wrong to perfume-making, and this has served as my foundation for understanding, analyzing, and experiencing perfume as I do today».

You move between natural ingredients and synthetic molecules with a very personal approach. What fascinates you about the tension between nature and technology?

«This tension speaks to the great tension we find in music, for example. Dissonance and resolve, analog synthesizers paired with woodwinds, sine waves and string instruments, the pure and the complex. The truth is, there is no hierarchy of value in chemistry, it knows not whether a compound derives from botany or from a laboratory. We create myths, and while wondrous as they can be, the truth is that something like linalool or vanillin isolated from natural sources is chemically no different than if they were to be synthetically produced. It is the mystique, beauty and, most of all, impurity of complex natural materials that makes them magical, if you will. Each is really like its own complex perfume in itself, so they must be handled with care and reverence, not to be abused or squandered. I was seduced by synthetics because they are capable of conveying smells and sensations that naturals may not be able to or cannot do on their own. There was a perfumer, I believe it was the great Guy Robert, who called synthetics the bones of fragrance, naturals the flesh. I am inclined to agree with that».

Music seems to play an important role in your creative universe. How did your past as a DJ influence the way you think about fragrance?

«This makes for a great segue from my answer to the previous question. As I mentioned above, I have been on hiatus from perfume making (it’s been over five years). I will say this, however: when studying, it was the concentration and focus that was shared with beat-matching and blending two tracks seamlessly. Discipline is a shared principle as well. Anyone can choose to play records or whatever format to an audience without mixing or with little attention to beat-matching, but reading the room and learning to blend and transition between two cuts are the keystones of a skilled DJ. Likewise, any artisan can dabble with materials and put together what they think might smell interesting, but spending the time familiarizing oneself with raw materials and mastering the foundations separates the amateur from a skilled perfumer. I do also believe that music theory has parallels with perfume composition as well. Think notes, accords/chords, dynamics, and yes, one can even explore the possibilities of rhythm and timbre in perfume, through considering textures, tones and development».

You once said fragrance should be approached like architecture, poetry or painting. What do these disciplines have in common with perfumery?

«Great question! When I think of architecture I think of structure, balance, gestalt. Structural integrity is a principle in both architecture and perfume. If a perfume isn’t constructed using the right dosage of top, heart and base materials, and most importantly proper fixatives, it risks being flattened or collapsing. In poetry, what immediately comes to mind is tone and mood, but also I think of the syntax used as a means of shaping a poem as similar to that of modifiers that shape the effect of a perfume. Using enjambment in a poem is like adding say, cumin, to a floral accord to add some interest or tension. In painting, we have watercolors, translucency, opacity, impasto, chiaroscuro, negative space, you name it. We can apply these techniques in the medium of perfume just as well, and I love how all these enable the expansion of vocabulary in describing and also in composing perfume».

Is there an ingredient you feel particularly connected to at the moment?

«Damscones and Damascenones - These are rose ketones that are volatile constituents in several different essential oils, including rose. In particular, I am really connected to β-damascenone (rose, honey, tobacco, apple, dried fruit). It turns out that β-damascenone is the main aromatic component in red wines and in Kentucky bourbon».

Your aesthetic feels both deeply contemporary and strangely timeless. Are there artists, writers, musicians or filmmakers that constantly inspire you?

«Artists: Ellsworth Kelly, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, Cleve Gray, Josef Albers Writers: Jean Cocteau, Jean Genet, W. Somerset Maugham, TS Eliot, Emily Dickinson, Martin Shaw, Robert Frost. Musicians: Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Tangerine Dream, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Eberhard Weber. Filmmakers: Jean-Luc Godard, Ingmar Bergman, David Lynch, Stan Brakhage, Len Lye».

Sustainability is becoming central in the world of beauty and fragrance. What responsibility do perfumers have today?

«It’s my opinion that a perfumer should avoid waste whenever possible. Of course, waste is inevitable in the process of product development, but using best practices for the sake of sustainability is key. The final product should be a result of responsible and ethical sourcing of raw materials and sold in packaging that is simple and if possible, biodegradable».

WA:IT conceives fragrance as an “olfactory supplement” something that can support, ground or rebalance us emotionally. Do you believe scent can genuinely influence our mental and emotional state?

«Absolutely. As I have learned from my background in aromatherapy, there are aromatic compounds that can positively impact us mentally and emotionally, either as stimulants (rosemary and eucalyptus, for example) or sedatives (lavender, neroli). Sesquiterpenes found in cedar, patchouli, and vetiver essential oils can enhance relaxation and relieve stress. So, yes, a resounding yes!»

Despite living in an age shaped by speed, technology and constant stimulation, people continue to seek rituals. Why do you think rituals still matter?

«Rituals are the adhesive for society. As innately social beings, we rely on rituals for structure: interpersonally, temporally, and in coming to terms with life changes and our finitude. The pace of our lives, our being socially engineered by our technology, and the addictive dopamine reward systems embedded by screen culture, must be tempered by the true core of who are we truly are as a species. Rituals orbit this core. Third spaces, devotion and spirituality, acts of service, even seemingly mundane personal routines—all of these rituals are what we should all strive to preserve as technology advances exponentially».

Is there a WA:IT fragrance you feel particularly close to at the moment?

«I would choose En. I was struck by the usage of dill in its top notes, herbal-sweet and warm, exalting the licorice accord as it coalesces with frankincense resin. It’s truly unique yet it also feels so familiar and comfortable.».

Scent is invisible, yet it has the power to express who we are more deeply than words. What do you think fragrance reveals about identity?

«I think that fragrance can effectively reveal that we are actually more than our identities. A friend of mine recently made a cogent argument that we need a different relationship to perfume, where we are not necessarily declaring a fixed identity, but approaching it as something to experience as you enter and then leave. It can be regarded as a temporary embodiment, if you will. Think of experiencing a novel or film where the voice is in the first person. We can discard identity or imagine others outside of the ones we choose for ourselves. In our current culture, where there is often too much emphasis as identity, as if they are avatars that reduce the complexity of the individual, it is liberating to consider perfume as a means of escaping this restraint.»

At WA:IT, we believe fragrance can be more than something we wear. It can become a ritual of presence, wellbeing and connection.

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