Interview with Kerosene of Kerosene Fragrances

From perfume collector to YouTube reviewer to serious perfumer, Kerosene (aka John Pegg) has created quite a stir in the fragrance world. With the release of his R’Oud Elements, late last year, he got our attention. His subsequent releases this year (Creature, Copper Skies and Whips and Roses) proved he was not a “flash in the pan”. His newest creation Santalum Slivers will be available soon. His perfumes are carried exclusively by MiN New York in the US and he is already starting to become popular in Europe. 

A humble and soft spoken man, Kerosene (his name originates in his love of motors, oils and garage aromas and reflects his Motor City heritage) prefers to let his fragrances do the talking for him. Between hand making all his own juices and hand painting and embellishing all his own bottles Kerosene has graciously taken the time to let our readers learn a bit more about him, his background and his “process”.

John Reasinger: Many people already know your YouTube to perfumer story. What can you tell us of your background?

Kerosene: My background in perfumery over the past two years has been strictly the study of essential oils and aroma molecule research. When I put my mind to something, it is not a half-hearted effort. I researched and experimented with oils on many long nights and weekends. It was all so fascinating to me how the combination, of let’s say, two notes could create a blooming complex scent. Sometimes adding more notes didn’t make a scent any more complex, but muddled it instead. I found if you add the right quality ingredients together, you didn’t have to add as much to the recipe. Those quality ingredients were complex on their own and when mixed together, magic could happen.

JR: Do you find having no formal perfume education has helped or hindered you?

K: In being self-taught, I happen to like the raw style I have developed. In all of my failed initial experiments, I learned so much, and am still learning (one should never say they have reached their pinnacle). I learned the aroma strengths of the oils, and just as with cooking food some spices don’t “play well” with others. I took a very long methodical approach to my studies. For example: adding a single note to vetiver. How did it change? Did the added note work well with the vetiver? What could now enhance it further? I did this with many, many base notes, which are obviously the foundation for a scent and (for me) the most important. They enhance and help progress a scent’s journey, but at the end of the road, you are left with the base. (clique aqui para ler a entrevista completa)