Scentica Studio

20/03/2026

28/02/2026

How amazing this is!

A Mexican researcher, Miguel Angel Lozano Rodriguez, has finally identified the natural pollinator of the vanilla flower.

Vanilla is originally from Mexico, and in all commercial plantations it's always pollinated by a human hand.

It turns out the bees that allowed our ancestors to enjoy vanilla and still pollinate this beautiful orchid in biodiverse environments like the rainforest in Veracruz, Mexico, are the female "orchid bees". These are solitary bees and don't form colonies, cannot be "domesticated". The only way they can thrive, is in natural ecosystems where a variety of trees and plants coexist.

The males collect fragrances from orchid flowers to create their own perfume to attract the females. They also collect aromas from mushrooms, wood and fruit!

Vanilla pods are more expensive than silver on a weight basis -natural vanilla extracts are even more expensive, hence its sparing use in perfumery: the vanilla you smell in your candles and mass market fragrances is always synthetic and a sad attempt to provide the comforting sweet profile that natural vanilla gives.

https://aristeguinoticias.com/2702/naturaleza/misterio-de-300-anos-resuelto-cientifico-mexicano-descubre-la-abeja-que-poliniza-la-vainilla-de-forma-natural/

29/12/2025

We are having a long break in the sun.

Wishing everyone a wonderful end of 2025 and an even better start of 2026.

Thank you to each of you who worked with me in 2025: clients, Universities, Newcastle hospitals, psychotherapists, aromatherapists, small business owners, small start ups, yoga teachers, wellbeing practitioners.
So much to be grateful for and so many new ideas to bring to life.

21/11/2025

We had lots of fun smelling, remembering, imagining and experimenting. The end result was two beautiful unique fragrances, incorporating only those ingredients that made each of my clients happy.

If you want to create a fragrance you truly love, using only those ingredients that speak to you and make you feel good, you can book one of my sessions -details on my website.

Fragrance is much more than a luxury product to use and consume.
It can be your anchor to beautiful memories, and a gateway to your happy place. I believe this is only possible when the fragrance is designed specially for you.

My perfume experiences make great Christmas and birthday presents!

20/11/2025

Melissa EO was evaluated for its antioxidant and neuroprotective properties in a preclinical model representing cognitive decline that mimics features of dementia. Melissa EO eased anxiety and significantly improved memory and executive function—the set of mental skills that help us plan, focus, remember, and control our behaviors. Further exploration of its mechanism and molecular targets identified that the EO inhibits AChE activity, helping to preserve that precious "memory chemical" in the brain. Furthermore, it acted as a powerful antioxidant, restoring the body's key defense enzymes and shutting down damaging oxidative stress. Its major constituents, like geranial and neral, showed remarkable ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. This research suggests that melissa EO is a promising multi-targeted solution for neurodegenerative conditions.

Melissa officinalis essential oil (MEO) possesses documented neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anxiolytic properties. This study investigated the effects of MEO (150 and 300 µL/L) in a scopolamine (SCO, 100 µM)-induced zebrafish model of cognitive impairment. Cognitive performance was assessed usi...

12/11/2025

Retaining cognitive function and memory performance throughout life is a pursuit of most of us. Fortunately, essential oils are supportive of these efforts due to their privileged access to the brain (able to cross the blood-brain barrier), ability to modify enzyme activity (acetylcholinesterase), and interaction with neurons. A recent preclinical model of cognitive impairment found that exposure to coriander essential oil improved memory performance by decreasing acetylcholinesterase and reducing oxidative stress.

Essential oil from Coriandrum sativum has been demonstrated to provide various pharmacological properties, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, anticonvulsive, anxiolytic-antidepressant, and anti-aging properties. ...

18/10/2025

When you come to my fragrance creation sessions and workshops, not only do we explore the universe of fragrance notes and families, of natural and synthetic materials. We explore your inner world.
Each scent evokes meaningful memories and emotions, unique and personal to each of us.

We take the time to smell, and the time to make sense of what those scents mean to you.

We focus on those perfume ingredients that bring the most joy and positive emotions to you, so you can take home not only a beautiful original fragrance, but a way to travel inwards into that most positive personal place.

DM for more information, or have a look in my website for one to one, couples sessions and workshops.

18/10/2025

Introduction to Perfumery: dates added to my website.
Very small groups so I can guide each one of you.

Smelling is brain exercise! Rarely we get the opportunity to be creative with scent, and explore where novel and familiar scents can take us.
Come and discover those perfume ingredients that truly resonate with you, and learn to weave them into a unique fragrance that tells your story.

Workshops take place at my studio in Northumberland and include tea and biscuits during our break.

DM me to book. More details on my website, linked in my bio.

09/10/2025

When you come into the reception at you will notice a unique scent that has become a signature of the place.
I created this fragrance, now sold in very limited numbers as One Air, when I used to have my scent studio at 1 Benton Terrace.

A lot of thought and precious ingredients have gone into the design of this fragrance.
Having an exclusive fragrance designed specially for your space and brand is soooo different to buying a reed diffuser, or even a fine fragrance, from the mass market.
Mass market fragrances are designed for mass appeal - to meet the goal of selling millions, they have to follow mainstream trends and end up smelling very similar.

Having a professional creating a fragrance that doesn't follow conventional marketing rules is a true adventure. You can be different, truly original.

In One Air we have precious botanical extracts of Frankincense, Patchouli, Guaiacwood and Vetiver, carefully complemented with amber and woody notes, and luxurious Vanilla absolute.
A leather and smoke accord adds unique quirkiness to the fragrance.
All is enhanced by warming notes of cardamom and black pepper.
The result is comforting and luxurious, with a distinctive character you will find nowhere else.

Get in touch with John at Saints Hairdressers or to purchase a bottle.
Or just come to reception so you can smell what I mean 😃

28/09/2025

Perfect autumn days here in Northumberland.
The studio is now ready to receive my clients, who will have the chance to create fragrances, products and scented experiences surrounded by ever-changing nature.

I will be offering two workshops for perfumery beginners, one in November and one in March -dates soon to be released here and on my website.

One to one and couples sessions take place any Thursday and Friday. I'm happy to open some Saturday mornings too.

DM or call to book your session, or to ask any questions you may have.

20/09/2025

I'm back at beautiful Linnels Farm to guide you on a whole-day sensory experience that will allow us to re-connect with ourselves and nature, in a luxurious setting.

You can book at Linnels Farm's website -link in bio.

All of Linnels Farm's courses are a mini-break in gorgeous countryside. Have a look at what they have on offer

19/09/2025

What a fun night we had today at The Great North Museum
When people stop and smell, the most interesting conversations take place -scent truly engages us emotionally and intellectually.

I introduced people to the raw materials used for perfuming in ancient Egypt, explaining their origins and applications.
Everyone enjoyed smelling the individual ingredients, and most loved the Mendesian perfume I created to illustrate what Egyptians used as fragrance during those times.
The Egyptian Blue Lotus from got lots of people talking -they had never smelled something like this before.

Lots of fantastic connections and new ideas!