So with your palette of many colours (or aromas), how do you start choosing what you want and go about putting it all together?

A master perfumer spends many years in training. There are just a few hundred of these individuals in the world who, with their knowledge and trained sense of smell, create most of the world's fragrances and flavourings.

Their skill is in knowing, generally, which elements match, which contrast or accent, which compliment or clash, which add tone and character. Of course the nose is king, and exact blends are iterations and refinements - a touch more of this or less of that, a slightly sweeeter lavender, a less acidic neroli, a press or an extraction, a romanian rose absolut rather than a bulgarian, a touch of leaf to go with the petal.

We can't all be master perfumers, but by using blends systems such as the Perfume Studio system (www.myperfumeparty.co.uk/mpp-blends.htm) you can create some very beautiful perfumes safe in the knowledge that complex stuff of base blend creation has been done for you. This system of 18 blends (tops, middle and bases) gives millions of combinations. So depending on your personal tastes you CAN create your own beautiful perfume, which will probably be unique - very much YOUR perfume.