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  • Reflections of 30 Years - Things I Would Tell My Younger Self

    Reflections of 30 Years - Things I Would Tell My Younger Self
    Jun 29 2025
    Inspired by a recent chat with her social media manager, and the realisation that she is approaching thirty years in the perfume business, Karen has decided to take a look back and ponder on the thing that she would tell her younger self if the opportunity arose. When you’re new to anything, whether it be a perfume business or not, you are also naive. Only with time, failure and growth can we realise the mistakes we have made in the past. In this episode, Karen looks back at her career and imparts her wisdom upon you, from learning to say no to being your authentic self, so that you don’t make the mistakes that befall so many. KEY TAKEAWAYS One of the biggest mistakes new businesses make, and one Karen did herself, is setting your price point lower than your competitors in the hope that it will win you more customers. Karen debunks this idea and tells you how to calculate a price that works for you and your customers. When your business venture is new and exciting, work doesn’t feel like work and you find yourself working longer hours. However, as Karen learned that hard way, your energy is not unlimited. Karen explains why ‘sustainable’ isn’t just ideal, it’s the only way. A lesson that Karen learned from her first ever business is one that still holds true today - “Build your business around your life, not the other way around.” Karen’s new business adopts this philosophy and she shares how different her life is because of it. ‘Be Who You Are’ - is one of the biggest lessons Karen has learnt. In her early days in business she tried to be the person she thought her direct audience wanted her to be, but this became exhausting. BEST MOMENTS “The clients who choose you, just because you’re cheap, are not the clients you want.” “You do not need permission to call yourself a perfumer. If you’re doing that job, you’ve earned the right.” “Being who you truly are is what attracts your most authentic customers.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Perfume Making 101 Waitlist Rose Fragrance Masterclass Wait List Journal Prompts Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    32 Min.
  • Lessons That Last Part 4 - Building a Brand Without Breaking the Bank

    Lessons That Last Part 4 - Building a Brand Without Breaking the Bank
    Jun 23 2025
    To date, my new mini-series has very much been focused on the creation of your fragrances. However, once it’s created, it becomes the time to put it out into the big wide world. But, how do you achieve it if you’re a small independent perfume maker and you don’t have the marketing budget or resources of a big company? Whether you know it or not, you’re also carrying an expectation that you’ll put your product on the internet and people will flock to buy it. In this episode, I give you the reality of both: what is achievable with marketing within a small indie brand, and what you should expect, and why both of these things can be much bigger and more prosperous than you think. KEY TAKEAWAYS The reality versus the expectation of making your first social media post or putting out your first advert is huge. Karen explains what people subconsciously think will happen, what the reality of most situations are, why you’re not alone and what to expect. In the absence of large budgets and a dedicated marketing team, it can feel like you’re in a David versus Goliath fight most days. However, as Karen explains, the real strengths of marketing lie elsewhere. Artists do not always feel comfortable selling themselves. Talking about your own work can leave you feeling self conscious or even arrogant, but it is a crucial part of the process. Karen gives you some courage and some tips on how to sell yourself effectively. All the marketing, sales, likes and comments on social media will never make you happy unless you know the answer to one very important question - “what does success look like to me?” Karen goes into depth on the importance of this point and how knowing the answer is the difference between real success and failure. BEST MOMENTS “The gap between the energy you put into the creation and the silence on your first social media post is where a lot of people spiral.” “Your most important marketing tool is to have real clarity about what you're doing, why you’re creating, who it is for.” “You can’t make someone buy something they don’t want. But you can share what you’ve created in a way that will connect with the right people.” EPISODE LINKS Perfume Making 101 Waitlist Rose Fragrance Masterclass Wait List VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    36 Min.
  • Lessons That Last Part 3 - How to Structure a Scent

    Lessons That Last Part 3 - How to Structure a Scent
    Jun 15 2025
    A problem that most of Karen’s students inevitably face is how to structure a scent. Once they learn the perfume pyramid, top, middle and base notes, they assume that they have learned all they need to know…but they haven’t. The problems arise when synthetic materials are introduced as the perfume pyramid is not the best model for them. In this episode, Karen is going to break down when the pyramid structure works and when you should seek alternative solutions, and, she’s also going to share her tried and tested method when working with synthetics. KEY TAKEAWAYS What exactly is the ‘Pyramid Method’? How and why does it work? What is the structure? And how do you use it? Karen tells you all you need to know about this method. In Karen’s ‘One Day Natural Perfume’ class she teaches a method based around creating accords. She discusses this method, why and how it works and why it is a perfect alternative to the ‘Pyramid Method’. But once you’ve got your accords how do you work with them? Karen explains why accords are the best foundation of creating a scent, but why, once you’ve created them, you still have work to do. Once you’ve got an understanding of the different methods of creating a scent, you are left with a question “Which is the right method to use?” Karen details the questions you have to consider when deciding on the right method for the fragrance you are creating. BEST MOMENTS “The perfume pyramid works brilliantly for natural perfume because volatility matters.” “If you master creating great accords, you’re not going to be starting from scratch every time you make a perfume.” “There isn’t a one-size-fits-all method for every fragrance you will make. They are all tools to help you.” EPISODE LINKS Perfume Making 101 Wait List Rose Fragrance Masterclass Wait List VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    27 Min.
  • Lessons That Last Part 2 - Learning Materials

    Lessons That Last Part 2 - Learning Materials
    Jun 8 2025
    After taking a slight detour to the Rose Retreat last week, Karen is back with her ‘Lessons that Last’ mini-series, and this week she is taking a look at the process and importance of learning materials. The most important, but also time-consuming aspect of perfume making is learning materials, because without knowing how they smell, interact with each other and react to the skin, you simply can’t make fragrances. There are so many materials the task of learning them inside out can appear to be impossible. But fear not, it is possible, and Karen is here to share all the tips and tricks you need to get through the materials phase without losing your mind. KEY TAKEAWAYS Most people are faced with huge overwhelm when they first encounter materials, mainly when the realization hits them that the task of learning them is so much bigger than they expected. Karen breaks down why this overwhelm occurs and how best to manage it. Your understanding of materials will change over time. With this in mind, Karen gives suggestions for how you might plan your learning and also how to make sure you keep going. Another great way to reduce that overwhelm is to work in a space that feels good to you. Karen shares her top tips on creating the perfect workspace. Creating a ritual, or as Karen says “Making it something you want to do as opposed to something on your to-do list”, can be a valuable tool to help ease the burden on learning materials. Karen gives some suggestions on how to implement this way of working. BEST MOMENTS “Materials are part of a building block of a fragrance. Some don’t smell great on their own. Some don’t click until you start to understand how they work.” “You don’t have to master materials on day one, but you do have to keep going.” “Learning materials is like learning a language, and the best way to learn a language is by using it.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    40 Min.
  • Rose Overdose - My Week at The Rose Retreat

    Rose Overdose - My Week at The Rose Retreat
    Jun 1 2025
    Karen has just returned from a trip to Bulgaria where she attended the Rose Retreat by Rose Overdose. In this week’s episode, she is here to give you a debrief on the whole experience. From visiting rose fields to witnessing the distillation process and even stopping off at a local winery to sample the vino, Karen enjoyed the complete Rose Retreat experience. So, if you’ve ever wanted to attend, but don’t know what to expect, sit back and enjoy this episode as Karen takes you on an all encompassing tour of the Rose Retreat. KEY TAKEAWAYS Karen’s first stop on her trip was the rose fields where she was lucky enough to see the roses in full bloom. She shares the interesting facts she learned about the rose family and the harvesting process. Karen then visited a number of distilleries where she could see first hand the distillation process and how rose oil is extracted from the flowers. Despite popular belief, rose oils are not always of a single origin. Karen shares what she learned about the oil creation process and the makeup of the final product. Karen was also able to deliver one of her workshops during the retreat. She discusses the differences and similarities of delivering a workshop in this way. BEST MOMENTS “Naturals are reliant on weather, so they change year on year.” “Roses come from the same botanical family as raspberries.” “Roses are collected in plastic sacks as the plastic helps accelerate the fermentation process.” ROSE MASTERCLASS: Click Here VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    39 Min.
  • Branding 101 - An Interview with Fiona Humberstone, The Brand Stylist

    Branding 101 - An Interview with Fiona Humberstone, The Brand Stylist
    May 25 2025
    This week Karen is joined by Fiona Humberstone, also known as ‘The Brand Stylist’. Fiona has worked with clients ranging from tiny artisan brands to large country estates, as well as being a published author and course facilitator. With a lifetime of experience, it’s safe to say that what Fiona doesn’t know about branding isn’t worth knowing. In this interview with Karen, Fiona gives an insightful crash course on everything from what to consider when creating your branding to how to separate your personal tastes from the needs of your brand. KEY TAKEAWAYS When creating a branding how do you merge the marketing and the authentic self? Fiona discusses the importance of being true to your values so that your product or company does not just become a soulless product of marketing. Most people think branding is picking a colour scheme and nice font, but this couldn’t be further from reality. From mood boards to understating your why, Fiona breaks down what really goes into creating a brand. What are the key considerations you must account for whilst creating branding specifically for a perfume business? Using the example of a recent client, Fiona talks you through them step by step. The perfume industry has seen a huge shift post Covid with the phenomenal rise in the number of indie and artisan brands. However, these brands often don’t have the money to spend on fancy branding and marketing campaigns. Karen and Fiona discuss how to make the most of your budget, but also why you need to be realistic. BEST MOMENTS “Understanding what you do that is unique is really going to help you to create branding that holds your space.” “It’s your business, but you are not your brand. So don’t think about choosing a brand you like, think about choosing a brand that works.” “Do it once, do it properly and it will last you for a decade.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind EPISODE LINKS Free Branding course Free Branding Tools Branding Agency The Brand Stylist Instagram Branding Agency Instagram ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    59 Min.
  • 100 Episodes Later… Lessons That Last

    100 Episodes Later… Lessons That Last
    May 19 2025
    When Karen started this podcast, she expected to do no more than 20 episodes that would address the most common questions she receives. However, things took a turn and here we are at episode 100. To celebrate this landmark, Karen isn’t going to do the usual and look back at the show’s highlights, instead she is beginning a brand new mini-series based on things that still hold true after 100 shows. KEY TAKEAWAYS With so many tutorials, tiktok accounts and influencers out there, “How do I know if I’m doing this right?” is still a question that Karen gets weekly. Karen explains how to silence all the noise and follow your own path. Many people try to get to the end right at the start. But, developing your style is a process, sometimes that can take years. Karen details how to enjoy this journey and gives some tips on how to get the most out of it. Something Karen still sees a lot of is people investing in materials, signing up to all the courses, making business plans and getting excited and then…nothing. So how do you get over that ‘all or nothing’ mindset to a place of consistency? Karen reveals all. What all of the above points share is permission. The ability to give yourself permission to work the way you want and create the fragrances you want will be crucial to your success. Karen explains how you can do this. BEST MOMENTS “If your method gets you making perfume, it’s working.” “Your signature style is going to reveal itself when you stop trying to invent it.” “There is no one right rhythm. Just the one that keeps you connected to yourself and your work.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    26 Min.
  • You Don’t Have to Break the Bank - Starting a Perfume Brand on a Realistic Budget

    You Don’t Have to Break the Bank - Starting a Perfume Brand on a Realistic Budget
    May 11 2025
    This week Karen is addressing a question she is asked all the time on social media and through email - “I’m obsessed with perfume and I want to start my own brand, but I don't have the money to invest…can you help me for free?” Well, the answer is yes and no. In this episode, Karen breaks down the hard truths of starting a perfume brand, and whilst you can’t do it for free, it doesn't have to cost the world. Covering what you can start with, what you can do for free and where you need to be realistic Karen is here to share all her years of experience so you can get started on your dream project without breaking the bank. KEY TAKEAWAYS Whilst you can learn for free, it does cost money to start a perfume brand, however, it might not be the amount you are thinking of. Karen discusses the importance of creating a budget and what are the non-negotiables. Starting a new venture can be very exciting and most people have a tendency to do the fun parts first, but this can make you overlook the important parts. Karen explains the importance of setting out your process from the start and doing things in the right order. With so many products available to create in the fragrance category, why would you choose perfume first? Despite its cost, and the learning curve involved, as Karen explains, it is the ideal first product to create. You’ve got the fragrance, but now you need to sell it? From bottle sizes to packing designs, Karen gives her top tips on what that product launch should look like. BEST MOMENTS “If you’re selling to the public, your product has to be safe, stable, legal and professional.” “Don’t confuse activity with progress.” “Guessing can get very expensive, very quickly.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide Artisan Perfumery Mastermind ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/
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    36 Min.