Mar 09 2025 59 mins
Following on from last week’s episode, Karen is once again joined by Pia Long for part 2 of her interview. In this second part, Pia gets into the passionate side of her career. As she explains to Karen, she has long been an outspoken advocate for regulation reform and fragrance compliance. She explains her views to Karen, and how her work and advocacy led her to be the recipient of unexpected recognition.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- In 2024 Pia received the ‘Septimus Piesse Visionary Award’ from the Institute of Art and Olfiction for her advocacy work around regulations, she explains to Karen the work behind the award.
- Candle fragrances are one of the most challenging areas of perfumery. Pia explains why and gives a breakdown of the regulations involved.
- Pia talks about the state of regulations in the fragrance trade today and why it is a perfect entry point for people looking to break into the industry.
- Pia discusses her creative vision, the things that inspire her perfume making and the importance she places on having a story around her brand and scents.
BEST MOMENTS
“A lot of people don’t understand that a fragrance is a fragrance.”
“For the first time since IFRA was founded we’re seeing a shift toward regulations that are so overwhelming that people can’t cope.”
“We take time perfecting our products so that we do justice to them, not just as a novelty.”
EPISODE LINKS
VALUABLE RESOURCES
ABOUT THE GUEST
Pia Long is a Finnish-born, UK-based perfumer working in Buckinghamshire at Olfiction, the fragrance lab she co-founded with Nick Gilbert in 2016. Her career in the industry spans four decades, during which she has created a multitude of perfumes and product fragrances. She is a member of the International Society of Perfumer Creators, a member of the British Society of Perfumers, on the Executive Board of IFRA UK and a recipient of the Septimus Piesse Visionary Award from the Institute of Art and Olfaction.
Some of her recent creations include fragrances for Eau de Boujee, Vallense, Zoologist, Beaufort, Lindsay April and Atrium.”
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