john bailey's Biography
John Bailey is a freelance fragrance consultant and artisan perfumer known to many as Mr Perfume.
In 2006 he celebrated 25 years of his niche boutique perfumery. John creates and hand blends limited edition and bespoke signature scents for private, corporate and charity clients.
John Bailey's career is a distillation of all aspects of perfumery. His early days were spent as an apprentice in the laboratories of a manufacturing chemist and druggist learning the art of formulating and compounding pills, potions and perfumes.
He has studied with many renowned growers of aromatic plants and distillers of essential oils and worked in technical, commercial and directorial roles with international fragrance houses in London, Paris, Grasse and Geneva.
In 1981, he founded The Perfumers Guild Limited, a boutique perfumery studio specialising in creating and blending limited edition and bespoke signature scents.
His career has also continued as an independent fragrance consultant and scent historian. John Bailey has many professional accolades and membership including:
- Freeman of the City of London
- Liveryman in The Worshipful Company of Gardeners
- Chartered Institute of Marketing
- British Society of Perfumers
- Bitish Society of Flavourists
- Fragrance Foundation UK
- Royal National Rose Society - where he is their appointed purveyor and creator of 'Society Rose' perfumes
John Bailey is proud of his credentials as acknowledged by distinguished authors, Nigel Groom OBE, of the classic work, 'Frankincense and Myrrh', and Michael Edwards, author and publisher of the comprehensive annual reference guidebook 'Fragrances of the World'. He has also contributed to 'From petals to Perfumes, a lavish new book on the rose entitled, 'Spirit of the Rose'.
In 1998 he was awarded a special honour by the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire for innovative business endeavours and charity and this was followed in 2002 by a further award, the Silver Medal from the Royal National Rose Society for many years of promoting and at rose festivals, especially at Hampton Court Palace International Flower Show.
In 2004 John Bailey was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts during their 250th anniversary year. The RSA is a British Multi disciplinary institution which encourages the development of the arts, creativity and commerce.
He is known as Mr Perfume as a result of giving interactive talks and presentations in schools and to women's clubs and societies. He has been a frequent guest on radio talk shows and other radio work has included a research project for General Motors for the development and promotion of car aromatherapy, which attracted an audience of over three million listeners.
John Bailey continues to offer his unrivalled lifetime of experiences in the international fragrance industry to clients requiring freelance fragrance consultancy. In recent years he has been adviser to several Middle Eastern Clients.
Two decades of exhibiting his own collection of fine fragrances at flower festivals, particularly the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show and the Royal Hampton Court Palace International Flower Show and also various arts and craft shows led to his many satisfied clients requesting replenishments by mail order. Thus evolved, 'Scent Direct' express mail order, serving discerning individuals with a dislike for market mediocrity, expensively promoted brands and excessive packaging.
John Bailey hand blends his perfume compositions ethically using vegan resources and cruelty free ideals in order that his clients can indulge themselves in an earth friendly, eco aware way.
The history of fragrance is as old as mankind itself. Perfumes have a compelling intangible attraction. Almost everyone shares and instinctive pleasure in them and there have always been scent makers willing to crush berries, boil petals and their blend essences in bottles.
Perfume is the essence of luxury refinement. Even before people began to decorate themselves, their tools and their surroundings, they were using perfumes as a means of attracting each other. In the beginning they simply used flowers, herbs and resins and balms but they soon discovered that the resins and balms gave off their scents with a special intensity under the influence of heat. 'Per fumum' from the Latin meaning through the smoke, became the name of one of the most precious cultural luxuries. Perfume has influenced the art of living in every culture from ancient Egypt to the 21st Century.
John Bailey's extensive library includes:
- A large archive of perfumery books, some rare.
- A treasured archive of aroma trade journals, a legacy from a respected industry friend and associate.
- Videos including 'Scents of Time', a unique viewing experience looking at more than 4000 years of perfume history, initially commissioned and produced for the Metropolitan Museum of New York which staged a major exhibition of perfumery in the 1990's.
The rose of perfumery from the distilled essence of their petals to perfumes in their flacons, from ancient times to the 21st Century. John has studied and worked in every aspect of this fascinating plants and perfumes industry.
The perfumer uses his art and craft to capture the precious scents of the rose, to blend the essences, to create and compose beautiful fragrances that compliment the style and personality of all those that share the love of the romantic scent of the rose.
In 2002, John was given an accolade of which he is justifiably proud - a nomination for a FiFi award from the fragrance foundation UK - the prestigious Oscars of the fragrance industry.
Chairman of the Fragrance Foundation UK FiFi awards committee, the late Murray-Pearce observed that the 'Queen of Sheba' perfume was the first ever FiFi nomination from the market niche of boutique perfumers. Murray-Pearce was an international fragrance industry authority who brought his lifelong professional expertise to assist Annette Green, President of the Fragrance Foundation USA, in setting up the Fragrance Foundation in the UK.
The FiFi nomination for the fragrance 'Queen of Sheba' best new fragrance in limited distribution category.
It was judged on its original concept, innovative use of scented bookmark for marketing and direct sales and the 'le wrap' packaging. This presentation was specifically designed especially for mail order, providing simple but striking packaging for pristine mail order receipt.
World renowned author of 'Frankincense and Myrrh' & other perfumery manuscripts, Nigel Bloom OBE was the inspiration for the 'Queen of Sheba' fragrance. John's scented bookmark was used as an effective marketing tool inserted into Nigel's book, 'Sheba Revealed' published in 2002 and launched at the major British Museum exhibition 'Treasures of Ancient Yemen'.
The aura of this beautiful, exotic oriental floral fragrance ensures the wearer a sophisticated allure. The sort, seductive and sensual flower essences combine with a base of aphrodisiacal frankincense and myrrh making the perfect gift of self indulgent pleasure.
