Sophia’s Perfume Diary: Hot on the Scent of the Olfactory Holy Grail: Part Three

To follow is the final excerpt from PlayFirst’s blog series for Passport to Perfume. The diary is written from the perspective of Sophia, the central character and owner of a perfume store.

The Journey Home

My plane has just taken off from the main island of Hawaii for my journey back to London. I’m quite tired from my recent visits to Brazil and Peru but I’m really excited about the divine ingredients I’m bringing back to my London perfume shop. I can barely sleep, I have so many ideas about how to combine them into new and wonderful aromas that the ladies of London will proudly wear!

Some of the botanicals I picked up can also really increase the value of my scents. For example, in Lima, I picked up Tuberose, I can use the extracts of this sought-after ingredient as a middle note in my perfumes. It increases the value of the perfume as it’s very rare and hard to source.

In Hawaii, I gathered some gardenia, a more familiar flower mostly found in the tropical regions of Africa. These wonderful flowers are prized for their sweet strong scent and have a reputation for being difficult to grow. This beautiful scent is always in demand by the British ladies and requested by their gentlemen.

My active mind is always thinking about how I can increase my profits and expand the business. I’ve also been thinking about new furnishings lately - the increased revenue these ingredients bring can help me enhance the décor so the shop can look more inviting for high end clientele. I should really add some new adornments to equal the high quality of my perfumes. In particular, I’ve been looking at some new wall hangings and rugs, maybe even a chandelier…

As I journey back home, my mind also turns to my family. My father used to accompany me on these trips but I no longer have him as my treasured companion. The ravages of mental illness since his accident and his despicable new wife keep us apart. Now under the influence of my greedy step mother and suffering from amnesia following the accident, my father and I lead separate lives.

Our quest to find the recipe for the perfume once worn by Marie Antoinette has dwindled to a stop since his fall in Brazil but I sense that we still share this deep ambition even through his illness. For all my business ambition and the love I have for my London store, the adventurer in me still harbors a deep desire to discover this long forgotten treasure - the holy grail of the perfume world.

For now I must continue on with my work and hope that one day I will have the opportunity to realize my dream. The propellers of the plane are lulling me to much needed sleep. A new day and a new adventure awaits when I get back to solid ground but for now I can still dream about long ago places, royal luxuries and the perfumed gardens of France…

Passport to Perfume is now available for the PC and Mac at PlayFirst.