New to FZOTIC? Allow me to introduce myself. I’ve been sharing my scent journey for 16 years now, and wow, what a ride it’s been. A lot of fresh faces here, and it means the world to me that you’ve tuned in. It’s taken time, persistence, and a fair share of plot twists to reach this point. Here’s a quick recap.
Whether you’re here for the fragrances, the story, or just curious about how a former professor ended up crafting scents, I’m thrilled to have you along. Got questions? Curious about anything? Drop them below. I love hearing from you!
#nichefragrances #indieperfumes #fragrancelovers #entrepreneurs #lifepath
Pause in the sweet stillness of chocolate, sandalwood, incense and tonka. UMMAGUMMA is our evening plan.💫
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#UmmagummaSerenity #reflection #tobaccoperfume #fzotic #brunofazzolari
I’m okay with boring! Creative life asks us to stick with boring tasks to make something beautiful.
What looks boring in an IG reel: testing concentrations, aging formulas, methodical quality checks is what separates craft from content.
If the algorithm ruled real life, we’d have a lot of half-assed art.
Speed culture wants everything optimized. Streamlined. Designed for maximum engagement.
But fragrance doesn’t work that way.
Neither does anything worth making,.
Quality control means giving things time to unfold, even your most creative impulses.
Letting formulas sit for days. Testing how they perform on actual skin, not just in the lab.
It’s slow. Unglamorous. Definitely not “compelling.”
And it’s how you make something that actually makes a difference.
We’re all feeling this pressure to rush, optimize our lives, keep pace with a manic algorithm.
But resistance is boring sometimes.
It looks like taking extra days when you could ship faster.
Choosing precision over productivity.
Craft over content.
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Eight years ago I made a scent. Rebuilding it hit hard. 👇🏽
I created Ummagumma, a fusion of chocolate and incense, during an endlessly grey and cold San Francisco winter to warm my own soul. Over the last year, I developed an extrait version.
Here’s what I learned:
🔥 I had to reconnect with my original spark, not just refine what I knew.
Revisiting it over the last year to create an extrait version, I realized the real work wasn’t “perfecting” anything.
-Keep the early, reckless, creative energy alive. Don’t bury it with expertise.
🎯 Tiny, intentional shifts had more impact than a major overhaul.
I spent months trying dramatic reformulations. Nothing worked. But one slight shift, using cistus oil to create the illusion of bitterness, turned milk chocolate into intense cacao, reframing how I approached the entire formula.
-Transformations rarely require a complete reset. Instead, focus on the small, focused pivot.
⏰ I protected time for this even when everything else demanded attention.
The more successful my brand becomes, the less time I have for creative work. So I kept returning to this formula in early morning hours or late at night.
-When everything feels overwhelming find one honest moment, one ritual, one step back toward yourself.
💡 I went back to my why: I made this fragrance to warm the soul in dark times.
Back then, I was reaching for warmth in a cold season. Now, the world feels cold in different ways. But the need is the same.
-Reconnecting with my original purpose reminded me of what actually matters about this work.
🌙 So I made this for my own spirit first.
Not for efficiency.
Not for the market.
Not because it was the smart business move.
Ummagumma Extra is incense, tobacco, dark chocolate. It’s sensual and spiritual.
It launches November 28. Comment “Extra” to join the waiting list.
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This will sell out. Comment “RAIN” for the waitlist link. Details👇🏽below.
CREOSOTE captures the scent of desert rain—that moment that transforms the Sonoran Desert from crushing heat to new growth. It’s probably my most versatile scent yet.
Fresh and cooling, somewhere between an aromatic fougère, a marine scent, and a leather fragrance.
The creosote bush smells: herbal and green, with smoky leather notes and an unexpected aquatic freshness. It’s botanical with a slightly industrial edge.
The timing feels perfect—we’ve had four monsoons in the last week (finally!).
CREOSOTE
Website exclusive Direct Drop
Only 100 bottles
Friday, October 3rd at 10am EST/7am PST
Our last Direct Drop sold out in six minutes.
#nicheperfume #fragrancelover
Comment “RESIN” for my newsletter that goes behind the scenes of fragrance creation:
What is benzoin and why is it in my perfume?
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Comment “HUMAN” for weekly insights about creativity & fragrance from a working perfumer (ie, me!).
Human creativity still wins 👇🏽
AI can: optimize within known parameters. AI can’t: innovate via the chaotic, “random” moments that drive real creative leaps.
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Here’s the truth I wish people knew 👇🏽
After 16 years of testing formulas, I’ve seen this over and over.
And yet, it still surprises me every time.
🔬A fragrance at 18% concentration can smell more open, more present, more “powerful” than the same formula at 20%.
🤯That’s only 2%. How is this possible?
WHY WE BELIEVE:
Decades ago, “extrait” and “parfum” versions really were more concentrated and “stronger.”
But with today’s advanced aroma molecules?
That rule is dead.
Here’s what’s actually happening:
At higher concentrations, molecules can interfere with each other, creating a compressed effect.
You smell LESS, not more.
☕ PROOF YOU CAN TEST:
Go to a good coffee shop and order:
• Espresso • Americano (a “watered down” espresso).
Same coffee beans, same extraction.
The espresso (higher concentration) tastes dense, “strong” but compressed.
You get “coffee” but the subtle chocolate, fruit, and floral notes are crushed.
The americano (lower concentration) opens everything up.
You can detect nuances that were buried in the intensity.
✨ Fragrance works the same way.
And with some molecules the “power” actually increases at lower concentrations.
✨The most sophisticated scents whisper their secrets.
You just have to know how to listen.
Comment 'STRONG' to join my Sunday newsletter—honest insights about perfume that you won't hear from big brands.
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