The American Society of Perfumers

The American Society of Perfumers, Inc. (ASP) is a non profit organization, founded in 1947, with a current membership of approximately three hundred qualified perfumers.The ASP has officers and a Board of Directors who are nominated and voted into office by the membership.

The main goal of the ASP is to foster and encourage the art and science of perfumery in the United States while promoting professional exchange and a high standard of professional conduct within the fragrance industry. This goal is achieved in many ways. The ASP holds yearly symposiums in the New York City area where leading members of the fragrance community are invited to speak and present information on all aspects of the industry.

Annual award ceremonies acknowledge noteworthy individuals, consumer products, and corporations in the fragrance world. Creative idea exchange exposé’s are held at regular intervals and the ASP also sponsors charity events during the holiday season. 
The American Society of Perfumers World Perfumery Congress is held every two years bringing together perfumers, industry members and ideas from around the globe.

The ASP brings together a group of specialized professionals who work in a very unique and challenging industry.

The members lend each other support and a special sort of camaraderie. Knowledge that can sometimes only be learned through time and experience has been passed down from the charter members of 1947, to the current members, and in time will be passed down to the generations of perfumers yet to come.

 

A perfumer is a trained professional who creates fragrances for household products, toiletries, cosmetics, and fine fragrances for men and women. The training process to become a perfumer is intense and rigorous, spanning many years. The first task for a trainee perfumer is to study hundreds of natural and synthetic materials, cataloguing and memorizing them according to their specific odors. Then, one must be able to create both simple and complex fragrances by combining and balancing these raw materials in creative and unique ways.

Another important aspect of perfumery training is the art of incorporating these unique fragrances into various consumer products. The variety of products is almost never ending, including such examples as alcohol for colognes and perfumes, soap bars and liquids, laundry products, shampoos, lotions, candles, and more. You can be sure that