Dear All:

In case you don't know who I am, my name is Maximo Bence and I was a member of Facebook's perfumemaking group, administered by Paul K.

 

I have kept my mouth shut for a long time. I like people that basically have no hidden agendas (or serious personality disorders, lol) and just in case, YES, my writing IS sarcastic but I always try to keep things respectful. Of course, when someone has the need to accuse me of wrongdoings based in pre-conceived and ridiculous assumptions, I have the urge to reply accordingly and let that person know that he might be mistaken.

 

My story:

After signing up in the Perfumemaking group for a good while and after seeing and experiencing how cryptic perfumers can be, especially with the newbies, I decided to start writing a blog about it. My goal from the get-go was to let the newbies know “It is not as impossible as they want you to believe or as they make it look”.

And let's be sincere, there are probably 30 or 40 people in the group that are willing to take the time to "teach" something or at least try to respond a question to a newbie. I can hear already hundreds already saying “I always respond” Well, one thing is to respond and another one TOTALLY different is to EXPLAIN a response!  

 

Would you explain to a baby how to walk using terms like right, left, front, back, curvature, balance, velocity, gravity, speed, friction and equilibrium? OF COURSE NOT! Well, our newbies are mostly babies that cannot differentiate between DPG, IPM, ethanol or even the difference between a carrier and an essential oil!

 

 

Here there was a paragraph basically congratulating someone for doing things right. And because whatever Maximo says has to be proven wrong, they start attacking and trying to trash her reputation as well. Sad. My apologies again.

 

Back to the story,

 

The goal of my Blog has always been the same: Provide information with concepts that are EASY TO UNDERSTAND and to demystify what SOME perfumers seem to believe is the way of protecting their careers making this field look like almost sacred, or full with secrets, Can't people just chill out and let EVERYBODY learn the way and in the time they want.? 

 

I came across the ABC method of PerfumersWorld and I found that natively and instinctively responded to so many newbie questions that I focused on it and I start explaining it, previous contacting its owner (Steven V. Dowthwaite) and ask for permission to do so.

 

Harry: instead of trying to involve and affect other good people, you could still try to respond what I asked you: 
 

1. Did I ever say “this is the only way to learn”? NO. NEVER.
   If you read all the blogs you’ll see that I am CONSTANTLY saying: “this is how it worked FOR ME, but PLEASE go, have FUN and EXPERIMENT your own way, because nothing is set in stone” You are just reiterating what Paul apparently convince himself off and keeps repeating like a cockatoo over and over again, in his words:
   
   “…As for why I have restricted mention of PW by specific people, it is because they were arguing that they were right, after learning your own system, and that no one else could hold a differing position…”
   
   Same to PAUL: Show me just ONCE where I said WHAT I KNOW is the ONLY TRUTH and anything different is WRONG. I certainly know that is what YOU do! (psychology mechanism of defense: projection) 
   
   Then you called me bully and rude because YOU disagree with MY opinion. I was just saying what I think and you were dismissing it, and finally, you called me immature: Who is the Immature? The one that speaks his mind or the despot that censures every bit of information that doesn’t match his sempiternal and archaic points of views?
    

2. Harry, some facts about your misconception of "blogvertisment""

• Around 30% of the people would come back to the blog by clicking again on facebook: doesn’t look like a response to spam, does it?

• Average time staying in each landing blog page: 37 minutes. That tells you that they don’t think it is spam, they are just interested in the content, and they stay, reading.

• Also, the rate of clicking to another (previous) blogs was super high, and this because I explained the ABC in several articles…again: if EVERYBODY was thinking it was spam…why they kept clicking and reading?

• I posted 1 new article per week and the statistics incrementally all went up week after week. This means that not only people DID NOT consider it SPAM but was actually waiting for them.

• I posted articles that had no relationship whatsoever with the ABC and their click was consistent with previous weeks.

With this, I hope you can see that your “only because he repeatedly and relentlessly used to spam the group with what seemed like blogvertisments” it is as subjective as Paul NOT liking me or, as he openly and (finally) confessed being ANTI Perfumersworld. 

By now, Mr PK probably kicked me out of the group already but at least he should have the decency, to be honest about it and say what's the real reason of what is it that really bothers him.

 

Truth is he didn’t even read the ABC and even less try to work with it. In his tiny mind, NOTHING can be good if it doesn't imply years of sacrifice. Problem is I never said that the ABC is the ONLY way neither that is ENOUGH. Your narrow-mindedness has been the only thing repeating and drilling that concept in your nut-size brain to the point that you ended up hating something that you don’t even understand!

 

Do you want to be the living referent about perfumery?  You need HUMILITY, which you lack. You have this constant need to separate yourself as the, “elite” or “professional perfumer” from us, the poor popular masses trying to become a perfumer.

 

You don’t believe me? Here is a perfect example YOU WROTE Back in 2007 to a Newbie in Basenotes:

In your response you can see this need of differentiation and that incredible superiority complex that paradoxically, doesn't let you grow, not to mention that that was an amazing display of negativity and a formidable way to scare someone away from studying perfumery! 

 

These are ALL the messages PAUL sent me personally along with my responses. Just be aware that today is me, tomorrow could be you or someone else. 

 

First he try a “nice or friendly approach”

May: 9th 7:43 PM

Max, You posted another ABC post.  Facebook flagged it as SPAM, and asked me to approve it.  That was this morning.  I thought I DID approve it, but I don't see that as a new post.  Makes me wonder if it was an older post, or I accidentally disapproved it...???  But know that I did not suppress it, or at least intentionally.  But between you and me, I'm not really convinced that the whole program at Perfumers World doesn't in the end produce cripples instead of Perfumery minds.  I'm not likely to say that publicly, but from the outside, it looks like that to me.  But for some, it might be a good path to learn, and learn past it.  But I prefer to think the way that my own mind thinks, instead of some contrived pattern that someone else thinks...   😉

 

The same day, I reply:

2 things: I have not posted a new one, even though I was planning on doing so today or tomorrow. As for your personal view of the system: I understand it and I respect it. It seems that you don't really know or understand what it is or what is the idea behind it. If everything you can say about it is that is a contrived pattern that goes against what you think...whether my explaining is extremely wrong or your openness to it is minimal...in any case, I respect it and I thank u for letting me keep posting about it.

 

Jun: 5th 6:49 PM

Max, with your recent disparaging comments directed at me, you have crossed the line. You also assumed, at least a few times in the conversation, that comments disparaging, were directed at you. None of which is the case. The Perfumemaking group may not be the best place for you, if you continue to take comments as assaults against you. Maybe you should start your own group of perfumists? There is nothing holding you back from doing so, and being your own promoter, ringmaster, and group benefactor. But if you continue to be at odds with people in the group that I run, your time there will come to an end. For now, you are being given the grace to stay. But you have more than enough demonstrated your disdain for me and other people that you are not really welcome, you are simply endured. The Choice is yours, to become less combative, or leave and start your own journey, being your own pied piper. There are several people that are not allowed in the Perfumemaking group, because they are argumentative, arrogant, impudent, etc. The choice on where you be or go is up to you. Frankly, I'd rather you left, but I am currently giving you grace to stay.

 

Jun 5th 8:00 PM

My apologies if you feel I was specifically attacking you. From now on I will keep my mouth shut, and will not emit an opinion. For the record, what you interpret as disdain is nothing but disagreement with. You are just adding an emotional layer to it of which I cannot be responsible for. Thanks for the grace of letting me stay.

 

What now?

Jun 18 6:49 PM

Please do not make any future posts about the ideology and methods of Perfumersworld. They will no longer be welcome on my group. This is not about you. But if you want to propound the ideologies of PFW, you should start your own group to do so. I haven't even said publicly what I *Really * think about PW. And now the gloves are off!

(Geez, Even me being Gay, cannot comprehend the extent of such DRAMA QUEEN class act yet I am fascinated by it!)

 

Jun 18 6:51 PM

What are u talking about????

 

Jun 18 8:21 PM

Like I mentioned, this is not about you... so I don't want to involve you or inform you about what is going on, I just didn't want you to post about Perfumersworld any more on the group, Thanks.

(I liked especially how it wasn’t about me but he didn't want to involve ME or inform ME what was going on. lol)

 

Honestly, that’s pretty much of it. I have tried constantly to provide actual and relevant information by posting scientific articles, funny facts and try to make this super long process of learning a little bit more enjoyable. But it feels like tilting at windmills with this guy that undoubtedly knows a lot, but he cannot accept that there’s a lot still to learn and that he can be wrong.

 

You would be surprised HOW MANY people from YOUR group wrote to me telling me, you are good, lower your head, he’s the asshole, don't give him an excuse to kick you out.

 

This is the response I got from someone that knows him when I asked about all this attitude he has (to see If maybe I was the problem):

Paul…is Paul…Don’t ever expect him to be wrong…

 

So, Mr. Paul, by the power invested in me by my own recognizance I do hereby authorize you to ban me (or is it excommunicate?) from your dictatorial, tyrannical, peremptory and absurdly professional and arbitrary shitty facebook group. I solemnly swear that I will never attempt, under no circumstances, even duress, to be part again of this toxic abomination you've created. I regret it because there are some good people. 

 

 

Have a wonderful life and remember, Karma is not a bitch but she is a really good friend of mine.

 

To whoever have felt offended as a result of my sometimes profane and mundane expressions or all the drama that this has generated, I truly apologize. Just try to put yourself in my shoes. It's irking and extenuating to be constantly scrutinized and have my words constantly "regulated"

 

A last positive message for the 4562 members of the group: 

 

Keep trying making perfumes. Have fun. Experiment. Even if the dinosaur of Paul tells you you can't. whatever it is, try anyways. Read a lot of books. then read more. Don't let ANYONE ever let you believe that you will not make it. The best part of being a perfumer is that NOTHING IS SET IN STONE. Perfumery is a DYNAMIC ART. It starts with you, passes through you and finishes in you, with an infinity of complex experiments and variations in between.

 

DO NOT GET ME WRONG: Yes, it's true: we need to study hard and grasp as much knowledge as we can. There are mountains of things to learn, and some people will enjoy putting you down by telling you that is almost impossible. It's not easy, but it's not impossible. So Just ignore these people. The kind of people that might respond to you "Don't worry, once you learn everything that I know, you might be able to understand what I am saying..."

 

If you love what you do and you are a good person, you should transfer your knowledge in a manner to attract more people to your field so they can feel as happy as you feel about it. Anything different, like making it more complicated or making it look like just a few will get there, shows nothing but your selfishness and precarious and sad need of attention.

 

So enjoy, learn, have fun and IGNORE the few toxic waste people that you are bound to find in your way . Just strive to become a part of the marvelous body of perfumery growth and its knowledge. 

 

To all of you, a true and sincere Have a wonderful life!

 

Max