Custom tweaks of nature
I thought this was an interesting blurb in Perfumer and Flavorist about how natural ingredients are being tweaked to de-color them or remove allergens or change the scent profile in some way (such as removing the dirtiest part of patchouli). Jean Claude Ellena has discussed doing this to design custom natural components in his perfumes; for example, he had a Grasse lab concoct a special version of lavender for him to use in Hermes Brin de Reglisse.
http://www.perfumerflavorist.com/newsletter/19611474.html
We saw blue sky today for the first time in nearly a week of gray smoke! It was very nice. 🙂