調香是關於「之間」的技藝

香水入門都會提到一個專有名詞「吲哚」。「吲哚」是一種含氮化合物。高濃度時，會散發出糞尿似的甜膩腐臭，比例極低時，卻開出幽幽攝魂的茉莉花香。

因而香水的世界，關乎比例。調香師在燒杯內與外來回盤繞。根據經驗，先寫配方，在實際拼配後，在臭與香之間的微妙比例間擺渡，微調著燒杯裡的宇宙。兩個對比創造陰與陽，黑與白，死與生，要與愛，做與在，東與西，男與女，得來來回回，才能找到「之間」的位置。

而這個「之間」的位置，在森林中有具體的形貌——是蘑菇。如果一個人追求陽光，與世界的關係是向外的發射，那他也許會遠離香水。因香水的美，與死亡共生，如蘑菇生長在腐土、屍體和大火後的灰燼裡，追求潮濕、陰冷和分解。

Every introduction to perfumery begins with indole, a nitrogen-containing compound. In high concentrations, it smells like feces and urine. In trace amounts, it unfolds into the haunting scent of jasmine.

Perfume, then, is a matter of proportion.

A perfumer moves between the world inside the beaker and the one beyond it. Experience shapes the formula; the actual blend reshapes it. Navigating the delicate threshold between stink and fragrance, the perfumer fine-tunes the universe inside the glass.

Opposites create yin and yang: black and white, death and life, desire and love, doing and being, East and West, masculine and feminine. We move back and forth until we find the space in between.

In the forest, this in-between takes a tangible form: the mushroom.

Those who seek only sunlight, projecting themselves outward into the world, may find themselves far from perfume. For the beauty of perfume coexists with death, just as mushrooms grow from rotting earth, corpses, and ashes left by fire—flourishing in dampness, darkness, and decay.