Oh hey hey, there's two weeks to go before Valhalla. I think a recap of some previous episode in Season 6 will do fine with me.

One thing about Sense Memory was its homage to Perfume: Story of a Murderer. I've only watched the film and read the book in parts, but this CM episode seems like a bastardized, less gratuitous, 42-minute version of the 2006 movie.

Was really interested in the fragrance extraction technique of the unsub. I'm not well-versed in perfume-making, but I believe the technique the unsub is shown using is known as 'maceration'. The source of the fragrance is soaked in water or some solvent (methanol in his case). From what I can catch from his tape recording, he used nitric acid after rendering all fat through boiling: this method seems to partly match the water distillation extraction method. I have no idea why he is using nitric acid, perhaps to prevent the oils from becoming rancid (possibly diluted). Or, he is performing acid hydrolysis, to make soap. He also mentions using salt, possibly to purify oils. The 'doubling pot' he uses is often used by hobbyists making their own wax and soap, so perhaps his recording is a step-by-step method of making those woman-scented candles in his cabinet. The double boiler functions to prevent the melted fat from solidfying or scorching between long tasks.

Enfleurage was used in the Perfume novel and film. I wonder how effective it is on human skin.