KS2 / KS3 PSHE: A career in perfume design

LINDA: Everywhere I go, when I open a door, or if I'm on the train, on the tube, going on holiday, we're surrounded by smell. And this is what I do for a living, I'm recreating smells for people to enjoy.

I never set out to become a perfumer. It all happened just because of this lovely bottle of perfume. My mother gave it to me when I was 12 years old. And for me this was like a bottle of perfume treasure.

It sat on my dressing table. It looked absolutely wonderful. It took pride of place in my bedroom. And shortly afterwards I said to my mother, you know, "Could I just collect all the perfume bottles that you've got when you're finished with them?" And gradually, over a number of years, I just had absolutely loads of perfume bottles.

And people used to come in and say, "Wow. This looks amazing. "Are you going to become a perfumer?"

And do you know what? I never gave it much thought until that moment, and realising this was something I'd really love to do.

What really got my business going was the chance meeting with an old friend who remembered all the things I used to make as a little girl. And he said, you know, "Linda, do you think you could make a fantastic scented candle for my shop?" And that was the moment that gave me the opportunity to get my business off the ground.

Most people think perfumes are made from flowers and trees and grasses. But I can tell you, there are some very, very unusual ingredients. Perhaps the most unusual one is called ambergris. Whale vomit.

Now, you might ask yourself, "Whale vomit? "That must be crazy. Why would you use such a thing?" But the whale has one natural enemy: the giant squid. And when they fight in the water usually the whale wins, and he gobbles up the giant squid.

When he swallows a squid, the whale doesn't feel very well.

And then he vomits it out onto the sea. And believe it or not, that great big lump of fatty whale vomit is worth over one million dollars.

And there are people in this world whose sole job is to hunt down the ambergris.

Now, after several years in the perfume industry, I've been working very, very hard. I've got a few shops in London, and people are selling my perfume all over the world.

And it just shows you that if you have a real passion for something, and you work really, really hard, and you truly believe you can do this, that's half the battle won.

Even if you don't have a passion at the moment, or any particular focus on any particular hobby, it doesn't matter, because you never know when it's going to happen.

It might be now, it might be when you're a young teenager or an adult, just recognise it when it comes along. If it really switches you on, then just go for it.