Perfume

This primer is provided in order to help those desiring to try their hand at the art of perfume-making.

What is perfume?
The word perfume is derived from the Latin perfume, meaning "through smoke." The art of perfumery was known to the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Egyptians, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans. References to perfumery materials and even perfume formulas are found in the Bible. The burning of incense in religious rites of ancient China, Palestine, and Egypt led gradually to the personal use of perfume known as attars, widespread in ancient Greece and Rome. During the Middle Ages Crusaders brought knowledge of perfumery to Europe from the East. After 1500 Paris was the major center of perfume-making.

Perfume consists of fragrance oils diluted in a carrier agent. Pure natural oils are too concentrated for use directly on to the skin.



-----

WARNING: Why can I not use undiluted fragrance oils on the skin?
Natural fragrance oils (absolute and essential) are quite powerful and should NEVER be used in undiluted form on the skin. At a minimum, they can be irritating; at a maximum they can cause serious health hazards.

For safety, you should:
- Keep oils out of the reach children.
- Do not eat or use oils in foods or mix in food containers or with food utensils.
- Maintain absolute hygiene, cleaning up spillages on you or any surface immediately
- Remember that Perfumes contain materials that will damage plastic and furniture sufaces and cause irritation

-----

What are these "fragrance oils" that I'm supposed to use?
Perfume uses three types of oils:
1) Essential Oils - from natural plant materials such as distilled or extracted from flowers, leaves, woods or grasses. (eg. Lavender Oil, Jasmin Absolute)
2) Aroma chemicals - (chemicals with smells) either seperated from essential oils or from chemical sources such as the crude oil industry (eg. pinene,benzene)
3) Animal products - from animal secretions (only 4 used : the Civet cat, the Castoreum beaver, the Musk deer and Ambergris from the Sperm Whale)

You can use both "essential" and "absolute" oils. Essential oils are highly volatile plant essences, produced primarily by steam distillation, or sometimes by cold pressing or by CO2 extraction (although CO2 oils are strictly considered a separate class of oil.) These oils contain the aromatic molecules of the plant. In contrast, the absolute oils are solvent extracted and may have traces of solvents left in them. Both of these oils are 100% natural.

Generally, absolute oils are more "intense" with the aroma of the plant and are preferable for perfumes. However, both kinds of oils can be used.
-----

What should I use as a Carrier agent?
Carrier agents are usually alcohol, sometimes mixed with distilled water, or a natural fragance-free oil. There are pros and cons to using alcohol as a carrier agent in contrast to a natural oil.

Most perfumes use alcohol as the carrier agent. Alcohol, by nature of its evaporative properties, will "carry" the fragrance more quickly and powerfully away from the body. Because of its inherent disinfectant properties, it will also preserve much longer on the shelf than perfume that uses a natural oil as the carrier agent.

On the other hand, a natural-oil carrier will be more sutble and actually has greater staying power on the skin as the fragrance oil is not as quickly being evaporated off the skin. However, perfumes that use natural oil as the carrier will eventually turn rancid. Neverthless, they are a good alternative for people that may be alcohol-sensitive.

The most common natural oil used as a carrier agent in perfumes is probably Jojoba Oil. Fractionated coconut oil can also be used; both oils known for long life so that rancidity should not be a problem

Alcohol, if used as the carrier agent, should be as pure as possible. Choices for alcohol in order of preference are:

1) Perfumers alcohol (very expensive and difficult to come by)
2) pure grain alcohol (i.e., "Everclear" pure grain alcohol which you can buy in most licquor stores)
3) Vodka (the highest proof you can find)

Note: do NOT use rubbing alcohol!

-----

Where can I buy my natural fragance oils?
Almost all commercial perfumes use synthetic fragrance oils because they are much cheaper than natural oils and it is easer to guarantee a consistency of scent. On the other hand, no synthetic oil can match the beauty and aroma of a natural oils. (This helps explain why Creed is so expensive!)

Unless you're planing to create perfume in mass bulk for worldwide marketing, I suggest you use natural oils. Your perfume will be much higher quality.

The quality of your perfume is proportional to the quality of the fragrance oils you use. Cheap oil = cheap perfume.

There are several excellent on-line sources online that ship all over the world. Do an internet search for "perfume absolute oils". Most reputable aromatherapy shops sell good quality fragrance oils

I would order a couple of test orders from a new source, before buying in bulk, to determine quality. Oils should also be shipped in dark bottles (never transparent) with restrictor caps. Never buy oils from a source that stores (or ships!) oils with rubber dropper caps - the rubber will contaminate the oils.

In the U.S., Bath & Body works has started selling pure absolute oils this year From what I've seen, the oil quality is good and the prices are reasonable. This is as good a place to start building an oil collection as any.

-----

How much do the oils cost?
Some oils, like lemon and cedarwood are relatively inexpensive. Other oils, like sandalwood and Jasmine can be very expensive. In general, the harder it is to extract the oil, the more expensive it is.

-----

Where can I get my carrier agents?
You can sometimes buy carrier agent oils from the same sources you get your oils from. (Bath & Body Works sells it ready-to-use for perfume.)

Alcohol is another story. Shipping alcohol is difficult. Your best bet is probably a licquor store for either the 'Everclear" pure grain alcohol or Vodka.

-----

What are the different strengths of perfume?
Fragrances are classified by the percent of pure oils.
- "Eau de Cologne" is the least concentrated form of a fragrance and generally contains 2 - 5% perfume oils dissolved in water and alcohol.
- "Eau de Toilette" commonly contains 5 ö 10% pure oils.
- "Eau de Parfum" usually has 10 - 20% pure oils.
- "Parfum" (the most concentrated, rarest and most expensive) has 20 - 40% pure oils.

-----

How do I make solid perfume?
For a solid perfume, use unscented beeswax to thicken the oil base. Melt together one part beeswax and three to four parts jojoba or fractionated coconut oil until the beeswax is melted. Then let cool slightly until the mixture just starts to thicken, at which point you should blend in your prepared fragrance oil blend. Pour into small containers, and let settle.

-----

Why does my perfume only last a short time?
You need to mix the fragrance oils the way a musical chord is composed, with high,middle and low notes that compliment each other.

The depth or weight of a specific fragrance oil's aroma is based on the oil's volatility - i.e., how fast it disappears, relative to other oils. A quick way to experience this for yourself is to take some blotting paper (coffee filters, papertowels, absorbent paper, etc.) and drop two or three drops of the fragrance Oil on each blotter. Try a range of oils, one or two citrus oils, a "wood" oil like cedarwood, rosewood, or, best of all, Patchouli or Vetiver; and something in the middle, perhaps lavender or geranium. Wait a few hours and then smell them. The citrus oils will have almost disappeared, while the deeper base notes should be unchanged. Smell it again after 24 hours, 48 hours, etc. This will give you a foundational understanding of the weight of each oil.

-----

What is "Relative Impact" or "Relative Strength" of an oil?
"Relative impact or "relative strength" is the measure of the strength of an oil relative to other oils. In other words, some oils are overpowering to the extent that even a small quantity will overpower larger quantities of other oils. For example, lemon oil has a higher relative impact than Jasmine oil. Mix the same quantity of lemon aand Jasmine and you will smell nothing but lemon.

Once you start mixing, you will quickly see that some oils have very high relative impact and others have a low relative impact - meaning you will want to use small quantities so as not to comandeer the scent you are trying to develop.

-----

What is "odor life"?
As the name implies, this is length of time the odor of a particular fragrance oil remains after application. You can use paper test strips to test the odor life of each of your oils.

Amyl Acetate, the fruity pear drops chemical, only lasts a few minutes (0.15Hrs). Sandalwood oil lasts upwards of 6 months (4,500Hrs).

-----

How do I create a "mix"?
Always blend the fragrance oils without diluting to create the mix that pleases you. Dilution comes later. The simplest explanation of the terms "top", "middle" and "base" notes is how tenaciously each aroma lingers. Blending a small amount of a middle note will make a top note last longer. Rounding the blend off with just a single drop or so of a base note anchors it still more. Generally speaking, the lower notes will dominate a blend, if used in equal amounts. Thus, for a rough start, try blending three drops of your chosen top note, two drops of a middle note, and a single drop of a base note.

Don't forget to write down your mix formulas! Virtually every perfumer has created at least one scent they could not exactly duplicate because they forgot to write the formula down.

-----


How long should I let a mix sit?
At least a few days! The oils will change after mixing.
While you are almost certinaly not going to be able to wait, you should let a new undiluted mix sit a at least a few days in order to get an idea of what the scent will really be.

After diluting, you need to let it sit for 4-6 weeks. Otherwise, all you will smell is alcohol if you're using that as the carrier agent

-----
How do I know how oils are classified?
Oils are classified as "base", "middle" and "top" notes in a fragrance. (See the excellent Fragrance Terminolgy thread in this discussion for a definition of each.) While there is general consensus on what classification a specific oil falls under, some oils are classified on multiple levels. Use the oil classification guide at the end of this primer to determine what oils you should be using for each level (i.e., "note") of the fragrance.

-----

How many drops per ml?
This varies by the oil...a thick oil like patchouli or vetiver is going to come up in big thick drops (like molasses, the vetiver) while a citrus oil is going to give you more drops per ml. The "average"...ie industry standard is:

600 drops 1 oz
300 drops 1/2 oz 15 ml
100 drops 5 ml one teaspoon
20 drops per ml.

If you are using the same droppers each time you'll get 'consistent' ratios. If you are putting together formulas in mass quantities, once you've fixed your mix (ie 5 parts this oil, 3 parts that one, and 2 of that one, etc.) then you can use a scale that measures in grams and weigh them, instead of counting drops.

-----

I'm lost - can you give me some sample formulas?
Try these formulas:

Tender Mercies:
lavender Oil - 2 drops
carnation Oil - 4 drops
juniper Oil - 3 drops
jasmine Oil - 2 drops
ylang-ylang - 3 drops

Sultans Pleasure:
patchouli - 2 drops
lavender - 2 drops
ylang-ylang - 3 drops
jasmine - 1 drop

Bocquet:
Bois de Rose - 10 drops
Palmarosa - 7 drops
Rose Geranium - 5 drops
Ylang Ylang - 5 drops
Patchouli - 1 drop
Labdanum - 1 drop
Frankincense - 1 drop

Warrior:
Nutmeg - 2 drops
Litsea Cubeba - 1 drop
Jasmine - 4 drops
Clary Sage - 10 drops
Sandalwood - 4 drops
Frankincense - 4 drops


-----

Oil Classification Guide:
BASE NOTES:
Balsam, Bay, Benzoin, Beeswax, Cassia, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Clove, Frankincense, Geranium, Ginger, Macrorrhizum, Guaiacwood, Heliotrope, Jasmine, Labdanum, Melliot, Moss, Myrrh, Neroli, Oakmoss, Olibanum, Opoponax, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Styrax, Rose, Tonkabean, Valerian, Vanilla, Vanilla Bourbon, Vetiver

BASE TO MIDDLE NOTES:
Bay, Cedarwood, Cinnamon, Frankincense, Myrrh, Orange Blossom, Patchouli, Pimento berry, Sandalwood, Styrax, Vetiver, Ylang Ylang

MIDDLE NOTES:
Angelica, Anise, Artemisia, Balm, Basil, Bay, Caraway, Cardamom, Carnation, Cassia, Cassie, Carrot, Chamomile, Clary-sage, Clove, Coriander, Cumin, Cypress, Fennel, Galbanum, Geranium, Ginger, Ho Leaf, Ho Wood, Hyacinth, Hyssop, Jasmine, Jonquil, Juniper, Lavender, Lemongrass, Linden, Lotus (Blue), Mandarin, Marjoram, Mimosa, Myrtle, Narcissus, Neroli, Nutmeg, Orchid, Oregano, Oriental rose, Orris root, Osmanthus, Palma Roas, Pepper (black), Peppermint, Pettigraine, Pahna rosa, Pimento berry, Pine, Pine needle, Rose, Rosa Alba, Rosa cendfolia, Rosemary, Rosewood, Sage, Spikenard, Tarragon, Tobacco leaf, Thyme, Toberose, Violet flower, Yarrow, Ylang-ylang.

MIDDLE TO TOP NOTES:
Angelica, Basil, Bay, Bergamot, Caraway, Cassis, Clary-sage, Coriander, Fennel, Hyacinth, Hyssop, Lavender, Lemongrass, Linden Blossom , Marjoram, Melissa, Mimosa, Neroli, Nutmeg, Oregano, Orange Blossom, Palmarosa, Pepper (black), Pimento berry, Rosemary, Rosewood, Tarragon, Tea Tree, Thyme.

TOP NOTES:
Angelica, Anise, Armoise, Artemisia, Basil, Bergamot, Cajuput, Cardamom, Cedar leaf, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin, Davana, Estragon, Eucalyptus, Galbanum, Grapefruit, Juniper, Lavender, Lemon, Lemon Orange, Lime, Linden Blossom, Lotus (Blue), Mandarin, Marigold, Niaouli, Neroli, Orange, Orange Blossom, Peppermint, Pettigraine, Ravensara, Rose Otto, Sage, Spearmint, Tagetes, Tangerine, Verbena, Violet Odorata