The art of Perfumery can often feel like a game of Whac – A – Mole. When we feel like we finally got it, ten more confusing things arise. Perfume chemicals, in particular, can offer an array of confusion and bewilderment. Ionones, Hedione, some Salicylates, all come to mind. These Aroma – chemicals may smell one way (or like nothing at all) and yet totally transform and create amazement in any perfume they’re found.

But why should Aroma – chemicals hold the Confusion Of The year Award? Let some Essential Oils play, too! I previously wrote a post about Petitgrain, one essential oil that can be confusing when using it in perfumery. Various grades and origins of the oil can leave a budding perfumer scratching their heads.

Same goes for Ylang Ylang, an essential oil which can be extremely confusing when starting out in perfumery.

Personal Experience with Ylang Ylang

I remember back in the early 90’s, when I started working with Aromatherapy and discovering the fascinating world of essential oils. Ylang Ylang was one of those oils where the experience of taking my first whiff of it was something I could almost call ‘Karmic.’ I ‘recognized’ this scent, but it felt like a past life thing. The whole experience was odd. I think maybe smelling Blue Tansy was a similar experience for me, though not as powerful.

Back in those days, the most commonly used form of Ylang Ylang was Ylang III. Some sellers actually offered Ylang Ylang Absolute, but its therapeutic effects were not entirely clear to merit the cost.

Transition to Perfumery

Enter Perfumery! Many years later, as I moved from Aromatherapy to Natural Perfumery, and then to Perfumery using naturals and synthetic ingredients, I discovered a whole new world of confusion. Since many of the perfume formulas I was following and learning from were not clear as to which Ylang Ylang they used, I tried and tested (and made mistakes) and read as much as I could. Eventually, I’d come to learn which Ylang Ylang was which, but it was not an easy journey.

So, I figure then that this could be a good post for people starting on the Perfumery craft and trying to figure their way out of the Ylang Confusion.

Considerations in Perfume Creation

One thing I like to keep in mind when creating a perfume formula is its uses. Am I striving for a high – class perfume, or something more functional like a bath gel? Or will the high – class perfume also work as a bath gel? In perfumery, one can create high class perfumes or less costly ones, but whichever you choose to create will affect what ingredients you want to use. On the other hand, this also simplifies the work to figure out your formula.

I mentioned the ‘Perfume Brief’ in other posts of mine. A ‘Perfume Brief’ is something perfume houses work with when a client engages them to create a perfume for them. In a Perfume Brief, they create, on paper, the framework which will then inform the perfumer what kind of perfume they’re seeking. One important aspect of a Perfume Brief is in which way the scent will be used, such as in high – class perfumery or for other uses, such as clothing detergents, home scenting, shower gels, etc.

Once you decide what your goal is, that informs what quality of ingredients you will decide to use. For example, if you’re making a high – class perfume, you’re going to want to use the finest (and more expensive) ingredients. Let’s say that the scent of roses will be part of your fine perfume’s make – up, then you would want to use high quality Rose absolutes. If you were creating a less expensive formula, the scent of fine roses could easily be recreated by using ingredients such as Geraniol, Citronellol, Phenyl Ethyl Acetate and Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol.

The same applies when working with Ylang Ylang. Less expensive perfumes would require Ylang versions like ‘Complete’ or ‘III.’ Middle to higher quality perfumes, Ylang ‘Extra,’ while more expensive formulas would call for Ylang ‘Absolute.’ Some Aroma – chemicals could replace Ylang altogether in a less expensive formula, but the various qualities of Ylang Ylang, (as opposed to Rose Absolute), makes it so you can definitely afford to use the real thing, in one quality or another.

Still, when working with perfume creation it is important to know ‘why’ one version of an oil is better than another, and why one would fit your formula better than the other.

Characteristics of Ylang Ylang

Steffen Arctander said of Ylang Ylang: “It is so unusual in itself, so simple and yet so complex of odor, so generally popular a fragrance, that it easily finds its own place in perfumery, not merely as a replacement for jasmin, but as an improvement to almost any type of floral fragrance.”

One of the most common aspects of any Ylang Ylang scent is the hint of a ‘cresylic’ and ‘Indolic’ top notes. This varies depending on the type and origin of the oil, but it is always noticeable and a staple of the scent. As with many so – called ‘white flowers,’ one can instinctively detect the cresyl and indole tinges in the scent. This is important because whatever formula you use Ylang Ylang in, this will help color it. If you have a few kinds of Ylang Ylang at your disposal, I highly recommend the test strip method to better learn how each Ylang Ylang will smell in dry – down. The better you understand this oil, the better uses you’ll find for it.

It is important to note that as with many essential oils, Aroma – chemicals are often used to enhance the Ylang Ylang oil in any formula. Cyclopidene, Benzyl Beanzoate, Paracresyl Acetate, Paracresyl Methyl Ether, Indole, are some of the Aroma – chemicals used to enhance Ylang Ylang in a perfume formula.

Various Kinds of Ylang Ylang Oils

Let us look at the various kinds of Ylang Ylang oils available. The names for each refer to oil quality, which usually comes from the distillation and reconstitution processes. As the flowers are distilled, the amount of time during the distillation process yields different qualities of the oil.

Ylang Ylang Absolute

This is the highest Ylang Ylang quality (and most expensive) you can choose to use. Ylang Ylang absolute is produced from an Ylang Ylang Concrete. The concrete is produced by solvent extraction of the flowers of the Cananga odorata tree. The thick brown wax is then refined by washing, which results in a yellow – green absolute. It is the most realistic extraction of the flower, and has the most refined notes. The absolute is longer lasting than the other various Ylang Ylang oils and is generally used in only the very finest fragrances.

It is interesting to note that because the first extractors were brought to La Réunion which, at that time, was about to become the world’s leading producer of Ylang Ylang oil, this is why you can often find the oil listed as Ylang Ylang ‘Réunion.’ Comoros is another major traditional Ylang Ylang exporters.

The most distinguishing feature of Ylang Ylang Absolute is the warm spiced balsamic heart. Unless you’re creating an extremely high – class or expensive formula, this is not a quality of Ylang Ylang you would most likely want to use, as it is costly.

Ylang Ylang Extra

This is the most commonly used quality of the oil found in the perfumer’s shelf, and is widely considered to be the finest essential oil form of the flower. Ylang Ylang Extra is used mainly in mid to high – class perfumes of the floral and heavy – Oriental type, but even traces of the oil can do wonders in medium – priced floral bases, as the cost is not as prohibitive as Ylang Ylang ‘Absolute.’

To quote Arctander again, it is a “very powerful, floral and intensely sweet odor and a cresylic and benzoate – like top – note of limited tenacity. The fadeout is more pleasant, soft and sweet, slightly spicy and balsamic – floral. A high – grade “extra” oil resembles the absolute of ylang – ylang in odor type very closely.”

Ylang Ylang Extra has an elegant, soft heart and a penetrating sweetness, and it works exceedingly well with aldehydes. There is hardly any floral type where Ylang Ylang “extra” would not fit in. The oil blends excellently with bois de rose (Rosewood), vetiver, amyl salicylate, opopanax, bergamot, hydroxycitronellal, mimosa, cassie, Methyl Ionones, cinnamic alcohol and esters, benzoates, para – cresyl esters (ethers), nerolidol, Peru balsam oil, vertenex HC, etc. and in gardenia, tuberose and jasmine bases, etc. Personally, this the go – to Ylang Ylang oil for me. If you can only have one Ylang Ylang at your disposal, this is it.

Ylang Ylang I & II

Let’s face it, you will never use these, but they are worth mentioning. Ylang Ylang “First” and “Second” are “in – between” qualities. They are used in the “cutting” of the other grades of Ylang Ylang (upgrading or downgrading) and in the production of the so – called Ylang Ylang Complete Oil.

Ylang Ylang III

Ylang Ylang Oil III is a yellowish oily liquid of sweet – floral and balsamic – woody odor, with a tenacious and very sweet – balsamic undertone. Some will use this oil in place of Cananga Oil, but these are not interchangeable, either in floral type nor in fixative effect.

With its tenacity and fair stability, the ylang – ylang III is useful in soap perfumery and as a comparatively low – cost floral material, if cost is a major problem. I tend to use this form of the oil when making scents for bath gels. If I make a high – class perfume which uses Ylang Ylang and I want the same formula for a bath gel, I will replace the Ylang Ylang ‘Extra’ with Ylang Ylang III.

Ylang Ylang Complete

Ylang Ylang Complete is a lesser quality oil made by combining the various other qualities (often I and II) in order to produce a consistent product much in the way Lavender 40/42 creates a Lavender with consistent levels of Linalool.

The method of production means that it lacks the defining characteristics of the finer Ylang Ylang Extra and Absolute. On the positive side, that can make it easier to blend with a wider range of materials. When making less expensive formulas, this oil can also be an alternative to Ylang Ylang III.

Synthetic and Fractionated Versions

Some perfume houses have also created fractions or synthetic versions of Ylang Ylang, which offer consistency, purity and dependability.

Lisylang Heart (Robertet)

By fractionating the various chemical constituents of the Ylang Ylang III oil, and then performing a reconstruction based on a very precise formula which omits the worst and enhances the best of the component parts of the Ylang Ylang oil, Lisylang heart offers what one could almost call the ‘Perfect Ylang.’ This in fact makes it a natural oil rather than a chemical. It’s just a ‘manipulated’ sort of Ylang Ylang.

According to Robertet’s description: “Very pure and clean white flowers bouquets with jasmine, Monöi, Frangipani undertones. Spicy Lily and gourmand Coco milk aspects. Lisylang brings power and body to modern white exotic flowers bouquets with its delicate, floral water topnotes and its rich diffusive dry – down.”

Other Creations

Various perfume houses will also offer their own creations, such as Ylang Ylang Oliffac (IFF) and Ylang Oil Type (Firmenich).

Cananga Oil

The addition of this oil in your Perfumer’s palette is not to be underestimated, but it can create more confusion since it is from the same origin as the Ylang Ylang Oil yet not quite Ylang Ylang oil. It is also poorer and a bit more ‘leathery’ in scent.

Both oils come from the same plant: Cananga odorata, but Cananga oil is produced in Indonesia through direct water distillation of the flowers, which are crushed to help facilitate the production of a “complete” oil. The crushing of the flowers causes a severe degradation in the quality of the resulting oil and so cananga finds its place as the cheap cousin of the more refined Ylang Ylang oils.

The initial notes are woody – leathery with a fresh – floral undertone, a characteristic combination. The odor type is much “heavier” than that of Ylang Ylang and it is also more tenacious than the first and second grades of that oil.

Cananga oil is useful in soap perfumery and for the popular “leathery” notes in men’s fragrances where it combines well with castoreum, calamus, birch tar oil rectified, cyclamal, creosol, copaiba oil, isobutyl cinnamate, isoeugenol, labdanum products, guaiacwood oil, nerol, para – cresyl salicylate, oakmoss products, etc. and with fougère bases, violet bases, etc. The superior stability and tenacity of the odor of Cananga oil makes this material interesting for soap perfumes where Ylang Ylang oil is of comparatively little value.

Conclusion

Hopefully, the information above can help you choose which Ylang Ylang oil is best for your formulas. Personally, I mostly use Ylang ‘Extra’ and, as I explained above, Ylang Ylang III when creating a cheaper formula for bath gels.

This is a question most of us ask ourselves when we embark on the world of perfume creation.  I find that the answers are as varied as the people you ask.  For me, one of the answers is that since I was a child scent has always been strong for me.  I used to recognize unique scents in people’s homes, which later my memories utilized to characterize them.  In my mind, the scent of the home and the person seemed to become one.  For most of us, scents trigger memories.  For me, it was always just much more intensely so.

Later, in my early 20’s, I discovered Aromatherapy.  It was scent heaven!  By then I also had an assortment of perfumes I had acquired.  This was during the period between the late 80’s and mid 90’s, when perfumes were experiencing a new style of scent.  For men, perfumes like Menotaur, Safari, Farenheit, Tzar, Polo, Drakkar Noir….  Iso-E-Super and Dihydromyrcenol permeated just about every perfume on the market. Some new, some reformulated, these perfumes were all the rage.  But, much like today one can say “This music sounds so 80’s,” the same goes for perfume, and those scents smell of their time as much as vintage perfumes smell of early to mid 1900’s, greatly influenced by molecules like aldehydes and Musk Ketone.  Fast-forward to today, where perfumes are either overly ambery and peppery, oud laden, or a bomb of vanilla, musk and whatever the new dessert trend is.  The term ‘gourmand’ is in.

Having worked with Aromatherapy for so many years, it is no surprise I’d move into the field of perfumery at some point.  That point came when I wanted to recreate a vintage perfume for my mother. The perfume was Zibeline, and it had been discontinued about a decade prior, but she loves it.  That experience opened the door to a whole new world of scent. I learned to work with vintage perfumery creation first, then moved all the way to modern perfumes, which brings me to whole new reason for why some of us choose to create perfume.

Six years after creating the vintage perfume for my mother, if you asked me now why I create perfume, the answer would be “Because I am tired of everything available out there smelling the same.” I want specific scents, with depth, and cannot usually find that out there. I also love to create scents that are not limited by business demands.

Sandalwood

Currently, the model seems to be to create perfume with less and cheaper ingredients, and charge more.  The market, demand and trend dictate what perfumes we can purchase.  Further, regulations dictate what the perfume will smell like (reformulation).  Even further, price fluctuation and material availability dictate quality.  Sandalwood is such an example. In the last two decades, the price of Sandalwood has skyrocketed.  Where once perfumes used this material abundantly, alternatives are now being used due to cost and eco reasons.  Creating my own perfumes allows me to use such materials if I need to, because I only need a fraction of what a perfume house would, therefore making it more affordable or I can choose alternatives based on what I like my perfume to smell like. I can also find ethically harvested materials, which cost more, but can afford in lesser quantities.

Because of this, one reason to create our own perfumes is the financial aspect.  Many perfumes you can buy in a store that boast materials like Sandalwood, rose and jasmine rarely contain any and, if they do, it is in very small amounts.  This is because if they use large quantities of these materials, the cost of the perfume would be prohibitive.  However, when making your own, you can afford to use these depending on budget.  Since you’re not going to be making gallons of a given perfume, the amounts of oils you would use are actually feasible.  In that way, you end up creating a perfume that if you were to purchase in a store would cost you several hundred dollars, but can make it yourself at a fraction of the cost.  Aside from materials, a store bought perfume price tag also includes expertise, research, overhead and the marketing failure of other perfumes the successful one has to support. None of that applies to your own creations.

This is not to say that perfumery is an inexpensive or easy enterprise. It is not.  It is a costly one.  However, when you undertake any hobby or profession, you find out none are really cheap. I know someone who loves model trains.  Expect to pay!  Someone else I know is a fellow musician who has spent more on one Oboe than I have for half of my perfumery ingredients.  You like watercolors?  Good quality brushes and paints will set you back a bundle.  Perfumery is no different.  But, as with anything else one starts slowly and builds up as you go.  Eventually your perfumery palette reaches a point where you have most of what you need, and then you only acquire specific ingredients you may lack, or that are more specific to your needs at the time.  Things like Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol, various Ionones, Coumarin, Ethylene Brassylate, Galaxolide, Geranium, Lemon, Bergamot, Ylang Ylang, to name but a few, are items you use over and over again.  Thinks like Muscenone and Boronia are more specific.  There are things you’ll rarely use, but you will need for a specific perfume.  Those items you acquire much later, as you grow in knowledge. My aroma starter kit page gives you a good starting list to look into.

Sometimes you may fall in love with a perfume only to find out a few years later that it gets reformulated and smells different. Or worse, as it happened with the perfume I recreated for my mother, the perfume you adore is discontinued. A company may choose to discontinue a perfume for various reasons, but one of the main culprits is regulation. If many of the materials contained in that particular perfume are heavily regulated or banned, recreating the perfume would be nearly impossible and so, it’s gone.   I used to love Crabtree & Evelyn’s Classic Lavender, a scent based on a traditional Lavender fougère. By the mid 2000’s, it was completely reformulated to something I did not care for. But it is no wonder it was reformulated. The original contained heavy doses of Musk Xylol (banned) and the now heavily regulated bergamot, eugenol, coumarin and oakmoss. However, if you have a formula, you can recreate it at will. And so, I have recreated C&E’s Lavender for my own use.   This was another reason making my own perfumes worked for me. I can create a perfume today and make it the same way in a few years. I am not subjected to the same perfumery regulations that a perfume house does. Often, a perfumery material that is heavily regulated may be dropped by perfumery houses and replaced with newer ones, but these same materials will still be available for niche perfumers to use. Musk Ketone is such a material. Other materials such as Lilial and Lyral, gorgeous floralizing molecules, are becoming more and more regulated, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many floral perfume made to-date without them.

I like to sample perfumes to see how other perfumers like to express things like jasmine, gardenia or lily of the valley.  However, what I often find when sampling these perfumes is complete disappointment.  Recently, I was excited to get a sample of a Jasmine perfume created by a renown brand.  I was curious how the noses behind this perfume chose to express their vision.  I sprayed this on a scent strip and my immediate reaction was, “That’s it?”  What I got was a mild semblance of an ambery-jasmine sitting on a vanilla-musk bomb. The latest trend being overly sweet.  Not that these elements are not great in a perfume, but when a scent is ‘too much’ or goes from top note to musk in 10 minutes, I am dismayed.  As I go from sample to sample, from one brand to another, I seem to smell the same, over and over.

I do not usually like trends, so I find many of these perfumes uninspiring.  I can read marketing descriptions of a perfume, making it sound gorgeous, then sample it and walk away thinking, “pepper, musk, amber, oud….what’s new?” Sometimes I cannot smell much difference between one perfume and another. Someone has a hit perfume, everyone else must copy it, and it seems people demand little of perfumes these days to want anything trailblazing. Granted, there are regulations and trends to follow when creating perfumes for a large fashion house. Cost and revenue are — and have to be — the bottom line.  However, none of these issues matter when creating perfumes for yourself. Once you make perfumery a business, however, you begin the ongoing battle between what sells, what does not, how much you make and what you really want to create. Any professional artist goes through this and I have experienced it in the music industry for years. Artists have faced this dilemma for ages: staying true to your vision as an artist versus making money to pay the bills. In a sense, this is also another reason why I create perfume. It is art I create for the sake of art after years of creating art that has to sell.

Many niche perfumers start making perfumes to get what one cannot get from a department store perfume counter and then find themselves around people asking to buy their creations.  Some like the idea of using materials now banned, or heavily regulated.  You may say, “If it is regulated or banned, why use it?”  The answer to that question is that just because something is banned or regulated, this does not mean it is ‘bad.’  Yes, some things being regulated can be a good thing and can protect many species of flora and fauna, and your health. Overregulation, however, is rarely a good thing.  Consider bergamot oil, which is heavily restricted due to it potentially causing photosensitivity for some people. I venture to say if you live in places where you don’t see much of the sun for more than half of the year, why care? However, I use bergamot and oakmoss (another heavily restricted material) freely in my creations and am yet to have an issue.  In fact, in working with aromatherapy I have used bergamot generously for over 25 years, and some of those years I lived in Florida, THE sunshine state.  I have never had an issue with it.  This is not to say someone else may not have an allergy.  I can eat peanuts whereas someone else may have a deathly allergic reaction to them.  If I made food to sell, I’d have to abide by regulations concerning the use of peanuts and the labeling thereof. At home, I can have them at will. And thus, bergamot remains a choice material for me.

I am not knocking regulation, mind you, and this can be a heated subject in various perfumery forums and groups, so I generally do not get into it, especially when the subject of IFRA (the International Fragrance Association) comes into the debate.  I stay clear of the debates.  What I am saying, however, is that one of the reasons some of us choose to create our own perfumes is because this allows us the freedom to express our creativity and come up with perfumes of a quality that one cannot often get in the marketplace, unencumbered by regulation and trend pressures.  In this way, I can create whatever I want, not what the market dictates.  I am a musician by profession.  I have spent nearly 20 years in the music industry and one of the things I fought when creating music was being overburdened and limited by trends. With music trends, overuse is a problem and what was once new and exciting quickly becomes tired. Frankly, I find most music today completely recycled and tired….but that’s another post.  The same goes for perfume.  Creating your own allows you to be as original and unique as you want to be.

Of course, as I have mentioned before, creating perfume is not easy and not something learned overnight.  However, if you have patience and do not mind hard work, trial and error, eventually you will find many rewards in perfume creation. A while back I sampled a vintage bottle of Revillon’s Detchema.  It is a gorgeous perfume, and I set off to recreate it.  The result, involving several tries and much research, is a beautiful rendition, which contains actual oils of rose, patchouli, neroli, bergamot, jasmine, ylang ylang, angelica root, orris, benzoin, coupled with a host of other perfume materials.  As always, when I hit the mark with a perfume, it brings me feelings of great satisfaction and accomplishment.

Not all your creations will be successful. I venture to say many will not.  But each attempt will enrich your journey.  I can even say perfumery has enriched my aromatherapy practice as well.  Through the years, I learned a lot about esters, alcohols and other essential oil components.  However, working with these isolates separately was a whole new world for me.  Rosewood Oil, for example, is extremely high in Linalool.  I remember early on in my perfumery journey when I first smelled Linalool. It was pure rosewood!  The first time I sampled Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol it was definitely a rose scent.  I knew that the scent produced by roses are composed of, among other things, Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol, Geraniol and Citronellol, but to smell these separately was a delight.  Through the years, I have tried to create several types of rose perfumes.  Many did not work out, yet a few turned out lovely and became keepers.  During the process, I learned a lot about roses.  Who knew that a touch of Benzaldehyde (the 99% component in Bitter Almond Oil), would add a special hue to a rose scent? As with many things in life one may not be happy about, I like to say, “They’re all growing experiences….” I see any perfume trial that did not pan out as something that has taught me how to make one better. As long as I enjoy the process and the results, it works for me. And I do, tremendously.

Learning perfumery, as with any other forms of art, can be very rewarding. I love the process of discovery when I set off to create a perfume.  The journey is as exciting as the destination. As with all of us working with perfumery, you too will find your own, unique answers to the question why create perfume.

Working with perfumery requires using various techniques, and one that we face early on is working with solid materials.  I see people often posting in perfumery forums about this very subject, because it can be quite daunting. However, it is actually not as difficult as it seems.  When I started on my perfumery journey, I was originally puzzled as to how to dissolve solids.  Since some people posting in the forums seemed to dilute their solids, yet I had formulas requiring these materials at 100%, it only added to the confusion.

This brings me, briefly, to the subject of dilution of your perfumery materials.  One of the myths perpetuated is that you have to dilute all your materials to 10%.  This is not necessarily accurate, nor does it work for everyone.  While some like to do this to learn how specific materials smell in diluted form, I never subscribed to this method. I tend to be practical, and the thought of having every single material diluted to 10% alongside full-strength versions was out of the question for me, especially because many materials will never be used in a 10% dilution. Materials such as Hedione, Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol (PEA), Lavender and Bergamot are some I have never used diluted.  Now that I have over 700 materials, I am very thankful I opted not to go that route!  Scent strips work for me if I want to sample a material in various stages of drydown.  In the beginning of your perfumery journey, it can be all too easy to follow someone else’s path, which in the end may not suit you.  Eventually, the best way to work with perfumery is the way that works best for you, and ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ can be subjective, but there are some tried and tested methods that work for most.

I know several perfumers, none who dilute their materials except those that need it due to scent strength (such as Aldehydes).  Over time, one learns what materials need dilution and which ones are generally used at 100%.  Some materials such as aldehydes, civet, ribes mercaptan, cis-3-hexenol, are extremely strong, requiring only trace amounts in a formula.  To incorporate them into a formula in such small amounts, we generally dilute these materials into a 50%, 10% or 1% strength dilution.  A much larger number of perfumery materials are generally used at 100%.  However, that is a subject for a whole other post. On this particular post I’d like to go back to discussing solid materials and why dilution of these materials is not usually necessary, unless needed due to scent strength.

Musk Ketone

While many materials used by a perfumer come in liquid form, you will quickly encounter solid materials.  Materials such as Musk Ketone, Calone, Ambroxan, Tonalide, Cedrol, Benzophenone, to name a few, are usually sold in powder, crystalline or even ‘rock’ form. You will also find some materials like Cinnamic Alcohol and Guaiacwood, which turn into a waxy solid at room temperature.  These are materials that turn back to liquid form with gentle heating.  Other materials such as Benzyl Cinnamate and Terpineol can be quite solid, but will also revert to liquid form upon heating. Some materials sold in powder form or small crystalline form are Musk Ketone, coumarin, vanillin and ethyl vanillin.

Suppliers tend to sell some of these materials in both solid and diluted form. Ambroxan is such an example, sold in solid form and also at 40% dilution, but I do not usually like to buy materials diluted because at one point or another you will need to use a material in its full-strength form; even materials as strong as aldehydes.  If at any point I need to dilute them, I prefer to do it myself.  If you do choose to buy some materials diluted, make sure you also have the material in its full-strength form.  Ambroxan is a good example, because it is difficult to dilute, so it is one that I have purchased both in solid and diluted forms.

The issue with some materials, like aldehydes or Bitter Almond Oil (which is 99% Benzaldehyde), is that they oxidize quickly, so diluting them in perfumer’s alcohol and storing them in a refrigerator will help them last much longer.  There are some materials that, while not needing dilution, will need refrigeration to last longer.  I will cover this more in depth on another post, but materials such as the aforementioned aldehydes, or citrus oils such as lemon, orange, bergamot, need refrigeration.

Solid perfumery materials have various specific points at which they will dissolve and this can be extremely confusing unless you’re a chemist.  I am not a chemist and at some point, I drew the line as to how far I wanted to get into scientific specifics.  Discussions with others who were perfumers or learning the craft gave me some useful hints, but ultimately trial and error was what taught me how to work with solids.

Some materials will not dissolve in alcohol, but will dissolve in dipropylene glycol (DPG/DIPG), Isopropyl Myristate (IPM), Benzyl Benzoate, etc.  Again, it all goes back to chemistry. Knowing some chemistry might save you the trouble of the ‘hit or miss’ method.  If you’re so inclined, I certainly encourage it.  Some materials will need heating to dilute into your base, while others will not even budge with heating.  Since I generally work with perfumer’s alcohol as my perfume base, it is my go-to for dissolving tough solids when I need to.  Some things like vanillin, however, did not dissolve in alcohol, so alternatives like DPG or IPM worked best.  Sometimes heating will encourage a solid to dissolve once in a base.  But, let me go back to using solid materials at full strength.

Since I mentioned using materials at 100%, you may wonder how I would do that with solids, as this would mean not dissolving them at all before adding them to my mix.  The answer to that lies in what I mentioned before, about materials having different points at which they will dissolve.  When you create a perfume base, you’re mixing many molecules, all with different dissolution points.  When you have them all together, they become a perfect base in which a solid will dissolve. I am yet to find a solid that has not dissolved in my perfume mixture. I am sure there are, I just have not dealt with them yet in my six years of doing this.  Even Ambroxan, otherwise difficult to dissolve, will dissolve in a perfume blend.  I simply add the solids to my formula and I have yet to encounter materials that, given a day or so, will not fully dissolve into the blend.  The other molecules make sure of it.  The key is being able to get the solid in an easier to use form, such as a powder, so that you can then add it to your formula.

Clay Sculpting Tools

For some materials that will not liquify upon heating, or of which I need a small amount so I do not want to bother heating, I use small clay sculpting tools.  These can be used to scrape, prod and puncture materials so that I can create small amounts of crystals or powder I can then scoop up and add to my blend. I clean these tools after each use with inexpensive vodka that I keep in a spray bottle by my work desk. You want to make sure not to cross-contaminate your materials by dipping the tool from one to another without cleaning them first.

I am still getting around to finding a tiny spoon to scoop the materials with, so I continue to use a paper scent strip to do it. I simply fold the paper strip long-side to create a channel. I then use that to scoop the material and slide it into the bottle on my scale in which I am blending the perfume compound. This works especially well for crystalline or powder materials like Musk Ketone or Coumarin. I know some perfumers who also use this simple method.  A toothpick sometimes helps encourage the material to slide down from my ‘paper strip scoop’ down into the bottle. Materials like Cinnamic Alcohol, which solidify into a waxy solid, I can scoop with a clay sculpting tool when I need a small amount and I do not want to heat it up. For larger amounts, I will heat the material into liquid form.

Tonalide ‘pebbles’

Other materials like Tonalide come in tiny ‘pebbles.’  I simply pick these with a tiny tweezer or my fingers, and add them to the blend one at a time, until I reach the desired weight on my scale.  However, I would recommend care when handing perfumery materials with your bare hands.  Some will sting or cause a rash when pure and undiluted.  While some people wear gloves when they work with perfumery, I cannot work well with them on, so I do not.  But you also do not want to be handling these materials and then touching your eyes or face by accident — this has been known to happen.  I always recommend washing your hands thoroughly after working with perfumery.  I suggest adding liquid soap to your hands before using water.  This is because most perfumery materials are not water soluble and if you add water first, you are only making sure the materials will spread and not wash off.  Once you worked the liquid soap evenly over your hands, then add water and wash normally.

Once the solids are added to the blend, swirling (not shaking) will encourage dissolution.  Materials like Cetalox or Coumarin will spin around, seemingly not willing to dissolve.  In a few hours or by the next day, you will see them completely dissolved into your mix.  Some more swirling works.

When it comes to solids like Alpha Terpineol or Cinnamic Alcohol, which easily turn back to liquid form with heating, I simply use hot water to do the job.  Using a kettle (I prefer an electric one, which is quick), boil some water.  Once the water is hot, add some into a glass Pyrex measuring cup and add cold tap water to reach a temperature that is still very hot, but not scolding.  Insert the capped bottle with your perfume material into the water and then adjust the water to cover ¾ of the bottle, but keeping the water away from the top.  You want to make sure you leave at least ¼ inch or more from the top of the bottle, as you do not want any risk of getting water into your material. Again, the bottle containing your perfume material should be capped.  If water gets into the bottle, it will ruin your material.  Honestly, with a little care, this never need happen.  In my six years of working with perfumery, it has never happened to me.  Just be careful.  Of course, now that I wrote this, watch it happen next time I do this!

I generally like to set up my solid materials that need liquifying in a hot water bath when I start mixing a formula, to save time. Once I have all my bottles lined up in order before me on my work desk, I take the ones that need heating, put them in their water bath and leave them there until I am ready for them. I will then go ahead and mix all my other materials and, at the end, retrieve the other materials from their water bath.  By then they are already in their liquid form and ready for use.  If any of these materials that I heated up is normally refrigerated, I will let it return to room temperature before putting them in the refrigerator, to avoid condensation inside the bottle.  As a rule, it is never a good idea to go directly from cold to hot or vice-versa.

Some materials are rather viscous.  Undiluted Galaxolide or Benzoin come to mind as well as some absolutes like tobacco or violet leaf.  They’re thick, viscous and are not easy to work with undiluted, but there are times in which you’ll need them at full strength.  Taking Galaxolide as an example, I generally will let it pour, slowly, into my mix.  Heating slightly beforehand will help it flow more smoothly. Once it starts flowing into the bottle in which I am blending my formula, I use the tip of a small plastic pipette to control the flow.  I juggle staring at the weight on the scale and the bottle the material is pouring out of.  It takes practice. As I get close to the amount I need, I quickly make sure to slow the pouring to a bare trickle and then, using the tip of the pipette, I stop the flow when I reach the right weight I need.  Needless to say, materials like Galaxolide and Benzoin are often used at 50% dilution to make the job easier, but I have also used them undiluted.  When adding these types of undiluted materials to your blend, it is not uncommon to see them sink to the bottom of your bottle and sit there, in a puddle, even as you swirl.  Within a few hours or a day, you will see them fully dissolved.  Swirling your bottle gently, every so often, helps speed up the process.

Since I mentioned above how I like to work, and I cover this extensively in my Creating page, I figured I would briefly explain that here.  For a detailed explanation, please see my other page.  I generally will spend much time doing research before I put together a formula, then I write it on a specially designed sheet (see my Creating page).  Once I have the formula all laid out, I go to the room in which I keep all my perfumery materials and retrieve the ones I need. I do not keep these materials in the same room in which I work, because the scent of the materials is overwhelming and interferes with my work.

I have a tray that I use specifically for my work.  I gather all the materials I need and put them on my tray and then take it into my work space.  I then line up the bottles of materials before me on my desk, in the order I have them listed on my formula sheet.  This helps me from wasting time trying to find each material as I work, and also makes sure I do not pick up the wrong one by mistake.  I will always double check the material in my hand with what is on my formula sheet. I also triple check the amount I am supposed to add to the bottle on the scale.  Once I am done adding each material into the bottle, it goes back on the tray. In this way, in the rare case that I am interrupted I will not have to second guess whether I already added the material or not.  If you mess this up, you have to start from scratch. Any doubt at all as to whether you added the material or not and your work is over and you have to start again.  So, you can see how the tray helps tremendously. If a material is back on the tray, that tells me I am done with it.  Focus is imperative once you start blending a formula.

I hope this post helps make your working with solid perfumery materials more enjoyable.  If you’re just starting out, try to blend your materials as I mentioned, directly into your formula.  I am sure you will never look back.

The world of aroma – chemicals can be overwhelming, especially when you’re faced with hundreds of these scents. Organization from the start is imperative. You can quickly get overtaken by aroma – chemicals and essential oils if you do not get squared away from the beginning. In this page, I hope to help you set up your aroma – chemicals and essential oils in a way that will allow you to quickly work with them.

The world of aroma families is complicated, because not everyone shares the same organization method. Some families are more obvious and shared by all, such as Floral, Green, Amber. Others get tricky, like Earthy, Mossy and Ethereal. I mean, what’s an ethereal scent?

Color – Coded Bottles for Organization

Color coded bottles, by family

So, I simply followed the lists and similar colors as used by the perfume houses Givaudan and Firmenich, then adjusted to my own needs. The list below will give you the aroma family names and colors I have applied to my own list, which is then how I set up my database. A life saver! As you can see in the image on the left, bottles are organized by aroma family AND their respective colors. Each color on the top of a bottle represents their aroma family. When you have several hundred aroma – chemicals and essential oils, you want to be able to figure out what’s where. The database I spoke of in the Setup page, coupled with the color labels, help you do just that. Below, I will show you how to divide your database.

Database Overview

I cannot really go into how to create a database, but can tell you what mine looks like, so that you can reproduce it. I use Zoho for my on – line database, and creating a database there is fairly easy though it takes some figuring out.

A database consists of fields. These are the areas that will allow you to enter information. Each field is given a name. When you create your perfumery database, you may start wondering what fields you need. I did a lot of research in the beginning, until I came up with what suited my needs. Below is a list of the fields on my database (I left out a couple that I did not think would be useful to anyone else but me), and I hope this will help you when setting up yours. Below you will find a downloadable PDF with my database, as a sample. Databases keep growing, so this PDF may not reflect my current database, but it does not matter as I am using it for you to see how it works. You can use that for guidance, but I thoroughly recommend you create your own.

Database Fields

– Image: This helps you quickly identify the kind of element you’re dealing with. If you have an image of a rose, you know immediately this aroma – chemical is part of a rose scent. Pheny Ethyl Alcohol is an example of an aroma – 0chemicals that would use a Rose for image.

– Name: This is the name of the aroma material.

– CAS#: This is a unique numerical identifier assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service to every chemical substance including organic and inorganic compounds, minerals, isotopes, alloys and non – structurable materials. This number is important to you for various reasons. The main one for you as a perfumery student is that some aroma – chemicals go by different names, depending on who distributes them. It can become overwhelming and you may end up buying the same material a few times over with different names. By checking the CAS# against your database, you can immediately verify you do not already own this material by another name. Another good reason to have this in your database is so that it can make looking up the correct material on – line a quick and easy thing and you’ll always be certain you located the correct one.

– Manufacturer: This is important, because you want to know who created it, if it’s available. Perfume houses such as Givaudan, IFF, Firmenich, Takasago, Symrise, Robertet, release their own aroma – chemicals and essential oils, and knowing where it came from can also determine the scent. If you used a Givaudan material for one perfume, when you use it again, you want to make sure it is the same. A specialty essential oil from Robertet may not smell the same as one from another supplier.

– Supplier: This field is important because not all suppliers carry every aroma – chemical or essential oil. Sometimes, though, a supplier may no longer carry one you bought from them in the past. Still, it helps knowing where to go get it again when you need to reorder.

– A.K.A: Just about every aroma – chemical has a couple of names it goes by. This field will help you by adding the other names you can find it as. So, when you’re following a formula and think you do not have that particular aroma – chemical called for, it usually turns out you DO have it, under a different name. Ambromax is also Ambrofix. Cinnamaldehyde is also Cinnamic Aldehyde. You can see how it can get complicated without a cross – reference database…. This will also help you reduce your spending so that you do not end up with the same material by three different names. This field works well alongside the CAS# field (see above).

– Primary Type: This is the primary Aroma Family you’ll find this aroma – chemical or essential oil under.

– Secondary Type: Generally, an aroma – chemical will not smell like just one thing. The more immediate descriptions you have at your fingertips, the easier things work. This helps you greatly when, for example, working with Musks. All Musks are Musky, but they can also be flowery, powdery, herbal…. So, if your Primary Type was MUSK, the Secondary can then be Powdery.

– Tertiary Type: Because most aroma – chemicals and essential oils do not smell like just one or two things, a tertiary type helps you zone deeper into specific elements you may want for your perfume. In the MUSK example, your secondary type can be POWDERY, but the tertiary type could also be WOODY. The Musk Ethyl Brassilate, for example, would fit all these three definitions: MUSK, POWDERY, WOODY.

Drop – Down Menu for Aroma Types

Below is a table with each type, and the drop down menu terms I created for each. As you can see, Type 2 expands on Type 1, and Type 3 expands even further, giving you ample choices of scent. Because you create a drop down menu for each type, when you fill in your materials into the database, you do not have to keep typing family names. You simply use the drop down menu and select the aroma type. The drop down menus (and any other data field) can be edited at any time, so as you become more adept, you may want to change things to suit your working style.

Note Field

Note – This field is about what note the material is. Perfumery scents, like Aromatherapy, are divided into TOP, MIDDLE and BASE notes. Most aroma – chemicals and essential oils will fit into one note, but sometimes you will see ones that can fit into two. Rarely have I seen all three in one material. So, I created TWO drop down menus: one is NOTE and the other is SECONDARY NOTE. Make sure each of the two drop down menus has all notes available to choose from: TOP, MIDDLE, BASE.

Use Field

Use – This is the description of what the aroma – chemical or essential oil is used for. Put as much information as you can find in here, because it will later help you decide when looking for a specific scent. For example, if you’re looking for an aroma – chemical used in the creation of a Lilac base, you will find that in the USE description.

Characteristics Field

Characteristics – This field describes the character of the aroma – chemical or essential oil. Usually it describes what the aromatic element smells like.

Odor Strength Field

Odor Strength – This one is important. Some aroma – chemicals and essential oils are low or medium in scent strength, but others, especially with aroma – chemicals, can be very strong. You’ll eventually learn what’s what, but in the beginning you want to know ahead of time that the Indole you’re using will kill your blend if you use more than a trace amount. Some aroma – chemicals have to be diluted down to 10% and some even to 1%, because that is how powerful they are. Aldehydes are such a case.

Use % Field

Use % – When you purchase an aroma – chemical or oil, you can find out the percentage that the material is usually used as. For example, Aldehyde C – 11 you can see that the Recommended Usage Level is 1.0% in the fragrance concentrate.

IFRA Restrictions Field

IFRA Restricitons – This field is generally for those items that are restricted by IFRA, like Oakmoss, Coumarin or Bergamot. If you eventually start running your own business and want to sell your creations, you may want to know this. Some niche perfumers do not care. I created this field using two boxes, a YES and a NO. I click on it if I know that there are restrictions, but personally, I could care less what IFRA has to say…and I am not the only one! That is a long story I wont’ get into…. Also keep in mind that IFRA restrictions have nothing to do with your country’s cosmetic product restrictions. THAT one you have to pay attention to.

Longevity Field

Longevity – This lets you know how long the aroma – chemical or oil lasts on a blotter (perfume smelling strip). This is good to know because you want a perfume to last and want some of the ingredients to make that happen. Lemon, for example, can last only a couple of hours on a blotter, while Musks can last for days. A Rose perfume I created is still lovely on the perfume strip, three days later.

Appearance Field

Appearance – This lets you know if the material you’re planning on using will have any color or if it is clear. I generally do not care, but some materials will be dark green, such as Violet Leaf Absolute, or dark brown such as Labdanum or Oakmoss. This will affect your final product. Personally, I love when a perfume I created looks yellow, gold, amber or dark amber in the bottle. Most of your perfumes will take on similar hues as do the professional ones you purchase.

Shelf Life Field

Shelf Life – This lets you know how long your material will generally be good for. Most will last well over 36 months if kept in a dark, cool place. Some require refrigeration. Some, however, will oxidize relatively quickly, like Aldehydes, and it is best to keep them diluted in alcohol and then refrigerate these to extend their life. It is good to get to know this from the start and refrigerate those oils and aroma – chemicals that need it rather than later find out they’ve ‘gone off.’

Storage Field

Storage – This is a drop down menu with two fields: REGULAR and REFRIGERATOR. This will let you know where to find your material so you do not spend an hour looking through your aroma – chemicals without finding what you’re after, when all along it was in the refrigerator.

Stability Field

Stability – You can add this field if you’re interested in knowing how your material reacts in various bases like gels, alcohol, laundry detergent, etc. I do not use it a lot, but it is good to have.

The Alluring Description of a Perfume

A perfume I loved from a few years ago was described as: “….captures the sights and scents of the Scottish countryside. This charmingly distinctive fragrance combines top notes of meadow grasses and bergamot, with refreshing mid – notes of heather, bluebell and violet to recreate the scents of a high – land retreat… Base notes of leather and oak add an extra warmth….” It almost reads like a passage out of a Victorian novel. It makes me believe it! When creating perfume, one could quickly start wondering where to go and get ‘bluebell’ essential oil absolute or a similarly named aroma – chemical. The problem is, there are none. Bluebell is what is termed a fantasy scent.

The Deception in Perfume Marketing

I figured this would be the theme of my second post, because it is one of the baffling things to discover in perfumery. Reading descriptions of favorite perfumes is like taking a master course in marketing deception. At a time when many perfume companies are trying to make their perfumes cheaper while at the same time dealing with ever – increasing, restrictive IFRA regulations, the more embellished the marketing, the better.

In the scent described above, there are no bluebells, heather or leather, but rather massive overdoses of Iso E Super, Bergamot, Hedione, Oakmoss and Patchouli, with a bunch of other things thrown in for good measure. But looking at the description of those aromatic materials, one could almost believe the perfume marketing. Iso E Super (also known as patchouli ethanone) is often described as a “Smooth, warm, woody, slightly leathery, amber note.” So, there’s the ‘oak’ in there and the ‘leather,’ and we could even add ‘Amber’ to the mix.

The Creativity of a Perfumer

This is where the fun begins for a perfumer creating a scent. I just created a lovely Rose perfume. It is an ‘Island Rose’ of sorts. Just for fun, let me describe it as, “The scent of a lovely, seashore rose with hints of delicate apricot, velvety blond woods and summery green winds….” The catch is, there is no actual Rose oil in it – or green winds, whatever that is! None. And yet, one whiff and the beautiful Roses are right there. Aroma materials like Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Geraniol and Nerol, all found in Rose, can easily stand in for the real thing. For the seashore, I could add some marine or ozonic aroma – chemicals like Calone or Helional, for outdoor effects some Precyclemone B, blond woods could be Cashmeran, and so on. So, I guess you could say that a Rose By Any Other Name could be called Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol….or anything else, and still smell as sweet.

The Reality in Product Marketing

Recently, a hairdresser I know showed me a new shampoo he was using. He loved that it had ‘Jasmine’ in it. It pained me to burst the bubble, but I had to tell him there was no real Jasmine in it. Jasmine absolute is too expensive and there’s just no way it will end up in a shampoo. A high – end perfume, sure, but not a shampoo. So, I said, “Let’s look at the label,” because I knew the company would have to list some ingredients that might be considered allergenic. Immediately, I noticed several ingredients that constitute a Jasmine fragrance. But when selling a shampoo, ‘Jasmine’ sells, Benzyl Acetate and Hedione do not.

The Conceptualization of a Perfume

A summer cottage

I think this is among the things I love about creating a perfume. The research and work that goes on, long before I even start putting together the aromatic materials I may consider using. This is what in perfumery is considered a Perfumer Brief, which I cover in the Creating A Perfume page on my site. One begins with the idea of the perfume. A Summer Cottage can be a starting point. From there, one can visualize an ivy – covered cottage (ivy, greens), rolling hills (summer grasses and new – mown hay), flower meadows (white flowers and wild flowers), a pathway through the forest (moss, woods, leaves) and bees buzzing about (beeswax and clover). Just in that short description you can put together at least 20 or more aromatic elements.

Thinking Like a Perfumer

This is what I term, ‘thinking like a perfumer.’ When you see a perfume supposedly composed of things like Blackberry, Peaches, Summer Grasses, Heather and Ocean Breeze, in your mind you quickly translate this as Calone, Hay Absolute, Aldehyde C – 14, Elemi, Cassis Base 345B, Beta Damascone… The possibilities are endless.

Perfumery as an Art Form

Perfumery is like music or painting. You begin with an idea and then choose the way to express it. With perfumery, you express emotionally through scent. You tell a story, paint a picture, share memories…all with