Heidi Norton
Making perfume is a rewarding hobby, but it's not easy to create a scent that rivals designer fragrances. To make perfume, you need to learn about your materials, including aromachemicals and natural oils, and how they interact with each other. You can buy starter kits, attend workshops, or take classes to learn the basics. When creating your own fragrances, you must also be aware of regulations and restrictions on certain ingredients. For example, fig leaf and costus root are prohibited for use in perfumes. It's important to experiment and practice, and you can purchase materials from sites like Perfumer's Apprentice and Eden Botanicals.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Aromachemicals, essential oils, absolutes, tinctures, synthetic molecules, carrier oil, perfumers alcohol, natural ingredients, fractionated coconut oil, rose extractions, fixed oils, ethanol |
| Techniques | Diluting, dipping, testing, observing, blending, experimenting |
| Suppliers | Perfumer's Apprentice, Eden Botanicals, Pell Wall, Tijon, Olfactory, Fragrance Shop, Bloom, Basenotes Fragrance DIY forum, Good Scents Company, Vetiver Aromatics, BKscents |
| Considerations | Concentration, customisability, longevity, sillage, safety, restrictions, cost |
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What You'll Learn
Starter kits and classes
There are a variety of starter kits and classes available for beginners who want to learn how to make perfume. It is important to remember that perfumery is not something that can be mastered in a week; it requires time, experimentation, and failures. Moreover, it is a moderately expensive hobby, with costs for a learning course, materials kit, solvents, pipettes, scales, bottles, and scent strips.
Starter Kits
The following are some popular starter kits for beginners:
- The Perfumer's Apprentice kit: This kit contains a variety of chemicals and is a good value, but it may be too technical for some.
- Vetiver Aromatics kit: This kit focuses on oils and recognizable scents that can be mixed, making it more newbie-accessible.
- Classic Perfumery Ingredients: This kit offers a decent spectrum of materials, but it may leave you wanting more. It does not include accessories or directions and is meant to be used alongside Sarah's courses.
- Perfume Master's Kit: This kit includes guides and accessories, with some materials leaning towards the niche.
- Introduction to Perfumery kit: This kit, along with the Beginners Aromachemical Kit, offers a similar package to the Vetiver kit at a slightly higher price.
Classes
There are several options for classes, including online courses and in-person workshops:
- The Institute for Art and Olfaction offers an 11-week online course on materials. They also provide a list of required materials for their classes.
- Fragonard in Grasse offers an in-person perfumery class.
- IndieHouse in Atlanta offers a fun and experimental class where you can learn about different notes and balance.
- Bloom in London provides an informative and delightful experience, allowing multiple tries to get your perfume right.
- Free resources are also available on YouTube, such as Sam Macer and Sarah McCartney, or the Basenotes DIY forum.
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Ingredients and suppliers
The ingredients used to make perfume can vary depending on the desired scent and the methods used. Some common ingredients include:
- Essential oils: These can be used as a base for the perfume and can be purchased from suppliers like Eden Botanicals, which specialises in natural ingredients.
- Aromachemicals: These are synthetic compounds that can be used to create specific scents. Examples include coumarin, hedione, and galaxolide. They can be challenging to find in small quantities, so amateur perfumers may need to participate in group buys.
- Carrier oils: These are used to dilute the perfume concentration and can include options like fractionated coconut oil.
- Perfumer's alcohol: This is used to preserve the fragrance and can be purchased from suppliers like oilperfumery.
- Fragrance oils: While not favoured by proper perfumery, these can be used in small amounts (below 5% or even 1%) in the formula. Scentmethod in NSW, Australia, is one supplier of fragrance oils.
In addition to these primary ingredients, perfumers may also use natural ingredients such as flower petals or spices to infuse into their base oils or alcohol.
When it comes to suppliers, there are several options available:
- Perfumer's Apprentice: A one-stop shop for all perfumery needs.
- Eden Botanicals: Specialises in natural ingredients with good quality products.
- Pell Wall: Offers starter kits and experimental kits for those looking to make their own fragrances.
- Tijon: Offers workshops where participants can create three different scents and then order full bottles of their favourite creations.
- Olfactory in NYC: A place where people can create their own fragrances, although customisation options are limited.
- Fragrance Shop in East Village, New York: Offers a more customisable experience with good longevity in the final product.
- Bloom in London: Provides a guided process to create fragrances, using both pre-mixed accords and raw ingredients.
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Top, middle, and base notes
The different notes are made up of different aroma chemicals, which have varying levels of volatility. Top notes are usually highly volatile and quickly evaporate, while middle and base notes are less so, causing them to linger. The top, middle, and base notes do not always smell distinct from one another, and some notes straddle the line between the three layers. For example, lavender is sometimes listed as a top note and sometimes as a middle note.
Some fragrances are linear, meaning they smell the same throughout their lifespan. However, classic perfumery generally avoids linearity, instead favouring fragrances that change and develop throughout the day. The way a fragrance unfolds depends on its wearer's body chemistry, so the same perfume can smell different on different people.
When creating a fragrance, you can choose whether to emphasise the top, middle, or base notes. If you want to emphasise the top notes, you can increase the concentration of the ingredients that make up those notes.
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Sillage and longevity
Sillage refers to the trail that a fragrance leaves behind, while longevity refers to how long a fragrance lasts on the skin. Both are important factors to consider when creating a perfume, as they determine
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Regulations and safety
When making perfume, it's important to follow certain guidelines to ensure the process is safe and compliant with regulations. Here are some detailed instructions and precautions to keep in mind:
Work Area and Safety Gear:
- Choose a well-ventilated workspace, preferably outdoors or in a laboratory setting.
- Wear protective gear, including
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Frequently asked questions
You can start by getting a perfume-making starter kit, which will give you a nice selection of materials to begin experimenting with. You can also take a professionally-led class, which will help you learn faster. If you want to learn by yourself, you can refer to forums like Basenotes Fragrance DIY and subreddits like r/DIYfragrance for advice and guidance.
You can use essential oils, absolutes, tinctures, synthetic molecules, and aromachemicals. You can purchase these ingredients from companies like Perfumer's Apprentice, Eden Botanicals, and Pell Wall. If you want to make a spray-based perfume, you will also need ethanol as a carrier. For a roll-on perfume, you can use a fixed oil as your carrier.
The longevity of your perfume will depend on the ingredients you use, as some naturally last longer than others. You can look up how long a certain component lasts and formulate your perfume with that in mind. You can also refer to resources like The Good Scents Company, which provides demo formulas for common perfume materials.
