Welcome to the Perfumers's Corner!

The Perfumer's Workshop

Below you will find a brief description about the creation of perfume. Please keep in mind that this is a rough overview, a "quick-start" guide. With perfumery, (as with many other disciplines) you'll find that the more you learn, the more you'll realize there is to learn!

A perfume is basically a combination of ingredients, or components, each of which adds a certain characteristic to the whole. Certain perfumery components do not last very long on the skin, they are very volatile. Because of their small molecule size, these components leave the skin and reach the nose the fastest, and so are the first to be perceived. Perfumers call these the top (head) notes of the perfume, and they provide the first impression of any scent. An example of a top note would be citrus, for example orange, lemon, or bergamot.

The next, and longer-lasting, group of perfumery components are the middle (heart) notes. These provide an evolving second layer to a scent, and they also serve to modify the base notes, the largest molecules, which provide fixation, or lastingness, to a fragrance and are the last scent impressions to be left on the skin.

The art of perfumery is the combination of these groups of components to provide an overall effect, whether it be deep, rich and exotic or fresh, clean and modern.

You can start by acquiring a small collection of perfume ingredients, either fragrance oils or natural essential oils.
You can dilute these ingredients to 1% (take 1 part (start with drops) ingredient and dilute it in 99 parts carrier). (See Safety)
Those ingredients that you feel are too weak, go ahead and increase to 10% by adding 9 more parts.
Take a scent strip (either purchased or hand-made), write the name of the component on the large end of the strip (if it has a large end) and put a small amount of your component on the small end. Take some time to try to get to know this component, and then go ahead and make other strips with your other components.
Hold groups of strips in your hand in a small fan and wave them lightly under your nose to catch the effect of their combined scent.
When you feel that the strips in your hand produce a pleasing combination, then feel free to blend your diluted components into a small container. Ideally, your blend should be mostly base notes, to give your scent lasting power. But above all, have fun!

When you are curious about learning more, we hope you come back and take the next step!