Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives,

and solvents used to give the human body, objects, and living spaces a pleasant
smell.Perfume comes from the Latin per meaning through and fumum, or smoke. Many ancie
perfumes were made by extracting natural oils from plants through pressing and
steaming. The oil was then burned to scent the air. Today, most perfume is used
to scent bar soaps. Some products are even perfumed with industrial odorants to
mask unpleasant smells or to appear unscented.Aroma VocabularyAccord: An accord is
the perfumery equivalent to a chord in music. Its a blend of 2 or more smells th
at produce a third and distinctive smell. An accord may be a simple mixture or c
onsist of many components and applies when each component material is in balance
and harmony with each other material so that no single component can be detecte
d. Aroma Chemical: Any chemical compound created and used for its aromatic prope
rties. Aroma chemicals could be isolates of essential oils, the chemical modific
ation of those isolates, or synthetic compounds from petrochemicals Body: The ma
in fragrance theme the middle note or heart of a perfume, it is also used to descr
ibe a fragrance that is well-rounded or full. Balanced: This is when a fragrance
has been so carefully blended that no single aromatic body or effect is readily
identifiable. Bottom (base) Note: The underlying components of a fragrance, res
ponsible for its lasting qualities, often referred to as fixatives. Bridge: The
ability of a scent (single oil or accord) to connect two notes of a fragrance an
d thus smoothing the transition from one phase to another Character: The distinc
t impression that the fragrance gives (fresh, fruity, floral etc) Diffusion: The
degree in which the fragrance radiates from the product or the user after the ap
plication of the product Dry down: The final phase of a fragrance the bottom not
e, the character which appears several hours after application Perfumers evaluat
e the bottom (base) notes and the tenacity of the fragrance during this stage. F
ixative: A material used in a perfume to fix the perfume or make it last longer. F
ixatives may be simply materials that are relatively longer lasting than the oth
er components or they may have some physical or chemical effect of forming bonds
with the other materials. Lift: The impact of fragrance highly diffusive fragra
nces has a good lift. Middle (heart) Note: The core of a perfume composition which
gives it its character the middle or heart note makes up the main part of a fragr
ance and determines the classification or fragrance family. Note(s): One of thre
e distinct periods in the evaporation of a perfume, (see: top note, middle note,
bottom note). This also indicates an olfactory impression of a single smell. St
rength: The intensity of the fragrance Thread: The term common thread describes a
fragrances ability to flow from one phase to another in a cohesive rather than a
discordant fashion. Top Note: The impression of a fragrance when first smelled o
r applied to the skin usually the most volatile ingredients in a perfume the mat
erials in the formulation that show themselves in the first stages of evaporatio
n Volatility: The degree in which a component freely diffuses into the atmospher
e

How Fragrances are CreatedFragrances are compounds added to products to improve
their odor and create an aesthetic impression. The structure of a fragrance is l
ike that of a pyramid with the base being larger than the top. Top notes of the
fragrance are the smallest part and make up 15-25% of the fragrance. These notes
are those that you smell when you first open the bottle or use the product. Mid
dle notes make up 30-40% of the total fragrance and become noticeable after the
top notes have faded. Base notes or bottom notes comprise of 40-55% of the total
fragrance and tend to be long lasting. They dont appear until after the dry down.
Top Notes: Basil, Bergamot, Cardamom, Clary Sage, Coriander, Eucalyptus, Grapefr
uit, Juniper, Lavender, Lemon, Mandarin, Neroli,
Orange, Peppermint, Petit grain, Pine, Tea Tree, and Thyme. Middle or Heart Not
es: Cedar wood, Cinnamon, Clove, Geranium, Jasmine, Marjoram, Frankincense, Palm
a Rosa, Chamomile, Rose, Ylang Ylang. Base or Bottom Notes: Benzoin, Patchouli,
Sandalwood, Vanilla, Vetiver.

Blending TipsInitially consider the oils note and the other oils which it may ble
nd well with. There are many aromatherapy books on the market and information on
the internet that give you indications of which oils blend well together. First
: decide what heart note(s) you want to use (i.e. body, middle note). Be clear a
bout what you are trying to achieve and what type of product this will go into.
What is the purpose of the perfume and what is the mood that you want to create.
What age group will be using it? Second: choose your complementary base note(s)
. A couple of ways to find out what compliments your heart note might be to cut
strips of paper and put your scent on the papers. Combine the strips and see how
they smell together. Another method is to take the tops of the bottles and hold
them together. Mover the bottles through the air under your nose and sniff Thir
d: add the heart note to the selected base note (not the other way around). Four
th: finish off with your complementary top note(s). Last: add the modifier.
A modifier is a scent added to give the fragrance that gives it its uniqueness.
Modifiers are use sparingly. Start with just a touch and keep adding. If you ca
n smell the modifier in the blend then you have used too much. If this happens i
ncrease your heart note. Always take notes as you work! It would be tragic to co
me up with that incredible scent and not know how you came about it. Start by bl
ending just two to three oils. Your scent should contain a top and middle note,
or a top, middle or base note. In simple blends they may be just single oils. We
have supplied a few formulas for you to get some ideas where you can start. A w
ell constructed blend will smell like one fragrance. In a balanced blend you sho
uld not be able to distinguish its different parts. It may be soft and floral, w
oody, spicy or fruity. Scents change and develop as they age, revealing the top,
middle, and bottom notes respectively over time. It should not change from one
scent to another to another during this time.

Types of Fragrance IngredientsA fragrance blend can consist of a mixture of esse
ntial oils, synthetic aroma chemicals, or both. In some cases a synthetic is use
d because the essential oil is prohibitively expensive. Because of animal humane
reasons natural oil may be replaced by a non-animal synthetic. Some oils are im
possible to obtain, or dont occur in nature such as pear and mango. When many of
us hear the word chemical we think that is unnatural or toxic. Chemists know tha
t everything around us is made up of chemicals, we eat them, we drink them, and
WE are them. When essential oils are extracted all the components of the chemica
ls are present and are affected by soil quality, sunshine, water and so on. So y
ear to year the oil may vary. In perfumery, components of the oil may be extract
ed to control the consistency of the aroma and to remove any undesirable qualiti
es. These are known as aroma chemicals. Aroma chemicals are sourced from isolates
of essential oils, chemically modified isolates of essential oils and from the p
etrochemical industry. When mixing perfumes care should be used with all fragran
ce components as you would when using pure essential oils. Overall there are pro
bably more hazards when mixing pure essential oils than most aroma chemicals. Fr
agrance oils are aroma chemicals blended to create a desired aroma. In addition
to Top, Middle and Base Notes, perfumes are also put into categories that descri
be the fragrance, such as: Citrus: Derived from ingredients such as lemon, berga
mot and orange. They are lighter and refreshing and most always considered top n
otes. They are volatile and not very long lasting. Fruity: Most often these are
notes based on comforting flavors. They are perceived as being fresh, natural, c
lean and crisp. They tend to be strong and good for covering strong base odors.
Herbaceous: These are crisp, leafy, greens scents. They are fresh, clean and nat
ural smelling. They are very diffusive and make good top notes. Floral: Floral n
otes tend to be the most varied and are the most popular for womens fragrances. T
hey can be familiar, gentle, and clean. There are several sub-types and they pow
erful smell. They can be used in very small amounts in blends or worn alone. Ori
ental: Oriental notes are loosely described as being ingredients originally sour
ced from the
Far East. Examples include Sandalwood, Vanilla and Frankincense. They are long
lasting.

Types of PerfumeThe difference between a perfume, cologne and splash is the rati
o of water and alcohol to the fragrance. The following is a chart that illustrat
es the ratios. It has become virtually impossible to acquire pure grain alcohol
for making perfumes. As a substitute for alcohol try to buy the strongest streng
th Vodka that you can find. Do not ever substitute the alcohol with the pharmacy
variety called isopropyl alcohol.

Fragrance Type
% oil
% alcohol
% water
Perfume
15 30
90 95
5 10
Eau de perfume
8 15
80 90
10 20
Eau de toilette
4 8
80 90
10 20
Eau de cologne
3 5
70
30
Cologne splash
1 3
80
20


Solid PerfumeSolid perfumes are also pleasant to use and easy to make. A basic f
ormula would use 80% of your favorite light oil, 13% beeswax and 7% of your frag
rance. Melt wax with oil, let cool, add fragrance, blend well and pour into cont
ainer. Lip balm containers make excellent containers for this. If your results a
re too hard, add more oil or less beeswax; to soft, add less oil or more beeswax
; too strong, add less fragrance. As always I offer suggestions and a place to s
tart.

Perfume OilAdd 10% fragrance to your favorite light oil. I suggest adding 1% Vit
amin E oil as an anti-oxidant.

How to add Fragrance to your ProductsAdding your fragrance to a product can be q
uite challenging. There are a many reactions which may appear and change the thi
ckness and look of your product. Fragrances are primarily oily compounds and man
y formulas are water based. When the fragrance is incompatible with a water base
formula a non-ionic solubilizing surfactant such as Polysorbate 20 or 80 may be
used. The fragrance is first mixed into the surfactant before adding it to the
final batch. The amount of solubilizer needed will vary from fragrance to fragra
nce. A good starting point is to mix three to four times the amount of solubiliz
er to fragrance. Since fragrance makes up such a small amount of the total formu
la it may seem surprising that they can have such an impact on the thickness of
a product-especially in shampoos and surfactant cleaning agents. It may make the
m thinner or it may make them thicker. In shampoos and body washes one way to de
al with the problem may be to adjust the final viscosity by adding salt to the f
ormula after the fragrance has been added. Another solution is to make up a batc
h of non-fragranced base and test your fragrances on small amounts at a time. Th
is is trial and error and cannot be anticipated until the products are put toget
her unless you are a highly experienced cosmetic chemist or perfumer. Fragrances
may affect the appearance of your product. Because they are oil based they may
make clear gels and formulas hazy. They may also make an emulsion separate, go g
rainy, or even pearl over time. Fragrances may also make the formula turn yellow
. For this reason testing your products stability is highly recommended before m
arketing your products. Fragrances are typically added at the end of the formula
tion process. Adding them early on when the product may be warm will have negati
ve consequences. The more volatile components of the fragrance will evaporate of
f when the heat is added. Ultimately the fragrance will not smell as you expecte
d it would. If heating is not required the fragrance should be added to the oil
phase of your formula. Often times the same fragrance may be added to a full lin
e of different products. A fragrance used in a shampoo may not smell the same as
the same fragrance used in a cream. One solution may be to up the fragrance lev
el in the products to cover variations in the base odor. One must be careful to
not overdo this though as fragrance may also cause varying reactions when applie
d to the skin.

Is the Product Stable?Because fragrances are made up of organic compounds that c
ontain many reactive groups one may have to perform stability testing on their p
roducts. Testing should include storage under conditions of high heat and intens
e lighting. The increased heat may drive potential reactions that may change the
scent and color of a product. Exposure to light may turn a formula yellow or ma
ke it smell bad. One solution to problems of heat stability is to add an anti-ox
idant to your products. Anti-oxidants selectively react with free radicals to ne
utralize their ability to react. One such anti-oxidant is Vitamin E. Depending o
n what type of plastic the product in contained in, it is possible for the fragr
ance to migrate into the plastic and change the odor of the formula. PET plastic
is one plastic that may be used with fragrance. In cases where the fragrance is
sensitive to light an opaque package should be used.



Perform a Patch TestSome products and scents may react with the skin and cause d
ermatitis or sensitivity. Test your product on a small patch of skin. Do this mo
re than once in the same place. If you have a skin reaction your product may pro
duce an allergic reaction in others too. Some people may react to even the milde
st of perfumes. It is a good idea to have a warning on your product labels that
may read discontinue use if irritation develops. I put this on all my products eve
n if they are fragrance and color free.

Industry WatchdogsMany of the regulatory requirements in the fragrance industry
have been driven by
Europe. In both Europe and the
US there is currently no restriction on the amount or type of fragrance compoun
d that may go into a personal care product. Naming individual fragrance ingredie
nts has traditionally not been required because it would be impractical to list
the 50 to 100 components in a fragrance blend. For people with sensitivities thi
s is a problem. Recently the EU has made up three lists that have been incorpora
ted into recent legislation. There is a list of 26 compounds reportedly found to
cause allergic reaction. There is also a list of 36 fragrance materials recomme
nded to be banned from cosmetics. If you are thinking that the natural essential
oils equate to good, there are plenty of naturally derived compounds that have
been shown to cause allergic reaction and are on the banned list. Very soon comp
anies will be required to delete these compounds from their products.

Converting your Liquid MeasurementsHeres a simple chart to help you make measurem
ent conversions when handling larger amounts of oils. Note that these are approx
imations. 300 drops = 1 tbs. = 15ml 100 drops = 1 tsp. = 5 ml 25 drops = .25 tsp
. = 1.25ml 20 drops = .20 tsp. = 1 ml

Recipes: Essential Oil Blends Aromatics & More Ltd.



HERBAL BLENDS

Blend name

Formula



Blend name

Formula

EMERALD
ISLAND

4 parts Rosemary 12 parts Lavender 8 parts Oak moss 4 parts Bergamot


FOREST WALK

2 parts
Cypress 10 parts Cedar wood 2 parts Lemon 2 parts Pine 2 parts Juniper
FEMME

2 parts Lime 4 parts Grapefruit 2 parts Clary Sage 2 parts Lavender 1 parts Lemo
n


HOMME

6 parts Bergamot 4 parts Vetiver 4 parts Rosemary 10 parts Lavender 4 parts Lemo
n
APPLIQUE

5 parts Eucalyptus 3 parts Palma Rosa 8 parts Rosewood 8 parts Lavender 10 parts
Lemon




ORIENTAL BLENDS

Blend name

Formula



Blend name

Formula

ORIENTAL BOUQUET

2 parts Ylang Ylang 8 parts Gardenia 4 parts Jasmine 8 parts Vanilla 6 parts San
dalwood


VANILLA ROSE

10 parts Vanilla 10 parts Petit grain 5 parts Rose
JAMAICAN SPICE

2 parts Pimento Leaf 8 parts Cinnamon 4 parts Jasmine 8 parts Sweet Orange 16 pa
rts Vanilla


ZANZIBAR

2 parts Ylang Ylang 8 parts Gardenia 4 parts Jasmine 8 parts Vanilla 6 parts San
dalwood
LAVENDER SPICE

1 parts Rose 1 parts Clove 4 parts Nutmeg 2 parts Cinnamon 6 parts Lavender




FLORAL BLENDS

Blend name

Formula



Blend name

Formula

WOODROSE

6 parts Bergamot 10 parts Rose 8 parts Honeysuckle 8 parts Sandalwood


MOON FLOWER

6 parts Rosewood 12 parts Gardenia 2 parts Benzoin 6 parts Jasmine
BELLA

4 parts Lilac 8 parts Rose 8 parts Jasmine 12 parts Gardenia 5 parts Patchouli


LILY

2 parts Peach 10 parts Rose 8 parts Honeysuckle 8 parts Lily of the Valley 6 par
ts Musk
BLUSH

8 parts May Chang 10 parts Ylang Ylang 8 parts Rose Lavender 4 parts 6 parts Mus
k




FRUITY BLENDS

Blend name

Formula



Blend name

Formula

JUST PEACHY

4 parts Ginger 1 parts Peach 8 parts Coconut 8 parts Vanilla


COCO-LIMON

12 parts Lime 2 parts Honey 6 parts Coconut 2 parts Almond
A LA MODE

10 parts Green Apple 6 parts Raspberry 2 parts Cinnamon 2 parts Nutmeg 6 parts V
anilla


PARTY

4 parts Pear 2 parts Peach 2 parts Musk 8 parts Strawberry
AMARETTO CREME

2 parts Almond 2 parts Honey 2 parts Oatmeal 2 parts Vanilla






Source: Aromatics & More Ltd & Others