tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35898907950799322682024-03-13T09:11:39.482-07:00Learning To Make Perfume<p>"The art of the perfumer is to choose perfumes, to make exquisite mixtures, cunning gradations, appetising variations for our olfactory sense."</p>
<p><em>-- Georges Darzens (1867-1954)</em></p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-18394990863904460872023-09-01T06:15:00.000-07:002023-09-01T06:15:22.478-07:00
<h1 style=line-height:1.3;">Creating a new perfume with ChatGPT: drilling down</h1>
<p>This message is a continuation of my previous message which can also be found at <a href="https://www.perfumeprojects.com/resources/ai-01.shtml">https://www.perfumeprojects.com/resources/ai-01.shtml</a></p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The perfume formula in my last message was generated by ChatGPT. You could create that perfume directly from the formula. If you were to do so, with the intention of selling it, you would have to deal with several issues that ChatGPT warns you of. First, all of the materials used are naturals. Secondly, some of these materials can be expensive.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The problem with the naturals is that they can vary greatly depending on the source and the season when they were harvested. So, if you were planning to sell your fragrance, you would want to lay in a considerable supply of each material so that a second batch of your fragrance would retain the odor characteristics of the first batch. (Just a warning!)</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Now, going back to ChatGPT, suppose you wanted suggestions for some substitutes for raw materials in the formula. I asked ChatGPT what I might substitute for Patchouli. It gave me this response:</p>
<p>"<i>If you're looking for a substitute for patchouli to maintain a strong woody aroma in your perfume formula, you might consider using one of the following materials:</i>"</p>
<p>"<i>1. <b>Guaiacwood</b>: Guaiacwood oil has a rich, smoky, and woody aroma that can provide depth and warmth to your perfume. It's often used as a base note in woody and oriental fragrances.</i>"</p>
<p>"<i>2. <b>Cypriol</b> (Nagarmotha): Cypriol oil has a distinct earthy and woody scent with slightly smoky undertones. It can add complexity and depth to your perfume, similar to patchouli.</i>"</p>
<p>"<i>3. <b>Cedarwood Atlas or Virginia</b>: Cedarwood essential oils have a strong woody aroma that can enhance the woody character of your perfume. Cedarwood Atlas has a slightly sweeter and balsamic scent, while Cedarwood Virginia has a drier and more pronounced woody aroma.</i>"</p>
<p>"<i>4. <b>Oud (Agarwood)</b>: Oud oil is derived from agarwood and offers a luxurious and intense woody scent with resinous and slightly smoky facets. It's often used in high-end fragrances to add a rich and exotic woodiness.</i>"</p>
<p>"<i>5. <b>Amyris</b>: Amyris essential oil, also known as West Indian Sandalwood, has a soft and creamy woody aroma with similarities to sandalwood. It can be a good substitute if you're looking for a milder woody note.</i>"</p>
<p>"<i>Remember that the characteristics of these oils can vary depending on their origin and quality. It's a good idea to test your chosen substitute in small quantities to ensure it fits well within your overall perfume composition and maintains the desired woody profile.</i>"</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Then I asked if there was a synthetic substitute for Patchouli and ChatGPT answered:</p>
<p>"<i>Yes, there are synthetic aroma chemicals that are used to mimic the scent of patchouli. Patchouli oil is known for its distinct and earthy aroma, and synthetic fragrance compounds have been developed to replicate this scent for use in perfumes, cosmetics, and other products.
One commonly used synthetic aroma chemical for patchouli is Patchouli Alcohol. It is a key component in creating patchouli-like fragrances and is often used to add depth and richness to various scents. While it might not perfectly replicate the complexity of natural patchouli oil, it can come quite close and offers the advantage of consistency in fragrance compositions.
Other aroma chemicals and compounds can also be combined to create synthetic patchouli-like scents, allowing perfumers and fragrance formulators to achieve a desired aroma profile without relying solely on natural patchouli oil.
Keep in mind that the field of fragrance chemistry is constantly evolving, and new aroma chemicals and formulations may have been developed since my last knowledge update in September 2021.</i>"</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Not satisfied with this answer, I asked:</p>
<p>"<i>is Patchouli Alcohol a natural or synthetic odorant </i>"</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">And ChatGPT replied:</p>
<p>"<i>Patchouli Alcohol is a natural odorant found in patchouli oil. It's one of the major components responsible for the characteristic scent of patchouli. While it can also be synthesized in a lab, it is initially derived from natural sources, making it both a natural compound and an aroma chemical that can be produced synthetically for various applications, including perfumery and cosmetics. </i>"</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Now here's the problem. ChatGPT can't tell you everything. It can only generate answers from what has gone into it. In time its knowledge base will surely expand and it will be able to answer questions that it can't answer now. Meanwhile, if you want to used ChatGPT to develop a new perfume, it's an excellent starting point for the non-professional and it can teach you a lot. It's suggestions can get you started in interesting directions... but the really hard work -- trying and testing and adjusting -- is all up to you.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-5896810137859140632023-08-30T06:26:00.000-07:002023-08-30T06:26:18.862-07:00<h1>Creating perfume with artificial intelligence (AI)</h1>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Let's suppose you have an idea for a perfume. You can describe what you're looking for in words but you don't know what raw materials would be needed to create this scent. You're (not yet!) a skilled perfumer. Artificial intelligence (AI) can help you create perfumes and teach you a good deal about aroma materials. The only prerequisite is your nose. You must be able to guide the AI engine and, once a raw formula is written, be able to make final adjustments yourself, following what your nose tells you.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The "perfume making tool" I have been using is ChatGPT. At the moment (August 2023) it can be used without any payment, its use if FREE, although that may change in the future. To use it you go to the website and register. Then you can begin to put it to work.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">My first query failed because I asked it to write a formula for a perfume using materials from a particular supplier. ChatGPT replied "I'm sorry, but I don't have access to specific databases..." but it offered to guide me through "the general process of creating a perfume" with the scent I wanted "using commonly available perfume materials." So I rephrased my question, eliminating a requirement that the materials were sourced from a particular vendor and instead asked:</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;"><b> "write a formula for a new womans perfume with a strong woody note"</b></p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">ChatGPT now presented me with a formula I could "consider":</p>
<b>Top Notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Bergamot: 10%</li>
<li>Pink Pepper: 5%</li>
<li>Mandarin: 5%</li>
</ul>
<b>Heart Notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li><li>Cedarwood: 20%</li>
Sandalwood: 15%</li>
<li>Jasmine: 10%</li>
</ul>
<b>Base Notes:</b><br>
<ul>
<li>Patchouli: 15%</li>
<li>Vetiver: 10%</li>
<li>Vanilla: 10%</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Then ChatGPT noted:</p>
<p>"<i><b>This formula is just a starting point and can be adjusted based on your preferences and the materials you have available. The percentages represent the relative strength of each ingredient in the final blend. You may need to dilute essential oils or fragrance oils to achieve the desired concentration.<br>
Remember that perfumery is an art, and experimenting with different proportions and combinations will help you create a unique and captivating scent. It's a good idea to start with small test batches to refine your formula before producing larger quantities.</b></i>"</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;"> Of course this is just a starting point but, using ChatGPT, you can drill down. For example, you can ask what substitutes might be appropriate for each or any of the materials in the formula. I'll give you an example in my next post.</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-91883999539385798082023-08-22T05:42:00.000-07:002023-08-22T05:42:11.882-07:00Make a perfume for yourself <p>If you are developing a fragrance you intend to sell, it is helpful to be very sensitive to the tastes of your intended market. You want to develop a fragrance that will be pleasing to them and, hopefully, more pleasing than the alternatives that are available to them. What they might, and what you might, want aren't necessarily the same.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://pglightyears.com/images/Xotic-03.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="200" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="112" src="https://pglightyears.com/images/Xotic-03.jpg"/></a></div>
<p>For example, I'm enchanted by a fragrance now called "Xotic." It's a strong fragrance with a wake-up quality and I like the smell of it in the morning. But I know, from experience, that this is not a fragrance women would rush to buy for their men and a large number of their men, thinking of their women, would likely shun it too. Thus is doesn't have strong commercial appeal. </p>
<p>If you want suggestions for a commercial creation, the logical starting inspiration is the perfume counter of a department store or specialty retailer. Smelling the scents that are being mass marketed will help define the boundaries of your own creation. Professional perfumers developing commercial fragrances themselves take this approach.</p>
<p>But suppose that, for once in your life at least, you want to design a fragrance for a market of one: yourself. This can be an exciting project.</p>
<p>Recently I had a fix-it project that called for the use of a small amount of a solvent. I'm away from home for the summer, away from all those bottles of alcohol on the shelf, but I had on my desk in front of me a bottle of one of my fragrances, one that I had decided I didn't like very much and had already reformulated, considering the original composition junk.</p>
<p>So, being junk and about 90 percent alcohol, I decided to use it for the solvent I needed. I put some paper down on the desk and poured a bit of the fragrance, wetting the paper slightly. The room was immediately filled with the fragrance. I enjoyed the smell.</p>
<p>A piece of the paper remained on my desk for several weeks, scenting the room. What I had discarded as junk I was now finding quite pleasing. But it wasn't a fragrance I would try to sell. It was just a scent that, for me, was uplifting and pleasant.</p>
<p>If you decide to make a perfume just for yourself, without any commercial intentions, there are two obstacles, two hurdles to be overcome. First, you have to decide what you want your fragrance to be, what aroma you want. You have to be able to fix this is your mind -- which can be very difficult as you are dealing with an intangible. Some people have better scent imagination than others, just as some people have more visual imagination than others. It's something you can work on.</p>
<p>The second obstacle is technology. Once you have that scent fixed in your mind, how are you going to create it? You need the raw materials. Currently the professional perfumer has more than 3,000 potential materials to work with but a familiarity with as few as fifty can give you many possibilities. As a practical matter, you may want to adjust your perfect personal scent, the perfume you are going to make for yourself, to a mental image that will fit within the bounds of the materials you have on hand and understand.</p>
<p>Of course once you've created one perfume that is "just for yourself," it's likely you'll want to expand your knowledge of raw materials, the building blocks of perfumery, so that you can expand you imagined scents ... and create them.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-73332734517502480112022-10-26T12:40:00.000-07:002022-10-26T12:40:04.192-07:00Perfume marketing opportunity: Offer what others refuse to create <p>Two days ago I began to explore possibilities for a new perfume. Although I could be spending more time promoting fragrances I've already created, since the summer I've been sidetracked by a project having little to do with perfume. But suddenly this week perfume was again very much on my mind. I'll tell you why.</p>
<p>Recently I received some unexpected compliments on a perfume I had created some time ago and then largely ignored. Positive feedback provides inspiration and I was inspired to do some new smelling. I now had a rough idea of what I wanted but I had to do some mixing and sniffing to see if my vague idea might come alive. My first try was a strike out but my second offered possibilities so I'm letting it sit for a few days to see how it evolves and whether, with some work, it might become something. As I was working and sniffing a thought came to me which I would like to share.</p>
<p>There is a whole world out there of glorious smells, of potential perfumes, that you will never find at any perfume counter. This near infinite world of possibilities offers you unlimited opportunities to latch onto one of these totally unclaimed smells and make it your own. Let me explain this.</p>
<p>There are currently available not just hundreds but thousands of odorants sold for use in perfumery. Some don't smell like much; some might even be said to stink... until they are blended with other odorants. Then magic occurs and you have a beautiful scent. Professional perfumers understand what scents can be produced by blending two or more materials. They don't have to experiment. They know from their training. The work they do produces very subtle scents such as those found in bottles at perfume counters. But there are hundreds of aroma materials out there that smell good, all by themselves, without any blending. This is the key to possibilities for you.</p>
<p>
Explore the raw materials of perfumery: the naturals, the synthetics, the specialty bases. Single out materials that smell good by themselves. Then play with them, mixing them with other nice smelling or not so nice smelling odorants. This is not going to give you a finished perfume but it can get you started on a scent theme that will be quite different than anything currently found at perfume counters. Remember, what you find in stores, on perfume counters, is but a tiny sampling of possibilities. In fact, each of these professionally created fragrances has been assembled with multiple raw materials and simply by changing the balance of these materials a new perfume is created.</p>
<p>For the most part, the professionally composed fragrances you find in the market were created in response to and in competition with existing professionally created fragrances already on the market. For the most part the investors in perfume will try to find spots in the market not too far different in scent than existing fragrances, especially the successful ones.</p>
<p>When creating a fragrance of your own, you have two paths. You can try to imitate what has already been done, particularly that which has already been done successfully, or you can follow your own nose to beauty without reference to others.</p>
<p>For the less skilled and I include myself, this second path is rewarding creatively and it can be more rewarding in profit for you are now selling an original story. You are selling something that you created, that you believe in, and that you want to share with others.</p>
<p>Think about it.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-24078661424546596112022-08-30T14:42:00.001-07:002022-08-30T14:42:55.205-07:00Do you wear perfume to the beach? <p>Smells surround us. We live in a world of smells. We are exposed to the strongest smells in the kitchen -- and in taking out the garbage. But can we ever walk down the street without experiencing a cornucopia of smells? The smell of a big truck; the smell of a motorbike, the smell of perfume, the smell of a dog -- and all the various random smells we can or cannot identify. Do you wear perfume to the beach?</p>
<p>Think about beach smells. The smells on a lonely, ocean-washed beach are quite different than the smells of a beach crowded with vacationers. The smells of a virgin lake are quite different than the smells of the ocean -- and far different than the smells of a lake favored by powerboats or freighters. Would these differences inspire you to wear different perfumes?</p>
<p>Do you think about environment when you select a perfume?</p>
<p>Think about a near-deserted beach along an ocean and its smells. Here would you wear a perfume that harmonizes with the ocean smells or would you deliberately or not wear a perfume that stands out boldly from the environment? The same question could be asked when planning for a social evening with fine dining and dancing. Do you select a perfume that harmonizes with the scent of the food you will be eating or one that rises above the meal and the crowd and identifies you out of all the happy mass gathered?</p>
<p>Perfumers of course have these thoughts. It's a little like selecting the right wine for the right course but far more delicate and important. The perfumer knows that most will not be paying attention to their environments but still feels an obligation to guide them so that their decisions are not too outré. Fragrances for the masses are engineered to go anywhere.</p>
<p>Thinking about the daily smells you smell, recognizing the odd, unexpected smell helps you think about perfume compositions. Building a new fragrance? How do you want it to fit into a man or woman's life? Will it be for special, controlled occasions or will it be for "all round" use? Think about how much recognition your audience has of the smells that surround them. How aware are they? What new smell -- in the form of your fragrance -- could make their lives more joyous? A tiny whiff of fragrance can have a very large influence on our happi9ness... and even our well being.</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-59714434836537320842022-06-24T11:53:00.000-07:002022-06-24T11:53:50.137-07:00There's a formula behind every perfume you'll ever make. Too bad if you didn't record it.
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">How do YOU go about making a new perfume? Do you sketch out a plan, do you imagine a theme, or do you just plunge into it, mixing materials that seem to go together nicely? Do you find yourself creating many perfumes in small batches but never making the same perfume twice, even when everyone is asking you for it? <i>To make more you need the formula.</i></p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">There is a formula for every perfume you've ever made, even if you didn't record it. Perhaps the word "formula" is scary. Perhaps there's a fear that writing a few notes won't qualify as a formula and won't really be enough to bring the favorites you've made back to life again. But all it takes to bring a perfume of yours back to life in a new batch is incredibly simple, if you took a few important notes.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">For example, say you created your fragrance using materials A, B, C, D, and E. Counting our drops, your initial formula might look something like this:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7AQjTWCzgPtcyDzQHKZHehJbyS_QPCInVXiWZ5mv8NaNG6tAptcOpP0lk8Bur1yd-6ZS0KKDf3swaeBh4kLvx_fggS_HEVUpajiNxhg8x8pY2wAtx4ru1NwBKtU4U8XwYabnq8vp7aUxD45Ld4mlpPEatI1uEphR_lguLdwJ9UILiOYWD7IHwaf6-Q/s159/blog-09a.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="159" data-original-width="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7AQjTWCzgPtcyDzQHKZHehJbyS_QPCInVXiWZ5mv8NaNG6tAptcOpP0lk8Bur1yd-6ZS0KKDf3swaeBh4kLvx_fggS_HEVUpajiNxhg8x8pY2wAtx4ru1NwBKtU4U8XwYabnq8vp7aUxD45Ld4mlpPEatI1uEphR_lguLdwJ9UILiOYWD7IHwaf6-Q/s320/blog-09a.jpg"/></a></div>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">Then, if we were to assume that all the drops were of the same size (volume), we could go a step farther and produce a formula by percentages. It would look like this:
</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hCU5r7Zp1Kz2EJPGwAhbq4FwrOaiiE3vFL8L8Z7dWU_h8eYJtyXhvKW5O9r3XPRSR7v93oS0BHpj3azV6u3zrJpwRu3NjbNGypKb_0vB6VaQItd6arDlSIlGrhCMMSx4LxH6exDIsWQ0xmCq3NG12_A-gZTkBhJCgSVRDfSAExiNsRAu2gY9gfzSIA/s243/blog-09b.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hCU5r7Zp1Kz2EJPGwAhbq4FwrOaiiE3vFL8L8Z7dWU_h8eYJtyXhvKW5O9r3XPRSR7v93oS0BHpj3azV6u3zrJpwRu3NjbNGypKb_0vB6VaQItd6arDlSIlGrhCMMSx4LxH6exDIsWQ0xmCq3NG12_A-gZTkBhJCgSVRDfSAExiNsRAu2gY9gfzSIA/s320/blog-09b.jpg"/></a></div>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">Now, to make more, you just mix the percentages. For example, to make 500 ml of your perfume oil:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktlAxUc45TXYTLlf5DoK4n8yo8w3trjQfhEncOTfgfeQH-ChmkqZzcKfvzwDfYkrLN6QyuMQf8IejHrLQeRsJIZYwz9-dmZDjF0YlvZwT76vdtE5kvDpbnPnhmINRDBA5l9uVRElBncecva0ZAIoTGGvTCbX9lVt_zFvKOkjFmSzO06Ao_-Qit2rRhg/s273/blog-09c.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktlAxUc45TXYTLlf5DoK4n8yo8w3trjQfhEncOTfgfeQH-ChmkqZzcKfvzwDfYkrLN6QyuMQf8IejHrLQeRsJIZYwz9-dmZDjF0YlvZwT76vdtE5kvDpbnPnhmINRDBA5l9uVRElBncecva0ZAIoTGGvTCbX9lVt_zFvKOkjFmSzO06Ao_-Qit2rRhg/s320/blog-09c.jpg"/></a></div>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">When using your formula to produce more of your fragrance, you can use any unit of liquid measurement you want: milliliters, fluid ounces, liters, or even gallons. It's up to you.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">If you have just made the original batch of your fragrance, nothing more need be done. But if some time has gone by, there is an issue you will have to deal with, being able to get more of the materials you used in your original batch. This brings up a second issue: keeping a record of the materials you used in your original fragrance.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">If you are serious about your creative work in perfumery you will keep a very precise record of those materials including where you got them and even stock numbers. I've written a bit more about this in my book How to create an international production formula for your homemade perfume that will help you develop even more accurate formulas. The more accurate your formula is, the closer your new batch will be to your original. But it's never more complicated than just taking a few simple notes. You just want to be sure you're taking the <i>right</i> notes!</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-58760553625767628072022-06-16T16:02:00.000-07:002022-06-16T16:02:55.624-07:00The detail you can't leave out when you're writing your formula <p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Anyone who makes perfume, even the most skilled and successful professional, has those times when he or she wants to experiment, just like a pure hobbyist. It generally starts with an idea. Then some aroma materials are chosen and the mixing and experimenting begins. Sometimes nothing comes of it but sometimes the result is pure magic. Can the magic be repeated? Can what has been done be done again? It all comes down to the formula.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Having the formula should allow you to produce more of that "bingo" fragrance you just created. For the professional it would rarely be a problem. But what about you? To produce more of the same, not only do you need the formula, you need the exact same aroma materials you used in your original batch. Can you get them? This is where the hobby perfumer so often gets stuck. </p>
<h2>The issues:</h2>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">To get more of the same materials you have to know exactly what they were; then you have to be able to obtain more. The first issue is the precise identity of what you used. Did you keep a full and complete record including vendor and vendor's stock number? Bergamot essential oil? Pure Bergamot or a Bergamot blend (the label should show). And whose Bergamot did you use? It makes a difference.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Can your source supply more of exactly what you used the first time? Does your source still sell it or have they switched to a substitute? Have they simply dropped it from their line leaving you to search for a substitute from another vendor?</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Then there's the scenario where you were really careless in recording your materials and find something which seems to carry the same name but when you open the bottle and sniff, it turns out to be nothing like what you expected. (I have had this experience and it's a real wake-up call to keep better records.)</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If you can't obtain more of something that went into your fragrance, that's the end of it. Finished. There will never be more. You can hope to come up with sometime inspired by the memory of that magical fragrance but it will never be the same.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Consider your sources before you buy your materials. Seek out vendors who are likely to offer continuity, vendors who understand the needs of serious perfume makers. And remember, if you are experimenting, developing a new perfume, you may run out of one or more materials you are using before you get it right. I have. If, at that point, you can't get more, your whole project is in the toilet.</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-71264504280648302762022-06-08T13:19:00.002-07:002022-06-08T13:19:49.118-07:00Unexpected problem developing formula led to new book<p> The last six weeks have been busy, busy, busy. While working on the revised version of <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a>, I ran into a situation that I wanted to write about. It dealt with the high cost of a particular ingredient that happened to make up a large percentage of the formula. The new <i>Rough Day</i> did get finished. I've been using it and my wife approves. I just now produced labels and bottled more of it. In spite of the cost of the "juice," I've decided to use 2-ounce bottles with spray pumps. I have the bottles and pumps on hand. <br />You might wonder why, when I was so excited about this "new, improved, (and more expensive)" version of <i>Rough Day</i> I've taken so long to get back to it. A little glitch in developing the master formula, which I started to write about in a blog, has become an important chapter (Chapter 5: Sometimes complications arise and drops become a problem) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578267578/ref=nosim?tag=perfumeprojec-20">in a book I stopped to write</a>, design and photograph. The book was published last week and is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578267578/ref=nosim?tag=perfumeprojec-20">now available on Amazon</a> so I am free to get back to keeping in touch with followers.<br /> <br />The issue that caused me to stop everything and write a short book or "guide" involves measurements for developing a master formula. The formula for the new <i>Rough Day</i>, <i>Rough Day 2022,</i> like all my other formulas, was first developed with drops from dropper bottles. From this "drops" formula, using an electronic balance I could develop a formula in percentages of weight, which would allow me to scale up my formula to any weight required. This is a lot more practical than counting out thousands of drops.<br /> <br />In my original "drops" formula, some materials were used in a single drop. A single drop was too light for me to weigh accurately so I would multiply the drops of all the materials by twenty. Now I could accurately weight the drops for each material an then calculate the percentage of the formula represented by that weight. (Together the percentages of the weights of all the materials would total 100.)<br /> <br />Ordinarily all this is simple. I weigh the drops, I calculate the percentages and I have my formula and, with that formula, I can make any amount of my perfume oil I want. And, because the formula is in percentages, the units I'm using can be any weight measurement: grams, ounces, kilos, pounds. With a few steps more I can convert my <i>formula by weight</i> to a <i>formula by volume</i>: milliliters, fluid ounces, liters, or gallons. All very straight forward.<br /> <br />With the new <i>Rough Day</i> a situation arose. Two materials were used in very small quantities and one material was used in a large quantity (many, many drops.) To weigh the drops accurately I would have had to multiply the smallest by a minimum of 20, which would have given me enough to weigh accurately. That would not have been a problem. But what about the one material that called for a lot of drops? I would have been counting out well over 1000 drops.<br /> <br />Maybe I could have done it but what if I lost count which, for me, would be pretty easy to do. Then I would have to start EVERYTHING all over again. Worse still, the material with the largest number of drops was the most expensive. In fact, it cost more per gram than almost any material I have ever used. I couldn't see risking a screw-up with this expensive material.<br /> <br />So I used another method to develop my formula for the new <i>Rough Day</i>. It is not one I would recommend unless you have a good nose but I trusted my nose and used this alternative to make a small batch. My nose told me I was slightly off from what I wanted so I adjusted the result AND adjusted my formula to reflect what I had done. All worked out fine. By now you've probably guessed that I was working with <i>volumes</i> rather than weights. None of my expensive material was wasted.<br /> <br />When you write a formula for your perfume in either percentages of weight or in percentages of volume, your nose becomes very important. Your nose is the tool by which you decide when your formula has nailed it or whether adjustments are still required.<br /> <br />If what I've just written leaves you with any confusion, just write me a comment below and I'll try to clarity. Meanwhile, thank you for reading this!<br /> <br />-- Phil</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-31375852916969482252022-04-13T11:43:00.000-07:002022-04-13T11:43:11.457-07:00If the scent is good, bottle it!<i><span style="font-size: large;">But you can't bottle your fragrance if you don't have bottles on hand!
</span></i><p style="text-indent: 1.5em;">Being able to purchase the bottles you want, in the quantity you want, at the price you want is an ongoing issue for anyone involved in creating perfume on a modest scale. As a minimum you need two kinds of bottles, ones for the distribution of your fragrances (perfume bottles) and ones for the production of your scents (utility bottles). If you make fragrances for both women and for men you might want to give them different bottles. This means you'll need <i>three</i> different types of bottles and you'll want to keep at least a small supply of each of them on hand.</p>
<p style="text-indent: 1.5em;">About a month ago as I was finishing up my revised version of <a href="https://www.pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a> I stopped to review the inventory I had on hand. I wanted to check my supply of 16 ounce and 32 ounce amber Boston rounds that I use when producing fragrances. I was <i>shocked</i>, yes <i>shocked</i> to discover the vendor I had used for years was <i>out of stock</i> of both sizes and could not say when more would be available.</p>
<p style="text-indent: 1.5em;">When I publish books on perfume development I highlight materials and services I've used but rather than list them on an appendix page, I direct readers to the <a href="https://www.perfumeprojects.com/perfume/vendors/vendor-menu.shtml">"Vendors"</a> pages of my <a href="https://www.perfumeprojects.com">Perfume Projects website</a>. Why? Because the books, once printed, <i>can't be changed</i>, but they continue to be sold, traded, and used as a resource long after some of these vendors have gone out of business or have stopped supplying the product or service that would have gotten them a listing. On a web page, in a minute or two, I can add or delete vendors as their circumstances change. In the case of amber Boston round bottles I have added several new vendors that, at this time, appear to be well stocked.</p>
<p style="text-indent: 1.5em;">When I checked my bottle supply I found I did have on hand those utility bottles I needed so I haven't yet tried one of the new vendors. And I have received an email from the vendor I used for many years reporting that some new bottles are on their way. As to perfume bottles for both men's and women's fragrances, I have large stocks on hand of the styles I use most frequently. Once I have used a particular bottle for a particular fragrance I want continuity for that bottle design. All of this is a warning.</p>
<p style="text-indent: 1.5em;">Once you have developed a fragrance that pleases you, you want to show it around and see what others think. This means you need to have bottles on hand, perhaps just a dozen; perhaps more. The bottles you use when you are first sharing your fragrance don't have to be the same bottles you might use if you were going ahead with your project and producing 1,000 or even 10,000 bottles. I like to keep on hand at least a few dozen simple bottles with screw on sprays for womens fragrances and a similar quantity of sprinkler neck bottles (no spray) for mens fragrances. This way, when I have a fragrance I want to test on a friends and others, I have the bottles on hand. I don't have to worry about whether a vendor will have them in stock at the time I need them and I don't have to worry about shipping times and shipping delays.</p>
<p style="text-indent: 1.5em;">When a scent is good, I want to bottles it... <i>now!</i></p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-43371314151952852092022-02-07T12:59:00.000-08:002022-02-07T12:59:15.174-08:00By Camel or FedEx, aromatics still travel globally <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0sI-38M-uyd_dKokO35IhJDViWKL0a5R9YuUDMlRh_hszNFRQHOjpd_G8C3vAOSFn0GPOI84y14MHy91RmAbEuisrM4-CxZweufQSglF3txo5zp0d_xOx4pGKAe650l-jTTVMs73Td9KvhbmVQXucRSLvikUyLZ57tIrT175QDtnDBlX6X7GrYaoyMg=s367" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: right; float: right;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0sI-38M-uyd_dKokO35IhJDViWKL0a5R9YuUDMlRh_hszNFRQHOjpd_G8C3vAOSFn0GPOI84y14MHy91RmAbEuisrM4-CxZweufQSglF3txo5zp0d_xOx4pGKAe650l-jTTVMs73Td9KvhbmVQXucRSLvikUyLZ57tIrT175QDtnDBlX6X7GrYaoyMg=s320"/></a></div><p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Last Christmas I was involved in some Bible studies that touched on the birth of Jesus and the story of the three kings, or "magi", from the East bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I had a bit of frankincense from Somalia on hand and about two drops of myrrh. When I smelled the myrrh it stuck me that this indeed was the missing ingredient for a perfume I was trying to reformulate. Myrrh became a major ingredient in this fragrance, the new version of <i><a href="https://www.pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml">Rough Day</a></i>. Myrrh became the heart.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Two notes about the Bible story. One, myrrh was, at the time of Jesus' birth, rare and expensive. Two, the kings or magi seem to have arrived on the scene several years after Jesus' birth. These points have been ringing bells with me.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">First, myrrh is still quite expensive, about $3,000 per kilo of myrrh essential oil from my source. And travel time? Here's what happened when I placed an order of myrrh from the orient.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">First I want to note that it was shipped FedEx and not by camel. But the routing made me wonder what route the kings had taken to find Jesus and whether they may have wandered around the Middle East and even parts of Africa before arriving in Bethlehem of Judea.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">My shipment of myrrh was delivered to FedEx in Bangkok but it didn't go directly from Bangkok to the U.S. FedEx hub in Memphis. From Bangkok it traveled north in Thailand to the Samutprakarn FedEx World Service Center where it seems to have spent three days before being passed on to the FedEx Asia Pacific hub in Guangzhou, China, where it spent a day before being passed on the FedEx hub in Anchorage, Alaska. Then, by 5 AM the next morning it had bounced backward to the FedEx North Pacific hub at Sennan-shi, Japan. By that evening it was back in Alaska but quickly sent on to Memphis, Tennessee and from there immediately sent to Newburgh, New York and put out for delivery to me in Walden that same morning having traveled through four countries in ten days.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The adventures of the myrrh was a reminder that the fragrance and spice business has always been global. Before the days of sailing ships rare spices and aromatics traveled from Asia by camel. As a young man the Prophet Mohammed got his start in the trade. Later European nations developed nautical trade routes to Asia to bring back spices and aromatics. Today it's FedEx and DHL but the geography remains global. Today the fragrance industry conducts research explorations for new aroma materials all over the world in addition to developing new fragrance molecules in the laboratory.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">When I get my new fragrance together I'll make announcements for it via <a href="https://www.pglightyears.com/">my PGLightyears website</a> which, potentially, will be seen by people all over the world. After all these centuries perfume remains a global business.</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-13814809543406246252022-02-02T08:45:00.002-08:002022-02-02T08:45:49.311-08:00Don't fall into the "essential oil" trap<h2><i><b>"Natural" can be good but it can also be dangerous!</b></i></h2>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">It's not about "natural vs. synthetic." It's not about allergic reactions. It's not about animal welfare and unkind treatment to civet cats and musk deer. This is about cost, the cost of certain essential oils.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">I've been working on a remake of an existing fragrance (<a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a>). The formula calls for both natural and synthetic materials. Two thirds of the ingredients are essential oils. All but one of them are quite affordable <i>but</i> that <i>one</i> that is not so affordable is essential to the formula. It is the heart of the formula and there is no synthetic substitute for it. An ounce of this fragrance is going to be quite expensive.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">I want feedback on this fragrance so I have to produce it. But what format should I select? Could I use it to make a solid perfume? For a solid perfume I would only need a small amount of fragrance oil for each unit produced. Or should I fill a few inexpensive sampler vials? I have some good ones, with sprays, on hand.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">One solution not far from my original plan would be to use 1/4 ounce bottles rather than 1-ounce bottles I had planned to use. I can get some nice 1/4 ounce bottles and sprays to match but neither the bottles nor the sprays are available in small quantities. I would have to buy the bottles by the case and then sprays by a much larger quantity than I want. I may just make up a handful of nice 1-ounce bottles and give them to a few people as a gift, to see how they react. If I was plugged into the social media thing I would give them to a few "influencers" and hope for a shout-out. This is something you might consider.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">This project has turned into a financially risky proposition and this was not my intention, so here is my warning to you. Study your budget before you start to formulate your fragrance. All the best selling commercial fragrances start with a very strictly fixed budget. Then it is up to the perfumer to meet the requirements of the project and do it within these budgetary constrictions. This means when looking for a scent certain ideas are out. Cost prohibits them. In my case had I started with the budget I never would have gone down the paths I went down. If my nose was leading me in the direction of an expensive essential oil, I would have simply said, "No, that's not a viable solution." As it is I'm pleased with the scent but, due to the costs involved and the way I'll have to price it in whatever format I select, this is not likely to be a money maker. Too bad.</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-47962521756954812412022-01-27T10:49:00.000-08:002022-01-27T10:49:33.198-08:00Can you afford to produce the great fragrance you just made? <p style="text-indent:1.5em;">I was ready to go into production with the "revised" version of <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a>, the fragrance that had been lacking in personality. Now I had a formula. Now I had a solution. Now I had to order supplies for a production batch or send the formula out to be made for me by someone else. Now I suddenly realized what <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a> is going to cost to produce.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">I have mentioned previously that the "new" <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml">Rough Day</a></i> would make use of Myrrh — lots of it. When I purchased the supply for my tests I bought just enough, because of the cost. From my source, a kilo runs about $3,000. That's enough to give pause.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Now let's look at the problem. I want to produce a batch of the new <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a> without making any substitutions. Possible solutions? I can plow ahead and invest more money than was my intention. That would be fine if I knew I could sell out at the price I would need to make the deal profitable. Originally I had thought to price the new <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a> at $45 for a 50 ml bottle, and maybe run a special, limited offer at $35, to get some feedback on the revised formula. But now, confronting the production costs, a bottle will have to sell for from $85 to about $115. This puts it in a whole different market.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Then, as to the bottle. I have a supply of 50 ml sprinkler neck bottles that I favor for men's fragrances. But the new <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a> could be equally enjoyed by woman as well as men. But at the higher price, and thinking of women, a more elegant bottle is called for. And it should have a spray. That will add even more to the production cost. This now becomes a whole new marketing adventure.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">How should I address this new situation? I'll start by scaling back my production goal and make a smaller batch which I'll use for some marketing tests. I may buy some new bottles that will be more elegant than the bottles I have on hand. I'll try some old tricks. Then I'll watch what results come in. If the new <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a> starts to gain traction, I'll make a larger investment, "take it to the next level." But unless it proves a runaway success (which would be very rare, even for the best of fragrances), I'll take it "up" in measured steps. This is the plan.</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-61243149486265420642022-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:002022-01-26T08:44:16.817-08:00It's not a pyramid. It's not "one of each." You have to know what to leave out. <p style="text-indent:1.5em;">When you've got it right, stop. Forget what your formula looks like. Your goal is not to match some academic standard of perfumery. Don't try to match your formula against the classic pyramid of top note, middle note, and base. Don't try to include aroma materials from each of these categories in your perfume to make it "right." If you've nailed the scent, that's it. Stop. I'm telling you this out of current personal experience.</p>
If you've been following my messages you'll know that I've been working to reformat a fragrance called <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml">Rough Day</a></i>. It had no personality. I was <p style="text-indent:1.5em;">determined to give it one, a personality that would harmonize with the vision behind it. Have <i>you</i> ever had a rough day? Would you like to come home at the end of that day and find a scent that commiserates with you? A scent that tells you that, really,l everything is all right? In my case I found the scent I was looking for but it didn't match any template for fragrance design. It was just "right."</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Perfume is about the nose, about emotion. The worst sin you can commit with perfume is to overwork it, to go beyond the point where it's giving you all that you wanted but you feel compelled to keep tinkering and tinkering until you've killed its heart and its personality is lost. What could have been great is now nothing. No one will notice it and soon you will not notice it either.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">You can get tricked. I almost got tricked. I had something I liked but couldn't believe this was really it. It seemed too simple. <i>It must need more</i> (I foolishly reasoned.) and so I tinkered and tinkered, adding and taking away this and that. But each time I tinkered I lost the heart, the personality, the individuality. Only after several weeks of small trials and adjustments did I come to the conclusion: "<i>leave it alone.</i>" Stick with what worked and forget trying to make it more complex because someone made up a rule.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">So I've stopped. In a few days I'll go into production and produce a small batch. I'm a little nervous. What will happen when I test it with a little alcohol and perhaps some water? But these will be small tests, to see what combination of fragrance oil, alcohol and water will be, in my eyes, the most pleasing. Likely none of these combinations will be "bad" but hopefully one will stand out as being the best.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">One more point that I want to discuss with you: cost. But I'll share that conversation in my next message.
</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-31394563108989351272022-01-06T10:06:00.000-08:002022-01-06T10:06:42.299-08:00Have you given your perfume the right personality? (for your target audience) <p style="text-indent:1.5em;">I've been struggling for about a month to reformulate <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml">Rough Day</a></i>, a fragrance of mine that was lacking in personality. I had tried taking it in several directions but each try was a failure. Each new personality I gave it was wrong. I didn't have a clear vision of what I wanted and thus could not fix the problem. I was experiencing a perfumer's version of writer's block. I needed an idea but was coming up with nothing.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">In the weeks leading up to Christmas my wife and I were involved in a church study group focused on the birth of Jesus. Whether you're Christian or not you may be familiar with the story of three kings from the East bringing gifts to the baby Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh. I had a small bottle of frankincense and a few drops of myrrh on hand so I sniffed them to get in the spirit of the Nativity story. The myrrh caught my attention.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Historically, myrrh has been associated with sadness and preparations for burial. Both the odor and the story seemed to fit <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml">Rough Day</a></i> perfectly. With only two drops on hand, I sent off for a new supply.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Myrrh has a mild but somewhat unusual aroma. Since it's not a strong odorant I'll take care not to smother its aroma with the other materials I'll be using but I'm confident I'm now on the right track. I'll tell you more about this when I'm closer to what I want.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Meanwhile I have another scent adventure to report. My wife and I had driven down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to spend Christmas with the kids and grand kids. To put us up, my 12-year-old granddaughter relinquished her bedroom for the better part of a week. On the drive back to Walden I thought I would thank her by sending her a bottle of perfume. I had some <a href="https://plushfolly.com/epages/c4309d3d-6444-497a-81dd-1c01462e73bd.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/c4309d3d-6444-497a-81dd-1c01462e73bd/Products/pochcube/SubProducts/pochcube-0003">nice bottles with gold trimmed caps</a> and press-on sprays and I thought I'd fill one with one of my own fragrances but put her name on the label, in pink. Besides making the label (I have <a href="https://www.graytex.com/self-adhesive-inkjet-paper.htm">a supply of sticker paper</a> for this), all I had to do was select a fragrance.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Certain of the fragrances I had on hand were not, in my opinion, age appropriate for a 12-year-old: too pronounced an aroma; too unique. I wanted something with a mild aroma and just a subtle character, something that a young person might enjoy -- or at least not gag at. <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/Manama.shtml">Manama</a></i> was too rosy; <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/Summer_Air.shtml">Summer Air</a></i> was too clove. Several others were just too bland. It became a runoff between <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/Mimosa.shtml">Mimosa</a></i> and <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/$timeout.shtml">$timeout</a></i>.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">But <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/Mimosa.shtml">Mimosa</a></i> is a strange and exotic scent. Too much for a young person. On the other hand, <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/$timeout.shtml">$timeout</a></i> looked good... and the more I sampled it, the better it looked for this project. Although not my personal favorite, it is a pretty decent perfume. And it has personality.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">This brings me to another point. Not only will a good perfume have personality, it will have a personality that is right for the audience for which it was created. Of all my fragrances, my favorite for personal use is <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/Xotic.shtml">Xotic</a></i> followed by <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/Blackberry.shtml">Blackberry</a></i>. These are not fragrances most wives would buy for their husbands but my wife finds both quite pleasant on me. Her favorites are <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/Summer_Air.shtml">Summer Air</a></i> and <i><a href="https://pglightyears.com/Manama.shtml">Manama</a></i>, fragrances, perhaps too strong for most American women. For my granddaughter I wanted an easy-to-live-with, non-controversial fragrance she could show off to her friends without embarrassment, whether she decides to use it herself or not.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Perfume should be enjoyed. Selecting the right fragrance for the right person is important. When you have a few scents to select from it's easier. And when none of your scents seem quite right for a particular person, you have a gap in your inventory. This can give you inspiration for new fragrance... to fill that gap.</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-18014828546662426582021-12-16T07:32:00.000-08:002021-12-16T07:32:16.286-08:00Extracting yourself from a messed up perfume project
<b>Turning a failure into at least a small success</b>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">Last October (2021) I was sampling one of my own fragrances that I had almost forgotten.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">It had not been a success. The fragrance wasn't great. Now when I sampled it I felt something was missing. I was in Canada at the time and I resolved to "fix" this fragrance when I got home to Walden in November.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">Now for several weeks I've been working to "fix" that fragrance (<a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a>) but, although I've assembled a collection of aroma materials that I thought could correct its shortcomings, I'm feeling frustrated at my progress and I'm not sure I'm taking the right approach. Should I just set it aside and go on to something else? I'm almost at that point.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">Perhaps I took a double wrong approach. On the one hand I wanted to tweak <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a> as it already existed. On the other hand I wanted to redevelop <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a>, keeping some of the original theme but enhancing it. Working mostly on the second approach, the real problem hit me like a rock. <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a> had no personality. It was what I thought it should be "intellectually" but lacked any note, theme, or riff that could grab me, or anyone else. Zero personality.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">This is something that can happen in any of the arts. You develop a creative project thinking the world will be at your feet only to find nobody has much interest in what you've done. In time you realize that YOU have no interest in what you've done either. Yet you keep examining it, sampling it, hoping that by some magic it will come to life, but it doesn't.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">I'm giving the "Rough Day Project" a few more days, to see if I can create some gem of personality for it, a memorable note, a new heart, a new core from which I can then rebuild <a href="https://pglightyears.com/rough-day.shtml"><i>Rough Day</i></a>, hopefully into something worth marketing.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em">Last night sniffing a sample I detected a faint smell of something that, if blown up, could be interesting. Now I want to see if I can do something with it. Stay tuned.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-49643578173216686292021-12-10T14:24:00.003-08:002021-12-10T14:38:44.547-08:00Perfume Making -- the vital step people ignore(Which is why their perfumes tend to fail)
<p>Are you preparing to develop a new perfume? How do you plan to get started? If you were Coty or Chanel or Elizabeth Arden your first step would be to define, with words, the perfume you wanted developed for you. Your words, which could run dozens of pages, would be called a "perfume brief." But you're not Coty, you're not Chanel, you're not Elizabeth Arden , so how do YOU get started? If you want to develop a perfume to make sales, you start by creating your own perfume brief, before you start smelling anything; before you start mixing anything.</p>
<p>This first step stumps many because they haven't defined what their perfume should be. More important, they haven't thought clearly about who they expect to buy this perfume. To write a perfume brief you need a well defined target market. The fastest way to begin your brief is to select ONE PERSON who will act as the center of your target market. Then it all becomes easy.</p>
<p>Now you just write up everything you know about this ONE PERSON. What are their likes? Their dislikes? Where to they shop? How much will they pay for a bottle of perfume? How would they like it packaged? You want your perfume to be pleasing to this ONE PERSON. </p>
<p>Spend a few days – or weeks – writing down everything you know about this person. The work you do now, which you may think is silly, will make your life a whole lot easier once you start to select materials for your perfume.</p>
<p>Now find a name.</p>
<p>You want a name that will appeal to your ONE PERSON, that will entice him or her to want to try your (their!) perfume. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G8PS2KD/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07G8PS2KD&linkCode=as2&tag=perfumeprojec-20&linkId=8f284e88f0e58e5346204a925c454301">All the rules of naming apply of course</a> but, although some of your ideas might have to be rejected due to conflicts with existing names, keep trying until you have a name that "fits" your target and is available for use, i.e., not in use by anyone else.</p>
<p>If you really "know" the ONE PERSON you are targeting, a name will not be that hard to select. Think of all the nicknames that ONE PERSON has been given, nicknames that are unique to that ONE PERSON. This can be a good starting point.</p>
<p>Where will you go from there? <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkAZVNrbppA&t=4s">My suggestion is to watch this video.</a> I've watched it three times in recent weeks -- and I've sat though the same lecture "live" another three times -- but it takes time for the lessons to sink in.</p>
<p>Pinning down exactly what you want your perfume to be is the hardest part of the creative process. It is easier just to sniff a bit and experiment a bit, which can be useful, but if your object is to develop a perfume that people will buy, don't skip over this first step of closely defining your target ONE PERSON and they tastes. Think in your head that all of this fuss of making a perfume is about selling ONE BOTTLE to this ONE PERSON you have targeted. From this, everything else will follow.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-3768561018664298362021-11-02T13:00:00.001-07:002021-11-02T13:00:49.963-07:00A perfume formula can be valuable -- very valuable!
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">To produce a perfume you need a formula. A formula is more or less valuable depending on the perfume produced from it. The formula for a successful perfume will always have great value... and will be a closely guarded secret.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If your interest is in developing a business where you produce your own perfumes you will need formulas. If you are not a perfumer yourself, the simplest way to get formulas is to work with a fragrance house and let their perfumers create formulas for you. You will never see these formulas – the fragrance house will not show them to you – but they will be yours exclusively. What you will see and smell are fragrances produced from these formulas but they will be given to you without any guarantee they will sell.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If you want to start with the formulas for someone else's winners, this too is possible. You won't be able to get your hands on the exact formulas of the originals but, depending on the fragrances you want, you might find good approximations.</p>
<p><b>What will it cost? Will anything be free?</b></p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">It you are just starting out with a very limited budget you might wonder if there are formulas you can get free. Two kinds of free formulas can be found online. The first variety involves mixing essential oils. Want formulas? Search Google for "perfume formulas for mixing essential oils" and take your pick. None of these formulas will approximate a best seller.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If you want a more commercial formula for free you can occasionally come across an older one but when you look for the materials needed to make it, two problems arise. Specialty bases used in the past are no longer available and certain raw materials from the past are now banned.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The reality is that a formula, for even an approximation of a successful perfume that can be produced today, is valuable and not something given away free. Why would you want someone else's formula? Usually to produce a replica that can be sold at a lower price. While an <i>authentic</i> bottle of Chanel's <i>No.5</i> may cost $150, a replica version may sell for $1 (yes, <i>one dollar</i>, and I have purchased one at that price). So how is a knockoff produced? Obviously from a formula but where did that formula come from? Certainly not from Chanel.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The project begins with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. A sample of a popular fragrance is purchased from any store that sells it and the "juice" is run through a machine which breaks down its components by their evaporative times. The results are matched with a database which identifies (or tries to identify) each separate raw material. From this information a crude formula is produced. Then a skilled, experienced perfumer takes the rough data and fills in a few blanks to produce a coherent formula. A good deal of work and expense is involved but now a tool exists to produce an approximation of the original.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Looking at this approximation, two points must be kept in mind. First, since the replica cannot compete with the original on price, its formula must be adjusted to achieve a lower production cost. Expensive naturals are replaced by synthetics. Expensive synthetics are replaced by cheaper synthetics. But there is more to it. Most current best sellers make use of "captives." These are specialty molecules available only to perfumers working for the company that invented them. The knockoff formula has to fudge its way around them because they are almost impossible to replicate.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;"><a href="https://innosolinc.com/fragrance-formulas-for-sale-over-20000-proven-formulas/">Innosol, Inc.</a> advertises that it has 20,000 formulas for sale. These formulas are modeled after popular brands and are sold for $500 each. The buyer is warned that to produce each formula a considerable inventory of raw materials will be required but, if you wish, Innosol can arrange the production for you. Their service gives you one way to develop your own product line.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.perfumersworld.com/">PerfumersWorld</a> offers contemporary formulas as part of their <a href="https://www.perfumersworld.com/perfume-formulas.php">Formulation Bulletin</a> series. Each Bulletin package includes a number of formulas. Also available are physical samples produced from the formulas. A set of formulas plus samples if offered at $149.95. Formulas are sent by email; samples by mail or courier. PerfumersWorld is a source of all raw materials needed to produce these formulas, in small, large, or very large quantities.</p>
<p>Even with a formula in your hands it is recommended that you test it by <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578254697/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0578254697&linkCode=as2&tag=perfumeprojec-20&linkId=053924cc9216b0ca6abb2f09ccf3bb62">producing your own small sample</a> before diving in and ordering raw materials on a commercial scale.</p>
<p>The truth is that perfume formulas are valuable. The more successful the perfume made from the formula, the more valuable the formula itself... and even a formula for a good replica of a big seller can be quite expensive.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-32843876927016032932021-10-18T15:17:00.000-07:002021-10-18T15:17:01.463-07:00Formulas: find them, buy them, or create them
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">To create a great perfume you need a great formula. To create an average perfume you need a ... formula. To create even a stinky perfume you need a ... formula. Excluding packaging, the formula is the heart of your perfume. Where will you get it? </p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">We usually think of perfume as something someone has created. Every major launch by every major fragrance marketer involves an original perfume formula that has been created by a major fragrance (F&F) house.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If you get together with a group of investors to market your own perfume, you will almost certainly employ the talents of a professional perfumer, introduced to you by a smaller, less well known fragrance house, who will create a formula for your perfume.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Whether a perfume formula is created by a major or a minor fragrance house, the formula itself will remain with the creator, not you. While you will pay to have the work done, you will never see the formula that was created on your dime. Formulas are trade secrets, carefully guarded by fragrance creators.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Now suppose you want to develop your own perfume but you are not flush with enough money to hire a professional perfumer. You want to produce your own perfume but you can't do it without a formula – or can you? A simple solution is to buy one of the many quite acceptable fragrance oils already on the market. They were made using formulas you will never see but, as you can get the oil ready made, you don't need to see the formula. For the non-creator this is the perfect solution.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Now suppose you want control over the formula. Suppose you want it in your hands so you can mix the recipe yourself to produce the oil and perhaps make a few adjustments as you go along. Here you have three possibilities. You can buy a formula from someone who is willing to sell one, perhaps a perfumer who has a formula he or she isn't intent on keeping as a trade secret Or you may get lucky and find a formula that has, for whatever reason, been posted somewhere on the internet <i>Or you can create your own formula</i>, if you have the skill.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Creating your own formula can be the most rewarding path but also the most challenging. You need skills: you need aroma materials to work with and, when you're finished, the fragrance you have created is not likely to be anywhere near as polished and professional as any fragrance available at the mall or in a drugstore.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">This doesn't mean your fragrance can't be good. Following your own muse you may create something quite beautiful, quite compelling, and quite different than anything on the market. But it won't be quite as polished. A few rough edges will exist. Yet if people like it – a good possibility – the rough edges will be overlooked.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If creating your own perfume from scratch – from a formula you've written yourself – is your goal, an excellent starting point is the home study <a href="https://www.perfumersworld.com/perfume-kits.php">Perfumery Training Kit K26</a> from <a href="https://www.perfumersworld.com/">PerfumersWorld</a>. The course includes both materials and equipment and is quite reasonably priced.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Finding a formula somewhere on the internet is another not impossible possibility. Books on perfumery with formulas exist. Written many years ago, the formulas are generic and old fashioned. Moreover, they require materials no longer obtainable due to various reasons. Formulas from this age of "all natural" perfumes can be found in <a href="https://www.perfumeprojects.com/downloads/piesse.pdf">Piesse</a>. Bland by today's standards, they were drafted in an age that had not yet enjoyed the benefits of synthetic odorants.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">On the other hand, if you find a modern formula such as <a href="https://perfumeprojects.com/resources/images/MelinaHoneyLips.jpg"><i>Honey Lips Kiss Macaron Au Cassis</i></a>, you will have difficulty obtaining the required odorants as some are "captives" whose distribution is tightly controlled by the patent holder – Givaudan in this case. Then, working from the idea of the formula, you are forced to find acceptable substitutes. In short, you will be required to reformulate the formula to get what you hoped for.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">In my mind it all comes down to this: if you're an investor and want to market a perfume, go to a filling house or fragrance house that can hook you up with a qualified perfumer and then let that perfumer develop a perfume for you. If you don't have money but want your own perfume, work with a ready made, off the shelf fragrance and make it uniquely yours by naming it with a unique name that then becomes a trademark – your trademark – for your perfume.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If you want to produce a fragrance from a formula, doing all the mixing and weighing yourself, you can do it... but be warned.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-20380321834288047072021-10-16T07:24:00.001-07:002021-10-16T07:24:36.489-07:00Color control for your perfume
<p style="font-size:1.05rem;margin-top:0;"><b>The color doesn't have to be what it is</b></p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">It doesn't matter whether you're making perfume by the drum or <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578254697/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0578254697&linkCode=as2&tag=perfumeprojec-20&linkId=053924cc9216b0ca6abb2f09ccf3bb62">by the quart</a>, your perfume is going to have a color. Its color will depend on the ingredients used to make it. If you want your perfume to be a particular color, you're going to have to plan for this color in developing your formula.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Perfumes I've made generally come out in shades from light golden to deep amber. I've always been fascinated by the colors produced by the ingredients that were selected to achieve the scent. I've been happy to live with the "natural" color the ingredients produce. I haven't planned colors for my own fragrances, but this can be done.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">There are several ways you can color your perfume, some more professional than others. The simplest down and dirty method is to use food colorings from the supermarket. This is fine if you're just making a few bottles of your perfume for family and friends. These food colorings are harmless. In the short term they won't do anything bad but long term stability could be a problem. Your food colorings could, over time, change in color thus changing the color of your perfume. And, as they change, they could change the scent itself. So if sales are your goal, food colorings are out. This leaves two methods of coloring your perfume. I'll start with the method you are unlikely to use.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Synthetic aroma molecules tend to be colorless. If you have created your formula with these colorless molecules, certified coloring materials you can make your perfume whatever color you want it to be. Your formula could also make use of specialty essential oils that have been decolorized.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">This approach to controlling the color of your perfume requires (1) a great deal of skill in perfumery and (2) access to the required materials. Lacking these resources, your best bet is to work with cosmetic grade colorants and, experimenting bit by bit, try to find an approximation of the color you want.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">It's likely you will have better luck going for a darker color than trying to dress your perfume out in a light color. It's a lot like working with new paint over a dark patch of existing paint. Getting the repaint to be white or light yellow will be a struggle.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Stability will still be an issue. Will the color you have given your fragrance still be the same in a month... in three months... in a year? You will have to test.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">As for myself, I'll stick with those shades from light golden to deep amber. Note that the percentage of alcohol used in your fragrance will affect the color. Alcohol, being clear, will lighten your oil. Using more alcohol will produce a lighter shade. But you're still likely to end up with a color between light golden and, perhaps, a slightly less deep amber.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">When you start to mess with color for your perfumes, you'll quickly gain an appreciation for what the skilled professional can do and which you can only approximate. But, if you want to give coloring a try, <a href="https://perfumeprojects.com/perfume/vendors/coloring.shtml"><b>here are some available resources</b></a>.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-7220998279666566132021-09-28T06:57:00.000-07:002021-09-28T06:57:05.466-07:00Put your focus on selling the best fragrance you have
<p>In the book I just finished a few long weeks ago -- <a href="https://perfumeprojects.com/store/making-perfume-by-the-quart.shtml"><b>Making Perfume By The Quart: A do-it-yourself project book</b></a> -- there's as chapter on selecting the fragrance oil you're going to use for this project. What it comes down to is a choice between using an oil you've made yourself, purchasing your oil ready made from one of the <a href="https://perfumeprojects.com/perfume/vendors/Perfume_Oils.shtml">many available sources</a>, or commissioning a fragrance house to create an oil for you, to your specifications. Your choice of which path to take will depend on the purpose for which you are undertaking this project. </p>
<p>If you have been creating your own fragrances and want to see one of them turned into a commercial product, by all means use that oil for the 'quart'. But if your goal is to sell as much of your new fragrance as you can... if you want that quart to be just the first stepping stone toward producing thousands of bottles of your fragrance, then you should strive to find the best fragrance you can get your hands on, regardless of who made it.</p>
<p>For ten years or more I've been working on a small scale with fragrances I've created myself. Before that I had larger success with fragrances I purchased from others, fragrances that were created by skilled industry professionals. Of my own creations there are only two I would judge outstanding. Both are for men and I use them daily. They are not, I can point out, everyone's taste. But they are good. But, while really good in quality, they are not every man's taste. Taste and quality are different animals.</p>
<p>A few other of my originals I would judge "pretty good." At least the scents are interesting. My wife will use them from time to time and I think she holds back a little for fear of running out. Others of my creations are junk. You could use them. They don't smell bad. But I know perfectly well they weren't well crafted.</p>
<p>If you're going to put money into a marketing a fragrance, you want that fragrance to be the best you can come up with.</p>
<p>So whether you're making a quart of perfume or ten gallons, if you plan to put money into marketing it your first and most important step is to find a fragrance -- an oil -- a composition -- a formula -- that is the best, most likely to sell, fragrance you can find. If you make your own fragrances but know, that while you like them and are proud of them, they aren't as good as what you could buy elsewhere, buy the one you know is better, even if it bruises your pride and vanity -- if you're doing this to make money.</p>
<p>Let me give you a personal example. I have a fragrance called <i>Moonfaire</i>. I can't recall how long ago I made it but, when I arrived at our vacation home in Canada last week, I found a bottle on my desk. So I tried it to see how I liked it. I wasn't impressed. It seemed to heavy. So I thinned it down with alcohol to make it more of an <i>eau de cologne</i>. Perhaps this helped a little. Perhaps in time I could like it. But I couldn't take pride in it. I liked the name but the fragrance had never really come together. It was something of an embarrassment.</p>
<p>Before you set out to develop a fragrance to sell, you've got to get familiar with what people are buying. Haunt fragrance counters. Sample every scent you can. Find out which are the best sellers and get a few whiffs of them. How do they smell? This is the smell of success. If sales are what you are looking for, find a scent that will be acceptable in a market where money is being made.</p>
<p>Hold up a bit.</p>
<p>Not everyone wants to be a copycat. In the distant past I worked with people who make very good money by being quick to invest large amounts of money in a products that simply copied the latest hot product. These people couldn't do something original to save themselves but they were very good at spotting hot products they could copy. They were acquired by a publicly traded company.</p>
<p>For me, the real excitement comes when an odd-ball product, a fragrance for example, emerges as a big winner and yet is truly original. These breakthrough products are rare and investing in them is risky. But you may have one. How can you tell? When you've sampled everything else and, although your fragrance is different -- not at all like the current big winners -- and yet you are certain it is quality, you may have something worth putting your money into. How do you go about it? <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578254697/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0578254697&linkCode=as2&tag=perfumeprojec-20&linkId=053924cc9216b0ca6abb2f09ccf3bb62">Try making a quart or two</a> and shopping it around to see if anyone stands up and salutes. But remember, start with a quart. Test with pennies. Hang on to your dollars. You'll need them for production and promotion should that quart turn out to be a big winner.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-84785449276847171732021-09-06T12:06:00.000-07:002021-09-06T12:06:16.749-07:00Technology for small scale perfume production I've just published a book called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578254697/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0578254697&linkCode=as2&tag=perfumeprojec-20&linkId=594f54ad81fa9fbf95cef4aeaee1d40b"><b>Making Perfume By The Quart: A do-it-yourself project book<i></i></b></a>. It's now available on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0578254697/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0578254697&linkCode=as2&tag=perfumeprojec-20&linkId=594f54ad81fa9fbf95cef4aeaee1d40b">Amazon</a>. It has occupied most of my time during the months of July and August.
The point of this book is simple. If you want to make your own perfume, your own brand with your own chosen name on the bottle -- on any scale -- getting started by making <i>just one quart</i> teaches you almost all of what you need to know to make 10,000 bottles or more. The advantages of getting started by making just one quart rather than 10,000 bottles are that (1) you can do it for pocket change and (2) you don't have to submit your idea to a committee or investors and, if you mess up, no one has to know.
To me this makes a lot of sense and, along the way, I've met more than one person who <i>should</i> have tried doing a quart before jumping in with both feet and ending up with Christmas presents for the next few centuries. Disclaimer here: the first time I got involved with perfume we gave away a lot of unsold perfume at Christmas... and every other holiday for a number of years!
The wonderful thing about writing a book is that you learn a lot along the way. You think you know something -- and you did, ten years ago -- but now there are changes. The most dramatic change has been the access to everything you need, in the U.S., through the internet. (Elsewhere there can be issues with alcohol and labeling.)
One of the coming changes is in spray pump technology. In the book I tell readers they can only use screw-on pumps with matching threaded neck bottles -- and this is still about 98 percent true. But last week I capped a perfume bottles with a snap-on spray pump using a capper tool I got through an English source, <a href="https://plushfolly.com/">Plush Folly</a>. It worked very nicely and gave the bottle a much lower profile than it would have had with either a screw-on or a crimp-on pump.
Bottles for snap-on pumps are easily available in the U.S. because they are the same bottles that take crimp-on pumps and crimp-on pumps are still the industry standard. But, in the U.S., snap-on pumps are hard to find. I can't name a single source. However, I have discovered several <i>Chinese</i> sources that will take <a href="https://perfumeprojects.com/perfume/vendors/closures.shtml">small orders</a>. Shipping time and cost from Chinese vendors has become quite reasonable so for me, snap-on pumps are the way forward.
One more issue on my mind today -- continuity. Using the new capper tool I bottled the last of a fragrance which both my wife and I like. I want to produce more and have the formula along with the sources for each required material. But some of the natural materials were from a company no longer in business. That's a problem.
No doubt I can find replacements for the resins but for certain I'll have to do some testing and adjusting. When it comes to natural materials, what you buy from one source can have very different characteristics than that what you might buy from another, even though both sell it under the same name.
For perfumers the source of any natural material is very important for the effect of say oil from roses grown on one side of a hill might be quite different than the effect of oil from roses grown on the other side of the hill. Soil, water, sunshine, temperature, altitude all make for differences.
This is something to ab aware of when developing your own fragrances. On the other hand, synthetic materials of the same CAS (chemical abstracts service) number should be identical and interchangeable, regardless of source.
So these are my thoughts that I wanted to share with you today.
Thank you for your patience!
-- Phil
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-73446384942438150252021-07-01T10:40:00.000-07:002021-07-01T10:40:17.842-07:00New spray options for desktop perfume creators
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">I've been working on a book about creating perfume in small batches both as a regular commercial project and as a tool for test marketing a perfume, to see what might fly on a larger scale. Since the number of bottles this project calls for is small -- well under 100 bottles -- the problem of finding bottles arises. This is one of the biggest headaches for the desktop perfume creator.
</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Bottles are generally sold by the case and distributors have minimums which can make it difficult to buy just one case of bottles -- and one case might hold 200 bottles or more, depending on the capacity of the bottles. What happens when you only want a few dozen bottles?</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">To buy just a few dozen bottles you have to find a vendor who will break cases and sell by the single bottle or by the dozen. The number of vendors who will do this is small.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">But that's just the beginning of your problem. You need not only the bottle but a sprayer than will mate with the bottle. This leaves you even more limited in your choices when selecting bottles.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Until recently the only option you had was a threaded neck bottle with a screw-on spray pump of the same "finish". ("Finish" is a term describing the configuration of the neck of a bottle.) Your options were either gold or silver screw-on pumps and silver pumps could be hard to find.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">While there is nothing wrong with this combination, screw-on pumps have a high profile. Some customers won't care but most are accustomed to the lower profile of a crimp-on pump. But to attach a crimp-on pump to a perfume bottle a machine is needed. Herein lies the problem. Typically a manual crimper can cost well over $1,000, and manual crimpers have a reputation for breaking bottles, deforming pumps, and making a leaky connection.</p>
<span style="font-size:1.15rem;font-weight:bold;">Some changes in the marketplace</span>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Recently I've seen bottles with screw-on pumps sold as sets by <a href="https://www.perfumeoils.com/">Scentsational Shoppe</a> and these sets use black pumps. A nice touch. Then <a href="https://shop.perfumersapprentice.com/">Perfumer's Apprentice</a> has begun selling sets of bottles with crimp-on pumps and, to make this practical, they also offer a hand held crimper at a modest price. </p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Another fine mist spray pump possibility is opening up. These are the snap-on (also called "press-on" or "crimpless") spray pumps. They have a very low profile and can give your perfume bottle a very nice look. Like the crimp-on sprays, a machine is needed to attach these pumps to bottles and even the least costly manual press was expensive. Snap-on pumps may look like you might find a way to mount then on bottles without a press but in practice alternative techniques have proven themselves a disaster.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Now <a href="https://plushfolly.com/">Plush Folly</a> in the U.K., which had been selling snap-on pumps for a while, has a connection for a press that is said to be effective and yet is quite reasonably priced. I've already put in my order for one.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Possibilities for the desktop perfume creator are opening up. You still have to hunt to find a bottle and pump that suits you but your current options are far less limited than what was available even a few months ago. Hopefully this positive trend will continue.</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-17828680051353856692021-05-14T07:25:00.000-07:002021-05-14T07:25:07.182-07:00Don't be afraid of alcohol
<span style="font-size:1.1rem;font-style:italic;">There's very little you need to know and the right alcohol is available</span>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Regardless of your approach to perfumery you are probably quite aware of alcohol but when it comes to buying, using, or selecting alcohol or an alcohol substitute for your perfume you might feel a bit lost. You're not alone.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The first time I had a perfume made for me – this was before I began formulating my own oils – the vendor supplied it ready to bottle. The alcohol had already been added. There were no questions about alcohol for me to answer. The next perfume oil I had made for our company was simply purchased by the pound, without alcohol. I had to find a filling house to add the alcohol. Here my education began. I was what alcohol I wanted and I didn't have a clue. They helped me.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If you are interested in how commercial perfumes are made you will quickly or not so quickly discover that most commercial fragrances made in the U.S. use alcohol tagged "SD" or "SDA" indicating that the alcohol has been "specially denatured" and therefore not subject to the tax collected on the alcohol content of alcoholic drinks. Thus the big issue is not the quality of the alcohol or its scent or lack of scent but the rate at which it is taxed.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The U.S. allows alcohol to be denatured according to a number of formulas. Today alcohol denatured by formula SDA 40B is a common choice for perfumery.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">SDA 40B is pure ethanol with a very small amount of a denaturant added, one which has minimal effect on its odor. In the U.S. you can purchase up to 5 gallons of denatured alcohol a year without a permit. If you require more you can either apply for a permit or take your project to a filling house with a permit that can supply you with all the alcohol you need.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">If you are a beginner in selecting alcohol, SDA 40B is the favored choice. <a href="https://perfumeprojects.com/perfume/vendors/alcohol.shtml">You'll find sources here.</a> As you become more experienced you may want to try alternatives but if you never use anything but SDA 40B ethanol you won't go wrong.</p>
<h2>Water</h2>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">The other question asked when purchasing alcohol is the "proof" you desire. 200 proof is pure ethanol. 190 proof alcohol is 95 percent ethanol and 5 percent water. 170 proof alcohol is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent water. The use of 200 proof alcohol is rare. Having some amount of water in the alcohol is believed to make the fragrance better. There is no complete agreement as to WHY water makes the perfume better. A number of theories are presented but there is no definite answer (in spite of what you may read!) Do your own experiments and go by your own results.</p>
<h2>Availability</h2>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Today "perfumers alcohol" is more available than it was ten years ago. Not only are there, in the U.S. and U.K., a number of sources that will ship small quantities, also available varieties beyond SDA 40B. This means that the "hobbiest" – or small, independent perfumer – need not look to vodka, Everclear or one of the non-alcoholic solvents in order to make perfume.</p>
<h2>How Alcohol Is Made</h2>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Typically the alcohol used in perfumery is distilled from a grain such as corn. Alcohol can be distilled from a variety of other plants such as grapes or potatoes. While, chemically speaking, ethanol is ethanol, it is said that a sensitive nose can, by smell, distinguish the source of any particular alcohol. If you are interested in the fine points of alcohol used for perfumery, you might read this article from <a href="https://culinarysolvent.com/">Culinary Solvent (The Northern Maine Distilling Company)</a>, one of the current sources of perfumers alcohol.</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-3264712524336741142021-05-04T11:54:00.001-07:002021-05-04T11:54:39.072-07:00How many ingredients does it take to make a "real" perfume?
<p style="font-size:1.2rem;font-style:italic;">When Shakespeare wrote sonnets did he stop too soon? Would a few extra lines have made them better?</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Today there are well over 2,000 ingredients available for perfume creation and the list continues to grow. Chemists develop new odors by rearranging molecules. Biologists plunk unfamiliar plants from remote jungles and plains. These allow the perfumer to create scents that are not easily knocked off by the competition. Cosmetic chemists use these ingredients to create wonderful face creams that could never before have existed. How many ingredients do you need to make a great new perfume? And do you really need new or rare ingredients to wow people? Does greatness depend on the use of exotic, never used before ingredients – or does it depend on the skill and artistry of the perfumer? Consider a sonnet.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">A sonnet is a poem exactly 14 lines in length. It has a rhyming pattern which can be one of a number of possibilities. But it is always 14 lines in length. No fudging to allow 13 or 15 lines. No free verse. Just 14 lines with a fixed rhyming pattern and yet amazing poems are written within this arbitrary 14 line structure.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Consider your own work with perfume. Is your aim to be the great innovator who will be the first to discover and use some new exotic ingredient? Or are you the artist who can pull amazing rabbits out of a limited inventory hat?</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">It's always exciting to work with new scents that you've never used before, if only to see what you can do with them. But it may be a greater challenge to look at your current inventory of scent materials and ask yourself what you can do with them, without adding anything you've never used before. However limited your supply of aroma materials may be -- perhaps only a dozen or so scents -- this handful of materials can offer infinite possibilities in your selection of what you put in and what to leave out, how to balance the strength of "A" against the strength of "B" to give a pleasing effect, how to decorate a theme without killing its focus. A lot can be done with a little and, being forced to create within a fixed template is the same test the sonnet writer is up against. Constrained by fixed limitations, all will all depend on your skill and your imagination -- not the number of ingredients you use and certainly not the use of special new ingredients. You'll be working with just your imagination and your skill with the materials you have at hand. </p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Try this approach and see what miracles you are led to create!</p>
Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3589890795079932268.post-69581903798584501492021-04-21T06:27:00.001-07:002021-04-21T06:27:45.466-07:00Would a blind person select your perfume?
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Perfume marketers go to great lengths with their packaging, to make their fragrances enticing. Sophisticated buyers admit that sometimes they buy a perfume for its packaging rather than its scent. I've done this myself -- more than once. But suppose you were selling to a blind person who couldn't see your packaging? Suppose this person had only their nose to go on. Now all that would matter would be the perfume itself. Would your perfume measure up?</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Generally the idea for a new perfume comes well before the scent. It would be rare today for someone to wake up in the morning with a very specific scent in mind, rush to their desk, write down the formula, produce and bottle it and then give it to the advertising people saying "go sell this." More commonly a marketing platform would be developed, then graphics commissioned for that platform and only then would the project be handed out to several perfumers to see who could come up with what. The marketer knows that a great scent will greatly enhance sales but it will be the packaging, advertising, and promotion that will get the sales rolling. Never will it be about the scent itself though that will be the pretense. In reality the scent is an afterthought.</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">But what happens when a blind person smells this new perfume? It is said that blind people have no greater sense of smell than the average person with sight. But, lacking sight and being free of distractions from packaging and promotion, the blind person is likely to be more aware of the scent itself. How might your fragrance be rated?</p>
<p style="text-indent:1.5em;">Amateur perfume makers typically start by making a fragrance and then asking the question, "how can I sell it?" If you're out to make money this isn't the smartest approach. But, if you are more interested in the aroma than the packaging, this approach can help you hone your skills and your ability to produce fragrances that could, some day, gain serious recognition -- and approval -- from both blind people and many others. After all, isn't it scent that, thousands of years ago, created the perfume industry?</p>Philip Goutellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07458909256582242094noreply@blogger.com0