There are many approaches to experiencing the art of Perfumery.
You might like to start out by experimenting with fragrance oils. These oils are very easy for beginners to use, and we have lots of formulas to get you started. Fragrance oils are blends of various materials, both synthetic and natural, that are diluted in a
carrier
so that they are easier to work with. The fragrance oils we offer are not meant to be worn directly on the skin; they are meant to be used as ingredients in composing a blend.
Many people prefer creating perfumes out of natural
essential oils
and
absolutes
. These can be a little trickier, because many natural components in their pure form are quite strong smelling. To evaluate their true scent, ie. their aroma in a perfume composition, you would need to dilute them, often to a 1% dilution. When you get to know their true character, then you can blend with them in their natural state with more confidence.
Some students then move to the world of professional aromachemicals. Aromachemicals are the molecules that are the "building blocks" of scent. For example, natural rose oil is composed of molecules such as geraniol and phenylethyl alcohol. Many of these molecules can be isolated from the complete oil by natural means such as
fractional distillation
These aromachemicals are very challenging, in that many of them have effects on a perfume composition that are not obvious when evaluating them seperately. These are components that appear in the most valued classic perfumes, as well as popular modern fragrances. There are various ways to study these components. One way is to learn how they act in a sample formula, see what they bring to the whole.
For the serious student, I have provided links for
Olfactory Training
as well as information on perfume families, along with many sample formulas
for various accords and blends.
Please remember that perfumery is an art, as well as a science. There is so much to learn, and it is a truly fascinating journey!
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