I found a new hobby

At my Perfumemaking group we are talking about tincturing. I like the idea of making tinctures of unusual materials. Zz from Parfume Moderne gave us some tips on how to make tinctures. I remember that I tried to make them a couple of years ago but that wasn't a success.

Right now I made two tinctures; one with coffee and one with dried apricots. When I like the result I will make more tinctures. I used 2 grams of the materials and 14 grams of alcohol to try it out, I'm not sure that it will work that way or that I have to add more coffee or apricots.

I can imagine that it's a really nice hobby to find all kinds of things to tincture. I know that Zz tinctured mushrooms for example that sounds really interesting. I'm already looking around for more materials to tincture, but right now I just have to wait patiently......

The photo is from http://www.jashbotanicals.com/

Have a fragrant day!!!

Orris by Andy Tauer now available

The wonderful Orris perfume by Andy Tauer is created without thinking about the costs. It's made of the expensive materials Orris and Agarwood with dark rose, spices and mysore sandalwood.

Andy shared this perfume with 40 people by sending them a free sample to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of his blog. I was one of the lucky ones that received the sample.

The reaction he received on this perfume was sensational. Everyone wants this perfume. And even though Andy didn't have plans to make this perfume in production because of the high costs of the ingredients, he decided to create a limited number of bottles of this incredible stuff.

The Orris is different than any other orris scent I'd ever smelled. It's soft dry woody, but because of the spices it isn't just soft powdery but more intense. It's soft with a smoky and spicy touch. It's starts with lemon and spicy notes but soon gets dark, deep and smooth with still the spiciness on top of it. Somehow all the perfumes of Andy have something that you can recognize as an Andy Tauer fragrance. He has his own style that always come through his creations.

The Orris perfume could be ordered right now the shipment will be by 15 November.
http://www.tauerperfumes.com/blog/

Blending, mixing, stirring and sniffing

The whole week I'm blending, mixing, stirring and sniffing. I took the whole week off so I can spent all my time on making perfumes. I'm studying the musk materials right now, I have many different musks and I'm trying to find out which musk combines well with the other. The odorants of musk are really different I have sweet musks but also musks that have a dominant animal note, I have musks with a dry note a full rounded note, a green note, a musk ambery note and so on.

I'm also working on the fruity/chypre again. The fragrance matured for a while so I had the change to smell the result. I'm in love with this fragrance the picture I had in mind for this fragrance is a self-assured woman who is feminine but also strong. The fruity notes stands for the femininity and the firm base with oakmoss and amber for her self-assurances. I added some notes that are also used in men's fragrances but combined with feminine notes like fresh juicy tropical fruits and flowery notes of jasmine and tuberose. I like the result but I will smell it over a longer period, I can't wait to wear it when it's done. I will try just a couple of things to see what it will do to the fragrance.

Two male colleagues asked me to make a perfume that smells fresh, watery, fruity-apple like and it has to be a little but not too sweet. It has to smell in the direction of Cool Water by Davidoff and One man show by Jacques Bogart. Sounds interesting so I experiment with that as well.

Taste

Do you recognize this? Sometimes you can almost taste someone's perfume. I remember one time I was eating diner with a whole group of people and couldn't enjoy my diner because every time I opened my mouth I could taste the perfume of the woman sitting next to me....

Have a nice Sunday!

The most sexy fragrance

My most sexy fragrance is Must de Cartier perfume (not the edt). It brings back special memories to me, it's a warm sweet oriental heavy fragrance. Above all it's a warm sensual fragrance with animal notes like civet and musk, woody notes like sandal, vetiver and cedar and (of course) galbanum. But also some flowery notes like jasmine, rose and narcissus. When you smell this fragrance you don't have to wait for the reaction it will give to you, the reaction is there in a split second. Of course I have more favorites as sexy fragrances but this fragrance can change my mood in a sensual sexy mood.
What's your most sexy fragrance?

Mitsouko

Mitsouko (mystery in Japanese) from Guerlain is a perfume that you simply have to smell to understand. The perfume evokes an emotion to me I can't describe in words, it's especially hard to describe when English isn't your own language, but even in Dutch it would be difficult to describe. It's kind of a sad emotion in a way and at the same time it gives me an elegant and rich feeling. It's not a perfume that I would wear when going to work, it's more for special occasions, I can't imagine wearing this fragrance with a jeans but that's just my opinion. Mitsouko is a perfume of the Chypre family, it has oakmoss and I smell a lot of Labdanum absolute(Ciste or Rock rose) and a warm balsamic opopanax note. The topnotes are made of fresh citrus notes and the heart has rose, jasmine and lilac. I can smell something like thyme as well and some smokey notes that could be coming from birch tar. Guerlain started a new trend by adding a peach note coming from Aldehyde C14, many perfumers followed that trend. The peach note isn't overwhelming but ads a smooth fruityness to the other somewhat spicy harsh smokey notes. This perfume is so wonderful made that you have to smell it ones in your live.

Galbanum and apricot

Because I liked the result of the experiment with galbanum I decided to continue with this experiment. To accentuate the green note of galbanum I used cis-3-Hexenyl Methyl Carbonate that gives a nice green violet leaf scent. A nice and often used combination with galbanum is hyacinth so I added that as well and some light rosy and lily notes. To give the perfume fixation I added some green woody base notes like a little oakmoss absolute unfortunately it's only allowed by IFRA (International Fragrance Association) to use a little so I used some substitutes as well and vetiver which has a incredible nice green woody asparagus kind of scent in combination with vertofix coeur that has a vetiver scent in combination with a leather note and finally some cedar and cedryl acetate to enhance the woody notes. Okay the perfume was nice in this stadium but just nice, I call that a safe smelling perfume, nice but simple with no surprises.

I smelled the perfume on a smelling strip and on my skin to study the result and thinking about what was missing. The process is all in my head, I think about notes that I can use and imagine how this note would smell in combination with this perfume. I liked the green fresh note but liked it to be more full bodied and warm, and there it was.... it needed a warm fruity note I chose the note of apricot a warm fruity full bodied note and added quite a bit together with some cinnamon and a touch of vanilla. To give the perfume some warm softness I added a wonderful orchid note and some narcissus because beside the flowery notes it has some fruity aspects as well. The result is a green fruity warm perfume with a soft feeling, I keep you informed about the experiments with this perfume.

Just played around

Working on a perfume and perfectionice it takes a lot of work and time, and sometimes it's better to take a break and start working on it with new energy. So sometimes I like to just play around with my materials without any goal just play with them and see if I can find nice combinations. It's real fun to work like that and give the opportunity to find interesting accords. Today I just played with my materials as well and started with one of my favorite materials: Galbanum a wonderful green material. I added some other green and leafy notes and some fresh notes. An interesting material with a galbanum note is Pharaone, the first time I smelled this material it wasn't nice at all, well I still don't find the smell nice but because of that I was getting interested in the material, it's described as having a galbanum/pineapple/angelica note. I diluted the material way down but it still was bad, so I tried the Pharaone in the Galbanum to see how it would smell in a blend. And the result is real nice.... it lifted the fragrance and gave it a fruity note. That's the strange thing about perfumery, you can't judge a fragrance material without working with it, and see how it reacts with other materials.

Perfume house Guerlain

Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain was born in Abbevile France. His dream was to become a chemist and went to London in 1820 to study. He worked in a shop that sold aromatic vinegar and soap to earn some money. He became the assistant of the masterperfumer and in 1828 he returned to France to open his own shop. He was a specialist in making personal perfumes for his costumers. But he also made toothpaste, soap and creams.

Soap label from 1890

Pierre became very famous and delivered perfume to the Belgian kings and the prince of Wales. He created Eau de Cologne Imperiale for the emperor Eugenie and became the official deliverer of the emperor Napoleon the third. His son Aime followed his father and wanted to make heavier perfumes instead of the fresh eau de colognes that where popular in that time. The result was Jicky. This perfume came in 1889 on the market and was nothing like an imitation of the nature or a creation of flowery smells: it was a combination of sensual notes; Civet, Coumarine, Vanilline and Linalool all synthetic products and Lavender and Bergamot. Jicky was "new", it was so new that people in that time need to get used to the perfume and only 20 years later it became a success.


In that time there where created a lot of perfumes and some of them are still around. One of them is L'Heure Bleue form 1912. The clear part of it is created by Bulgarian rose, Iris and Heliotroop, and the magical dark heart is created by Vanilla, Jasmine and Muskus. Until now perfumers use the basenotes from this perfume to variate with it to created a new perfume inspired by L'Heure Bleue.




The company Guerlain is still alive and there where always followers in the family. The last perfumer until now is Jean Paul Guerlain.
The company Guerlain created a lot of perfumes here are some of them:

Mitsouko

1919.

Type: Chypre.

Notes: Bergamot-Rose-Jasmin-Peach-Spices-Oakmoss.

Guerlinade

1922

Type: Flowery Oriental

Notes: Bergamot-Tonka bean-Vanilla

Shalimar

1925

Type: Oriental

Notes: Bergamot-Iris-Vanilla-Ambar

Vetiver

1959

Type: Woody

Notes: Vetiver-Nutmeg-Pepper

Jardins de Bagatelle

1983

Type: Flowery

Notes: Jasmin-Magnolia-Gardenia-Tuberose

Samsara

1989

Type:Oriental

Notes: Jasmin-Sandalwood-Rose-Narcis-Vanilla

L'Instant

Type: Flowery Oriental

Notes: Lemonhoney-Magnolia-Ambar

Opium + Shalimar =........

I made a perfume for the birthday of my sister in law. She and also her husband my brother love the perfume Opium from Yves Saint Laurent. So I thought it would be a nice idea to make a perfume in the style of Opium. Although it' s not my favorite perfume because somehow it doesn't work on me like I have with other nice perfumes like Angel, I like the smell of it. I actually combined two styles of fragrances; Opium and Shalimar by Guerlain.

Shalimar is a sweet sensual animalic perfume that is based on Coumarin(a substance of Tonka bean), vanilla; Guerlain used the synthetic Ethyl vanillin, Linalool(a substance from Rosewood), Civet and Bergamot. I just love this perfume and I know my sister in law loves it also. I combined these notes with some spicy notes just like Opium has, like Clove bud oil and Coriander and a Lilly of the Valley note and of course Patchouli. To soften the Patchouli I used a little Cashmeran and I used a peachy note coming from Aldehyde C14. I added wonderful woody notes like Cedar, Sandal and Guiacwood, and warm amber notes like Labdanum absolute and Ambrettolide, and sensual musky notes coming from Exaltolide and Galaxolide. I added a little Jasmine and Rose to give it some flowery notes.

The result is lovely it's warm, sweet, ambery and spicy, I made it as a perfume extract, now I have to wait and see if she likes it. Tomorrow I will give it to her.....

Grrrrrrrr......

While my Chypre/fruity perfume is maturing I worked on another perfume of mine the Oriental/leathery perfume. This perfume is based on oriental and animal notes. I wanted it to make a sexy fragrance based on amber and other warm animal notes like civet and castoreum but also leather and myrrh. I added some flowery notes of rose, jasmine, tuberose, orange flower and lily. This all is sweetened by a warm sweet honey note. To give it a fresh top I added some bergamot and mandarin.
It's a fragrance that touch my emotions, it's warm, sensual and pure sexy and has great staying power. I like the fragrance a lot but it's also a bit heavy and I'm not sure it's wearable at daytime. I want to make the fragrance a bit lighter than it is right now, maybe by adding some Hedione or more lily notes. I'm close but it needs some changes to make it lighter.

Photos are from http://images.easyart.com/ and http://www.inmagine.com/

Hobby perfumers

After receiving an email from a lovely woman telling me that she's a hobby perfumer as well and would love to exchange experiments I thought it would be time to tell you about my group at Yahoo: Perfumemaking. It's a friendly group with all kinds of perfumers; hobby perfumers, natural perfumers and perfumers that want to make perfume on a professional basis using naturals and chemicals. We all learn from each other and help each other where we can, it's like a big family.
Perfume making is a lonely hobby in a way, and not everyone understands what you are talking about when you talk about the making of perfumes. This group is a wonderful way to talk to others about what you do and exchange experiments.
Here is the url:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/perfumemaking/

Filling up the gap

Still working on my Chypre/fruit fragrance. I tried adding some notes but some of them didn't work, the character of the fragrance changed too much. I must be really careful not to change the fragrance too much. When I'm making a fragrance I also look at the way the fragrance change after applying it on the skin or on a smelling strip. I study the way the top notes flow over in the heart notes and how the heart notes finally melt in to the base notes.

Top notes are the first notes you detect when smelling a fragrance, the top notes are the more volatile notes, they have light molecules and evaporate real fast. Examples of top notes are lemon, bergamot, orange, peppermint and grapefruit.
After that you smell the heart notes that have notes that evaporate slower like rose, jasmine, tuberose and violet.
And finally the base notes that have the heaviest molecules like musk, benzoin, vanilla, civet and oak moss.

But there is more....
Some notes are between the top and heart or between the heart and base notes and act like a bridge between those notes. Using only top, heart and base notes can leave a gap between the two stages. Examples of notes that are between the top and the heart notes are petit grain and neroli they both are neither a top or a heart note they are a bridge between the top and heart notes.

That's why I have to know the time each note stay on a smelling strip, I write the time of each note down. This way I know how to use the note. If I detect a gap in the fragrance I know which note I can use to fill up that gap, so the fragrance will smoothly change over time.

Perfume without a name

Yesterday I worked on my Chypre/fruit fragrance. I don't want to change too much because I really like the fragrance as it is I only work on it to enhance some notes or to round things of and deepen some of the notes. Perfectionicing a perfume takes the most work of the whole creation process and needs a lot of patience and time. Every time I need to study the effect of what I have done and be honest about it to myself. Sometimes I found out that I have to keep some notes out of the fragrance, even when I thought in the beginning the fragrance really needed these notes.

A fragrance need complexity but too much complexity makes a perfume without character, it's important to find the balance between complexity and character. The Chypre/fruit fragrance has fruity top notes of Mandarin, Lychee, Pineapple, Neroli and Bergamot decorated with a Brandy note. The heart notes possesses notes of Egyptian Jasmine absolute, Tuberose absolute, Watercress, Rosa Damascena and Violet. The base have notes of Cedar, Iris, Vetiver, Leather, Oak moss and Patchouli.

The fragrance starts fruity with an interesting Brandy note, the heart is fruity flowery in the beginning but soon gets darker because of the Damascena rose, right now I'm working on the rose note to deepen it a bit more, I added the wonderful materials Damascenone and Damascone Delta and I love the effect of it. The base isn't a soft sweet base but a complex woody mossy base that's not hiding in the background but making a real statement through the whole fragrance. I like perfumes that makes a statement, I don't want to make a perfume that just have a pleasant smell I want to create a perfume that triggers a reaction and emotion and I think the Chypre/fruit is doing just that. It's not a girly fruity flowery fragrance but more an adult complex fragrance.

The funny thing is that I never give a name to a fragrance I''m creating, so I will think about a suitable name for it instead of calling it Chypre/fruity.

Blind smelling

I envy the way Luca Turin can translate into words what he smells. Sometimes when I smell something I can tell exactly what it smells like but sometimes I need days until I found out what it does remind me of. I think it's possible to train yourself in it, I like to smell my materials "blind" and try to find out what kind of material I'm smelling. I pick up a bottle without looking at the label or do it with someone else and ask to give me a bottle without telling me the name. It's funny to smell the material with an open mind and without being prejudged, sometimes I smell nuances of the material I never smelled before. Radio New Zealand did an interview with Luca Turin about smell, the interview is 30 minutes long and very interesting, you can listen to it here:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/national/ntn/feature_guest_-_luca_turin

Have a nice Sunday!

Ylang Ylang

The essential oil of Ylang Ylang was one of the first essential oils I buyed. The smell of Ylang Ylang oil is intense sweet, flowery, exotic and somewhat fruity. Ylang Ylang came originally from the Philippines but also growing now in Java, the Comores and other places. The Ylang Ylang "extra" is the first distilled oil and the best oil for fragrances. To obtain 1 kilo essential oil there is needed 50 kilo's of Ylang Ylang blossoms.



Ylang Ylang is used in a lot of perfumes in Chanel no5 it is an important note. It has volatile notes that easily can be detected in the top notes of a perfume but it also give powdery sweet, flowery notes in the base.



The essential oil of Ylang Ylang has a positive influence on high blood pressure and helps when you breath to fast. It helps you to calm down. A few drops in your shampoo gives you shiny hair and your hair will smell delicious. Ylang Ylang oil is also perfect to relax the muscles of your face. Blend some drops in your face cream and massage your face with it. Your face will look more relaxed and fresh. Ylang Ylang has a sensual smell and is perfect to use in an aroma burner to create a romantic enviroment. Some find the scent of the oil a bit to sweet and heavy, you can mix it with some lemon oil to make the oil smell lighter.

I like to use Ylang Ylang oil in combination with Bergamot and linaloewood or Howood(instead of Rosewood oil to safe the forrest of the Amazone), this is a classic top note combination of many fragrances. Ylang Ylang is also an important note for creating Carnation and Lilly of the Valley. I like the combination of Ylang Ylang with Sandalwood, Jasmine, Mimosa, Tuberose, Orange blossom as well and so many more, it's an easy oil to combine with other notes.

Traditional Eau de Cologne formula

I would like to give you a traditional formula of Eau de Cologne one of the oldest perfumes that still exist. I always have a bottle beside my bed and use it when I have a headache. It's refreshing and uplifting.

Fantasy colognes are usually modifications of standard Eau de Cologne with floral or other notes to impart special character to the fragrance, small dosages of essential oils such as geranium, rose, ylang ylang, patchouli and vetivert may be used for this purpose. Also interesting is omitting some oils like lavender or rosemary and introducing an aroma chemical such as Lilial, Anisaldehyde, iso amyl salicylate etc. To compare you can make a completely synthetic Eau de Cologne.


Here is the formula:


Bergamot oil 27
Lemon oil Sicilian 20
Sweet orange oil 16
Neroli oil 12
Lavender oil French 6
Rosemary oil Spanish 4
Thyme oil white 1
Clove bud oil 1
Petitgrain oil 3
Clary sage oil 2
Benzoin resinoid, siam 1

Update on the surgery of my husband

Well my husband had the surgery on his back last Tuesday, and it all went well. 6 hours after the surgery he was able to walk and one day later so on Wednesday he already went home!!! Can you believe it? Now he still has some pain and doesn't walk so well but that takes time. We hope it all turn out well.

Remember my question in the post about what scents could be used for perfumes and which don't? See here.
I never thought there would be a perfume made with the smell of cheese, but there is... there is a perfume called Eau de Stilton and it's based on the smell of Stilton cheese. The perfume re-creates the earthy and fruity aroma of Blue Stilton cheese. Using grape seed as a carrier oil, the Stilton scent features a symphony of natural base notes including Yarrow, Angelica seed, Clary Sage and Valerian. I'm curious about the smell of it but I can't imagine I would like it though. You can find information about this perfume on the site:
http://www.stiltoncheese.com/

To wear or not to wear

A fragrance can have a nice scent but when do you want to wear it? I like some scents but don't like to wear them as a fragrance. For example I like the smell of an ice cream, melon, coconut or a candy but I don't want to smell like it, I would like to smell it on my wrist maybe just for my self. I could like the scents incorporated in a fragrance though.

When I'm making a perfume I always ask my self "I like the smell of it but would I like to wear it?". A nice fragrance is not enough, a perfume is an extension of your personality it tells something about yourself.

A perfume becomes a part of you, so it's important to find something from yourself in the perfume you're wearing. On the other hand I would like to have a scent bottle with a scent just for my self to put it on my wrist or on a handkerchief just to smell it when ever I like, because I like that smell or because it brings back a childhood memory.