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Perfumer's Organ

post #1 of 16
4/5/06 at 6:56pm
Thread Starter 
Are there any perfumers out there who can help me put together a small perfumer's organ of my own?

I am not actually planning on making my own scents, but I do want a collection of decent essential oils. The aromatherapy oils that I've found seem pretty hokey, and plus they usually are blended in some obscene combination with roses or coconuts.

I would like to have a baseline sample for many (most) of the notes used in quality frags. This would include vetiver, verbena, ambergris, amber, myrrh, neroli, lavendar, different woods, different spices, a few flowers, different musks, a few synthetic notes, tonka, etc, etc.

I only need very small amounts of each. Does anyone know of companies who cater to this sort of hobby (as opposed to the aromatherapy stuff)?

thanks-
-ben
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post #2 of 16
4/5/06 at 9:46pm
Essential oils are so strong that often times they distort the scent. Â*It could possibly be a better idea to get some single note scents such as at Perfume Raffy for $1.00 per sample:

Â* Â* http://www.parfumsraffy.com/prsamples.html

I don't think they have all that you wanted, but what they have has surely helped me in understanding the notes.

I'm sure that the lavender in this form will smell more like the lavender in perfumes than the pure lavender oil would.

You can do a search and find lots of places that sell essential oils in one oz. amounts. The prices can be quite inexpensive or rather expensive--it depends on the product.
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post #3 of 16
4/5/06 at 9:52pm
Here is a selection of essential oils for sale in the Basenotes Marketplace:
http://www.basenotes.net/community/Y...num=1142368306
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post #4 of 16
4/6/06 at 1:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockford

Here is a selection of essential oils for sale in the Basenotes Marketplace:
http://www.basenotes.net/community/Y...num=1142368306

Good suggestion! It came to my mind the same!
Moreover J. is such a smart person to deal with...
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post #5 of 16
4/6/06 at 3:51am
Supplies for the beginning perfumer, this is actually from the book essence & alchemy by M. Aftel, these companies supply actual perfumers

I'll give you few listed with web sites:

London, England
www.essentiallyoils.com ; interesting oils and an informative newsletter

Portland, OR
www.libertynatural.com ; great essences and affordable prices

Mane USA, Wayne NJ
www.mane.com; many esences especially their tonka and geranium

hopefully it works for you

cheers!
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post #6 of 16
4/6/06 at 5:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfectscent

Supplies for the beginning perfumer, [...]

London, England
www.essentiallyoils.com ; interesting oils and an informative newsletter

hopefully it works for you

cheers!

Thank you, perfect scent!! This link was priceless! :-*

If you could also direct me to a UK supplier for perfumer's alcohol in retail quantities I would be eternally grateful.
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post #7 of 16
4/6/06 at 5:42am
Hi,
I'm curious too. Are perfumery oils blended differently than aromatherapy essential oils? Anytime I've tried an aromatherapy essential oil (on my skin, paper, etc.) after the initial scent dissipates, I smell an oily smell leftover, which can get rancid too. I never get that in commercial fragrances even with natural ingredients or simple compositions. Is there a specific ingredient that prevents that? How does that work?
Thank you
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post #8 of 16
4/6/06 at 5:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by moondeva

[quote author=perfectscent link=1144288586/0#4 date=1144320662]Supplies for the beginning perfumer, [...]


Thank you, perfect scent!! This link was priceless! Â*:-*

If you could also direct me to a UK supplier for perfumer's alcohol in retail quantities I would be eternally grateful. Â*

moondeva, for perfume alcohol (if you can't get it a a local chemical supply house)

Undernatured alcohol is the purest alcohol carrier for perfume. (prefferably grape alcohol)

There is a couple of retailers but they are from for the US though,

try
www.aqua-oleum.co.uk
(they distribute essential oils too, maybe thay can help you find it)

good luck!
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post #9 of 16
4/6/06 at 6:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Renaissance Man

Hi,
I'm curious too. Are perfumery oils blended differently than aromatherapy essential oils? Anytime I've tried an aromatherapy essential oil (on my skin, paper, etc.) after the initial scent dissipates, I smell an oily smell leftover, which can get rancid too. I never get that in commercial fragrances even with natural ingredients or simple compositions. Is there a specific ingredient that prevents that? How does that work?
Thank you

It could be the proportion, that's why you have to know your top, middle and base notes, 'a muddy fragrance is often the result of a problem with the base notes. Sometimes it is a question of adjusting the ratio of top, middle and base' says the book...

'The ratio of base to middle to top is approximately 40:30:40'

see you got me working extra hours today

Update!

I think it is the quality not the type of oil that is relevant in your case,

from Essence&Alchemy by M. Aftel

"Essential oils are often adulterated, and it is important that the company you purcahse it from warrants their purity.To test the purity of an essential oil, put a drop of it on a piece of white paper. Let it dry at room temperature. if it is pure, the spot will completely evaporate. if the oil is adulterated, a greasy or translucent spot will be left on the paper. Sometimes an old but pure oil will leave a transparent stain around the rim of the spot, which is caused by resin that is formed by the absorption of oxygen and remains dissolved in the oil, but the center should be clear"

Cheers!
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post #10 of 16
4/6/06 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by perfectscent

[quote author=Renaissance Man link=1144288586/0#6 date=1144327357]Hi,
I'm curious too. Are perfumery oils blended differently than aromatherapy essential oils? Anytime I've tried an aromatherapy essential oil (on my skin, paper, etc.) after the initial scent dissipates, I smell an oily smell leftover, which can get rancid too. I never get that in commercial fragrances even with natural ingredients or simple compositions. Is there a specific ingredient that prevents that? How does that work?
Thank you

It could be the proportion, that's why you have to know your top, middle and base notes, 'a muddy fragrance is often the result of a problem with the base notes. Sometimes it is a question of adjusting the ratio of top, middle and base' says the book...

'The ratio of base to middle to top is approximately 40:30:40'

see you got me working extra hours today

Update!

I think it is the quality not the type of oil that is relevant in your case,

from Essence&Alchemy by M. Aftel

"Essential oils are often adulterated, and it is important that the company you purcahse it from warrants their purity.To test the purity of an essential oil, put a drop of it on a piece of white paper. Let it dry at room temperature. if it is pure, the spot will completely evaporate. if the oil is adulterated, a greasy or translucent spot will be left on the paper. Sometimes an old but pure oil will leave a transparent stain around the rim of the spot, which is caused by resin that is formed by the absorption of oxygen and remains dissolved in the oil, but the center should be clear"

Cheers![/quote]

this ratio is actually meaningless, trust me, most fragrances I've crafted have been totally off from that, actualyl the middle notes have had the highest proportion, maybe something like 20 50 30
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post #11 of 16
4/6/06 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by czesc

[quote author=perfectscent link=1144288586/0#8 date=1144328736][quote author=Renaissance Man link=1144288586/0#6 date=1144327357]Hi,
I'm curious too. Are perfumery oils blended differently than aromatherapy essential oils? Anytime I've tried an aromatherapy essential oil (on my skin, paper, etc.) after the initial scent dissipates, I smell an oily smell leftover, which can get rancid too. I never get that in commercial fragrances even with natural ingredients or simple compositions. Is there a specific ingredient that prevents that? How does that work?
Thank you

It could be the proportion, that's why you have to know your top, middle and base notes, 'a muddy fragrance is often the result of a problem with the base notes. Sometimes it is a question of adjusting the ratio of top, middle and base' says the book...

'The ratio of base to middle to top is approximately 40:30:40'

see you got me working extra hours today

Update!

I think it is the quality not the type of oil that is relevant in your case,

from Essence&Alchemy by M. Aftel

"Essential oils are often adulterated, and it is important that the company you purcahse it from warrants their purity.To test the purity of an essential oil, put a drop of it on a piece of white paper. Let it dry at room temperature. if it is pure, the spot will completely evaporate. if the oil is adulterated, a greasy or translucent spot will be left on the paper. Sometimes an old but pure oil will leave a transparent stain around the rim of the spot, which is caused by resin that is formed by the absorption of oxygen and remains dissolved in the oil, but the center should be clear"

Cheers![/quote]

this ratio is actually meaningless, trust me, most fragrances I've crafted have been totally off from that, actualyl the middle notes have had the highest proportion, maybe something like 20 50 30 but even thats not going to help you, perfumery is VERY complicated, different oils have much different properties as far as duration and strength[/quote]
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post #12 of 16
4/6/06 at 12:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foetidus

Essential oils are so strong that often times they distort the scent. It could possibly be a better idea to get some single note scents such as at Perfume Raffy for $1.00 per sample:

http://www.parfumsraffy.com/prsamples.html

are these really single notes or Raffy's interpretation of each note?
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post #13 of 16
4/6/06 at 12:47pm
Because essential oils and other aroma chemicals vary so much in their relative strength and diffusiveness, pretty much any "recommended" ratio of base:middle:top notes is pretty much bunk, or at best, a crude guideline for the totally clueless.
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post #14 of 16
4/6/06 at 1:01pm
Oh, and to answer the earlier question...

I wouldn't think you should smell any kind of "rancid" oily leftover from a diluted essential oil sold for aromatherapy.. but then again, oils do go rancid after a while, and if the aromatherapy products you're smelling are pretty old, this could be the case. (Jojoba and fractionated coconut are the longest-lasting oils typically used, and said to be nearly unspoilable.. but they could have used anything.)

Pure essential oils aren't really "oils" as most people would think of them; they're a lot more like alcohol. They don't go rancid quite the same way food oils do, but they can undergo chemical changes with exposure to heat, light, oxygen, etc. which in some cases will ruin them. (Some EOs are said to improve with age.. sandalwood and patchouli are two examples.)
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post #15 of 16
4/6/06 at 3:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by [ch257

[ch273]rïÃ*[ch331]][quote author=foetidus link=1144288586/0#1 date=1144298814]Essential oils are so strong that often times they distort the scent. Â*It could possibly be a better idea to get some single note scents such as at Perfume Raffy for $1.00 per sample:

Â* Â* http://www.parfumsraffy.com/prsamples.html

are these really single notes or Raffy's interpretation of each note?[/quote]

This is kind of a difficult question to answer because

1. What is a "real" scent? Is the smell of the blaze rose or the wild rose or the hybred tea rose the "real" one?--they all smell different. I don't know which one is the real one but they all convey a sense of "roseness"--which is exactly what I desired. With essential oils, which is the "real" and which is the interpretation: the ratio of 40:30:40 or the ratio of 20:50:30?

2. Most of the notes and accords we deal with in fragrance are artificial so I guess that makes almost everything the perfumers do, an interpretation.

3. I mostly ordered the notes of the ones I DIDN'T know to give me an idea of what they smelled like. So I have nothing to compare them to as to whether they smell real, I simply understood they they, like eveything else in perfumery are interpretations.

I've tried these single note samples and they have really helped me to identify notes that I had little or no acquaintence with, for instance Frangipani and Freesia and Plumeria. I also ordered the musk and amber and to help me better discriminate those scents which are very often compounded. It cost me about 18 dollars and all I had to do when I got them was open the vial and sniff--which, as the rest of this thread shows, is not the case for essential oils. And, yes, I have found these extremely helpful.
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post #16 of 16
4/6/06 at 5:13pm
I came across a company online that seems to have a wide selection, and a lot of information about origin and rectification of each medium. It's at www.Essential7.com. I must tell you, though, I never ordered anything from them, so I can't vouch for them, personally.
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