DIY Suppliers List - Page 2

Abdullah,
We have been reading the same threads!
Wouldn't using that 10-1 dilution with alcohol make it more difficult to smell... you'd have to wait for the alcohol smell to dissipate before you could smell the EO/C02.
I also thought I had read somewhere that you could take your 10% oil dilution and then use your ethanol to create your perfume. I'm paying $20-30 for 1/16 of an oz for some of the rarer absolutes and EO's. So I want to be Extra careful.

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Thank you Doc Elly!
I will check out the yahoo forum. I realize the pricier oils might not be the most practical... but I am working towards a very specific goal... and spending time working with materials that I won't use at the end of this process doesn't work for what I'm trying to accomplish... does that make sense?

PNDiva,
Like Doc Elly said, I don't recommend practicing with expensive things from the get-go either. I just mean this with regard to practicing the physical part of mixing, not about what oils go well together. Leave those expensive absolutes and EOs for a week or two until you have mixed and diluted some of the more affordable oils. Just some frugal advice.
If you are absolutely in a rush, then at least start your handling and mixing with the cheaper ingredients before you move on to the more expensive ones.

Sidenote: it would be 9 parts alcohol to 1 part fragrance oil, not 10-1. I imagine that is just a thought typo on your part, though.
And I don't think that the alcohol would get much in the way of letting you smell the fragrance. Most EdTs are at that concentration and they hardly smell of alcohol.

What concentration do you want your final product to be? Ideally, that is the concentration that you want to dilute your ingredients to. But you would not want to add pure alcohol after you have diluted it. That would throw off some of the calculations.

As for the actual dilutions...I feel like all those math classes should have resulted in better mixing measurement skills for me, but I am really not good at visualizing this stuff. I recommend using an Excel spreadsheet if you can. If you are going for a 10% EdT in your end result, I think that diluting all the ingredients to 10% would be ideal. Once you decide on an idea for a recipe, you can figure out based on the concentrations that you want.
If all your ingredients are prediluted to 10%, then the alcohol content of the mix result will always be 90% as long as you only use those oils that are at 10% dilution. So in effect, you would only have to worry about the proportions of oils/absolutes with regard to each other.

We can start a math thread if you want.
Hopefully, some of the experts can chime in with some more recommendations of what to do.
Remember that there is no shortcut to experience, and no substitute, so it's best to approach something patiently and thoughtfully.


Abdullah

Sorry to pick up on this so late, I think most of the important points have already been covered but I will just reiterate a couple of them:

I always do experimental blending using most materials diluted to 10% in ethanol by weight. Some materials such as most of the aliphatic aldehydes, vanilla, calone and violet leaf absolute I keep at 1% because they are so easy to overdose otherwise. Fewer still are routinely kept at 0.1% - examples here are synthetic civet, trans-2-cis-6-nonadienal and ethyl vanillin as they are even more powerful.

Details of how I go about blending, and a downloadable spreadsheet to help with the infernal maths, are on my blog in a post called A method for blending.

Whatever you do don't use a carrier oil like almond or jojoba to dilute your oils as these don't dissolve in ethanol and they go off - almond oil in as little as 6 months. Those who like to make oil-based fragrances normally dilute in the same was as I've described above but using fractionated coconut oil (aka capric/caprylic triglyceride) rather than ethanol: this is a good choice as it does not go rancid and is thin enough to be easy to work with. However if you want to work in ethanol it's no use because it does not dissolve in it. So you need to choose one or the other or else keep everything diluted in both so that you can work with both media.

1 part material to 9 parts ethanol = 10% solution, but if you do that by drops you will have diluted by volume. That does not yield the same results as doing it by weight which is the way most of the industry works, the way any pre-diluted materials you buy will have been diluted and most important it is the way all the regulations are framed. Again I've gone into more detail and recommended criteria for buying scales on my blog under Weight or volume?

I find a 10% solution is easier to appreciate and makes your resulting blend easier to evaluate, than using the materials neat. Never rely on smelling anything direct from the bottle: use smelling strips. Many materials are very misleading if you sniff at the bottle (and quite a few are thoroughly unpleasant when neat too).

I thought I would throw this up for any fellow Canadians:

saffireblue.ca

They carry a really decent array of supplies, including perfumer's alcohol (finally, a Canadian source), essential oils, test strips, sample vials, etc. I was happy with everything I ordered. Shipping was decent ($22) for my larger shipments, which included three boxes. Good customer service.

HTH

I am preparing to do some work in East Africa. Can anyone suggest a supplier who would ship there without too much cost? How about a reputable co in India that doesn't expect you to order in 45 gallon drum quantities?

Please note that the link above is/will be changed in the next few days to: http://www.hexapus.nl/en/main.htm

Same people (including me ), but the English part of our site moves, is already available.

Okay, thanks. I have ordered once already (to UK) and was very happy with the service.

Hekserij changed URL, update your bookmarks! http://www.hexapus.nl/en/main.htm

Creating perfume www.creatingperfume.com (awesome website)
save on scents www.saveonscents.com
Wellington fragrance Www.wellingtonfragrance.com
sunburst bottles www.sunburst.com
the perfumery www.theperfumery.com (500 minimum for first new members)

Does anyone know a reliable supplier for original indian Attars in Europe or Uk with shipping to Germany ?
I would like to order Attars from White Lotus Aromatics but i´m not sure if they sell to privately ( I don´t have a trade ).

i'd like to add this supplier in Australia for lab equipment. I have not ordered from them yet so can't comment on service etc. they cater for basic lab equipment for institutional and public use and are a lot more affordable than other suppliers of lab equipment catering to the public, in Australia. Their shipping cost is high ( owing to the fragile nature of the items) but the price per unit makes up for that. Lots on interesting and useful items for the perfumer, flasks, pipettes, organic chemistry sets, scales etc....

http://www.wiltronics.com.au/index.php

I don't know if it's too late to be posting on this forum, but I too was wondering about EdensGarden.com oils. The reason being (in my case) that when I was a beginning collector of EO's, I purchased no less than 42 essentials from their company, and now I'm very much concerned that I wasted my money. They've worked out well in my soaps, as their liquidiness makes them easier than easy to use, but I'm worried that I'm not using the real deal, which would mean that I'm not being true to using "Pure & Natural" ingredients in my products.
Anyone know about this company?

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I don't know if this is the appropriate place to ask this, but does anyone know what happened to SoapMoldSuperstore.com? I use to purchase soap molds from that site and it's disappeared since I was last there; also the email address of the owner doesn't work.
If that site ever reappears, it's one I'd recommend for soap molds, particularly decorative ones such as zodiac, chakra and their "Asian-themed" molds, as well as "Prehistoric" molds including Kokopelli. They have a good, basic look to them that doesn't involve too much detail work, and most of them also fit well in the palm of one's hand so no worries about the soap bar slipping around.
Thanks to anyone who might be able to tell me what's going on with them, or where I should be asking.

http://www.perfumersworld.net/
Have had excellent service and products from them. Great shipping. A very informative site.

An American source I ordered from, is still,pending? Sent email requesting information with regards to shipping overseas and use of Flat rate shipping. NO response.

Went around that blockade and regret wasting my American friends time in doing so and my money, as it was still not shipped a week later. It's now been 3 weeks, and in that time everything else I ordered has long since arrived from farther away than the USA and not FedEx.

Fortunately there are better alternatives. i.e. the one listed above.

I have emailed perfumersworld a few times with some queries, but the only time that they answer me is when I actually want to make an order. They ignore all other messages which I find a little rude.

It's rude to be sure, but had same experience from several American sites as well. I did finally receive the products via my friend. No complaints, but will not order there again. Perfumersworld has all the information required and then some, not much that I need clarification on. Better prices and cheap shipping. Excellent products.

I had asked re: flat rate shipping overseas. Several times. No response. Was a relatively large order I suppose, or not. Over $200.00 US. Since then, perfumersworld has received far more from me.

For bottles, this company http://www.nematinternational.com/products/bottles/empty_perfume_bottles_atomizers_packaging_accessor ies.php has been lovely to deal with. We had a SNAFU in the process, resolved it and the shipping is excellent and the prices are great. They are willing to work with you to maximize flat rate shipping, so your box is full.

It's interesting how we each evaluate a supplier or potential supplier.

In my case, some years ago now, I sent an enquiry to Perfumersworld and was ignored so I never placed an order and I still have not done so: since I can buy direct from main distributors now it's unlikely I ever will. When the opportunity arose to attend one of their training courses in London I wasn't tempted by that either, for the same reason. I dislike giving my money to someone whose only interest is in parting me from it.

Perfumer's Apprentice and De Hekserij by contrast have always responded to every communication from me and I've ordered a lot of things from both of them - and recommended many others to do so on this forum and elsewhere.

There is a clear lesson there for any supplier, which when I'm dealing with potential customers of my own, I always try to keep in mind: customers appreciate having their questions answered and are more likely to spend their hard-earned money on your products if you are nice to them - not exactly rocket-science is it?

Nemat I agree completely are lovely people to do business with: when something goes wrong they fix it, when you need help they answer and they do their best to ensure that what you are buying reaches you intact and as cheaply as possible and is suitable for your needs. I've had phone calls from them before now to check that what I was about to buy was the right thing. If only they were within the EU (and I therefore didn't have to deal with Customs clearance and charges) I would do even more business with them.

There is a supplier who I have been using as of late... EXOTICFRAGRANCES.COM

you can get 1000 sample vials for $50 shipped
A braod range of glass perfume bottles, roll-ons, plastic atomizers, everything! Shipping is steep, but still this place is far chearper than anyone else even after the shipping is factored in.

Is there a particularly good source for 2 to 5 ml plastic vials with atomizers? ...in the US?

I noticed some criticism regarding Floracopeia which may be warranted, but I've bought a couple of their products from a brick & mortar store and was satisfied. Yes, their product is outrageously expensive so I won't use them often. Thus far I've ordered from: White Lotus, Enfleurage, Eden, and Aftelier. Good service and quality products from all.

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Don't know if your query was ever answered, but White Lotus does require a minimum order of $100.00. I am not representing a trade, just a hobbyist.

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Don't know if your query was ever answered, but White Lotus does require a minimum order of $100.00. I am not representing a trade, just a hobbyist.

http://www.sunburstbottle.com

Thanks! That looks like a great source for bottles, but I'm not seeing plastic vials with atomizers smaller than 8ml.

Thanks! That looks like a great source for bottles, but I'm not seeing plastic vials with atomizers smaller than 8ml.

Hello,

I was about to place an order from Perfumer's Apprentice, but I am based in the UK and was concerned about custom fees. Does anyone have experience about custom charges for an order of around $100?

Hi all,

Don't forget that all of the suppliers listed in this thread as well as many others can be searched through from a single location using the Perfumer's Search Page here...
http://perfumersearch.com

Generally customs will charge you 20% of the total value of your order, including shipping (that's VAT on import essentially). For perfumery materials there shouldn't be any Duty to add to that but in practice I've found that sometimes there is another charge added for about a further 5-10% though that's ususally for orders containing bottles or something else other than just aroma chemicals.

Thanks Chris.

Through your 'generally' I take UK customs are as dodgy and unpredictable as their Italian homologue . In Italy, there's a always a general rule that Customs officers regularly tend to overlook, and you never know how much you are actually going to pay!

It isn't totally random, but it certainly isn't predictable either I always allow for a bit extra when I'm comparing prices just in case: 30% on top of the total is a fairly safe assumption. I must say trading outside the EU really makes you appreciate the value of the EU - it's so much easier to do business.

Has anyone else had issues with best bottles' bulb atomizers? I've seen even larger fragrance companies having issues with these in general when they have thicker ingredients (like honey).

Thank you Doc Elly! Best bottles is great and the are only 45 minutes away from me so I can pick up my bottles and save on shipping. The trouble is the cost. My most expensive fragrance to manufactor is my rose scent due to the cost of rose absolute and rose oil. To make 100 ml cost me about $ 15.00. The packaging however cost me about $17.00. I am trying to keep my production cost down because I am not comfortable charging $ 100.00 plus per bottle.

Has anybody bought from this company?

http://www.bonnymans.co.uk/products/shopfront.php

Their prices for perfumers alcohol, DPG and IPM seem slightly cheaper than Mistral Chemicals.

I can't remember for sure, but I think I did order from them a few years ago, maybe via their ebay store. But I know a few soapmakers use them for ingredients like NaOH, so I wouldn't have any worries about doing the same. If they're offering the best price for perfumer's alcohol, I'll certainly get from them next time I buy it!

Big discovery: never use those green rubber test tube stoppers, they wreck the smell of the perfume.

Provided that your product is good, and it takes $15 to make 100ml of your product without packaging, and you are using packaging that costs as you state, I would submit that you are not really making any money, and that your business model will not allow you to continue in business. I think that $100 for 100ml is too cheap, considering your component costs.

U.K. LONDON BASED SUPPLIER
http://www.feeloud.com/index.php?route=common/home

London seller of agarwood oils, etc., personally happy with my purchases, further info. on U.K. Shopping thread.

Some of Taha's oils are sold here (http://www.agaraura.com/), plus website owner's custom distillations.
These will be found in the 'First Class' sections.

Will deliver locally, depending on order, various options available.
http://www.feeloud.com/


No affiliation, just think it might be helpful.

Looks good, thanks for sharing! What did you purchase?

Irina - Tried Thai Garden, Al Musk, Saudia & Shams al Doha - some were samples but quickly purchased since sampling!

Al Musk was lovely, bit cinnamon at first, Saudia is really nice.

Thai more for chaps, possibly, but like it, still on my jacket from yesterday, which was really nice this morning! It was very unusual & without the 'generic' aspect common to many 'Mid -East' oils - but then it isn't!

Obviously, the website is catering to a variety of tastes.

Will check out the oudhs next month and bow to the superior knowledge of others members on these, although I've bought a few oudhs & know which I like.

Thank you for sharing!
I tend to don't buy mixtures any more and sampling oud is so expensive... So how do you know if something is genuine aside from reviews? My short experience with GC/MS analysis, sensory evaluation and adulteration research, made me distrust the trade of naturals A LOT.

I personally bow to @sultanpasha's superior (and extensive) knowledge, my choice of course - and my dogs can spot fake a mile off (those with vivid imaginations are welcome to picture an elderly member being mobbed by thieving Samoyeds who are vying to try genuine oudh)
They totally ignore fake & their noses are better than mine.
I agree that it's a minefield and have personally experienced much rubbish & adulterated/diluted oil.

If the consensus is to remove the supplier, then please do so, but in the U.K. we are having/may continue to have problems of access, so I thought that it might be useful & following your suggestion after originally posting in the Shopping guide, included it here.

i am so curious about this...pkiler what would be then good business model, that can finance itself longterm,...if one charges 100 usd how much should be the max cost of materiasl used for it total?.....i suppose those who buy big bottle wont come back for the same scent for at least 2 years...

for me as a consumer 15 usd for ingredients...and then 15usd for bottle and i pay 100 usd for that seems like fair deal lol...but bottle is the same price as juice....
is that why Lush produced such cheap bottles for their new scents??..but they cost for 100ml as much as 200 usd.....

thanks a lot! talking about numbers makes me get the idea much quicker about perfume business in general

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hahaha this is soo good!!! how come the dogs know the difference? do they love any other of your perfumes or just oudhs?
what do they think about new Homage haha...does it have any real oudh anymore?

It is totally legitimate to add your and any suppliers here and everyone is grateful for sharing experiences, so thank you again!

Your tale about the dogs does make me smile The thing is even dogs can be fooled, I mean there are real hunters-scents developed to fool animals

Who is @sultanpasha? I have to admit I am a member of oudh group here on BN but I got totally lost in the 1000s of posts

So please don't take my remark to heart as harsh, I am genuinely interested and grateful for any shared info!!!

Ivana: I made a separate thread for your questions as this thread is about DIY suppliers:
http://www.basenotes.net/threads/328...indie-perfumes

Hi Irina!
Sorry to be sharp earlier (not at my best at breakfast time!).

I actually stumbled across Adam myself & only found that sultanpasha knew his oils later.

I think that what one member may like, another may not - just as well as there would be no market otherwise!

And Adam's oils are genuinely to my personal taste - and he's trying to offer a wide variety of oils (including small custom agarwood distillations & Taha's oils) in a difficult climate here, with what I feel to be a refreshing approach.

It's obviously up to each individual from whom they buy, and in the U.K. at present the choice is diminishing as importing (as individuals) from overseas as we used to is currently a costly & unreliable process.

I can't prove that some are pure any more than anyone else can prove, without expensive testing, that they are not.
But I am happy to be guided to the different parts of the website & to read the thoughtful descriptions & make up my own mind what to buy. And if I'm happy with my purchases, pass on the info.
I do not recommend a supplier lightly.

I don't know why my dogs zone in on oudh, they only become excited by the most 'oudhy' mukhallats.

Ivana - Homage has never been their favourite as it has too many other ingredients, Shomoukh, Molook - they liked, old white boxes

They don't react to patchouli, rose or any other EO/absolutes in the same way, even ambergris doesn't interest them.
Maybe we could train some oudh hounds? They wouldn't be Samoyeds 'though - too independent

Hi: I want to introduce a new supplier Ancient Ways Botanicals www.ancientwaysbotanicals.com/product-category/essential-oil/
We offer pure, high quality essential oils, absolutes, CO2s along with carrier oils, bottles etc. We have many organic and wildcrafted oils and pride ourselves on excellent customer service. Stop by and have a look!

Hey Smellies!

This is my first post

Taking into account that i live in the UK I would like to ask a DIY fragrance related question. I am totally a newbie when it comes to DIY fragrance and would like to know where can i buy a extensive kit so that i can start experimenting?

Hi & a belated welcome
There are various places selling kits, such as this one:-
http://pellwall-perfumes.blogspot.co.uk/

If you are looking for starter kits of oils, please check back.
There are different sorts of starter kits & some may be 'Fragrance Oils' - not pure essential oils, but o.k. for soaps, etc.

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Welcome too - there's loads of info. here - we're lucky to have so many clever sorts sharing with us.

I have three suppliers I like in France (they mostly sell naturals):
- Néroliane (Albert Vieille): essential oils, absolutes, various perfumes, resins
- Proxisante : essential oils, absolutes, various perfumes, resins, castoreum, some labdanum specialties
- Quosentys : essential oils, absolutes, extracts, bases,

For Corsican essential oils (immortelle, romarin verbénone, lavender etc.)
- - Astratella
- Vitalba

I have been looking for the right place to purchase incense that would ship international and thank you for sharing the Scents of Earth website. Your post is very useful. I would also like to add kobashi.com.uk. They have great aroma oils and are very much organic.

another site see www.profumo.it/perfume/home_english.htm

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www.essentially-me.co.uk/ site related to www.aqua-oleum.co.uk/