Fragrances are used in a variety of consumer products these days ranging from cosmetics, luxury goods, food services, manufacture of household chemical items, etc and therefore the composition of good fragrances has become increasingly important. The reason behind this is quite simple. Customers get attracted by the fragrance emitted by the product or the perfume and this leads to their purchasing it.

Composing perfumes that has the power to entice customers is the job of a perfumer who is often referred to as ‘the nose’. With their fine sense of smell and the in depth training obtained in the principles of perfume aesthetics, they are able to create delicate compositions which successfully convey a variety of moods and feelings. A good perfumer should have the essential knowledge in differentiating between different fragrances as well as the individual quality of each ingredient used.

The initial step in the composition of perfumes is very important though extremely tedious. The client gives a brief to the perfumer about the specifications required for a particular perfume which they have in mind. Accordingly, the concerned people start their work by researching on various aspects like the description of the smell of the perfume, the feelings that the smell is able to arouse in them, the desirable time of the day the perfume can be worn, the pricing factor, etc which can ultimately lead to the required aromatic ingredients which can be used in its composition.
The next step in the composition of the perfume is the blending of various ingredients so that it meets the specifications arrived during the brief. This process is time consuming and may take months or years, since it is very essential that the perfect blend is arrived at. Once it is achieved, the composition is used either in the manufacture of consumer products like shampoos, soaps, or other household goods, or sold directly as a perfume.

A main thing to be noted is that there is never a ‘perfect technique’ that can be used while formulating perfumes, even though several guidelines are available to this effect. Other than the base ingredients, a lot of perfumes make use of other substances like colorants, anti oxidants, etc with the purpose of enhancing the shelf life of the perfume as well as to influence the marketability of the product in a positive manner.

It is also to be seen that a lot of contemporary perfumers employ the technique of creating perfumes and colognes by making use of fragrances bases like aromatic chemicals and essential oils. There are various techniques employed to create such fragrances, but largely it is seen that ethyl alcohol and water are used to blend the fragrance oils which are left to age in large tanks for a specific period. This is later filtered and marketed as perfumes.

Tim Walt

Creating a perfume can actually be described as an art. It can be said that the job of a creator is to portray the current social motion and attitude in an extremely precise manner and highlight each personality types with related scents. A perfumer has to make use of smells to induce mental imagery and has to make the wearer feel confident.

It is the perfumer or ‘Nez’ as they are fondly called who are responsible for creation of fine scents. The customer or fashion house or corporate house who wants to create a perfume relies upon the perfumer’s fine sense of smell and composition skills to bring out a product. According to the client’s requirements, the perfumer blends the required smells and composes a version which may be approved for further manufacture.

It must be said that there are no hard and fast rule in the creation of perfumes. The general pattern followed is to go by some guidelines which could help in formulating the end product. A perfume is generally born out of a concept and the ultimate product may be achieved out of mixture of many ingredients along with the required coloring, anti-oxidants, etc to add to the shelf life of the perfume.

The first step in the conception of a perfume starts with the creation of perfume oils which can either be from a plant source like flowers, barks, fruits, leaves, etc., animal source like civet, honeycomb, musk, etc., other natural sources like lichens or seaweeds, or synthetic sources. Perfume oils are made up of a variety of ingredients which can be grouped roughly into four: Primary scents, modifiers, blenders, and fixatives. One or a few chief ingredients can be combined to form a primary scent such as ‘rose’ or ‘jasmine’. Sometimes a blend of primary scents can give rise to an abstract primary scent too. Modifiers give character to the primary scent like bringing about a change in its behavior. For example, the cherry scent in cherry cola can be considered as a modifier. Blenders are responsible for the effective blending between different layers or bases. Linalool and hydroxycitronellal are commonly used as blenders. Fixatives have the responsibility of strengthening the primary scent. Common fixatives that are in use are wood scents, amber bases, resins, etc.

Ethyl alcohol and water are blended in with the perfume oils and are stored in tanks for aging. After a minimum of fourteen days, they are processed and filtered in suitable equipments to remove any impurities or sediments and particles. The perfume is now ready for filling into perfume bottles.

Tim Walt