Aldehydes are benzenoid compounds, used to help make synthetic ingredients for perfume. These organic chemicals are a mixture of oxygen, carbon and hydrogen and are often combined with alcohol and natural plant materials and have a strong diffusive effect; that is, they enable the ingredients in a perfume to expand and inundate the formula and enhance their properties. In addition, they can make a perfume “sparkle” and boost the top notes, or the scent immediately noticeable when the perfume is first applied. A perfume with aldehydes is notable for its rich, opulent properties. First used in Chanel no. 5, many modern perfumers such at Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy take advantage of the sophisticated properties of aldehydes.
Ernest Beaux, a Russian-born chemist, was the first to use aldehydes in a cologne he named Bouquet de Napoleon to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Borodino. After his work in World War One as both an infantryman and counterintelligence officer with the Russian army, he returned to Paris and continued his experimentation with aldehydes and in 1920 he perfected the fragrances that would become the world famous perfumes, Chanel No. 5 and Chanel No. 22.
Before adelhydes, nitro benzene was used in perfumes along with fatty acids that mimicked the fragrances of fruit and flowers. With the cost of distilling, pressing and grinding various plants, herbs and other objects in order to get oils and liquid, perfume was out of reach for the woman of ordinary means. Indeed, wealthy women often wore their favorite fragrances specifically for the purpose of flaunting their social station.
The use of adelhydes with natural oils allowed perfumers to lower their overhead in creating their scents instead of compromising on quality. Scents must have a very precise combination of ingredients with the adelhydes to achieve their aromas. For instance, amyl cinnamic aldehyde is found in many commercial products such as shampoos, fabric softeners and other domestic toiletries and exudes a pleasant floral bouquet. Hexyl adelhydes, on the other hand, produces a fruity fragrance. Aldehydes are particularly well suited to subtle, feminine perfumes or when a more elegant ambiance is desired.
Simply put, aldehydes allow the prime ingredients of a perfume to expand and permeate the base materials. They act as conductive agents, much as a the stalk of a water lily allows the blossom to grow and thrive. Without them, perfumers would still be able to create unique scents but the aroma would not last nearly as long or be consistent throughout the mixture.
Today, most high quality perfumes make use of aldehydes to enhance not only the scent of their products but the natural ingredients that the contain. Some rare components such as Frankincense can be used a bit more liberally, thanks to aldehydes. The scarcity of Frankincense, a product of the bark of the Boswallia tree, makes perfume containing it very expensive but without aldehydes it would be out of reach for even a millionaire. Other equally hard to find or manufacture ingredients that are highly prized among creative perfumers are available for use thanks to aldehydes.
Tim Walt