What are the components to creat your own fragrance with natural ingredients?
The good balance to compose a fragrance would be easily described in the triangle shown below.
-Top notes are the first perceived by olfactive system. They have the highest impact on mind and emotions, but don’t last for a long time. They are light and fresh scent, like flowers or lime fruits.
-Middle or heart notes are the body of the fragrance. Middle notes are moderately volatiles and are perceived after the top note. They are usually herbs and spices.
– Base notes are the slowest to be perceived and the slowest to evaporate. These notes are settling down the whole fragrance. Base notes are mainly found in woods and resins like cedarwood or myrrh.
This is the theory, which is identical for industrial and natural fragrances.
Create a fragrance is an art, and as each art , perfumery is linked to evolution, fashion and mentality. But it is also to be noticed perfumes were linked to famous people, artists…a fragrance is always linked to a muse.
From the beginning of the 20 st century, industrialisation and chemestry are making the perfumery standardized and easier.
Lets talk a little bit about industrial perfumes.
Now a day perfumes is a business. Each perfume lauch is preceed with a deep marketing analysis which will define the style of perfume and its market position. Today, the perfume is a conceptualized product.
From that point, it is lauched with a budget, it is sad to know that only 1 to 3 % of de final price of sale of a perfume is corresponding to the fragrance material. All the other 99 to 97 % are reserved for marketing.
Because perfumes need to be standardized, selling perfumes on a large scale to a larger public is leading to the use of chemistry and the use of natural substances is impossible.
Indeed, like for good wines, essential oils have good and bad year, in quantity as well as in quality… The price of raw material is fluctuating a lot (seasons, harvesting, quality of production…). The fragrance industry cannot deal with that kind of issues, it turn to be use almost only synthetic substances (it is important to know that synthetic fragrances are unsafe for your health…).
About natural perfumes.
Natural raw materials offer complexe and inimitable aromatic blends. The synthetic smell of arose or jasmine will never be half as subtil as the natural fragrance.
So…how to create your own natural, alive and unique DIY fragrance???
A natural perfume composed with essential oils will also be a therapy and reflect who you are. Natural essences are communication with our senses and our emotions much better than synthetic molecules.
Lets chose the smell you enjoy, smells that are having good effects on your mood, and create your personalized perfume which will seduce your surrounding and will also have an olfactiontherapy effect.
It is interresting to know the different notes we can use to compose your fragrance:
What ingredients are composing a perfume:
-a concentrated scented part made with essential oils, absolues, concretes
-a medium made which can be alcohol, balm or oil
-a fixing agent which could be iris powder or the base notes fragrances (with non volatile substances allowing the perfume to stay)
Depending on the medium, we will obtain different type of perfume
Alcoholic perfumes are the most common perfumes.
Perfumes concentration:
15 to 30 %, up to 40 % of essences for perfumes
Oily perfumes
To realise this kind of perfume, you need to use a carrier oil to dilute your essential oils.
Solid perfumes
Often named concrete perfumes.
To realise this kind of perfume you need to mix your essences in a balm or vegetal butter.
Inspiration for a sensual seducing fragrance
Made with :
Essential oils:
Ylang Ylang, Cinnamon, Clove, Pepper, Sandal, Vanilla
Absolues: benzoin, Tonka
Inspiration for a natural authentic fragrance
Essential oils: neroli,petitgrain, grapefruit, rosemary, nard, sandal, cistus
Absolues: violette leaves, blackcurrent bud, blue lotus
Inspiration for a sweet romantic fragrance
Essential oils: geranium, neroli, rosewood, rhododindron, damas rose
Absolues: Rose, blue lotus, mimosa
CO2 extract: violette
Inspiration for a young naughty fragrance
Essential oils: mandarine, bergamote, grapefruit, bitter almond, vanilla
Absolues: benzoin, mimosa, tonka
Inspiration for a sophisticated elegant fragrance:
Essential oils: damas rose, magnolia, sandal, vetiver
Absolues: rose, jasmin, blackcurrent bud, tonka, oak moss.
My basic diy recipe
for 50 ml of final perfume
Alcohol (90%): 35ml
15 ml of essential oils
Mix your essential oils with alcohol
Let it macerated for 4 weeks in a sealed bottle
Place your bottle in the freezer for a night, it will allows the solid substances to precipitate.
Use a coffee filter to filter your mixture
Pour your fragrance spray or roll on bottle with your blend
And be beautifully and naturaly perfumed!!!
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