Articles / Media / Links :: Natural Perfumery: An Art with a Structure
Part Three: Natural Perfumery: An Art with a Structure
By Rohanna Goodwin Smith
Published in Aromascents Journal, Winter 2007
“How will it smell an hour from now when its volatile ingredients
have fled and the central structure emerges, or this evening when all that is still perceptible are the heavy, dark
components that now lie in odorous twilight beneath a veil of flowers.”
Perfume, Patrick Susskind
Like an artist staring at a blank canvas, surrounded by her paints, so is the natural perfumer in the early stages of creating a perfume. Her fragrant oils are her palette, her nose the anatomical instrument of creativity and her skin the canvas. She is evoking an image of scent and drop by drop the fragrant picture reveals itself.
As an art form, perfumery also shares some of the terminology of music composition. Single essences are called 'notes' and these aromatic elements are combined to create harmonious 'chords'. Perfumes can be likened to an olfactory symphony. In The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, Valerie Worwood writes, "the best perfume designers take their work as seriously as do the great musical composers or painters, with the general form, the first impact, the subtle undertones, the highlights and background melodies, all playing their part in making the whole a beautiful composition."
The Concept
Each perfume creation begins with a concept. Will the theme be flirty, elegant, sexy, classic, exotic, and mysterious? What particular essence or essences will be highlighted? Commercial perfumes are often based on the theme of a fragrance family. Knowledge of these fragrance families is helpful for the beginning natural perfumer in understanding what essences constitute many of the familiar fragrances in commercial perfumes. However it isn't necessary to follow these families when creating natural perfumes.
Perfume Fragrance Families
Chypre: classic fragrances; based on the contrast between oak moss and bergamot; based traditionally on oak moss, sandalwood and musk; the proto-type was Chypre de Coty, launched in 1917
Floral: feminine; odours of flowers used as fragrance elements; floral bouquet often dominated by rose and jasmine; L'air du Temps, Tommy Girl
Oriental: exotic; warm and sensual ingredients; heavy spices with resins and musk and animal notes; Obsession, Coco
Citrus: freshness; lemon, orange, tangerine, orange blossom, neroli; traditional proto-type was Eau de Cologne (citrus and herbal)
Other Families: Green/Herbal; Fougere; Marine
Perfume Note Classifications
The rate or speed at which a particular perfume note evaporates is its volatility and this is what determines whether it is a top, middle, or base note.
Top Notes
Top (or head) notes provide the initial introduction or first impression of the perfume. They are "the first kiss" and like a first kiss they should be memorable. Most top notes are essential oils and include the citruses (pink grapefruit, lemon, clementine, bergamot), lavender, basil, rosewood, black pepper, galbanum, to name a few. Often it's the top note chord that determines whether or not a customer will purchase the perfume. But the top notes are also the most volatile and they quickly evaporate revealing the middle notes of the perfume.
Middle Notes
The middle (or heart) notes provide the personality and give the perfume body and complexity. They impart warmth and beauty and include most of the floral absolutes-rose, champaca, tuberose, linden blossom as well as a few herbs and spices such as lavender and nutmeg absolutes. Their duration is longer than the top notes but finally they recede and give way to the base notes.
Base Notes
The base (or bottom) notes linger the longest and leave the lasting impression. They are heavy, rich, mysterious, intense, musty, and animalic and contain the least volatile aspects. Base notes include, ambrette, fir absolute, green tea absolute, cognac, benzoin and frankincense.
Perfumes in Oil or Perfumes in Alcohol
Aromatherapy blends are mainly comprised of essential oils or absolutes that are soluble in carrier oil such as sweet almond oil or jojoba. Included in natural perfumery are absolutes, resins, balsams and concretes that are often times too thick or tacky to be soluble in oil. Concretes are liquid, semi-liquid or solid materials that contain wax and pigment and are the result of the extraction process of raw materials before they are further processed into absolutes. Some of these raw materials are suitable for making solid perfumes but others are soluble only in alcohol. Most commercial perfumes are prepared in denatured 190 proof ethyl alcohol. More suitable for natural perfume is the less processed undenatured ethyl alcohol, but it can be difficult to procure.
The Composition
In composing a perfume what you choose to leave out can be as important as what you put in. Each added essence needs to be carefully chosen and must support the whole. Don't throw something in for emotional reasons. "Oh, I love this. I must use it!" This certainly happened to me in my perfuming classes as I constantly became enchanted with new and unfamiliar ingredients and would try to add them to my blends without carefully considering their usage. Inevitably the blend would fail. Every choice is a big choice and each chosen addition must have a purpose.
There are many areas to consider as your creation evolves. Does the perfume have shape, contrast and texture? Does the top note seduce drawing one deeper into the fragrance? In blending one needs to know the subtle differences in use. For example, will you use ylang ylang extra, absolute or concrete for your blend? Will you select cardamom absolute to use in the base or cardamom essential oil for the top? The learning curve for creating beautiful natural perfumes can be long and requires patience and focus. It can be exasperating. One wrong drop can ruin a blend. And, as Patrick Susskind writes in his novel Perfume, "Every ruined blend costs a small fortune".
Perfumes using solely natural ingredients are not for everyone. The fragrances, when applied, are of short duration and they can be perceived as being expensive when one considers the small quantity of perfume received. However, we know from our experience that these fragrant essences are precious, priceless and a magnificent gift from nature. Recently, in our discussion about creating and marketing natural perfumes someone wisely said to me, "We don't need to try to convince anyone about the value of what we are doing. We need to invite and receive those who truly appreciate what we are offering."