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Notion: bit.ly/itpfrags

Description

This session is about the basics of making scents. I'll be drawing heavily from perfumery but this can be applied to any kind of fragrance creation. I'm personally excited by installation applications and looking forward to Olivia Yin's session Press Y to Smell.

We'll explore the following:

• how fragrance formulation works
• Top, mid and base notes
• Carriers (alcohol, oil)
• How to smell materials (diluting & evaluating)
• Creating accords
• Creating a fragrance formula

Materials & Supplies

For those attending in person, we will be using the Perfumery Notes Kit from Perfumer's Apprentice (here's the list of materials in the kit). Based on the number of people attending, we'll divide into groups and make sure each group has access to a set of materials.

If you're attending remotely or just want to get some materials for home use, here's what I recommend to start:

• A scale for measuring materials. Ideally, one that measures with 0.01 or 0.001g sensitivity. Perfumery scales can be expensive, I'd say start with a jeweller's scale for ~$20 and buy a better one when you start developing formulations you like.
• A carrier/medium. Perfumer's alcohol is the go-to but if you are interested in candles, diffusers etc. you might want other carriers. Here's a quick primer—Perfumer's Apprentice also has detailed descriptions for each carrier they...carry.
• Pipettes for working with your materials. The general consensus seems to be that unless you're working in lab conditions, it's not worth the contamination risk to use reusable ones. Get a large pack of disposable pipettes and put them in the recycling.
• Scent strips for evaluating scents.
• Vials/bottles to store your dilutions and creations. I like the 4ml size for experimental stuff, working at that size stretches my materials further.
• (Optional) beakers and funnels for easier mixing. I find I can do without these for the most part by dropping straight into a vial but if you're doing a lot of experiments, beakers are easier to clean.
• And of course, your raw materials! You'll be dealing with either naturals (essential oils and absolutes) or synthetics (aromachemicals). There are far too many to list here but I've added a list of what I have/know/like to Notion.

To start, get some top, mid and base notes. I think you should have some florals, some woods, something citrusy/fresh, at least one musk, the "big hitters" (ISO E Super, Hedione, Ambroxan) and anything you particularly like the smell of. I started with the Beginner's Aromachemical Kit from Perfumer's Apprentice which I love, but is currently out of stock. To that, I've added about 20 essential oils, and a dozen or so random things I'm interested in like geosmin and oud. There's also the Scenthusiasm kit which comes with naturals as well.

Safety Stuff

As a non-expert, I want to reduce risk as much as possible. If you are sensitive to fragrance, please use your best judgement. We'll be working with 10% dilutions using testing strips to limit the risk of allergic reactions. All the same, I'll try to avoid as many known allergens as possible.

(Photo by JC Media on Unsplash)