Perfume Making: WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED

In which artisan perfumer, Sarah McCartney talks to Arthur McBain about basic kit, materials and skills you need to start exploring perfumery.
There's always more at www.patreon.com/Scenthusiasm and we're running a more detailed skills course at www.4160tuesdays.com

[@jeanyvestrillat]

Many thanks Sara and a happy Sunday to all of you.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

Thank you very much. 😃 et merci.

[@katmc92]

I loved this video. Thank you for the knowledge!

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

You're very welcome.

[@justchefmack4188]

I love the method of "teaching as you do" .

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

Thank you. I'll aim to do more.

[@AnaxusPerfumes]

Liking the lighting here!

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

Thanks, Arthur said it looked good although it's just the halogens and it's dark outside. 😄

[@PrinceGBuddha]

love your humor

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

Thank you. It's embedded. 😅

[@PrinceGBuddha]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 haaaa

[@photographedemode]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. It all seemed so easy when I got started in 2013, how could you go wrong with the Top/Heart/Bottom note approach. After you realise once you start using professional perfume products how vast the playing field is. Also when you realise that there are laws concering health safety issues that can be quite strict in Europe, then things get rather complicated. I used to put my perfumes on Etsy, then realised that I was likely to get into trouble with European Cosmetic issues.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

Yes, all those things. We have software that calculates safe IFRA levels, but there is also the safety report to be done for each product by a qualified chemist.

[@TomKing.]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 Hi Sarah, I have been looking for a good software for IFRA safe levels, would you mind sharing the name of the program? thanks, love your videos.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

@@TomKing. We have named it Perfumer's Little Helper, PLH for short.

[@TomKing.]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 Oh I see, I guess it must not be publicly available; thanks anyhow!

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

@@TomKing. No, it's not. We sell it for £300 because it's really complicated and needs a training session. Usually multilevel database software for IFRA costs about £4000.

[@angelab412]

Thank you 🙏

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

You’re welcome. I'll take requests too.

[@hulkblue9244]

Sara thanks for video ✨ my question is i heard when diluted the oil its better to keep the peptide bottle full because the O2 wil interacts witj oil and give not lovely result after while thanks

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

It's always good to keep bottles full, as oxygen reacts with almost everything, eventually.

[@hackmed9433]

Could you please tell me what's the model of the scale you used in this video? I realy like this stainless steel cover.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

It was just a generic one from Ebay for about £8, made in China. It's not the one I use in the lab which is Ohaus.

[@kausharalam5880]

Thanku u for u videos i ahve question the material r diluted in 10 or 5 percent dilution then how will i achive a 20% oil concentrate of the finished product i mean a edp....hope iam able to explain my self

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

First, an EdP is not necessarily at 20% strength. That is a guideline not a rule. Some perfumes last and feel like EdP at 5%, and some feel light like eau de toilette at 20%. But to answer your question. If all your materials are diluted to 10% or lower for your experiments then it is mathematically impossible ever to create a fragrance stronger than 10%, which means 10 parts per hundred. What you do is create a blend you are pleased with, then calculate the exact formula at 100% strength. After that you dilute the whole lot down to 20% or whatever strength it works best at. Making a fragrance stronger doesn't necessarily make it "better", it can change its character so try it at 15% and steps upwards and downwards to see which is actually best.

[@missesraisin]

Can I ask you, do you think essential oils can be incorporated into oil paints for perfumed wall art? thanks for the video! Dee in L.A.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

I think the only way is to try. Essential oils are not the melty fat kind of oils like linseed or other bases for oil paints so I'm not sure if they would blend or just sit there like oil on water. You'd also need to check how long they would last; would they be fixed forever as the paint dried or would they somehow evaporate off but leaving the paint behind? You could look up Mabelle O'Rama, scented paintings in layers of wax. Some last longer than others anyway, depending on their volatility. Perhaps get some less expensive materials like sweet orange essential oil and cedarwood, and just give it a go. Please report back because now I'm interested.

[@missesraisin]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 Oh yes, because now I have to know. The science will answer it lol. Dee in L.A.

[@missesraisin]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 Yes I believe you are right , the smell will be temporary. I tried it and no problems blending, but it seems to me the only way to achieve permanent smell would be to add a porous agent during or after painting. Thanks so much for helping me explore more with my perfume hobby! lol Dee in L.A.😀

[@arijitbasu2715]

@Sarah McCartney Thanks for the nice video, I have a question and I asked many perfumers, but have yet to get a suitable reply. The dilutions you normally make are weight/weight w/w or weight/volume w/v. In this example, I guess you did w/w. Is it the normal practice in perfumery to do w/w ?

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

Yes, always. All formulas are measured by weight because they are consistent in different temperatures. We only measure by volume when we are filling bottles.

[@arijitbasu2715]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 I understand the importance of weighing. my question is the final dilutions is it 20g made up to 100 ml or 20 g made up to 100g. Is the final dilution w/w or w/v ?

[@arijitbasu2715]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 I understand the importance of weighing. my question is the final dilutions is it 20g made up to 100 ml or 20 g made up to 100g. Is the final dilution w/w or w/v ?

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

@@arijitbasu2715 I did not dilute it any further. All the materials I used were already diluted in ethanol. Still, the answer is always that I would dilute by weight. Everyone always does. It's the law. When your formulas are assessed for safety, it is by weight. If you need 100mls, then make 80g by weight.

[@arijitbasu2715]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 that makes perfect sense, I always thought it will be so. However, contrary to most dilutions in scientific experiments where it’s mostly w/v and not w/w, I guess because molarity is weight in volume (different topic all together). Thanks so much for clearing my doubt and yes 80 g makes perfect sense as density for ethanol is 0.78 g/ml. I really like all your videos they are wonderful. I gain lot of education from it. Thanks again

[@perfumeloverr]

One Question : How to colour our perfume ? What colour compounds should we use ?

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

For that you have to have a big company to make them. Mine stay the colour of the materials. Modern perfumes which are grey or blue or pink and decolorise when sprayed use a different technology, which isn't available to Artisan perfumers.

[@AnaxusPerfumes]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 thank you for saying this. I was speaking with a fellow perfumer about this and he couldn’t believe the “decolorise” part. Sadly, I couldn’t find much about that on the internet, but I just thought maybe it’s somewhat the same technology behind disappearing ink. Do you have any references or sources on those types of coloring agents?

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

@@AnaxusPerfumes I only know what my friend who works at Symrise told me, that first they decolorise any materials they use, then they add colour. The stability tests are harder and more expensive. Then they oxidise on air contact so they don't stain clothes. Lady Gaga's black perfume was the first one spoken about out loud as part of the press release. Others just imply that violet fragrances are naturally purple.

[@justaddlight]

What do you do with the great smelling filter paper once the filtration is complete? 🤔

[@laurenbray8314]

A air freshener for the trash maybe lol. My perfume making area is in my bedroom and I never have to worry about it not smelling good in there. The trash can with used scent strips and pipettes does all the work lol.

[@justaddlight]

@@laurenbray8314 Bonus!

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

A friend of ours collects it and makes scented greetings cards.

[@eztanezta]

Is it possible to transform a top note (such as lavender) to a mid/base note? I always wondered why in some perfumes such top notes (lavender, bergamot, etc.) are listed as base or mid notes.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

No, but then notes pyramids are just concepts and don't usually reflect the materials used to make the fragrance. There is a lavender absolute which is used as a "mid note" as it lasts longer than the essential oil. I have made three films explaining the reality of notes pyramids. Scroll back a bit.

[@eztanezta]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 Thank you so much Sarah, I appreciate your channel very much!

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

@@eztanezta Thank you.

[@Mindful.Meditations]

What's the trick to creating skin perfumes? Ones that aren't powerful but almost melt into your pheromones? Is there a special base?

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

I do know what you mean but I'm going to get a bit technical because the word is misused a lot in the perfume industry; humans do not respond to pheromones the way some other animals do. We emit aromas, and we detect aromas, but there aren't any of these lock-and-key type chemicals (which is what animal pheromones are) that elicit an immediate response. There are some animal pheromones which some humans can smell, but we don't respond to them the way the animals do. Anyway, that said, the way to create skin scents is only to use molecules which are "sticky", relatively heavy and not particularly volatile so they don't fly off and fill the room. Cut out the top note materials.

[@Mindful.Meditations]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! Thanks so much for your quick response.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

@@Mindful.Meditations you're welcome.

[@abm224realf.y.b.y6]

Hey I do I need to filter my perfume if I use amber bottles?

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

Yes, it's to take out the sediment from natural materials. If there are lumpy bits left in the perfume, they might clog up your pump.

[@abm224realf.y.b.y6]

Thank you for your timely response as always 😁

[@Romantico1962]

Confusing video, just feel like I couldn't follow the step-by-step.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

That's probably because it's not intended to be step-by-step, but thank you for writing.

[@pami333]

Hm, again my replies get deleted within seconds..

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

Again, what did you write? Is this just on my videos or other people's?

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

I got the notification. You put another link in. KZbin deletes though as it believes they are spam.

[@pami333]

@@SarahMcCartney4160 last time it wasn't a link I think, but this time yes, it was, I tried to link to the ifra library directly, as the catalogue can be hard to find on the website if one doesn't know what exactly has to look for. I'll just re-post without the link, thanks for the clarification, Sarah.

[@pami333]

I'm confused.. it again got deleted, this time no link was included, no quoted text, or anything else I can think of. And so far I haven't realised that messages from me got deleted under other videos so far, I would need to have an eye on it and contact youtube maybe.

[@SarahMcCartney4160]

@@pami333 I have no idea what it objects to, bit it looks as if you have been flagged. It wasn't me, I was fast asleep. 😀