Great video. Some useful timestamps: 2:02 - The Method 4:32 - Having a perfume concept/theme 6:45 - Base note composition 15:30 - Middle note composition 20:30 - Smelling / testing advice 24:08 - Combining Base and Mid note batches 27:27 - Adding in blenders and fixers (Hedione, Iso E Super, etc.) 31:28 - Adding in accents (faint nuances and depth in the fragrance) 36:00 - Top note composition 37:36 - Trial perfume maturation 40:41 - Trial perfume testing 42:47 - Measuring the finished perfume in weight, instead of drops
This video is so unbelievably helpful thank you for not hiding behind esoteric language and trying to be mysterious like other perfumers. This was clear, surprisingly concise and everything that a person needs to understand the process behind making fragrances.
This video is particularly helpful - You do a brilliant job at demystifying the whole perfume making process. Oh and don't worry about the "rambling" - that's what 'fast-forward' is for :) ...Seriously though - there is a bucket-load of knowledge to be had in those "ramblings". Keep them coming.
I am here for the sheer enjoyment of making a fragrance worth wearing that I can gift to friends and family for holidays etc. I also am passionate about it and love to learn and sit in my new organ for hours on end till it drives my fiancé crazy lmfao she doesn’t complain when I come back from my lab with new samples for her to try however
Excellent thoughts as ever. I find so many parallels between making perfumes and making music. The coming back later to a mix is very important. Your senses need a rest now and again.
very helpful explanation! Thats the topic that a beginner like me struggle with. How should i start mix the essences, whats a proper way to come to the fragrance that i‘m thinking about… it needs a lot of patience but it seems to be a very professional way to do it. Thank you very much for that 🙏🏻👍👌
Thanks a ton for this incredible video! It's hard to get out of absolute newbieness in this hobby, and you're doing a lot to "unlock" me! I want to know... how do you handle droppers/pipettes? What do you rest them on? Do you use the same ones all day? I'm afraid of making a mess, either contaminating my table or mixing them up.
Awesome video. Totally with you! I feel like as musicians, we make fine fragrances the same way we make music. Start with the genre, tempo, with the base line and kick, fill out the percussion then move onto the lead synths in the mid frequencies and round off with the high end with some ear candy thrown in there. Mix and Master and let it sit for a while 😂😂😂.
Thanks for sharing all that valuable information and knowledge the way you do. I just started doing my own a few days ago, without videos like this, any one can give up in days. If you ever come to Texas, let me know. Coffee and lunch is on me and my wife, I can't imagine a Starbucks coffee listening to all the things you say. Just amazing bro! God bless, and again, THANKS!!!
BK, I've used this approach you've shown in this video to make 3 concentrations/formulas. But my problem is getting the concentration/formula that I've developed using this "drops" method to a perfume in grams. I'd love to see the "missing link" which is to start where this video ended and bring us to a (small batch let's say) perfume formula. Another issue is that I have dilutions at various percentages like 10%, 1%, 0.1% and even a few 5%'s. Sometimes I would detect favorable notes at 5% that were hidden at 10% and 1%. Crazy stuff here. All 3 formulas were tested by friends that have asked for refills of the 10ml samples. Each formula took many trials and you've saved me quite a bit of money so far so thank you!
Ik it's like a year late and you likely figured it out, but for any other passerby, you would use ratio's to cover this into grams. Like 2 drops cedar, 8 drops bergamot. That's a total of 10 parts. Say you wanna make 100mg of that and add more ingredients. That means 20% will be cedar, 80% will be bergamot. 2 drops oakmoss, 6 drops labdanum. 2:6. That can be simplified to 1:3. 33% oakmoss, 66% labdanum. except you do that for all your ingredients you blend. Think of the size you wanna fill. 10ml, for example. Choose what concentration you want, parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, etc. Say like you want 20% concentration. Make it easier on yourself and figure out how many ppt (parts per total) those drops represent using the ratios, and use the ppt equal to 2000 out of 10000
BK... I've absolutely loved your videos and I have your Excel sheet on composition... I've recently been pulled into fragrance blending from my soul and I'm thankful to have found your videos. I've put in hours and hours watching your instruction and you've made me feel like an intermediate fragrance professional just by watching your videos....I'm happy to say that I've started using materials now like ISO E Super and Hedione, Ambroxan, Galaxolide, etc....I live in Texas so I gravitate towards Perfumers Apprentice... Anyways bro, Thank you. That's all I wanted to say.... - Paul Iudica
I'm chasing two notes chinotto and starfruit. Starfruit is for a fragrance called Kazakhstan it's a Floral Gourmand without the horse meat. I've added Kaffia lime leaf and green tea to the modifier notes with a hint of Corriander.
Hi again, after trying your method and having so much fun trying to make a tobacco accord, I have yet another question 😅 Do you reckon I could start with a bottom of alcohol inside each beaker, so as to delay the evaporation of the whole sample? Or even "revive" one that's almost out? It's not about being lazy, but I could see myself losing my train of thought/feelings remaking them every time. Many thanks again!
Great video! I’d love to see a weekly or biweekly QA Video where we could ask questions in advance. I know for myself The biggest struggle is understanding what I’m actually buying. I I found a few starter kits on perfumers apprentice. One is a package of “blends” Kit' Includes 24 Pre-selected proprietary blends designed by the esteemed perfumers at Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, Bedoukian, Symrise, etc. I assume these are ready to go accords? What I’m most confused about is the difference between the first kit I mention and this one-“This Kit is a bundle of 50 classic perfumery ingredients in raw (undiluted) form with the exception of four very powerful ingredients that are diluted to a workable strength.” Now when your mixing your ingredients to create a base, mid, top as you explained in this video.. are you using undiluted ingredients than diluting with perfumers alcohol afterwards when the recipe is complete? would this kit need to be diluted before any creation? Also do you we dilute our ingredients with perfumers alcohol when we find they are too strong or do we use something else? I’m trying to get through all your videos and from what I see maybe I’m wrong but you typically use a lot of pre made blends and not so many raw ingredients maybe I’m wrong. Thanks for all you do so people can dive into this
Could you do a video on how you blend your pre-made accords into the perfume? Like how you do that calculation, since the accord has its own formula. If you're using a 10% dilution of an accord in the testing, how do you scale that up to the final perfume using the accord formula into the larger perfume formula?
Great video! Will definitely try this! But wouldn't you need to dillute the concentrate with alcohol (etc.) before you would know exactly how well it works?
Subscribed! This method seems a lot more fluid and intuitive then measuring everything out from the start. So once you're happy with something and measure it, I then I assume you just making that formula (perfume) either 10% or 20% of the total composition with the addition of alcohol? I ask because some people measure everything from the start to add up exactly to the final 10% composition but it seems really rigid almost restricting that way and almost more work.
Also - what do you find the difference is in blending a few materials together initially in a beaker and testing as opposed to dipping those materials in scent strips and smelling together? The latter saving more material, and beakers, and maybe a bit of time. I assume because blending in beaker is a more accurate representation? Thoughts? Thanks!
You always start your trials with drops but you should also measure the weight of each drop so when you really like a formula you already know the weights to multiply them by the concentration you want for a full bottle!
This is the composition for the fragrance for women. I've encapsulated Kazakhstan in a fragrance it's in my head at the moment here's what to expect TOP - Starfruit, Green Tea, Amalfi Lemon, Corriander HEART - Tulip, Lily, Daffodil BASS - Madagascar vanilla, caramel, Beeswax, Honey, White Musk
I created a really lovely chypre style fragrance last night and was the first time I was using Fragonia so I just went in with a hint of it as a modifier note, and wow that works, similar to Corriander. Really ignites the fruits especially Bergamot, the other I'm yet to try of in a very similar fashion is bee balm looking forward to trying that.
@@bkscents7050 Oh yes and the other is Monarda, haven't tried it yet but I'm planning on combining it with Bergamot and Clary Sage and linalyl acetate. Monarda is another one that should acentuate the blend in the modifier notes, supposedly should enhance the Bergamot in particular. So I'll see how it goes once the order arrives.
This video just saved me from posting ten million questions on Base Notes 😂 Question however: do you always test everything on the skin? When I tried this, I found that it fatigued my nose since I was surrounded by the scent.
May be a dumb question but how do you go about the measuring all the notes, percentage wise how much percentage does your base middle top have like 30% base, 50% middle and 20% top?
These videos are immensely helpful! I'm wondering if you could do a few on fixatives and diffusers. How to know when you may need them, interactions, etc. I notice you'll reach for a fixative but I'm not sure how you realized you needed one.
To me, almost anything that lasts more than 300+ hours on a paper strip i consider to be a fixative. Musks can be a fixative, wood oils can be a fixative, resins (benzoin, labdanum, etc) can be a fixative. But they all impart a particular scent, and some scents are stronger than others. Its really up to you to know which scent would fit your perfume theme you are trying to accomplish.
hey man, I just came across your vids yesterday. Really informative content. I really want to get into this. I'd love to see you making a beginners perfume and the steps you take. Would be so helpful.
Yes, but you can also use this method to figure out which materials work together and which don’t. First figure out what your materials ARE base, mid, top etc. Come up with a theme you want to go for before choosing materials. Once you have a theme. Go through your materials choose some base materials and start having fun. Do a drop by drop trial of some base ingredients. See how they work together. Continue to you are happy with base. Move on to mid. Choose some things, start playing with ratios. Once happy. Figure out what you want the initial smell to be (top) just start playing and having fun.
To choose materials have an idea of what kind of fragrance you want to end up with. That should help you determine what materials to use. If you don’t know. Then you need to learn your materials
Organize your work space too. Helps choosing materials easier. I’m a super noob just started a couple months ago but plan on making a channel documenting my journey and hoping to learn from other perfumers along the way. I know I will make many mistakes and someone will be more than happy to call me out on it and I will learn from it. No shame
I wholeheartedly appreciate your digression of your perfume Journey and by that I mean that you explain how you personally interpret perfumery, which is a much more natural and authentic style of teaching. There's so much ego and pretentiousness where art meets the classroom but you seem down to earth and encouraging. The thing I dislike about art is that its peers make art as inaccessible as possible. Thank you!
BK, could you use a synthetic to enhance a natural? I have some Hawaiian sandalwood from eden botanicals but I'm wondering if I could include dreamwood in my formula to use less of the natural and enhance the effect. Are synthetics used in this way?
Absolutely. It's very common to blend naturals with synthetics. The Dreamwood Base is a fantastic sandalwood base to mix with real Mysore sandalwood to make it a more cost effective note.
Thank you so much for creating these videos they're so helpful! I have a question for you, I've just started to create my trial blends, working on the base chord right now. I have all my materials diluted down to 10% in 190 proof alcohol for economical reasons in the experimental phase, I've been adding a few drops into a beaker and I'm noticing that the blend evaporates very quickly, I'm using all naturals, I'm wondering if this is normal for the alcohol to evaporate this fast? I literally mix my blend and then a minute later the liquid is gone, any tips with this? Maybe start with a ml of alcohol in the beaker to begin with to further dilute the blend and have some room for evaporation to occur?
I know nothing about perfumery but i guess its cause you are dealing with really small amounts and its noticeable when they disappear unlike when they are in larger amounts then you hardly notice.
incredibly helpful video, thanks so much! Mid if I ask, for blending purposes, what % dilution do you personally trial with ambroxan and vanillin? Cheers again!
Good day sir, Please if for instance you want to make up 20-50 pieces of 3ml,8ml or 50l how do you make up such quantity at once? How do you mix up 20 pieces?
Hi BK- how much Butylated Hydroxytoluene - BHT, as a persevative should be use... I read the big perfume houses use this in all of their perfumes-- thank you!
Hi, my question is related to ethanol. Normally people use 70 to 80 percent ethanol in their finished perfume, but would that percentage will be different if we use already diluted (in DPG) fragrance oils? Kindly guide me in this regard!
Yes. When you write down the material used, always include the dilution. If your material weighs .750 g a ten % dilution would be .075 etc. I just write the dilution and do the math at the end.
Don’t put a shit ton of stuff in your beaker, LOL. As usual, your advice resonates with me and makes “scents”. Breaking it down is an awesome way to work. Thank you so much.
How do you blend with IFRA restrictions in mind? For example, if I have a 100ml bottle and an ingredient has 5% max usage, is that 5% of the 100ml (after the alcohol is added) or is it 5% of my blend?
The 5% IFRA restriction refers to the concentration of the material in the final product, which includes both the fragrance oils and the solvents (like alcohol). So, if IFRA restricts a material to 5%, it means that in the total finished product the concentration of that material should not exceed 5%, regardless of the overall oil concentration. Whether you use a higher or lower fragrance oil concentration, the key is that the total amount of the restricted substance stays the same, keeping safety consistent across different perfume concentrations. Also in perfumery we count on grams never on ml, the bottle may has a 100ml capacity but the juice inside is not 100ml because alcohol and fragrance oils have different molecular sizes and 1ml isn't always equal to 1gram.
BK - how long do you let the material sit before you test it? I’ve heard that fragrance needs to sit for a while to fully mix into a more cohesive smell
BK, going thru this video slowly, it's a sound simple approach and I'm just finishing dilutions i need for my 1st formula. I have a question on materials. Being in rural Utah, I have a problem getting perfumers alcohol. Best i can do is 11 days delivery. And i see there's a 5 gallon/year cap before you need a license to buy it? Any ideas on where to get ethyl alcohol quickly?
@@bkscents7050 thanks. Just found a place called LabAlley out of Texas for sda 40b 200 proof. I do get supplies from perfumersapprentice but their ethyl alcohol has something in the mix I'm not sure about. And saveonscents takes 11 days to get to me, being 130 miles away from a decent sized city has it's downside - but I'm in a vacationers Mecca a few minutes from Bryce.
i am a little confused. i have seen cologne recipes where cinnamon is a top for one and a middle for another cologne. does the measurement of the cinnamon or is it the smell of the cinnamon that decides what it is (top or mids). i guess i want to know if every smell can be a bottom or by default, certain smells fall into a specific places . I hope this makes sense. Thank you
Yea it is subjective to an extent. If there is any precision to that other than just a perception it could be the level of coumarin in the cinnamon. More coumarin more likely to be a “base note.”
Hi mate, I tried this method and have ran into a problem. The method is fun. I created something I really liked. But unfortunately it caused a rash. I have now learned that you have a formula and max % for materials (yes I'm a total beginner), and the quantities of benzoin I was using was way over the max % in the concentration. I was using 40 drops at 45% with the other 6 materials adding up to 20 drops. How do you overcome this problem using this method?
Always be conscious of IFRA restrictions while you build. Even if you are building sections at a time, be mindful of the entire fragrance plan along side with the section you are building. In your scenario, it sounds like you are working on the base by itself first (I saw your Facebook post about it), in which that's a real lot of benzoin! Your base is a VERY benzoin dominant dry down and I'm surprised that you can even smell all the other materials.
@@bkscents7050 Thanks for the reply. Will definitely keep that in mind. And yeah, maybe that's all I'm smelling! It's only my 2nd time making anything. And I added the benzoin last so I'm not even sure how it smells alone. Btw, that guy who said he'd messaged you about pronunciation, I haven't had any problems understanding you..
I would use the benzoin at a 10% dilution along with your other materials. And try the base again but only use like a few drops (2-3) of it at 10% and see what that does. Benzoin itself is a pretty mild smelling material, but it's super sticky and a great fixative so you shouldn't have to use that much
Hello. I am Jibran from Pakistan. I am beginner and what to make perfume like “Clive Christian No.1”, Portrait of the Lady etc. Please help how to make it. We have few Chemicals i.e Galaxolide, Hedione, ISO E Super, Musk Ambrette and Essential Oils
I have about 8 50ml beakers on hand at all times, and 2 100ml beakers, and one larger beaker (i think its 250ml). They are all made of Borosilicate Glass, so washing in normal soap and water works just fine
I recently watched a video by Alora Dillon and she took her 200 proof perfumers alcohol and diluted it with water to make it 140 proof. Do you do that as well? If not why, and if so can you explain why it is done?
I wouldn't necessarily say it's "industry standard"....but it is an option for those who don't want such an alcoholic burn when sniffing the first blast of perfume as it hits your nose. For people who use 190 proof ethanol, it already has water in it....or some people just use 200 proof with no water at all. It's just optional choices. But there isn't really an "industry standard" when choosing which ethanol to water percentage ratio. Just beware that alot of essential oils and aroma chemicals are not soluble in water. So if you have too much water in your final perfume.... cloudiness can happen
Can you please recommend or if you could give us some formulas in written. Watching your videos I have started perfumery but I'm always lost when it comes to quantities..I can't find or reach a single expert in perfumery in Pakistan..respect to you.
I think you may have missed the point in this video then. Here we explain how one would blend single materials and determine which amounts of each are necessary according to you own nose and the preferred outcome of what you are trying to achieve based on your end goal you set for yourself (the new original creation you are trying to make). Me simply giving away formulas doesn’t teach you anything. Amounts added of materials will always differ on a case by case basis depending on the type of perfume being made and the wanted end results of what the perfumer envisioned. Asking for already made formulas would be no different if you went to take arts classes (painting) and asked the art teacher to instead of actually showing you the techniques to become a successful original artist, to simply give you a “paint by number template of the Mona Lisa” so you can trace over it, and color it as directed in the template. Then when the time comes and someone asks you to paint “a landscape scene with mountains in the back”....you wouldn’t know what to do or how to approach it ...because your teacher didn’t teach you anything other than how to copy someone else’s work.
@@bkscents7050 I love the way you explained it to me. I respect your enthusiasm about perfumery and the concept of originality. I know perfumery is an art and it's needs patience, time, creativity and when I can see that in the end of your videos when you say you will make another batch. Actually, I didn't start it as a hobby and I am trying to make it a business because what I found in our country is that there are super expensive perfumes and then all fake chinese cheap stuff. There is nothing in between, I was thinking if I could get few ready formulas of exact quantities and make three or four standard type ( good for all) perfumes at a relatively lower price then I can make a business out of it. We don't have a perfumery school or workshops or experts here and I can't afford to go to another country to get hands on skills. It took me a month to get your " must have" items so situation over here is not so good. Thank you teacher for all your videos and efforts that you put for us.
@@asadmech12 So yeah, you just said you want to take formulas of already made perfumes (someone else's work), and sell them at a lower price point and make a business out of it. How is this any different than the cheap china knock offs exactly?
@@asadmech12 While I will not be giving away formulas of my own creations, you can go to the 'good scents company" website where they have hundreds of "demonstration formulas" for all to see and play with. Maybe that would be a good start for you - www.thegoodscentscompany.com/demos/dm1006041.html
@@brucewayne375 Sir I understand what you want to say but I am in the area which is border to China and people bring these perfumes in bulk with very low quality and low price. I want to make something nice with an affordable price. Again, pardon me for annoying you because I know you value originality and quality but please try to understand my limitations ( 💰).
And there's nothing wrong with writing down a whole formula and just dumping in all the materials and seeing what happens. I just find this method shown in the video has a bit more control when done in stages and less "unexpected" things happen in the final outcome 😁
I usually write everything down at once. I think of a blend in percentages beforehand, fill everything in on an Excel sheet and start blending everything together right away. I know I should slow down sometimes, but I just have the most fun this way and the results aren't too bad either. Afterwards I'll tweak the formula a couple times of course.
You seem to have this uncanny knack of posting a video on the exact same thing I am working on working out 😵💫 which is awesome of course 😁, I have been trying to break things down like this also but it can get a bit complex in the sense of vertical and horizontal accords lol , I am working on a perfume lets call it a citrus wood , but it has 5 aspects to it , the woods accord , the citrus of course , a muguet , a violet note, aquatic part , lots of nuances apple , liffarome, a tiny bit of amber ( cistus ,amberome ) the complexity being where do i put my C12 .. with the aquatic ., with the base notes .,, i mean its a complex puzzle that I am working out but love that you posted this video because it really helps a lot ☺️
This video just shows one aspect of tackling a new perfume. There isn’t any right or wrong way to go about it. And I agree, the more materials you throw in there...the harder it becomes to keep the balance and the intention of the perfume theme you wanted to go with. I’ve had many fragrances conceived to be one thing....but after like 20 trials later I goes into a completely different direction in which wasn’t planned. Sometime for the good,....and sometimes not, LOL
@@bkscents7050 It really helped me massively, I rearranged my materials into different accords , I was okay lets try things this way and its been really instructive
This video was incredibly helpful but I would appreciate it if you didn't use the r slur, it was jarring and inappropriate for the small mistake you made. Just something to look out for!
LOL, i have no control of the frequency of ads played in this video. I'm guessing there are so many because my video is 45min long and maybe YT is trying to do at least 1 Ad for every single 5min video? not sure.....
No worries. Thanks as always for the great content. Recently bought all the materials you and Sam suggested and have been having a blast tinkering. I plan on starting a channel soon to document my perfumery journey from absolute beginner to final goal of being good enough help others eventually. I mainly plan on using it to learn from others comments and networking etc.
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Great video. Some useful timestamps:
2:02 - The Method
4:32 - Having a perfume concept/theme
6:45 - Base note composition
15:30 - Middle note composition
20:30 - Smelling / testing advice
24:08 - Combining Base and Mid note batches
27:27 - Adding in blenders and fixers (Hedione, Iso E Super, etc.)
31:28 - Adding in accents (faint nuances and depth in the fragrance)
36:00 - Top note composition
37:36 - Trial perfume maturation
40:41 - Trial perfume testing
42:47 - Measuring the finished perfume in weight, instead of drops
The 3 P's of perfumery: planning, patience and persistence. Great information as always!
I couldn't agree more.....well said!
This video is so unbelievably helpful thank you for not hiding behind esoteric language and trying to be mysterious like other perfumers. This was clear, surprisingly concise and everything that a person needs to understand the process behind making fragrances.
You're not rambling at all. You're sharing factual information as well as your own personal experience. Keep up the good work and keep it coming!
This video is particularly helpful - You do a brilliant job at demystifying the whole perfume making process. Oh and don't worry about the "rambling" - that's what 'fast-forward' is for :) ...Seriously though - there is a bucket-load of knowledge to be had in those "ramblings". Keep them coming.
I am here for the sheer enjoyment of making a fragrance worth wearing that I can gift to friends and family for holidays etc. I also am passionate about it and love to learn and sit in my new organ for hours on end till it drives my fiancé crazy lmfao she doesn’t complain when I come back from my lab with new samples for her to try however
This is the perfect video for beginners wondering where to start a formula!
Very grateful to have watched this video for someone that is just about to start with the basics
Your videos are fantastic; I've watched 7 of them today. Thank you for sharing all of this great knowledge in a really practical, straightforward way!
Excellent thoughts as ever. I find so many parallels between making perfumes and making music. The coming back later to a mix is very important. Your senses need a rest now and again.
very helpful explanation! Thats the topic that a beginner like me struggle with. How should i start mix the essences, whats a proper way to come to the fragrance that i‘m thinking about… it needs a lot of patience but it seems to be a very professional way to do it. Thank you very much for that 🙏🏻👍👌
OMG!! What was such a great class... I learned so much THANK YOU !!!!
I get crazy happy anytime I see a new upload from you! Could watch a new vid from you everyday lol.
Thanks a ton for this incredible video! It's hard to get out of absolute newbieness in this hobby, and you're doing a lot to "unlock" me!
I want to know... how do you handle droppers/pipettes? What do you rest them on? Do you use the same ones all day? I'm afraid of making a mess, either contaminating my table or mixing them up.
Awesome video. Totally with you! I feel like as musicians, we make fine fragrances the same way we make music. Start with the genre, tempo, with the base line and kick, fill out the percussion then move onto the lead synths in the mid frequencies and round off with the high end with some ear candy thrown in there. Mix and Master and let it sit for a while 😂😂😂.
Awesome video as always! I really like these ones where you make a composition step by step!
Thanks for sharing all that valuable information and knowledge the way you do. I just started doing my own a few days ago, without videos like this, any one can give up in days.
If you ever come to Texas, let me know. Coffee and lunch is on me and my wife, I can't imagine a Starbucks coffee listening to all the things you say. Just amazing bro!
God bless, and again, THANKS!!!
Yo man I’ve been checking out your videos thank you for being an inspiration.
I wish everyone the best of luck with your scent creation 🙏
BK,
I've used this approach you've shown in this video to make 3 concentrations/formulas. But my problem is getting the concentration/formula that I've developed using this "drops" method to a perfume in grams. I'd love to see the "missing link" which is to start where this video ended and bring us to a (small batch let's say) perfume formula.
Another issue is that I have dilutions at various percentages like 10%, 1%, 0.1% and even a few 5%'s. Sometimes I would detect favorable notes at 5% that were hidden at 10% and 1%.
Crazy stuff here. All 3 formulas were tested by friends that have asked for refills of the 10ml samples. Each formula took many trials and you've saved me quite a bit of money so far so thank you!
Ik it's like a year late and you likely figured it out, but for any other passerby, you would use ratio's to cover this into grams. Like 2 drops cedar, 8 drops bergamot. That's a total of 10 parts. Say you wanna make 100mg of that and add more ingredients. That means 20% will be cedar, 80% will be bergamot.
2 drops oakmoss, 6 drops labdanum. 2:6. That can be simplified to 1:3. 33% oakmoss, 66% labdanum. except you do that for all your ingredients you blend. Think of the size you wanna fill. 10ml, for example. Choose what concentration you want, parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, etc. Say like you want 20% concentration. Make it easier on yourself and figure out how many ppt (parts per total) those drops represent using the ratios, and use the ppt equal to 2000 out of 10000
BK... I've absolutely loved your videos and I have your Excel sheet on composition... I've recently been pulled into fragrance blending from my soul and I'm thankful to have found your videos. I've put in hours and hours watching your instruction and you've made me feel like an intermediate fragrance professional just by watching your videos....I'm happy to say that I've started using materials now like ISO E Super and Hedione, Ambroxan, Galaxolide, etc....I live in Texas so I gravitate towards Perfumers Apprentice... Anyways bro, Thank you. That's all I wanted to say.... - Paul Iudica
😁😁😁😁😁
Helpful! Very inspired to compose some blends tonight 🤗
I'm chasing two notes chinotto and starfruit. Starfruit is for a fragrance called Kazakhstan it's a Floral Gourmand without the horse meat. I've added Kaffia lime leaf and green tea to the modifier notes with a hint of Corriander.
Great and very valuable content thank you. Is is impossible to use a citrus flavour as a base or middle? 🙂
Hi again, after trying your method and having so much fun trying to make a tobacco accord, I have yet another question 😅
Do you reckon I could start with a bottom of alcohol inside each beaker, so as to delay the evaporation of the whole sample? Or even "revive" one that's almost out?
It's not about being lazy, but I could see myself losing my train of thought/feelings remaking them every time.
Many thanks again!
thanks a lot for this video and many greetings from Switzerland
Brilliant video very in depth ,informative and inspiring ,thank you!!
Love your videos. Really appreciate you doing this!
Great video! I’d love to see a weekly or biweekly QA Video where we could ask questions in advance. I know for myself The biggest struggle is understanding what I’m actually buying. I I found a few starter kits on perfumers apprentice. One is a package of “blends” Kit' Includes 24 Pre-selected proprietary blends designed by the esteemed perfumers at Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, Bedoukian, Symrise, etc. I assume these are ready to go accords? What I’m most confused about is the difference between the first kit I mention and this one-“This Kit is a bundle of 50 classic perfumery ingredients in raw (undiluted) form with the exception of four very powerful ingredients that are diluted to a workable strength.” Now when your mixing your ingredients to create a base, mid, top as you explained in this video.. are you using undiluted ingredients than diluting with perfumers alcohol afterwards when the recipe is complete? would this kit need to be diluted before any creation? Also do you we dilute our ingredients with perfumers alcohol when we find they are too strong or do we use something else? I’m trying to get through all your videos and from what I see maybe I’m wrong but you typically use a lot of pre made blends and not so many raw ingredients maybe I’m wrong. Thanks for all you do so people can dive into this
Excellent explanation. This video literally helped me clear all my confusions. Thanks a lot ❤
Thank you for sharing this great content!! Always great advise in everything you say...not rambling 👍
Could you do a video on how you blend your pre-made accords into the perfume? Like how you do that calculation, since the accord has its own formula. If you're using a 10% dilution of an accord in the testing, how do you scale that up to the final perfume using the accord formula into the larger perfume formula?
Great video! Will definitely try this! But wouldn't you need to dillute the concentrate with alcohol (etc.) before you would know exactly how well it works?
Subscribed! This method seems a lot more fluid and intuitive then measuring everything out from the start. So once you're happy with something and measure it, I then I assume you just making that formula (perfume) either 10% or 20% of the total composition with the addition of alcohol? I ask because some people measure everything from the start to add up exactly to the final 10% composition but it seems really rigid almost restricting that way and almost more work.
Also - what do you find the difference is in blending a few materials together initially in a beaker and testing as opposed to dipping those materials in scent strips and smelling together? The latter saving more material, and beakers, and maybe a bit of time. I assume because blending in beaker is a more accurate representation? Thoughts? Thanks!
You always start your trials with drops but you should also measure the weight of each drop so when you really like a formula you already know the weights to multiply them by the concentration you want for a full bottle!
This is the composition for the fragrance for women.
I've encapsulated Kazakhstan in a fragrance it's in my head at the moment here's what to expect
TOP - Starfruit, Green Tea, Amalfi Lemon, Corriander
HEART - Tulip, Lily, Daffodil
BASS - Madagascar vanilla, caramel, Beeswax, Honey, White Musk
Thank you for that video ❤
I created a really lovely chypre style fragrance last night and was the first time I was using Fragonia so I just went in with a hint of it as a modifier note, and wow that works, similar to Corriander. Really ignites the fruits especially Bergamot, the other I'm yet to try of in a very similar fashion is bee balm looking forward to trying that.
I haven't worked with fragonia yet. I may have to look into this material
@@bkscents7050 yeah its good, bit of an invisible note to liven up the other modifier notes. Can't say you'd be disappointed.
@@bkscents7050 Oh yes and the other is Monarda, haven't tried it yet but I'm planning on combining it with Bergamot and Clary Sage and linalyl acetate. Monarda is another one that should acentuate the blend in the modifier notes, supposedly should enhance the Bergamot in particular. So I'll see how it goes once the order arrives.
Great video BK, thank you ❤️
Thank you BK. This helps a lot and it does answer my recent thread! Thank you!
😎😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
This video just saved me from posting ten million questions on Base Notes 😂 Question however: do you always test everything on the skin? When I tried this, I found that it fatigued my nose since I was surrounded by the scent.
May be a dumb question but how do you go about the measuring all the notes, percentage wise how much percentage does your base middle top have like 30% base, 50% middle and 20% top?
These videos are immensely helpful! I'm wondering if you could do a few on fixatives and diffusers. How to know when you may need them, interactions, etc. I notice you'll reach for a fixative but I'm not sure how you realized you needed one.
To me, almost anything that lasts more than 300+ hours on a paper strip i consider to be a fixative. Musks can be a fixative, wood oils can be a fixative, resins (benzoin, labdanum, etc) can be a fixative. But they all impart a particular scent, and some scents are stronger than others. Its really up to you to know which scent would fit your perfume theme you are trying to accomplish.
Loved it! Thank you.
hey man, I just came across your vids yesterday. Really informative content. I really want to get into this. I'd love to see you making a beginners perfume and the steps you take. Would be so helpful.
This is as close to it as you’ll get
@@Perfumery_by_Sabin But these videos are after he has worked out what materials he's gonna use and tested them together and stuff
Yes, but you can also use this method to figure out which materials work together and which don’t. First figure out what your materials ARE base, mid, top etc. Come up with a theme you want to go for before choosing materials. Once you have a theme. Go through your materials choose some base materials and start having fun. Do a drop by drop trial of some base ingredients. See how they work together. Continue to you are happy with base. Move on to mid. Choose some things, start playing with ratios. Once happy. Figure out what you want the initial smell to be (top) just start playing and having fun.
To choose materials have an idea of what kind of fragrance you want to end up with. That should help you determine what materials to use. If you don’t know. Then you need to learn your materials
Organize your work space too. Helps choosing materials easier.
I’m a super noob just started a couple months ago but plan on making a channel documenting my journey and hoping to learn from other perfumers along the way. I know I will make many mistakes and someone will be more than happy to call me out on it and I will learn from it. No shame
I wholeheartedly appreciate your digression of your perfume Journey and by that I mean that you explain how you personally interpret perfumery, which is a much more natural and authentic style of teaching. There's so much ego and pretentiousness where art meets the classroom but you seem down to earth and encouraging. The thing I dislike about art is that its peers make art as inaccessible as possible. Thank you!
Thanks. This is really helpful
from kuwait you hit the point respect ✊🏻
i work on heart/mid first because not all bases marry all mids
Calone like strong material used in formulation in the diluted forms, what is the common material used for making dilution.?
youre the BEST, thank you so much.
BK, could you use a synthetic to enhance a natural? I have some Hawaiian sandalwood from eden botanicals but I'm wondering if I could include dreamwood in my formula to use less of the natural and enhance the effect. Are synthetics used in this way?
Absolutely. It's very common to blend naturals with synthetics. The Dreamwood Base is a fantastic sandalwood base to mix with real Mysore sandalwood to make it a more cost effective note.
I am big fan of you sir
Please make Perfumer course
Very useful...Do you have any pdf book formate for perfume
Thank you so much for creating these videos they're so helpful! I have a question for you, I've just started to create my trial blends, working on the base chord right now. I have all my materials diluted down to 10% in 190 proof alcohol for economical reasons in the experimental phase, I've been adding a few drops into a beaker and I'm noticing that the blend evaporates very quickly, I'm using all naturals, I'm wondering if this is normal for the alcohol to evaporate this fast? I literally mix my blend and then a minute later the liquid is gone, any tips with this? Maybe start with a ml of alcohol in the beaker to begin with to further dilute the blend and have some room for evaporation to occur?
I know nothing about perfumery but i guess its cause you are dealing with really small amounts and its noticeable when they disappear unlike when they are in larger amounts then you hardly notice.
incredibly helpful video, thanks so much! Mid if I ask, for blending purposes, what % dilution do you personally trial with ambroxan and vanillin? Cheers again!
I like to use my ambroxan at 10%, and Vanillin at 2%
Good day sir,
Please if for instance you want to make up 20-50 pieces of 3ml,8ml or 50l how do you make up such quantity at once?
How do you mix up 20 pieces?
You are great... 👏
Hope all is well BK. Long time no post. I hope you are in good health. Happy perfuming
Brother, i have question, it's the best composition blend when we mix pomegranate + frankincense + sweet orange + galangal??
Hi BK- how much Butylated Hydroxytoluene - BHT, as a persevative should be use... I read the big perfume houses use this in all of their perfumes-- thank you!
can I use this to create my scents in candle? Same step?
Hi BK,
May we know your weighing scale brand and model? Thanks
BK after I found your Channel I'm in a battle between of my mind and my pocket, seriously 😂
Dude same. Just dropped another $250 last night on materials
Having so much fun it’s worth every penny though
Agreed! I place orders like every 2 weeks to get new materials to try....it's an addiction
Started trying to build my 200 materials Jean Claude Ellena keeps in his organ and HOLY SHIT. some of those are so damn expensive. $50/4ml etc. 😢
Spoiled myself and bought the sweet birch from J Steele last night. Hopefully it’s worth it.
Hi, my question is related to ethanol. Normally people use 70 to 80 percent ethanol in their finished perfume, but would that percentage will be different if we use already diluted (in DPG) fragrance oils? Kindly guide me in this regard!
Yes. When you write down the material used, always include the dilution. If your material weighs .750 g a ten % dilution would be .075 etc. I just write the dilution and do the math at the end.
Don’t put a shit ton of stuff in your beaker, LOL. As usual, your advice resonates with me and makes “scents”. Breaking it down is an awesome way to work. Thank you so much.
Sir please make video on MSDS material sheet (EDP perfume )
How do you blend with IFRA restrictions in mind? For example, if I have a 100ml bottle and an ingredient has 5% max usage, is that 5% of the 100ml (after the alcohol is added) or is it 5% of my blend?
The 5% IFRA restriction refers to the concentration of the material in the final product, which includes both the fragrance oils and the solvents (like alcohol).
So, if IFRA restricts a material to 5%, it means that in the total finished product the concentration of that material should not exceed 5%, regardless of the overall oil concentration.
Whether you use a higher or lower fragrance oil concentration, the key is that the total amount of the restricted substance stays the same, keeping safety consistent across different perfume concentrations.
Also in perfumery we count on grams never on ml, the bottle may has a 100ml capacity but the juice inside is not 100ml because alcohol and fragrance oils have different molecular sizes and 1ml isn't always equal to 1gram.
How do I know how much perfumers alcohol to add to fill a 100ml bottle of perfume?
So how do you turn that into a 3oz or 6oz bottle?
Where did you learn all this stuff?
Good informative.
BK - how long do you let the material sit before you test it? I’ve heard that fragrance needs to sit for a while to fully mix into a more cohesive smell
I talk about this torwards the end of the video 😁
BK, going thru this video slowly, it's a sound simple approach and I'm just finishing dilutions i need for my 1st formula. I have a question on materials. Being in rural Utah, I have a problem getting perfumers alcohol. Best i can do is 11 days delivery. And i see there's a 5 gallon/year cap before you need a license to buy it? Any ideas on where to get ethyl alcohol quickly?
My 3 US places are perfumersapprentice, saveonscents and creatingperfume. All 3 carry SDA-40B 200 proof ethyl alcohol.....
@@bkscents7050 thanks. Just found a place called LabAlley out of Texas for sda 40b 200 proof. I do get supplies from perfumersapprentice but their ethyl alcohol has something in the mix I'm not sure about. And saveonscents takes 11 days to get to me, being 130 miles away from a decent sized city has it's downside - but I'm in a vacationers Mecca a few minutes from Bryce.
i am a little confused. i have seen cologne recipes where cinnamon is a top for one and a middle for another cologne. does the measurement of the cinnamon or is it the smell of the cinnamon that decides what it is (top or mids). i guess i want to know if every smell can be a bottom or by default, certain smells fall into a specific places . I hope this makes sense. Thank you
Yea it is subjective to an extent. If there is any precision to that other than just a perception it could be the level of coumarin in the cinnamon.
More coumarin more likely to be a “base note.”
Wouldn't it be more cost effective, if you started the procedure using paper strips to check what smells good with what and then start blending them??
BK ftw
-Your YT apprentice lol
where x
can I get iso e super?. thank you for your videos 👍👍
Hi mate, I tried this method and have ran into a problem. The method is fun. I created something I really liked. But unfortunately it caused a rash. I have now learned that you have a formula and max % for materials (yes I'm a total beginner), and the quantities of benzoin I was using was way over the max % in the concentration. I was using 40 drops at 45% with the other 6 materials adding up to 20 drops. How do you overcome this problem using this method?
Always be conscious of IFRA restrictions while you build. Even if you are building sections at a time, be mindful of the entire fragrance plan along side with the section you are building. In your scenario, it sounds like you are working on the base by itself first (I saw your Facebook post about it), in which that's a real lot of benzoin! Your base is a VERY benzoin dominant dry down and I'm surprised that you can even smell all the other materials.
@@bkscents7050 Thanks for the reply. Will definitely keep that in mind. And yeah, maybe that's all I'm smelling! It's only my 2nd time making anything. And I added the benzoin last so I'm not even sure how it smells alone. Btw, that guy who said he'd messaged you about pronunciation, I haven't had any problems understanding you..
I would use the benzoin at a 10% dilution along with your other materials. And try the base again but only use like a few drops (2-3) of it at 10% and see what that does. Benzoin itself is a pretty mild smelling material, but it's super sticky and a great fixative so you shouldn't have to use that much
@@bkscents7050 Will do man, cheers for clarifying 👍
How can we make long lasting perfume, perfume that can last for 3 to 4,Month
Hello. I am Jibran from Pakistan. I am beginner and what to make perfume like “Clive Christian No.1”, Portrait of the Lady etc. Please help how to make it. We have few Chemicals i.e Galaxolide, Hedione, ISO E Super, Musk Ambrette and Essential Oils
Bk, what kinds of oils would I need to create a sensual sexy attraction scent to attract the opposite sex? I'm thinking lavender, vanilla and pumpkin.
thank you so much for your effort can u please share with us some good suppliers?
My usual go to's:
Perfumersapprentice
Perfumersupplyhouse
Edenbotanicals
Libertynaturals
How many beakers you going through? And how do you clean them best?
I have about 8 50ml beakers on hand at all times, and 2 100ml beakers, and one larger beaker (i think its 250ml). They are all made of Borosilicate Glass, so washing in normal soap and water works just fine
@@bkscents7050 hmm I see, I've been told I need an acid bath and all. I'll keep that bath for my glass pipettes then
Thank you
"you can't polish a turd," we say that in the UK, and your right but, you can put sprinkles on it!
Lol....I like the way you think!
I recently watched a video by Alora Dillon and she took her 200 proof perfumers alcohol and diluted it with water to make it 140 proof. Do you do that as well? If not why, and if so can you explain why it is done?
She used the terms it’s “industry standard” I believe
I wouldn't necessarily say it's "industry standard"....but it is an option for those who don't want such an alcoholic burn when sniffing the first blast of perfume as it hits your nose. For people who use 190 proof ethanol, it already has water in it....or some people just use 200 proof with no water at all. It's just optional choices. But there isn't really an "industry standard" when choosing which ethanol to water percentage ratio. Just beware that alot of essential oils and aroma chemicals are not soluble in water. So if you have too much water in your final perfume.... cloudiness can happen
Thank you as always BK!
Can you please recommend or if you could give us some formulas in written. Watching your videos I have started perfumery but I'm always lost when it comes to quantities..I can't find or reach a single expert in perfumery in Pakistan..respect to you.
I think you may have missed the point in this video then. Here we explain how one would blend single materials and determine which amounts of each are necessary according to you own nose and the preferred outcome of what you are trying to achieve based on your end goal you set for yourself (the new original creation you are trying to make). Me simply giving away formulas doesn’t teach you anything. Amounts added of materials will always differ on a case by case basis depending on the type of perfume being made and the wanted end results of what the perfumer envisioned. Asking for already made formulas would be no different if you went to take arts classes (painting) and asked the art teacher to instead of actually showing you the techniques to become a successful original artist, to simply give you a “paint by number template of the Mona Lisa” so you can trace over it, and color it as directed in the template. Then when the time comes and someone asks you to paint “a landscape scene with mountains in the back”....you wouldn’t know what to do or how to approach it ...because your teacher didn’t teach you anything other than how to copy someone else’s work.
@@bkscents7050 I love the way you explained it to me. I respect your enthusiasm about perfumery and the concept of originality. I know perfumery is an art and it's needs patience, time, creativity and when I can see that in the end of your videos when you say you will make another batch. Actually, I didn't start it as a hobby and I am trying to make it a business because what I found in our country is that there are super expensive perfumes and then all fake chinese cheap stuff. There is nothing in between, I was thinking if I could get few ready formulas of exact quantities and make three or four standard type ( good for all) perfumes at a relatively lower price then I can make a business out of it. We don't have a perfumery school or workshops or experts here and I can't afford to go to another country to get hands on skills. It took me a month to get your " must have" items so situation over here is not so good. Thank you teacher for all your videos and efforts that you put for us.
@@asadmech12 So yeah, you just said you want to take formulas of already made perfumes (someone else's work), and sell them at a lower price point and make a business out of it. How is this any different than the cheap china knock offs exactly?
@@asadmech12 While I will not be giving away formulas of my own creations, you can go to the 'good scents company" website where they have hundreds of "demonstration formulas" for all to see and play with. Maybe that would be a good start for you - www.thegoodscentscompany.com/demos/dm1006041.html
@@brucewayne375 Sir I understand what you want to say but I am in the area which is border to China and people bring these perfumes in bulk with very low quality and low price. I want to make something nice with an affordable price. Again, pardon me for annoying you because I know you value originality and quality but please try to understand my limitations ( 💰).
Cool method, everyone seems to know it but you always want to take a shortcut and write down the whole formula at once.
And there's nothing wrong with writing down a whole formula and just dumping in all the materials and seeing what happens. I just find this method shown in the video has a bit more control when done in stages and less "unexpected" things happen in the final outcome 😁
I usually write everything down at once. I think of a blend in percentages beforehand, fill everything in on an Excel sheet and start blending everything together right away. I know I should slow down sometimes, but I just have the most fun this way and the results aren't too bad either. Afterwards I'll tweak the formula a couple times of course.
@@JazzDB I've always done it that way too, but I find that working in batches is much better. Saves you time and materials
You keep saying “Gormond” sp - WHAT is that?
As someone who is doing that as a hobby it seems like a way of wasting a lot of materials this way, not sure this is the best way for us.
Hello!
Any email adress where i can contact you? Thank you
🥰
You seem to have this uncanny knack of posting a video on the exact same thing I am working on working out 😵💫 which is awesome of course 😁, I have been trying to break things down like this also but it can get a bit complex in the sense of vertical and horizontal accords lol , I am working on a perfume lets call it a citrus wood , but it has 5 aspects to it , the woods accord , the citrus of course , a muguet , a violet note, aquatic part , lots of nuances apple , liffarome, a tiny bit of amber ( cistus ,amberome ) the complexity being where do i put my C12 .. with the aquatic ., with the base notes .,, i mean its a complex puzzle that I am working out but love that you posted this video because it really helps a lot ☺️
This video just shows one aspect of tackling a new perfume. There isn’t any right or wrong way to go about it. And I agree, the more materials you throw in there...the harder it becomes to keep the balance and the intention of the perfume theme you wanted to go with. I’ve had many fragrances conceived to be one thing....but after like 20 trials later I goes into a completely different direction in which wasn’t planned. Sometime for the good,....and sometimes not, LOL
@@bkscents7050 It really helped me massively, I rearranged my materials into different accords , I was okay lets try things this way and its been really instructive
Yayyyyyyy! I’m glad a new approach helped your processes a bit.
Thank you for sharing 🙏
"Sniff"
This video was incredibly helpful but I would appreciate it if you didn't use the r slur, it was jarring and inappropriate for the small mistake you made. Just something to look out for!
Oh no, I hope I didn't offend!!! My mouth slips and gets away from me sometimes
There are over 10 ads in this video alone. Any way to time that down a notch?
LOL, i have no control of the frequency of ads played in this video. I'm guessing there are so many because my video is 45min long and maybe YT is trying to do at least 1 Ad for every single 5min video? not sure.....
No worries. Thanks as always for the great content. Recently bought all the materials you and Sam suggested and have been having a blast tinkering. I plan on starting a channel soon to document my perfumery journey from absolute beginner to final goal of being good enough help others eventually. I mainly plan on using it to learn from others comments and networking etc.
This is very helpful. Thank you