Teddy's Perfumery Guide
Perfumery has been shrouded in mystery for centuries, and I’m hoping to change that a little. This is a free guide that any fragrance collector can benefit from - whether you want to expand your knowledge and develop your nose a little, or go all in and become a perfumer!
This is a work in progress, so make sure to check back occasionally to see what I have added! And please be aware that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I have added (Affiliate) after all links that I earn a commission from.
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Free Perfumery Resources
- START HERE -> Basenotes DIY Beginner Thread
- Database of perfumery materials
A Method of Creation and Perfumery by Jean Carles
Sam Macer on YouTube
- Perfumery how-to videos
Scent and Chemistry Facebook Page
- Posts with in-depth breakdowns of famous fragrances
- Formulas, and perfumery discussion
- Perfumer with great content on learning perfumery, industry secrets, reviews, and more!
Perfumery community created by Rémi
Teddy's Favorite Books
Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent (Affiliate)
- The book that really got me into perfumery.
The Diary of a Nose: A Year in the Life of a Parfumeur (Affiliate)
Atlas of Perfumed Botany (Affiliate)
- Fun coffee table book!
The Secret of Scent: Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell (Affiliate)
The Ghost Perfumer: Creed, Lies, & the Scent of the Century (Affiliate)
Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells (Affiliate)
Perfumery Textbooks
Introduction to Perfumery by Tony Curtis (Affiliate)
- High level overview of perfumery with a lot of direction for formula creation
The Formulation & Preparation of Cosmetics, Fragrances & Flavors
- One of the best textbooks out there. You need to order it directly from Micelle Press.
Scent and Chemistry: The Molecular World of Odors (Affiliate)
- You need this one.
The Chemistry of Fragrances: From Perfumer to Consumer (Affiliate)
Perfumes, Cosmetics and Soaps: Volume II The Production, Manufacture and Application of Perfumes (Affiliate)
Formulary of Perfumes and Cosmetics (Affiliate)
- Tons of (older) formulas
Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin (Affiliate)
Other Perfumery Resources
Public formulas
The Good Scents Company Demo Formulas
Basenotes DIY Collection of Demo Formulas
Fragrance.drama Instagram Account
Misc. Resources
(Ingredient usage statistics)
(Search by smell, formulas, and more)
(Interactive olfactory map of ingredients)
Perfumery Ingredient Suppliers
Most perfumery suppliers offer international shipping
USA:
Eden Botanicals (Naturals)
UK:
Hermitage Oils (Naturals)
Harrison Joseph (Rare ingredients)
EU:
New Zealand:
First Perfumery Ingredients
Basic Learning Set
Start here if you want to level up your nose without a huge investment. This is a short set of commonly used ingredients that is NOT comprehensive, and aren’t meant to formulate a complete fragrance. But they will be very eye opening!
The links are for Perfumer’s Apprentice, but they are all available from Pell Wall (UK) too.
IMPORTANT - It is best to dilute these to 10% in perfumer’s alcohol to smell them. Some of the links are to prediluted materials. You don’t need a scale if you’re casually learning - just put 10 parts alcohol and 1 part ingredient in a polycone cap vial and you’ll be close enough!
Ambroxan (Airy, a little sweet, musky, and salty. Extremely common.)
Amber Xtreme (In tons of designer releases. Dilute to 1% or 0.1%)
- Without a scale you can do a 10:1 dilution, then do a second 10:1 dilution, and you’ll be close to 1%
Bergamot BF (The most common top note)
Calone (Common in masculine targeted aquatics)
Cashmeran (Fuzzy woody almost musky base note)
Dihydromyrcenol (Common in masculine targeted freshies)
Dreamwood (High quality sandalwood base)
Ethyl Maltol (This is in every sweet release. And BR540. Dilute to 1%, or even 0.1%)
Ethylene Brassylate (Common workhorse musk, slightly powdery sweet)
Galaxolide (Common workhorse musk, clean)
Exaltolide Total (Elegant musk)
Hedione (The miracle transparent jasmine material that’s used in everything)
Iso E Super (Extremely common, adds diffusion and sparkle)
Rose Givco 217 (Common rose base)
Lavender (Diva) (I mean, it’s lavender…)
Linalool (Used in lots of citrus and floral accords)
Patchouli Dark (Gotta have patchouli)
For patchouli lovers - also get Patchouli Absolute and Patchouli Fractions. They’ll change your life.
- Vanillin (Common synthetic used to recreate vanilla)
Full Starter Set
These kits are a great starting point for getting serious about perfumery. You will need to purchase the supplies in the “Perfumery Supplies” section to dilute, and use, them properly. And you will be buying a lot more ingredients as you develop!
US:
Beginner’s Aromachemical Kit and Natural Perfumery Beginner’s Kit from Perfumer’s Apprentice
UK/EU:
100 Essential Aroma Chemicals - Kit One and Naturals Starter Kit from Pell Wall (UK-based)
Perfumery Supplies
Gram scale accurate to 0.001g (Affiliate) - FOR LEARNING PERFUMERY
- Affordable alternative (Affiliate) (Low max weight, and I haven’t tested it)
Gram scale accurate to 0.01g (Affiliate) - FOR NOSE TRAINING & CASUAL LEARNING
Amber vials - CHOOSE POLYCONE CAP STYLE
Perfumer’s Alcohol (SDA 40B Ethanol 200 Proof)
Disposable pipettes 1mL (Affiliate)
Paper test strips (Affiliate)
Disposable gloves (Affiliate)
Baking sheet (Affiliate) - great for containing spills
Paper towels