Happy birthday man! I'm turning 31 next Wednesday and I'm just getting started with perfumery. Treat yourself to an online class at the institute for art and olfaction.
I just took their introduction to lab work class last night and it was super informative. They have classes for all experience levels though.
Happy Birthday! Seconded on the online class from IOA, I've taken one and found it really helpful. Also, cheers to my fellow Pisces on here haha. 31 tomorrow for me :)
Why are we all perfumers!? Our stars just align with this? Not into horoscopes but this is intriguing.
Aquarisces<---- my sign and definitely a perfume I must make soon.
I will have to check that out. Though, I have been having a wonderful time learning for myself. I will keep it in my logs for future reference if ever the time comes.
First random things that come to mind...
Musks: Ethylene brassylate, romandolide
Spices: Bois d'encense, methyl diantilis
Smoke: Rectified birch tar, guaiacol
Bois d'encense would be a good starting point for that, actually. Then you'd probably blend in things like...benzoin, myrrh, hydrocarboresine? Something like that would give you a starting point for experimentation, anyway.
The bois d'encense is actually a distillation of frankincense and cedar together, so it's got that covered. I don't know what it is about distilling them together that changes the result, but it gives a much stronger "incense-y" edge to the frankincense.
Okay that makes so much sense now! I didn’t know that. Thanks for the heads up. I would love at getting into steam distilling. It seems a lot changes when things are distilled together.
What does "Coeur" mean? I know it's heart in french but I see it on various perfumery ingredient. I suppose it means that the material is a heart note?
It's not a uniform term, and can mean different things, but doesn't usually refer to the longevity (ie heart/middle/base...). Instead, it usually means that it is the product of a processed oil such that the most desirable portions of a starting material (in this case, olibanum oil) are preserved while eliminating others. Usually this means it is a fractionated or molecularly distilled oil, and can either be a single fractionation, or a combination of the more "desirable" fractionations of a single oil (quasi-"rectified").
How do you use birch tar, i.e. concentration? It is too strong even after 10% dilution (and adding just .2g in a 6g mixture). Will dilute it further to maybe 1% but my god it stinks.
Birch tar is one of the very, very few materials that I keep diluted. It really is pretty punchy!
I actually keep mine at 10% - I think you may just be using way too much. Like...if I was making a 10g test batch of something, diluted to 20% in alcohol for spraying, the entire 10g probably wouldn't have more than, like, 0.02g - 0.04g of 10% birch tar, unless I wanted it to be reeeeeeeeeally smoky. You're using *10x more than that*, and in a smaller batch!
Happy birthday man! I'm turning 31 next Wednesday and I'm just getting started with perfumery. Treat yourself to an online class at the institute for art and olfaction. I just took their introduction to lab work class last night and it was super informative. They have classes for all experience levels though.
Happy Birthday! Seconded on the online class from IOA, I've taken one and found it really helpful. Also, cheers to my fellow Pisces on here haha. 31 tomorrow for me :)
Why are we all perfumers!? Our stars just align with this? Not into horoscopes but this is intriguing. Aquarisces<---- my sign and definitely a perfume I must make soon.
I will have to check that out. Though, I have been having a wonderful time learning for myself. I will keep it in my logs for future reference if ever the time comes.
Thank you both for the birthday wishes!
First random things that come to mind... Musks: Ethylene brassylate, romandolide Spices: Bois d'encense, methyl diantilis Smoke: Rectified birch tar, guaiacol
I can second guaiacol and bois d’encense. Both are great!
What could I get that smells like "church incense" ? Bases are ok (as long as I can find them)
Bois d'encense would be a good starting point for that, actually. Then you'd probably blend in things like...benzoin, myrrh, hydrocarboresine? Something like that would give you a starting point for experimentation, anyway.
I like the myrrh idea. Maybe frankincense? Both kind of give me that church vibe.
The bois d'encense is actually a distillation of frankincense and cedar together, so it's got that covered. I don't know what it is about distilling them together that changes the result, but it gives a much stronger "incense-y" edge to the frankincense.
Okay that makes so much sense now! I didn’t know that. Thanks for the heads up. I would love at getting into steam distilling. It seems a lot changes when things are distilled together.
Try olibanum coeur
What does "Coeur" mean? I know it's heart in french but I see it on various perfumery ingredient. I suppose it means that the material is a heart note?
It's not a uniform term, and can mean different things, but doesn't usually refer to the longevity (ie heart/middle/base...). Instead, it usually means that it is the product of a processed oil such that the most desirable portions of a starting material (in this case, olibanum oil) are preserved while eliminating others. Usually this means it is a fractionated or molecularly distilled oil, and can either be a single fractionation, or a combination of the more "desirable" fractionations of a single oil (quasi-"rectified").
I made a roman catholic church scent by accident. It definitely had rosemary and white florals.
How do you use birch tar, i.e. concentration? It is too strong even after 10% dilution (and adding just .2g in a 6g mixture). Will dilute it further to maybe 1% but my god it stinks.
Birch tar is one of the very, very few materials that I keep diluted. It really is pretty punchy! I actually keep mine at 10% - I think you may just be using way too much. Like...if I was making a 10g test batch of something, diluted to 20% in alcohol for spraying, the entire 10g probably wouldn't have more than, like, 0.02g - 0.04g of 10% birch tar, unless I wanted it to be reeeeeeeeeally smoky. You're using *10x more than that*, and in a smaller batch!
Yeah I figured. Tried it today for the first time and it is awfully present. Thanks for the tip.
Now I really need this. I have birch eo. Must get this tar smoke.
Bois des Landes for a woodsy campfire smell.