by Jim Peterson | Jun 6, 2021 | Uncategorized
Okoumal is not as powerful as other woody chemicals, but it is soft and makes an excellent fixative. Tobacarol is another of ABC’s favorites. He describes it as “…warm, woody and spicy, with notes of clove, mace and nutmeg, ambery, tobacco and others.” It works...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 5, 2021 | Uncategorized
Isolongifolanone has a lovely bright woody quality. ABC describes it has “having immense olfactory value” and says that it plays a role in both the top note and base notes of a composition. It definitely adds radiance. Timberol, also called norlimbanol, is one of the...
by Jim Peterson | Jun 3, 2021 | Uncategorized
Two important sandalwood chemicals, bacdanol and brahmanol, are sometimes used to replace santalol in a sandalwood formula. According to Arcadi Beau Camps, they “are olfactively related to the naturally occurring cis-B-santalol, but they are more powerful and more...
by Jim Peterson | May 30, 2021 | Uncategorized
The best-recognized synthetics for woody aromas have been around for years. Vetiveryl acetate has a clean vetiver-like intensity and ties together with other older synthetics such as cedryl acetate, cedrol and vetiverol. In the last 40 years, however, a wide variety...
by Jim Peterson | May 20, 2021 | Uncategorized
A chypre is a perfume based on oak moss, bergamot and jasmine. It has an almost infinite number of facets that can be exploited by adding other substances such as spices, roots, herbs, and green things. Chypres were in style years ago such that older people now...
by Jim Peterson | May 6, 2021 | Uncategorized
Frankincense is a resin that drips down the side of four different species of Boswellia, a small tree found in India, Arabia, and Africa. The resin hardens into translucent pearls, which can be converted into an absolute by extracting with a hydrocarbon solvent, but...
by Jim Peterson | May 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
There are few ingredients that play a more important role in the history of perfumery than oakmoss. True oakmoss is a lichen that grows on oak trees. When it is extracted with a hydrocarbon solvent (usually petroleum ether or benzene) and the solvent evaporated...
by Jim Peterson | Apr 22, 2021 | Uncategorized
I recently put together a chart with the names of flower complexes on one axis and compounds (and some naturals) on the other axis. This allows me to see at a glance the range of amounts of each chemical perfumers use to make flowers. Here, I’m using the chart to...
by Jim Peterson | Apr 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
When rose is used in a perfume, be it in a dedicated rose perfume or another perfume to which it lends support, a synthetic rose is constructed and manipulated to create the particular nuances that contribute to the roses’ final character. In classical perfumery, a...
by Jim Peterson | Apr 12, 2021 | Uncategorized
Whether we like them or not, roses in perfumes are ubiquitous. They support other florals and lend a general sense of body to a perfume. Most rose notes are now added with synthetics, but almost always a small amount of natural rose is added for support. Rose extracts...
