parker25mv
Well-known member
- Oct 12, 2016
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- 620
Creating a honey note from ACs has remained something that is kind of mysterious for most perfumers. I mean composing a honey note that is accurate, rather than just some vague similarity to a honey smell.
The below will cover the range of honey ACs that exist and how they are used.
Methyl phenylacetate - this is the core of smell of honey. It smells very much like honey, only it's the "musky" part of the smell of honey (sort of very "stuffy" feeling, for lack of better words).
Phenylethyl phenylacetate (sometimes abbreviated "PEPA") - It's not really so completely honey-like itself, but is certainly kind of reminiscent of honey. Its smell reminds me of the nectar of some pink flower. It's a little more "waxy" in smell than methyl phenylacetate, and so kind of has an aspect in it more reminiscent of beeswax. One thing I do like about it is that it is much less "musky" than methyl phenylacetate, and so I think combines well with it, helps and even is almost essential to helping extend the honey smell without it becoming overly "musky".
I almost get some feeling from it like a fermenting fruit, and it reminds me of an elegant older lady smell, but these are smaller aspects of the smell.
Beta-ionone - A little bit of this is almost essential to the fragrance of honey, it helps give spirit and life to the fragrance, and really defines its character. Beta-ionone is much more "yellow color" in feel than other ionones.
Bear in mind ionone is much more powerful in effect than other ACs like methyl phenylacetate, so a much lower percentage is needed.
Ethyl phenylacetate - this is an alternative which is very similar to methyl phenylacetate. It does however have a more fruity apple-like nuance, not strong but noticeable. I think it should be used any time the honey note is going to be combined with some other fruity note in an overall fragrance. (If the occasion calls for it and the situation is appropriate, which is most often not the case, I would be inclined to use it in place of methyl phenylacetate, for reasons I might elaborate on later, would take some explaining)
Phenylacetic acid - This is similar to methyl phenylacetate, except much stronger, much more punching, a bit sharper. It's also more animalic, some even feel it is a little urine like in smell, especially at higher levels. Very musky, maybe even almost a little acrid. Also, as minor point, it doesn't have the tiny (barely perceptible) nuance of white opaque wintergreen mint that methyl phenylacetate has. It has very strong tenacity and persistence. A small amount of this relative to a much larger ratio of methyl phenylacetate can be part of a honey accord, especially if aiming for absolute realism.
Phenylacetaldehyde - This is honey like as well, very diffusive and can help add life (being an aldehyde). But it is also more floral green and hyacinth-like. I think a small portion should probably be added if aiming for absolute realism of naturally honey, but those are just my unique personal sentiments and this is not necessary.
Azarbre - this is very realistic to the overall smell of honey, in my opinion, only it also has a smaller aspect of synthetic vinyl plastic to it, maybe a little oddly reminiscent of glossy pages of coffee table books or magazines. In some situations that textured feel can contribute to creating a "floral" feel, what some might perceive as more "dried flowers". In my assessment, it contains some of the same sort of effect of beta-ionone, which helps it succeed in many formulas as a "honey" AC.
Linalool - In my opinion, all natural honey has a little note of linalool in it. It helps add to the bright floral quality. But whether you really want to add linalool in a honey fragrance is up to you. It can help shift the smell towards the direction of wildflower honey, and you should also strongly consider it if you are going for the feel of honey made from bees that harvested citrus flowers, such as orange blossom honey.
Rhodinol 70 - If you're really trying to go for a wildflower honey, you could add a little of this. It kind of reminds me of sharp lemony wildflowers.
Coumarin - Some coumarin is often added to many honey accords, but it is entirely optional. It has sort of a sweet heavier sort of "honey-like" feel, though not really "honey" at all. Some people compare its smell to dried hay. It can be a little bit gourmand. This is the classic tonka bean note.
Benzaldehyde - It seems like benzaldehyde is often added to honey accords, but again this is very optional. It has a sweet almond-like odor, some even say a little vaguely reminiscent of the feel of cherry. It can help contribute a little bit to the "honey feel", even though it does not really smell like honey. (I suspect one of the reasons it is often added is that it can help contribute to the life of the fragrance a little bit and the perfumers are not aware of the role beta-ionone plays)
unnecessary to add if you decide to use phenylacetaldehyde. Benzyl acetate might partially substitute for some of this effect, if a heavier somewhat darker old-fashioned floral effect with a vague jasmine tonality is desired; but in that case you might want to consider phenylethyl acetate (more "honey like", but more pink rosy, a small tropical fruity nuance), but these are definitely not for a pure honey fragrance in general.
Of course vanilla materials often are used with honey. In addition to vanillin, this could even include a little heliotropin, anisaldehyde, perhaps a tiny hint of isoeugenol (or even eugenol) or star anise (contains anethole). (Methyl diantilis has some slight isoeugenol like effect but is very like French Bourbon vanilla, a little more custard-like than vanilla, sort of feeling a little yellow in color, though not quite as beautiful as vanilla) Labdanum and sage can also combine well with honey.
A tiny trace amount of beta-damascone or Damascenone Total can also add some extra life and a tiny extra dimension to honey.
If you are aiming for orange blossom honey, you can try just a little neryl acetate and methyl anthranilate (the latter can cause reactivity issues when combined with aldehydes, so read a discussion topic about this issue somewhere else. Supposed alternatives to methyl anthranilate include acetophenone or even oranger crystals, but they are inferior, and much more mimosa flower like than really orange; and methyl anthranilate Schiff bases could be too white petal like for some situations)
Adding a tiny bit of additional material to whatever specific citrus type you are aiming for would not hurt (for example, a tiny hint of orange EO for orange, tiny hint of citral for lemon).
The core of a honey accord is (in my opinion) probably going to be methyl phenylacetate with much smaller amount of beta-ionone. And then maybe phenylethyl phenylacetate assuming a supporting role. Besides from that, there are several different directions a honey accord could go in, and I do think more is needed in a honey accord than only just those three ACs.
The below will cover the range of honey ACs that exist and how they are used.
Methyl phenylacetate - this is the core of smell of honey. It smells very much like honey, only it's the "musky" part of the smell of honey (sort of very "stuffy" feeling, for lack of better words).
Phenylethyl phenylacetate (sometimes abbreviated "PEPA") - It's not really so completely honey-like itself, but is certainly kind of reminiscent of honey. Its smell reminds me of the nectar of some pink flower. It's a little more "waxy" in smell than methyl phenylacetate, and so kind of has an aspect in it more reminiscent of beeswax. One thing I do like about it is that it is much less "musky" than methyl phenylacetate, and so I think combines well with it, helps and even is almost essential to helping extend the honey smell without it becoming overly "musky".
I almost get some feeling from it like a fermenting fruit, and it reminds me of an elegant older lady smell, but these are smaller aspects of the smell.
Beta-ionone - A little bit of this is almost essential to the fragrance of honey, it helps give spirit and life to the fragrance, and really defines its character. Beta-ionone is much more "yellow color" in feel than other ionones.
Bear in mind ionone is much more powerful in effect than other ACs like methyl phenylacetate, so a much lower percentage is needed.
Ethyl phenylacetate - this is an alternative which is very similar to methyl phenylacetate. It does however have a more fruity apple-like nuance, not strong but noticeable. I think it should be used any time the honey note is going to be combined with some other fruity note in an overall fragrance. (If the occasion calls for it and the situation is appropriate, which is most often not the case, I would be inclined to use it in place of methyl phenylacetate, for reasons I might elaborate on later, would take some explaining)
Phenylacetic acid - This is similar to methyl phenylacetate, except much stronger, much more punching, a bit sharper. It's also more animalic, some even feel it is a little urine like in smell, especially at higher levels. Very musky, maybe even almost a little acrid. Also, as minor point, it doesn't have the tiny (barely perceptible) nuance of white opaque wintergreen mint that methyl phenylacetate has. It has very strong tenacity and persistence. A small amount of this relative to a much larger ratio of methyl phenylacetate can be part of a honey accord, especially if aiming for absolute realism.
Phenylacetaldehyde - This is honey like as well, very diffusive and can help add life (being an aldehyde). But it is also more floral green and hyacinth-like. I think a small portion should probably be added if aiming for absolute realism of naturally honey, but those are just my unique personal sentiments and this is not necessary.
Azarbre - this is very realistic to the overall smell of honey, in my opinion, only it also has a smaller aspect of synthetic vinyl plastic to it, maybe a little oddly reminiscent of glossy pages of coffee table books or magazines. In some situations that textured feel can contribute to creating a "floral" feel, what some might perceive as more "dried flowers". In my assessment, it contains some of the same sort of effect of beta-ionone, which helps it succeed in many formulas as a "honey" AC.
Linalool - In my opinion, all natural honey has a little note of linalool in it. It helps add to the bright floral quality. But whether you really want to add linalool in a honey fragrance is up to you. It can help shift the smell towards the direction of wildflower honey, and you should also strongly consider it if you are going for the feel of honey made from bees that harvested citrus flowers, such as orange blossom honey.
Rhodinol 70 - If you're really trying to go for a wildflower honey, you could add a little of this. It kind of reminds me of sharp lemony wildflowers.
Coumarin - Some coumarin is often added to many honey accords, but it is entirely optional. It has sort of a sweet heavier sort of "honey-like" feel, though not really "honey" at all. Some people compare its smell to dried hay. It can be a little bit gourmand. This is the classic tonka bean note.
Benzaldehyde - It seems like benzaldehyde is often added to honey accords, but again this is very optional. It has a sweet almond-like odor, some even say a little vaguely reminiscent of the feel of cherry. It can help contribute a little bit to the "honey feel", even though it does not really smell like honey. (I suspect one of the reasons it is often added is that it can help contribute to the life of the fragrance a little bit and the perfumers are not aware of the role beta-ionone plays)
unnecessary to add if you decide to use phenylacetaldehyde. Benzyl acetate might partially substitute for some of this effect, if a heavier somewhat darker old-fashioned floral effect with a vague jasmine tonality is desired; but in that case you might want to consider phenylethyl acetate (more "honey like", but more pink rosy, a small tropical fruity nuance), but these are definitely not for a pure honey fragrance in general.
Of course vanilla materials often are used with honey. In addition to vanillin, this could even include a little heliotropin, anisaldehyde, perhaps a tiny hint of isoeugenol (or even eugenol) or star anise (contains anethole). (Methyl diantilis has some slight isoeugenol like effect but is very like French Bourbon vanilla, a little more custard-like than vanilla, sort of feeling a little yellow in color, though not quite as beautiful as vanilla) Labdanum and sage can also combine well with honey.
A tiny trace amount of beta-damascone or Damascenone Total can also add some extra life and a tiny extra dimension to honey.
If you are aiming for orange blossom honey, you can try just a little neryl acetate and methyl anthranilate (the latter can cause reactivity issues when combined with aldehydes, so read a discussion topic about this issue somewhere else. Supposed alternatives to methyl anthranilate include acetophenone or even oranger crystals, but they are inferior, and much more mimosa flower like than really orange; and methyl anthranilate Schiff bases could be too white petal like for some situations)
Adding a tiny bit of additional material to whatever specific citrus type you are aiming for would not hurt (for example, a tiny hint of orange EO for orange, tiny hint of citral for lemon).
The core of a honey accord is (in my opinion) probably going to be methyl phenylacetate with much smaller amount of beta-ionone. And then maybe phenylethyl phenylacetate assuming a supporting role. Besides from that, there are several different directions a honey accord could go in, and I do think more is needed in a honey accord than only just those three ACs.
