Brand new to this Forum and wish to firstly thank everyone for information shared over the years through this forum. Its helpful when looking into the ins and outs of Perfume. So sorry to re-flame this thread but can someone tell me is it ok to still make a perfume from just Jojoba or does it require Alcohol and if so from reading this thread they dont go together?
Hi, ChrisP, welcome to Basenotes!
You can make oil-based perfumes with jojoba, although you might want to look into fractionated coconut oil for something that won't go rancid. Or you can make alcohol-based perfumes using ethanol. You are correct that oils and alcohol will not mix, so choose one or the other for any one composition. Happy perfuming!
It's clear that there are some perfumers who are completely against water in their creations. On that note I may add that I took a course by one of Dior's senior perfumer in Paris [who had also worked at Prada and Hermes]. He did recommend to add some water to perfumes to offset the initial alcohol smell. I've had the same advice from an award-winning French perfumer. So I assume it's a matter of preference and not necessarily a recommendation solely by 'beginners'.
Thanks for everyone whos given me some feed back, much appreciated. Im on a coffee forum for roasting coffee and the same views and opinions come up on that forum as much as one like this. I guess its trial and error with some basic rules which should be applied. Im looking forward to trying to make some when the ingredients arrive this week.
I should also ask about the ethanol, does it have to be 95%? I ask this as through a pharmacy where my partner works shes able to get me 96% is this the same, better or worse to use for making perfume?
Well, while 95% and 96% alcohol are virtually the same, what may be different, and definitely needs explanation, is what is the rest of it? Is it pure? Denatured? Denatured with what?
Well, while 95% and 96% alcohol are virtually the same, what may be different, and definitely needs explanation, is what is the rest of it? Is it pure? Denatured? Denatured with what?
Looks like this is something i will need to look into and find out. When you say Denatured with what are you pointing at it could be a number of things and some of which may not be suitable for perfume?
Denaturing, is to make it taste bad so people don't drink it. And to bypass the drinking alcohol taxes.
Denaturants can be used for a lot of reasons. There are more than a dozen, maybe 20 formulas of denaturing. There are only a few of those suitable for Perfumery use, because they don't really smell too different than just alcohol by itself, some do smell - have their own odor.
Usually not. Unless you are confortable with needing to shake up the perfume before dispensing, as it wil usually not mix together, and will stratifiy in the bottle.
Usually not. Unless you are confortable with needing to shake up the perfume before dispensing, as it wil usually not mix together, and will stratifiy in the bottle.
I am against glycerin and water in perfumes however how can I make my perfumes less harsh without additives? It dries out my skin even after 1 year. I purchased my alcohol from a reputable vendor.
I am considering using glycerin for making an insect repellent for myself. The bugs eat me alive all summer so I’ve decided it would be a good educational project for me to try to make myself a bug spray that doesn’t smell bad. (My favorite part of this is that it ONLY has to smell better than bug spray! I like to set the bar low.)
So, the internet essential oil people are all like “use glycerin to make body spray” and earlier in this thread it was pointed out that it’s only needed as a humectant. In spite of not knowing what I’m doing, I thought it would be appropriate for me to use glycerin in this instance, because I need to reapply frequently as anything with a chance of repelling mosquitoes is volatile. Should I still not use glycerin or is bug spray a valid application?
I plan to both essential oils and aromachemicals for this experiment.
If anyone could help me with the ratios of glycerin—alcohol—fragrance or suggest alternatives for a bug spray I would appreciate it.
