Archive category from earlier years; perfumery topics, awards, reviews, regulations, events.
I’ve found a great deal of variation in how well people smell different musk ingredients that I use, and I thought it might be interesting to try to see if there are any patterns to the musks that each individual can and can’t smell. I could make samples of ten or so musk ingredients diluted to a very low skin safe…
What is it about some perfumes that make them life-long loves whereas others you may enjoy for the duration of a bottle or decant but not repurchase? I’ve loved Chanel 22 since college and will probably always love it. I remember the sales assistant at the time trying to interest me in No. 5 also, but…
I’m getting back to some blending now in between other things. Hope people enjoy the samples and orders that are going out. I try to pick extras people might like and always include a note with each package. I think the personal touch is one thing that’s special about being a small company, and I really do enjoy the contact…
I’m still catching up on orders and have the contest winner packages to ship, so no time for working on scents right now. I saw the new Escentric Molecules 02 scents are based on ambroxan, and although I love that aroma chem I find it hard to imagine a scent made with it as a main ingredient. Ambroxan has…
I’ve not had much time for working on scents the last few days, but I did sneak a quick try of Patricia de Nicolai’s Temps d’Une Fete. I’ve mentioned that I have trouble finding green florals I like, and here’s one that worked for me, at least on first sampling. It’s a very pretty floral…
We’ll do a draw at the end of the day Thursday for 3 winners of one sample each of our two new scents: Wood Violet and Vintage Rose. Just post here on the blog that you’d like to be entered or send an email to info@sonomascentstudio.com and you’ll be entered in the draw. Tell me…
I had been using a different labdanum absolute in Champagne de Bois than in my other scents and need to switch that formula over to the newer labdanum. While I’m at it, I’m making some other adjustments to the formula and have been working on that today. I thought I should decrease one of the aldehydes…
We were talking about musks in a perfumery group and it got me thinking about the issues I’ve run across when having testers try new scents in progress that have musk in the base. We all smell musks a bit differently because some people are anosmic to certain musks or can smell them but not…
I’m still testing and tweaking a few scents. I took a brief break to try a fragrance that’s new to me: Patricia de Nicolai’s Château Eau Fraîche. The notes listed at beautyhabit are moss, hay, leather, and grass, but I get a tabac note too. It opens with lots of green moss, grass, and hay notes, and…
Just working on a scent where I need to cut the sweetness a bit and sometimes it is hard to do while keeping the basic scent the same. Some balsamic items like salicylates can cut sweetness, but I don’t like them in this. I already have some dry woods in here, but the sweet spices,…
I took time out from testing new scents in progress to revisit a couple favorite men’s scents to decide which to get for my Dad’s upcoming birthday. I wanted something easy-going and good in our warm summers. Two candidates were Hermes Terre de Hermes and Divine’s L’Homme de Coeur. They are both wonderful, and neither one smells like…
There’s an interesting write-up in today’s Perfumer and Flavorist newsletter about an event with Mandy Aftel that was sponsored by the Women in Flavor and Fragrance Commerce (WFFC). Aftel discussed ingredients she uses and talked about some of her scents, including her luscious Fig scent. Unlike many fig fragrances that are heavy on coconut, green…
I’m still working on lots of formulas, trying new ideas to push them in the directions I want them to go. I have to keep switching scents each day to work on something different and keep fresh. I’ll talk more about the scents I’m working on, but not yet so I don’t jinx them. Still…
I recently received a promotional mailing from Firmenich discussing products of theirs that they feel are good for adding lift or “bloom” to fragrances. They listed products in the usual categories you’d consider for lift, like damascones, aldehydes, hedione, some powerhouse green and/or ozonic chems, some woodsy and ambery chems, and various musks. Of couse naturals can also provide lift,…
I recently tried a sample of Bond 9’s new Union Square fragrance and can pass my large sample vial on to someone else who would enjoy trying it. I found it to be a pleasant green floral, but it’s not a scent that captured me so I don’t need to keep the sample. Since it is…
We drew a winner today from an empty flower pot for the sample give-away and I have the package ready to ship when I hear back to get the winner’s address. I wondered today if there is a high tech way to do the draw, but we did it the old-fashioned way. I didn’t get…
I’ll close the sample draw at midnight tonight and will email the winner Thursday morning. I won’t post names when I do these give-aways so your privacy will be kept if you prefer to email rather than post. But I hope some people won’t be shy and will keep me company here from time to time. 🙂…
I’ve been meaning to do this since Jan 1st, lol, but better late than never. Here are some of my favorite non Sonoma Scent Studio fragrances, in no particular order. Sometimes knowing someone’s favorites can give you a better idea if you’ll like the scents they make or if you have any favorite notes or styles…
Chandler Burr’s new book “The Perfect Scent” has sparked discussion about the cheapening of ingredients in perfumes. I’m saddened by this topic but share the concern. From my perspective as a small perfumer, ingredient prices are challenging because I buy the very best, but I must buy in much smaller quantities than the big houses…
I sometimes feel discouraged by how many trials it takes me to develop a new scent, but this quote by Frederic Malle about how many trials went into the making of Carnal Flower puts things in perspective: “The challenge in creating a new tuberose perfume is to get away from Fracas. Dominique Ropion and I went through 690 trials…