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This article addresses types or classes of perfume as well as methods of scent extraction from plant and floral matter.

There are thousands of synthetic scents as well as complex enhancers that one can buy from any reputable perfume supply house in addition to essential oils, concretes, absolutes and other ingredients. I myself use plants and essential oils to prepare my perfumes and scents. I also use grain alcohol and cold press carrier oils. As these are the mediums I work with I restrict my pages to these types of preparations. Feel free however to include other scent options in your own practice. I have also provided resource recommendations for buying quality supplies, texts for reference, as well as web links for further information.

Types of Scent Preparation

There are 3 main “types” of modern scent preparations (Essence or “Parfum”, Eau de Toilette, and Cologne), that are classified according to strength; that is the ratio of scent to diluting additives or base. There is another type of preparation called “Eau de Parfum” however, I do not see much difference between this in formulation than an eau de toilettes, so I do not address it specifically. Basically when it comes to strengths in “perfumes”, the more pure “scent” there is, the stronger the end result. (Again, “scent” is a general term that can mean pure organic essences as well as synthetics; it is the total amount of any ingredient natural or otherwise that is used to make a perfumes “aroma” specifically.) These 3 types are classed and defined in descending order. Following that are 3 other types of perfume preparation I also include that are in my view equally valid methods of preparation:

Essence: An essence in the purest sense is pure perfume. It is the unadulterated scent to begin with. A perfume you purchase at a store although it may be pricey, is still not a pure perfume or, essence. Pure essential oils however are essences, and may be considered a pure “perfume” in their own right. You could take a pure essence and apply it straight to your body if you wanted to. The reason why essences are cut, or diluted with a carrier base is mainly for cost savings (pure essences are extremely expensive), also, many essences applied straight to someones skin are irritating and overpowering. You could with care and skill blend pure essences together and wear it as a perfume. You would need to look into which ones are least agitating to the skin. Essences are the highest strength of “perfume” you can get and are thus first on this list of classification.

Eau de Toilette: Eau de toilette also called toilet water is basically a perfume that is cut with a base to decrease the amount of actual essence used. Most of the products you buy in a store are eau de toilettes. The common carrier for these preparations are typically different varieties of processed alcohols as well as synthetic stabilizers to keep the resultant “perfume” from altering over time. Eau de toilettes usually contain only about 20% actual scent to 80% total base.

Cologne: Cologne is just like a toilet water except that it is cut even further with dilutant. Colognes are often the term given for men’s “perfume”. Although a cologne is not a perfume, they are useful as refreshing splashes (remember Jean Nate?), body mists, after bath splash and the like. Of course they can be sprayed on or applied like a regular perfume but since they evaporate rapidly, they do not last very long. Colognes contain about 10% essence and are best used in conjunction with similar smelling powders to strengthen the smell and make them a bit longer lasting.

Perfume Oils: Now, here is where I may differ from textbook teachings. In modern times a perfume is usually identified as a scented alcohol type preparation. In fact, for thousands of years perfumes which were extracted from organic ingredients (leaves, roots, barks, flowers etc…) were blended with vegetable oils and wax as a carrier base. Only because of advancements in the methods of getting the “essence” from materials (see methods below) as well as making scent more affordable to the general public were other types of carriers or bases used. Some authorities may not consider a perfume oil as a real “perfume” as it seems a more “crude” form of perfumery. I personally disagree. Perfume oils made correctly can be nearly as strong as pure essence depending on how much base is added and also, they can last nearly as long as commercial varieties. They also eliminate any alcohol content in the end result which some people prefer.

Perfume Unguent: The above commentary above applies here. As for the formulation, a perfume unguent is similar to perfume oil except that the wax content is higher than the vegetable oil content resulting in a creamy, pomade type of preparation. Unguents, like oils, were the way scents for both body and ritual puposes were prepared in ancient times. I believe these are still valuable methods today not only for ease of preparation, but also, ecological reasons as well.

Perfume Powders: Perfume powders are generally composed of dry ingredients that have been imparted with pure essence. Nowadays, commercial powders also contain synthetic additives for flowing and preservative purposes. However, I find that long forgotten home made varieties posses every virtue of commercial varieties with the exception that they do not promote market appeal for the cosmetic companies (obviously) and are more wholesome.
to be continued…