Teach Soap

So I finally got everything I need to make cologne/perfume. A bunch of EOs, some Optiphen broad spectrum preservative, Polysorbate 80 to make the oils mix w/ water, distilled water, rubbing alcohol, atomized spray perfume bottles... My first blend was Hungarian Lavender, Peppermint, Frankincense, & Myrrh. It is predominantly peppermint and lavender. This is a cologne and yes lavender is a floral but I think lavender is a uni-sex floral, especially when mixed w/ Peppermint & Frankincense, both masculine scents.

So, does anybody mix their own colognes and/or perfumes? Can anybody recommend some good books on the subject?

Try 500 Aromatherapy Blends by Carol Schiller.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I want a good book about only cologne & perfume. The one you suggested is pretty broad and more about massage oils.

I want to learn how to mix up popular scents, like my own version of Escape or Polo Sport (for personal use only, of course). Or some basic colognes and perfumes comprising only 3 or 4 ingredients. And mixing strategies. Making cologne is fun. You just mix it up and use SS funnel to pour into itty-bitty glass perfume bottle w/ atomizer and it doesn't take 6 weeks to cure or anything.

Then I would suggest joining a perfume blending on Yahoo, a forum or FB group. I do my own blending and make my own perfumes, but it took a lot of trial, error and good notes. There is no shortcut.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Any thoughts on how do you get the perfume (i'm mixing mostly cologne) to mix properly and stay mixed? I thought I added plenty of Polysorbate (80), but maybe not enough PS? Before I spray it I have to shake the bottle everytime to get it all mixed into solution properly. SO far I'm mixing batches under 1/10th of an ounce, which is all my spray bottles hold.

I would try polysorbate 20 instead of 80. It took perfumers a long time before they came up with a blend like Escape or Polo Sport. If you know the notes in each blend, experiment with some q-tips and keep good notes.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Can you tell me the difference between the PS 80 & 20 and why the 20 is better? I tried to glean that from the product description, but Anne says to use Polysorbate 80 on her video 'How to Make Perfume'.

I think my cologne is cloudy bc the recipe calls for too much water- a little more water than rubbing alcohol, actually. Most other recipes on the net call for a much higher alcohol:water ratio than Anne's 16:18. Also, basenotes.com says not to ever use rubbing alcohol. Use either Everclear, vodka, or perfumer's alcohol, the latter of which I just ordered. So that makes me wonder if I could use less or no preservative if I decrease the alcohol:water ratio by making it more like 9:1 alcohol:water. I didn't realize alcohol could is technically like an oil right and can be used as a carrier oil? The preservative, Optiphen, is used in such a low amount that it doesn't much matter anyway. Anne's recipe: 1/2 part Optiphen preservative to 18 parts alcohol, 16 parts water, 4 parts Polysorbate 80, & 2 parts EO (WAAAYY TOO LOW-not enough fragrance).

I am grateful for the perfume recipe as a starting place. But I think there's too much water in it, it should maybe be calling for grain alcohol rather than rubbing, & it needs a wee bit more fragrance, at least x2 or x3.

Susan has the explanation between the two difference polysorbates on her blog. http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2 ... rbate.html
Personally, I prefer the 20 for mixing essential oils into water soluble ingredients. You can use Everclear, vodka, or perfumer's alcohol while you are experimenting, but Everclear or vodka is not allowed in products for sale, due to BASF laws (US). I use perfumer's alcohol. Technically you need at least 20% pure alcohol in order for the product to be preserved. Alcohol is not an oil and is not used the same way. When it comes to preservatives, you cannot go by parts. You have to go by weight. I suggest that you convert any recipe into %, so you'll get more accurate results. With %, you can make any size you like by converting the % into grams or ounces.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Ok. SO what's the best way to measure by %? A graduated cylinder?

I just read on a Perfume-making primer on basenotes.com that after mixing, one needs to wait 4-6 weeks if using alcohol as a base or it will just smell like alcohol. Is that true? Perfume has to cure 4-6 weeks, too? Aaarrrggghhhh...

I'm not using much water in my mix. It's about a 1:5 water to alcohol ratio. Is that why the Soap Queen says to use more water than alcohol, so it doesn't smell as much like alcohol?

I meant that alcohols are a part of some essential oils, like rose, lemon, germanium, eucalyptus, & lavender.

Best way to measure is to get some disposable pipettes and go by drops. Hand blended perfumes benefit from a "cure" time too. It gives all the oils a change to get to know each other.
Alcohol constituents from rose, lemon, geranium, eucalyptus, & lavender are a different type of alcohol. I prefer to make my blends with perfumer's alcohol without water. Essential oils and water do not mix by themselves. That's why you need the polysorbate to make them water soluble.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

But wouldn't it be easier using a grad cylinder so I can measure volume in mL instead of by the drop? I guess I want 20-40% EOs...

Any thoughts on using perfumer's alcohol vs perfumer's oil? Does perfumer's oil also need to cure for the same length of time, since there is no alcohol smell to be covered up?

Yes you can use ml's instead of drops. When I make a new blend, I usually go by drops, so I don't waste my ingredients. I use perfumer's alcohol or a base oil like coconut or jojoba. I am not familiar with perfumer's oil. What is in it? All blends benefit from some cure time, no matter what medium they are in.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Perfumer's oil is yes usually fractionated coconut or jojoba w/ a fixative. Some people don't want to spray rubbing alcohol on their skin bc altho the EOs might be good for you, the alcohol isn't. Certainly not rubbing alcohol. I'm not so sure alcohol sprayed onto the skin evaporates but is likely absorbed by the skin and enters the tissues and bloodstream. If you spray some homemade perfume on your skin underneath your t-shirt (like a body wrap), say rosemary and lavender and peppermint, you are going to feel those EOs. And the alcohol is an unwelcome addition. I try not to spray the stuff on my skin, if possible, bc of the risk of sensitization. I spray in between shirt & undershirt. But if i'm not wearing an undershirt and want to spray the stuff right on my skin occasionally that's cool since is EOs not FOs. I think i would prefer not to spray FOs on my skin.

Perfumer's alcohol is grain alcohol, right?

here's the link. I get a lot of my EOs from here that BB doesn't carry, like frankincense http://www.essentialwholesale.com/produ ... fumers-oil

For my oil based perfumes, I already use fractionated coconut or jojoba. I prefer to buy those separately as I use them for other products. Perfumer's alcohol is 220 proof SDA 40B.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

blending colognes & perfumes w/ perfumer's oil rather than alcohol- so do I still have to use water, polysorbate, or Optiphen? Can I skip the PS if there is no water? & the Optiphen too perhaps, since jojoba doesn't go bad and there is no water/oil or water/alcohol mix for bacteria to infest?

Btw, exactly what does the recipe look like for perfume-oil based perfumes? Just 10%-40% essential/fragrance oils, & the rest perfumer's oil?