A New Blending Method

When I began blending perfumes, I added ingredients, drop by drop, into small vials. The results were getting skewed because the test strips were absorbing too much. If I were starting out with only a few drops, the absorption of a single drop was enough to shift the balance. I now blend larger amounts, usually by weight, in test tubes.

Until now, I’ve blended by beginning with an ingredient central to the perfume. I’ve then added a second ingredient until it comes into balance or, ideally, forms an accord with the first. I continue adding compounds, bringing them into balance with the ingredients already there.

Blending at Work

However, the ingredients and the accords formed at the beginning become diluted as new liquids are added; those substances added early are likely to be obscured. The percentages change and the relationship of the ingredients shifts.

Now, in a test tube, I combine two ingredients, balance them, and, hopefully, get them to form an accord. I choose a third candidate but, instead of adding it to the first mixture, I take a second test tube and combine it with still another, fourth, ingredient to form a new balance or accord. I continue in this way, making balances of two ingredients in fresh test tubes until I run out of ideas. I may end up with two test tubes or twenty, each containing two ingredients, balanced together. I combine the test tubes, two at a time, and bring them each into balance to form a new mixture of four ingredients. I continue with these sets, combining and balancing a third time to create a balance of eight ingredients and so on, eventually ending with a blend of all the ingredients.

There’s no foolproof method, but at least now all the ingredients should be present and perceptible. The ingredients are coordinated and you have a better chance of discovering a new fragrance.