PERFUMERY

an Arts , a Science and a Technology

Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles & all the years you have lived
----- Helen Keller

What is Perfume?
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant aroma compounds,
fixatives and solvents used to give the human body ,
animals, objects and living spaces a pleasant scent.
According to the origin fragrant molecules can be
classified as A) Natural (Plant Origin and Animal Origin),
B) Synthetic Identical & Artificial (derived from non
perfumery sources)
History of perfumes
Trace back to Mesopotamia, Indian subcontinent, Rome
in Europe, Middle east and the central America.
Basic Ingredients were :Animal fats and Floral extracts

Perfume Constituents
Vehicles
Acts as solvents for blending and holding
perfumery materials
Being volatile helps to project the scent it carries

Properties
Should not contribute to the olfaction.
Fairly inert to the solutes.
Example: Ethyl alcohol mixed with more or less
water. However neutral smelling oils such as liquid
waxes are also used.

Fixatives
Retarding the rate of evaporation of various
odorous constituents
Pre-fixation of the solvent i.e. removing its slight
natural odour.

Desired qualities
Higher boiling point, fairly inert and dont contribute to
olfaction.
If they do, they must blend with & complement the main
fragrance.
Example: Animal fixative: Musk, Resinous: Ambrein
Odorous Substances
a) Essential Oils: Volatile, odoriferous oils of vegetable origin.
Compounds occurring are ketones, terpenes, lactones etc.
Extracted by distillation, expression etc processes.
b) Isolates: Pure chemical compounds whose source is an
essential oil or perfume material. E.g. Eugenol from clove oil.
c) Synthetic & semi-synthetic materials: These are
synthesized by chemical reaction processes like condensation,
Esterification, etc. E.g. vanillin from Eugenol.

Why do need Synthetic Perfumery ?

Market Demand 3 million tones Per annum
70% synthetic perfumes and
12-15% Natural (limited supply and
odors)
Example 1 :
Citral Family :Occurs naturally Along with Nerol and
Geraniol. (<5% of the total demand and priced high)

Synthetic Citral : >85% of the total demand

(China (various companies), Germany(BASF), Japan (Tagasako)

Example 2:
Pinane Family : Non-perfumerous Oils (Alpha and Beta Pinene)
China : Various companies (70% of the total demand), Brazil, India)

Other Synthetic Perfumes from plant origins

Example 3 :
Civetone Musk :
Originally isolated from Himalayan Civet cat (endangered species)

Other Examples :

Fragrance Notes
Top : Sensed immediately
after application. E.g. Violet.
also called Head note.
Middle: Emerges just prior
to when the top notes
dissipate. E.g. Floral. Other
name Heart note.
Base: Scent that appears
after 30 minutes of
application. E.g. Musk, Vanilla.
Other name Soul note.

Top note:
40-50%

Middle Note :
30-40%

Base Note : 30-10%

FACTORS INFLUENCING PERFUMERY

Stability : pH, Color, etc.,
Odor acceptance : Mild, Harsh, Sweet, Smoky, Meaty
Performance: Sustainability after spraying (in hours)
Dermatic properties: Skin and Eye irritation, Respiratory
allergy
Environmental safety: Effects on Soil , Air and Marine
systems.
Cost :
Added Value : Other uses apart from Perfumery
( Example: Terpenes are used Insect repellents, with
Phenols used as Terphenolic resins ( for construction
business).