Perfumery is an art in itself. The formation of perfumes and the blend of the ingredients is a technical process. Every single step is taken with complete attention to detail to form the perfect captivating perfume. Only experienced and reliable perfumers are capable of creating a perfect combination. If you are curious about the art of perfumery and want to know how perfumes are made, this blog is for you. We will discuss the perfume manufacturing process and its technical aspects in detail.
1. Collecting the Ingredients
The first step includes gathering many ingredients used to form the perfumes. Plant-based natural ingredients are sourced from local suppliers. Similarly, perfumers pick only the best synthetic substances or ingredients by choosing the top suppliers worldwide.
Some perfumers use animal secretions for their unique smells. This is not considered a great process, so the use of secretions is not allowed these days. It should not be promoted either.
Once all the ingredients are collected, the process of extraction begins.
2. Extracting the Oil
You should know the process of ‘extraction’ to understand how perfume is manufactured. Oil extraction is an essential step for making fragrances or colognes from natural ingredients. In this method, oils are drawn out from the plant materials, such as flowers, fruits, roots, leaves, etc.
Needless to say, extraction methods vary according to the kind of ingredient used. Besides, some of the methods are easier and used by perfume houses to create perfume in limited quantities. The process of oil extraction has these important steps:
Solvent extraction
This is one of the most common methods of extraction useful for extracting oils from flowers. Hundreds of flowers are placed in a huge rotating drum or tank. The drum or tank is then filled with benzene or petroleum ether. When the flowers dissolve in the solvent, they release a waxy substance that contains the oils.
Then the waxy compound is separated and diffused in the ethyl alcohol to produce perfume oil. The oil dissolves in ethyl alcohol, which results in rising above the former as the latter has less weight. Using some heat, alcohol is taken away by evaporation, leaving concentrated oil at the bottom.
Steam distillation
Another way the perfumers extract the oil is by distillation. As the name suggests, this process involves steam. All the ingredients are placed inside a still, a special piece of equipment used for the process. Ingredients release oils as the pressure increases. The oils are then converted into steam that is transferred to another flask via tubes.
This process is very useful for extracting oils from flower petals and other plants. The steam collected is one hundred percent plant extract. It cools down and is often frozen for use in manufacturing perfumes.
Expression
Expression is the process of plant oil extraction with the help of an external force. It is an older and easiest process. This technique has been in use since the early times for the extraction of aroma from leaves or any part of the plant. The technique involves pressing with an external force until they release oils.
Initially, the process involved manual labor to ensure the extraction of the oils. But over time, various mechanical ways have been developed. Nowadays, it is a mechanical process that uses specialized equipment for pressing.
Enfleurage
Another interesting extraction method applied in perfumery is enfleurage. It is a scientific method used to collect the fragrant substances emitted by plant parts.
In this process, the plant parts are spread across huge glass sheets covered with grease. The sheets are then maintained in tiers and between wooden frames. The flowers are spread by hand from the sheets and placed with new ones until the grease soaks up the oils from all of them.
Maceration
This process is quite like enfleurage, but it involves the use of heated fats instead of grease. These fats have a high temperature, and they absorb the oils from petals or leaves. These fats are then dissolved in alcohols like the solvent extraction process to extract oils.
3. Blending the Ingredients
This is practically the final step in perfume-making for you to learn about if you are interested in knowing how perfumes are made. This step combines the artistry and science involved in fragrance making. The master perfumer known as ‘nose’ in the factory determines a secretive formula. It is used to blend the ingredients to produce the desired fragrance.
The formula reveals how much of each ingredient must be used in the blend. This is one of the most challenging steps, but it is also an interesting one as it involves the different ways of mixing different ingredients. To make an exotic fragrance and unique perfume, a perfumer may mix up to 500 ingredients. However, when it comes to blending the ingredients, the process can take time.
Using this formula increases the speed of the blending. Alcohol and water mixed in certain quantities dilute the ingredients and produce the perfumes. The amount of alcohol varies depending on the type of perfume. Most of the time, perfumes have 10% to 20% perfume oils in alcohol along with a small amount of water.
It is the ratio of alcohol to cologne that decides the intensity of the smell. Branded or luxury perfumes have the highest concentration of oils; they are expensive. On the other hand, common perfumes or body mists have the lowest concentration of oils and have higher alcohol. This makes them a cheaper alternative to perfumes.
4. Aging
We must remember the ‘aging’ process when talking about how perfume is made. The process simply involves storing the perfumes and giving them time to blend.
Just like wine, which becomes nicer when it gets older, perfumes also smell better when they age. Some perfumes need only a few months to be aged properly, but others might take many years. This makes the ingredients (oils and alcohol) slowly mix. This creates a very special and strong smell.
Aging is an important step when making perfumes. After mixing all ingredients, such as essential oils and alcohol, it needs time for them to blend well together. You usually store the mixture in a cool and dark place for several weeks or even months. This waiting period helps improve the smell of the perfume by allowing different scents to combine nicely. Paying attention during aging can change how good your final product will be. Sometimes people shake bottles gently now and then so that everything mixes better inside. Remember patience; sometimes longer age gives a richer scent!
After the aging process, the ‘nose’ checks how the perfume smells to make sure all ingredients mix well. At this stage, the scent of the perfume is much more intense than it was before aging. Besides this, perfume makers might mix in more ingredients or change the formula to get the perfect smell.
Perfume creators use three different notes for scents of essential oils and perfumes. These notes are called top, middle/heart, and base notes.
The top notes have tart or citrus smells, and the heart notes are about the perfume or smell of flowers. Base notes give woody fragrances. More different types of these notes together mean a more noticeable fragrance that lasts longer. These notes determine the longevity of the perfumes as well.
5. Quality control
Perfumes undergo quality control before they are sold. It is an important step as it protects the image of the brand as well as ensures quality at every step. This ensures that the final product does not have harmful and sometimes banned ingredients that might tarnish the brand.
Most natural ingredients come as extracts from plant materials and, occasionally, animals. That makes quality control so important since only industrial-approved ingredients can be used in the perfume manufacturing process.
Fragrance-making is a very complex process that deals with an interesting combination of art and chemistry. Whether it is the selection of all the raw ingredients taken from different varieties of plants or the blending of those ingredients in exact proportions, quality assurance is necessary. Next time you smell an amazing perfume, you will know the calculations, hard work, and craftsmanship behind it.
That’s it! That’s how perfumes are manufactured all over the globe. We are quite certain you are amazed at how much detail goes into perfume making.
Atlantic Healthline: Paving the Way For The Art of Perfumery
Atlantic Healthline is a trusted perfume house offering quality perfumes to people all over the UAE. They are experts in manufacturing perfumes and crafting premium-quality perfumes. Their products make you feel like a VIP in a true sense.
Their designers and artists make every bottle with fineness and care, reflecting the unique character of the scent. Are you looking for the best perfume to make you smell wonderful? Reach out to Atlantic today for the best results!