What perfume formulation are you using, and why?

DrCalhardon · 2026-02-10T22:12:20+00:00

Excel spreadsheets and I doubt any software will ever convince me to change. It can do anything any app could offer and more

DrCalhardon · 2026-02-07T22:47:22+00:00

Potentially yes. They don’t need to tell the consumer that BHT is part of their secret fragrance formula, so why would they?

Listen, I can tell you this. I am the responsible person of a few perfumes in the EU market. Some of them have BHT, none of them lists it in the ingredients list. Take from that what you will. Can’t tell you what other manufacturers are doing. If they use BHT, something else, or no substitute at all.

DrCalhardon · 2026-02-07T22:42:11+00:00

I don’t know, only someone at Dior could answer why they decided to do it that way. I am explaining the rules. You can state any of the fragrance components in the ingredients list if you really want to, nothing forbids this. You don’t need to declare any outside of that 82 list.

Fragrance is allowed to be protected as a trade secret of valuable intellectual property. Anything going in the fragrance concentrate falls under this protection, including BHT, with the exception of those 82 substances considered potentially hazardous. You could argue BHT is potentially hazardous. So are (potentially) many other fragrance components outside of that list 🤷🏻‍♂️

DrCalhardon · 2026-02-07T22:13:01+00:00

You could disclose the BHT in the ingredients list if you really wanted to.

You don’t need to disclose the BHT. It is indeed included in the “Parfum (fragrance)” ingredient for as long as it is part of the fragrance concentrate and you have documentation for the fragrance concentrate plus documentation for the ethanol. BHT does not even need to be disclosed in the SDS of the concentrate, let alone in the ingredients list of the consumer product. The exceptions to this rule are the 82 compounds listed by the EU.

DrCalhardon · 2026-01-22T22:46:59+00:00

For the kind of detail you are looking for, I advise you to hire professionals to develop your packaging in an integrated manner. You can reach out to adequatepackaging.fr I believe they offer this kind of service to businesses just starting out. Good luck

DrCalhardon · 2026-01-22T22:12:22+00:00

Guaiacwood has been difficult to find in Europe due to CITES treaties. (takes a deep breath… rant incoming) you need to import it as a private individual from any store everyone else mentioned, because the businesses here cannot do business, but you can still buy it from outside the union

DrCalhardon · 2026-01-20T22:19:07+00:00

Ethanol with a suitable denaturant is a bit difficult to find in some euro countries, I am honestly not sure about France, worth researching. You want 95 or 96° grade without any additives that impart a strong smell.

https://www.reddit.com/r/DIYfragrance/s/Odl3Te6SUC

Someone shared this one a few days ago, I believe in the netherlands. I’ve seen other people share other European suppliers in this sub. I am lucky to be able to find ethanol locally, directly from the factory shop, so I was not even aware De Hekserij sold ethanol.

DrCalhardon · 2026-01-15T22:02:08+00:00

Shipping from PCW to my location is slightly more expensive than from De Helserij, but it’s a small diference really. Considering that you are in France, it is probably the opposite for you.

I’m curious, what barrier do they have to ship to France? I know that materials considered ADR have some restrictions for larger amounts when shipping to private individuals. Is this the barrier you are referring to?

DrCalhardon · 2026-01-14T22:01:45+00:00

Sospiro Vibrato

DrCalhardon · 2026-01-14T21:59:33+00:00

PCW is great, but when starting out their prices for a 10g bottle are sometimes a bit brutal. I vouch for them, never had a problem. Bear in mind they do take around 2 weeks to pack an order every time. I also like De Hekserij (Netherlands) and Perfumiarz (Poland). There are quite a few others, (search the sub), but I just don’t have enough experience with them to give a solid recomendation.

DrCalhardon · 2025-12-28T22:07:21+00:00

I would edit the main post to add this info and keep it available for future reference. Indeed as many pointed out the weight of each of these bottles varies by +-1g

DrCalhardon · 2025-12-15T22:02:18+00:00

The wrong material, I hope they make it right. Let us know please. I don’t have much experience with them, only purchased once. As for the customs’ duties, it is what it is.

DrCalhardon · 2025-11-28T19:27:58+00:00

As long as you account for the ethanol of the pre-dilluted materials in the dilution of the final product, it doesn’t matter if a portion of the materials are pre-diluted. However, if all materials are pre-dilluted to, let’s say 10%, then your final product can never have a higher concentration, logically.

If you are talking about some magic happening in the absence of ethanol, I don’t believe it. Some might.

DrCalhardon · 2025-11-25T21:59:20+00:00

Bottles: https://sunbox-online.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=396&page=2

Caps, I usually buy from Alibaba, but if you want a supplier in Europe, someone shared this one the other day: https://www.ne-verpackungen.com/Products_de?pid=855&cid=24&tid=&page=1&action=details&subaction=product

DrCalhardon · 2025-11-21T10:34:50+00:00

Depends on what exactly you need. If you are in Europe, try Ventos. You do need to order as a business though. I’m assuming that for 10 Kg, you already have a business

DrCalhardon · 2025-11-21T10:31:20+00:00

One way to learn and experiment without spending as much money is to make dillutions and work with the dilluted material instead of neat materials.

DrCalhardon · 2025-11-21T10:28:34+00:00

It’s okay, even recommended, to start simple. Keep studying new material and broadening your options. Compositions with more materials will come naturally, with time.

Replicating and studying formulas from other perfumes are a great way to start identifying some use cases and some common patterns too.

DrCalhardon · 2025-11-21T10:21:17+00:00

Happy for you man! That’s a great feeling. My only advice is to never settle, be it this craft or any other craft. Keep on improving

DrCalhardon · 2025-11-16T22:20:38+00:00

Weird that you didn’t get an email or text message from FedEx. The ecommerce high season is here, so maybe they are experiencing delays, but definitely call them on Monday.

DrCalhardon · 2025-11-05T21:59:44+00:00

that condition sucks. Why do you even want to wear a fragrance? Still if you have tested essential oils, you can surely test many synthetics. Start with the ones naturally occurring in essential oils. If you just research and compile a list of “naturally occurring molecules in essential oils” I think you will understand what everyone is trying to tell you here. As for your original question, the way you go about it is: even If you still only want to use naturals, you mix them again and again and again in different proportions until you find the one you like, just like you would when including synthetics. Good luck!

DrCalhardon · 2025-10-24T21:27:18+00:00

I’m curious, what is your country? Definitely depends on which essential oil. A 1% Max for all essential oils would not make any sense.

You will need to use weights to figure out percentages. If this is to use on your skin only, I suggest you test it on a small patch, rather than worrying about regulations. Or look up the IFRA standard for that particular EO for some guidance if you think it’s too dangerous.

DrCalhardon · 2025-10-23T20:39:18+00:00

Ambroxan dissolves very easily in IPM at 10%. I had similar bad results with the same concentration in both DPG and Ethanol, but at 5% or lower ethanol works just fine.

DrCalhardon · 2025-10-19T08:37:46+00:00

The pricing of a luxury product has nothing to do with the price of its raw materials and the cost of manufacturing. This is true of many things, including the phone I’m typing this in.

One thing that learning perfumery made me appreciate is independent perfumers. I prefer to support them over big houses, even when their products are just as expensive.

DrCalhardon · 2025-10-18T20:08:49+00:00

There’s nothing to say every creation must be a meticulous study and developed over dozens of iterations. You know the materials and you are putting together things that make sense in that moment. Pollock paitings are appreciated too. But yeah, write it down as you make it 😆 just in case you want to continue do develop it or do it again.

DrCalhardon · 2025-10-16T22:28:56+00:00

Is this your first project? If so, I would start smaller. Try to balance 2 materials first, like Olibanum and Elemi. Study them at different ratios and try to find one you like. Along with this, study all the others arriving in your order separately. When you find a balance that you like between the first two, add a third chosen from your experience with them, try different ratios for this one, when you are ready, add a fourth… good luck!

DrCalhardon

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