Creating a perfume involves numerous chemical and creative processes. Behind every perfume lies a true artistic vision. In short, a perfume can be considered a true olfactory work of art.
It is thanks to their personal taste, know-how, and originality that a perfumer creates a fragrance from specific notes, each occupying a well-defined place in the olfactory pyramid.
We talk about top, heart, and base notes which, once blended, form the composition of the fragrance.
The top notes are the most volatile. These are the first scents you perceive when you open a bottle or spray a little perfume on yourself. They are often fresh and light, like bergamot, green tea, or cardamom.
The heart notes take a little longer to reveal themselves to the nose, usually between a few minutes and a few hours. These are the notes that truly define the character of the perfume and its direction… Is it rather woody? Floral? Oriental?
Among the heart notes, you'll find fig, rose, lily of the valley, peony, and many more...
Base notes form the foundation of a fragrance. These are the notes you can still smell on your clothes or skin at the end of the day, for example. They are heavier, often more intense and heady, like oud, patchouli, musks, or sandalwood.
These notes, which form the base of the perfume, are either natural or synthetic.
There are several techniques for extracting fragrances from natural raw materials, the most common being distillation, extraction, expression, and enfleurage (hot and cold).
Distillation is commonly used in perfumery. The principle involves producing fragrant steam from plant materials. This step is followed by decantation: the water and the various scented components are separated to obtain what is called an «absolute.».
Extraction involves macerating plant materials in water and a solvent. Once the solvent has evaporated, a paste-like substance remains, which can be diluted in alcohol to create a perfume.
Extraction is a technique generally reserved for fruit peels. These must be pressed, decanted, and filtered in order to extract the desired aromatic compounds.
Enfleurage is a technique that has been used since ancient times. This process relies on the use of a fatty substance that naturally absorbs scents. The flowers placed in contact with the fat are then replaced when they lose their fragrance, and this process continues until the fat's absorption capacity is saturated. Enfleurage can last up to 3 months, and 1 kg of fat can absorb up to 3 kg of fragrance from plants. However, this technique is not suitable for the most delicate flowers. This is why hot enfleurage is used for those that can withstand it, and cold enfleurage (a practice still very common in Grasse) for particularly sensitive flowers.
When it is very difficult, even impossible, to obtain certain natural notes, perfumers turn to synthetic alternatives, which enrich and complement the better-known notes.
The «pure» essence is then diluted with varying amounts of alcohol, depending on the desired product (perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, etc.).
The perfume must then macerate for about two weeks; this is an essential step to allow it to develop its full power. During this period, the notes blend harmoniously and balance each other to create a fragrance that is as harmonious as possible.
