The reading room
Learn perfume
making.
Eight practical guides to materials, formulas, and the habits that make an experiment repeatable.
Follow the beginner courseHow to make perfume: a beginner’s first experiment
Set up a small perfume workspace, learn a manageable palette and make a first trial you can actually reproduce.
7 min readPerfume concentrate vs finished perfume
Separate formula percentages, stock strengths and finished-product concentration without counting solvent twice.
6 min readHow to dilute perfume materials by mass
Calculate fresh stocks and serial dilutions, then label them so the next formula stays accurate.
6 min readScale a perfume formula without losing the details
Turn parts into percentages, scale a batch and handle stock solutions without silently changing the composition.
6 min readHow to evaluate perfume on a blotter
A simple repeatable method for comparing materials and formula versions over time.
5 min readCost a perfume batch and keep useful records
Calculate ingredient and packaging costs, account for losses and connect each estimate to an actual batch.
6 min readNatural vs synthetic perfume ingredients
Understand oils, isolates, molecules and bases—and compare the actual materials behind those labels.
5 min readPerfumer’s alcohol and solvents: read the bottle first
Understand what a perfume carrier contributes and why the actual composition matters more than the product name.
5 min readChoose the guide that matches your question
If you have never written a perfume formula, start with the beginner guide and the explanation of concentrate versus finished perfume. These establish what each number in a formula represents. Move to dilution when you need to prepare a weaker stock, or to scaling when you want the same proportions at a different batch size. Both methods depend on knowing the strength of the material you actually weigh.
For a trial you have already made, the evaluation guide helps you record observations at comparable intervals. The costing guide explains how material and production records support a repeatable cost estimate. The final two guides address natural and synthetic materials, and the information to check when choosing alcohol or another solvent. They are useful background before turning a paper exercise into practical work.
Turn reading into a useful record
Keep a separate note for each exercise, with its inputs, units, result, and any assumptions. A percentage alone is incomplete: record whether it describes a stock solution, a concentrate dose, or the aromatic contribution to a finished product. When comparing two examples, use the same basis and units before drawing a conclusion. The formula builder and calculators provide worked examples you can reproduce alongside the lessons.
The course page collects these guides into an ordered sequence and remembers completed lessons locally. You can also read them individually without creating an account. Source links are provided so you can examine the underlying descriptions and methods. For practical material handling and use, consult the current documentation for the exact supplier product; a general lesson cannot establish the suitability of a particular blend.