IN THIS LESSON
- A perfume base can include more than ethanol.
- Record water, co-solvents and stock solvents when known.
- Changing carrier creates a new compatibility experiment.
The carrier is part of the formula
A carrier is the medium in which your fragrance blend is used. It contributes most of the mass in many diluted studies, so treat it as a real formula input. Record the supplier, product name and grade, just as you would for an aromatic material.
The words “perfumer’s alcohol” do not tell you everything inside a particular product. For example, the supplier base linked below contains specially denatured ethanol together with other functional ingredients. A gram of that base is not simply a gram of pure ethanol. Check the product description and its documents before calculating.
Distinguish ethanol, a supplied blend and a working stock
Ethanol is a substance. A supplied perfume base is a product that may contain ethanol and other ingredients. A working stock is a particular aromatic material diluted in a specified solvent. These can all be liquids on the bench, but they serve different roles in the calculation.
If your formula already contains stocks in dipropylene glycol or ethanol, those solvents travel into the finished study with the materials. Add them to the accounting before describing the total solvent composition. A final mixture made with several stocks may differ substantially from a simple two-component blend of neat concentrate and alcohol.
Solubility depends on the whole system
A material that dissolves in one solvent at one strength may not remain dissolved after you change the mixture. Water content, concentration, other ingredients and temperature can all matter to a compatibility study. The Institute for Art and Olfaction notes that not every material is soluble in every carrier or at every percentage.
Do a small documented compatibility trial before making a larger batch. Record the starting composition, appearance and conditions, then observe it again. If it separates, forms crystals or becomes persistently cloudy, keep that result with the formula. Do not assume the carrier or the fragrance is universally defective from one unexplained trial.
Use the correct concentration basis
For a 20 g arithmetic example at 15% concentrate loading by mass, the concentrate contribution is 3 g and the rest of the batch is 17 g. This says how much supplied concentrate is present; it does not establish how much neat aromatic material, pure ethanol or water is inside it.
If a label specifies strength by volume, do not enter it into a mass-based stock calculation as if the bases were identical. Obtain the appropriate composition information or make the conversion with reliable density data. Keep the original basis in the record so a later user can check your reasoning.
Buy for the intended application
Use a supplier that identifies the product and its intended use, provides current documentation and can answer compatibility questions. Do not assume a cleaning solvent, rubbing alcohol or fuel product is appropriate for a perfume because “alcohol” appears on the label.
Follow the specific product’s safety data sheet for ventilation, ignition control, storage and handling. Alcohol-containing products can present a fire hazard. Do not heat an alcohol trial to speed a beginner experiment, and keep it away from flames and other ignition sources. A scented solvent remains a solvent.
Evaluate the carrier change as its own trial
If you change solvent supplier or move from one type of carrier to another, give the result a new batch ID. Hold the aromatic composition steady and document the carrier change. Compare appearance and odor under the same evaluation conditions, and keep any limits on what you have observed.
A successful blotter experiment is one step in development. It does not establish long-term stability, packaging compatibility or suitability for sale. The practical win is a clear record of exactly what you mixed and how it behaved, which lets the next stage begin with evidence.
Questions & answers
Is a ready-made perfume base pure ethanol?
Not necessarily. Some contain co-solvents or other functional ingredients. Read the composition and documentation for the exact product rather than inferring it from the name.
Can I add water to any alcohol perfume?
Do not assume the mixture will remain compatible. Changing the carrier composition requires its own documented trial and assessment.
LESSON PROGRESS
Finish the reading and exercise, then mark this lesson complete.
Sources & further reading
Institute for Art and Olfaction: Working with Scent ↗Perfumer’s Apprentice: Base de Parfum composition ↗Editorial learning guidance. No bench testing or professional qualification is claimed. Published September 24, 2026.