Philip Goutell

Hand Made Fragrances
by Philip Goutell

All of the fragrances sold at this website are my original creations. Each was developed with a particular theme in mind. The pages at this website give a somewhat abstracted visualization of the themes behind each of these fragrances.

How I Make Perfume (And Masculine Fragrances)

Like a symphony or a painting, a new fragrance starts with an idea — a mental theme — a story.

Sometimes the aroma that tells that story is clear to me before I begin to draft out the formula. At other times the development of a fragrance can, for me, be a bit like wandering through a forest with many paths that criss-cross; a testing and trying process to see what might be around the bend — and then of deciding if I really want to go there or whether, as is frequently the case, that trail takes me too far from my central theme and, instead of reinforcing or decorating that central aroma concept, it weakens it — so I'm pulled back, closer to the "main" path again. These "experiments" can be few or many but when the goal is reached, it is recognized and the fragrance is finished. Finished. Done.

The materials I Use

My perfumes are constructed from natural aroma materials, synthetic aroma materials, and specialty bases.

Here are some of the aroma materials I use, as seen on my "summer laboratory" desktop. For a typical fragrance I'll use a combination of essential oils, absolutes, resins, synthetic aroma chemicals, and specialty bases. The finished compound will be diluted in perfumes alcohol in proportion to the desired result. — PG

I DO NOT use natural aroma materials from certain ANIMAL SOURCES that have been replaced in today's perfumery by animal saving, synthetic substitutes. The most important of these materials that I DO NOT use are natural musk, from the rare and endangered musk deer, and civet, from the civet cat. Having begun my career at a time when the use of these materials was already discouraged, I have no experience with them and cannot morn their loss to perfumery.

Much fuss is made today over "natural" vs "synthetic" aroma materials and that one group is "better," "safer," or "more ethical" than the other. In the extreme, I have heard the claim that certain "all natural" products were produced "without any chemicals" — a laughable claim but, sadly, one that is all too often accepted by adults who have come to age without even the most rudimentary knowledge of chemistry.

While I respect those who have successfully created grand perfumes out of a small number of "acceptable" materials, my own vision of perfumery calls for the consideration of all that both nature and science can provide. I love the "older" perfumes (1900 to 1950) that utilized ingredients that, today, are banned. But I also love the efforts of research chemists to invent new fragrance materials ("money from molecules" as one chemist put it.) I have had the pleasure of personal encounters of two well respected, modern day, fragrance chemists and found both to be genuine lovers of perfume. Likewise I have been impressed by the history of the development of synthetic aroma materials and am particularly fond of the story of William Perkins who, at the age of 18, demonstrated a method of recycling one of England's greatest environmental blights — coal tar — into aniline purple dye (1857) and later in his life (1881), into coumarin, the odoriferous substance of the tonka bean which has a wonderful new mown hay/vanilla odor and is still used in perfumery. (Coumarin's use in flavoring cigarettes has recently been judged a health risk.)

For more about my methods and prejudices, I invite you to follow my Learning To Make Perfume blog. The development of art and technique in perfumery is a lifetime, ongoing adventure.

Alcohol

I suspect that some who sell "oils" rather than perfumes simply wish to avoid the complications and cost of obtaining perfume grade ethyl alcohol.

Once, in a conversation with a woman from a Saudi trade development agency, I naively asked (in consideration of Muslim prohibitions against alcohol) if it was permitted to use alcohol in perfumes made in the Kingdom. She gave me a funny look and replied, "How can you make perfume without alcohol?" I share her point of view.

Learning to make perfume

Some years ago, when for many personal reasons, I decided to become a perfumer, I was fortunate to find an excellent teacher. You don't have to be a genius to create perfume but you do need training, materials, discipline, and persistence. And then you just keep doing it.

Samples

The best way to get a feeling for my work is to buy my Sample Bag. It's packed with value and you just might discover your "one source" for both feminine and masculine fragrances. Give it a try.

Philip Goutell
Lightyears, Inc.