Blending aroma compounds

[LilyJane]

Hello! I’ve been looking into sourcing aroma compounds to make my own candle fragrance blends from scratch, as opposed to buying from candle science for example. Mainly, I want to create original scents and have more control over my blends, but I also assumed it might save money. However, I’m looking through Perfumer’s World, and the prices turn out to be more than what I currently spend on pre-formulated fragrance blends. How can that be? Am I supposed to dilute them? I can’t find info in any forums or by searching Google about how to work with aroma compounds to make candles. All that comes up are fragrance oil suppliers like candle science, or instructions on how to blend fragrance oils (which is what I’m already doing). Please help! I really want to make this work. Thanks!

[TallTayl]

Fragrance compounding for candles is harder than we first think.  Not all raw components perform with a wick. Once you find components that smell ok, we do usually need to dilute them to work well in Various products. Candle diluents are typically DEP, IPM or DOA. 

 

I would find a fragrance lab you feel comfortable working with, and start from there. Most that offer unique blends that work well for you and your candles will require 20-25 lb purchase minimally. The fragrance lab knows how to compound fragrances for candles, skin care, etc. and can provide the safety and IFRA certificates to ensure your products can be made safely. 
 

I met representatives from many in my area at a trade show held by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. Initial investment in fragrance that is all my own is well worth it to me. I enjoy not being tethered to a retailer that reformulated or drops fragrances on a whim. 

[LilyJane]

@TallTaylThat is so helpful! I've researched a bunch of fragrance labs myself, too, and it seemed like the initial investment was more than I could manage. I'd have to make something like 500 of one scent if I bought 25 lbs of a fragrance. It did help me reconsider the direction of my business, though! Thanks so much for the inisight.

[TallTayl]

37 minutes ago, LilyJane said:

@TallTaylThat is so helpful! I've researched a bunch of fragrance labs myself, too, and it seemed like the initial investment was more than I could manage. I'd have to make something like 500 of one scent if I bought 25 lbs of a fragrance. It did help me reconsider the direction of my business, though! Thanks so much for the inisight.

I usually share mine through co-ops and fast buys. you are welcome to share here on CS, and on the many Facebook groups. It’s time consuming to bottle, label, etc., but for great FO people will be super appreciative. Once upon a time we had The Scent Works for excellent and unusual fragrances. They closed up one day surprisingly, and we missed their product so much. I had a handful, like Tonic, duped and the world felt right again. 🥰
 

Though a keg goes faster than you think! I buy a blend also safe for skin care. Between soap, candles, melts, shampoo, room spray it gets used up. Fresh kegs of FO from excellent labs will last for years.

[LilyJane]

@TallTaylIsn’t the idea of working with perfumers to create original scents that other companies don’t have, though? Is your goal more about just creating scents not found at popular FO suppliers, regardless of if it’s solely for your own brand?

[TallTayl]

53 minutes ago, LilyJane said:

@TallTaylIsn’t the idea of working with perfumers to create original scents that other companies don’t have, though? Is your goal more about just creating scents not found at popular FO suppliers, regardless of if it’s solely for your own brand?

Every dupe is original in its own way. My lab’s version is not exactly the same as the original given their gas spectrometry and perfumer skills, plus the particular raw materials they use and the diluent. 

initially, my goal was to have on hand unique market popular scents not available any more, that already had a strong following with my crowd. When TSW went OOB, I could not find anything like their range at other typical resellers. It was earth shattering to be left swinging in the wind like that.

 

 if I found a namesake, like Dragons Blood, it was just unacceptable to my fantasy crowd. I tried dozens of DB, and realized the cost of a keg was much less than the lost retail income from that scent. Fewer than 50 candles paid for the entire keg. Rinse and repeat for Egyptian Dragon, Vetyver Cafe, Tonic, Pink Sugar, Lakegrass, Provence, Amber, etc.

 

Starting with completely new fragrances with help from a perfumer puts the risk on me.  Occasionally I love a totally unique perfumer scent so much I will buy a full keg of it and hope my people love it like I do.  Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn’t, lol.  

reasons for keeping your own formulations of FO:

Most reseller FO are now commonplace and so weak, needing 10%-12% just to throw in a candle.  that much FO makes the candle burn dirty. Or at least not even close to as good as the ones I needed.

The insult to injury is the unannounced reformulations that leave us at square one with testing over, and over again. Having control over your own fragrances is insurance IMO. 

 

worse is the discontinuation of your favorites without notice.  
and… remember how many fragrance suppliers were bought out by investor groups last year? Scary stuff.

 

in soap too many retail popular FOs morph, accelerate,  discolor and FADE?. Not to mention, it also can take way too much to fully scent the soap. Too much FO makes soap do weird things and cuts into profit. Soap is hard enough, with thin profit margins for the work involved.
 

My business model changed (as planned) at the end of 2019 to contract manufacture and product development. Clients send their perfumer-designed fragrance to me to develop into various products. The difference between common retailers of FO and those from perfumers is gigantic. Some are a snap to develop into candles.  Others a disaster, but we always get there some how. 

[LilyJane]

@TallTaylI can totally see why ordering custom scents from a fragrance lab would be wiser than relying on the supply of popular retailers, but I’m curious if you were ever concerned with other candle companies selling the same scents you are. That’s one issue for me buying from retailers - not a huge deal at the stage I’m at, but it seemed like one of the benefits of ordering from a lab would be that the scent could be exclusive to my brand. Aside from that, there are scents I want to create that I just can’t while I’m using the pre-blended fragrances from retailers. For example, I’ve been trying to create a raspberry pie scent for a wholesale customer, but I’m having to use “glazed doughnut” for the pie crust notes, so it’s not very accurate! Haha

[TallTayl]

Not really since mine are so different in the end. People notice the difference.
 

I feel for you trying to get that crust note. BTDT. A nod toward the goal is often more than good enough in the end. You   could light an actual raspberry pie and people would say it doesn’t smell like raspberry pie. People are weird.  I applaud your creativity. 

 

“exclusive” scents can be as simple as the “best “ of the best,renamed and tweaked with a little essential oil. EO’s tend to make many blends so much more nuanced and rich. 

too off the beaten path is scary for customers who can’t smell the product first - like internet sales. People stick with  a tried and true and must be enticed to try something new.
 

Completely unique blends sold best in person where people do not have to imagine the scent by a description. A good example from my collection is Macabre. Pipe tobacco, Smoke and sweet peppermint are the prominent notes. People crinkle their noses at that online. But in person the intrigue gets the best of them and 9/10 people buy it. One bar sold at a charity auction the first batch I made went for about $100. 100% of the audience it was developed  for love the personal story of the scent. 

[LilyJane]

@TallTayl$100 for a bar of soap? Wow, congrats! I see what you mean about trying to sell weird scents online. Next year, I’ll have the opportunity to sell out of a retail space that sells cocktail kits, so I want to create cocktail-inspired scents. At first, the owner was interested in collaborating to create cocktail candles for her brand, but I was limited with what I could make for her because I had so much trouble finding individual scent notes to build such specific fragrances. It’s a bummer to have to say, “no, I can’t exactly make that.”

[TallTayl]

41 minutes ago, LilyJane said:

@TallTayl$100 for a bar of soap? Wow, congrats! I see what you mean about trying to sell weird scents online. Next year, I’ll have the opportunity to sell out of a retail space that sells cocktail kits, so I want to create cocktail-inspired scents. At first, the owner was interested in collaborating to create cocktail candles for her brand, but I was limited with what I could make for her because I had so much trouble finding individual scent notes to build such specific fragrances. It’s a bummer to have to say, “no, I can’t exactly make that.”

Fun!

I developed a scent line for a cocktail account. And a brewery.
 

once again, scents inspired by, versus exact matches worked very well.  Turns out while people think they want exact replicas of a beverage, Nobody wanted to smell like a gin and tonic. Who knew… 🤷🏻‍♀️😅. BUT people loved the  original scent blend inspired by the notes that go into making gin and tonic , like lime/lemon citrus peels, black pepper, lemongrass, a wood essence to honor the quinine… we sold a LOT of drink themed products.

 

 

[LilyJane]

@TallTayl That is such valuable advice! I will certainly relay that if she and I revisit the opportunity. Thank you!