Creating Vintage-Inspired Perfumes: A Journey of Scent and Self-Discovery

Chapter One: The First Spark

I remember it was the end of February. I got home from work, excited to see the package I’d ordered a few days prior—essential oils. I was absolutely convinced I’d be great at creating perfumes from oils. I wasn’t wrong… or right. But my desire was stronger than my doubt.

Each night, I’d sit at my desk, surrounded by tiny bottles and droppers, trying different recipes. For many of them, I used ChatGPT—bad decision on my part. None of the perfumes turned out. They were missing something. So I did the only logical thing: I stopped copying and started creating. I relied on my own senses—my brain and my nose—to guide me. Still, the results were underwhelming. The blends smelled like… well, oils mixed with other oils, for lack of a better description. There was no depth, no harmony. I wasn’t in love with any of them.

Chapter Two: Educate Your Nose

Defeated but not done, I decided to educate myself. I watched more than 50 videos on perfumery. And somewhere between base notes and olfactory pyramids, it finally clicked. Perfume isn't just mixing nice smells. It's architecture. It's chemistry. It’s storytelling.

So I turned to my husband and said, “We should do this together. It’s fun and frustrating—and our life’s been too quiet. Let’s create some chaos.” He agreed. And that’s how we began our journey into perfume creation.

Chapter Three: Discovering the Nose

I watched Justin from across the room. He picked through different oils, smelled each one slowly, then paused for minutes at a time. I could almost see the gears turning. His brain and his nose were working in perfect sync. That’s when I realized something. He was the nose.

As much as I wanted that title for myself, he just understood scent on a different level. He could pick out a note, envision where it belonged, and balance it against others with intuition I didn’t yet have. And that was okay—every perfumer needs a nose, but they also need a blender, a researcher, a formulator, a storyteller. We all play our part.

Your Practical Guide to Creating Perfume (Vintage or Not)

1. Start With Curiosity, Not Perfection

Don’t expect to get it right immediately. Start with curiosity. Play with ingredients. Fail. A lot. This is where your real learning happens.

2. Understand the Perfume Pyramid

Fragrance is built in three layers:

• Top Notes: The first impression (e.g., citrus, herbs).

• Middle (Heart) Notes: The soul of the perfume (e.g., florals, spices).

• Base Notes: The lasting depth (e.g., woods, musks, resins).

  
  

Balance is everything.

3. Invest in Quality Ingredients

Essential oils are not enough. Research absolutes, resins, aroma chemicals, and natural isolates. Quality materials yield quality perfumes. I would recommend getting essential oils from Amazon and high-quality ingredients from Perfumers Apprentice.

4. Dilute for Testing

Never judge a perfume undiluted. Dilute to 10-15% in perfumer’s alcohol to get a realistic sense of how it will wear on the skin.

5. Keep a Perfume Journal

Record every experiment—what you used, in what ratio, and how it smelled over time. Perfume evolves on the skin, so track it over hours or even days. Most of our perfumes have been macerating for 6 weeks or longer. A journal will help you keep track of everything to the last detail.

Macerating perfume is the process of letting a fragrance sit undisturbed, allowing its ingredients to blend and mature, essentially aging the fragrance. This process, also known as fragrance aging, enhances the perfume's depth, richness, and longevity by allowing for further chemical reactions and maturation of the fragrance molecules.

6. Train Your Nose

Smell everything—literally. Coffee beans, old books, soil after rain, freshly cut fruit. The more you smell, the better your scent memory becomes.

7. Work in Accord

Don’t try to build a full perfume from scratch every time. Start with creating accords (mini compositions, like a rose accord or amber accord), then blend those into complete perfumes. An accord is a blend of 2 to 4 different oils, sometimes more.

8. Be Original

Copying recipes is a great way to learn structure—but to create magic, trust your instincts. That perfume that only smells like “oils mixed with other oils”? That’s just step one. Keep refining.

9. Accept Your Role

You don’t have to be “the nose.” Maybe you’re the formulator, the visionary, the brand creator, or the one who brings the chaos (in the best way). Know your strengths—and your partner’s.

🧪 Ingredients You'll Need to Start Making Perfume

🌿 1. Essential Oils (Natural Aromatics)

These are the building blocks for top, middle, and base notes. Start with a small curated collection:

Top Notes (fresh, light, evaporate quickly)

• Bergamot

• Lemon

• Grapefruit

• Petitgrain

• Lavender

• Eucalyptus

  
  

Middle (Heart) Notes (floral, spicy, round out the fragrance)

• Rose (or rose absolute)

• Geranium

• Jasmine (or jasmine absolute)

• Ylang-Ylang

• Clary Sage

• Cinnamon Leaf

• Nutmeg

  
  

Base Notes (deep, long-lasting, grounding)

• Patchouli

• Vetiver

• Sandalwood

• Vanilla (absolute or oleoresin)

• Frankincense

• Myrrh

• Benzoin

• Labdanum

  
  

🕰️ Vintage Tip: Focus on deep, resinous, floral, and spicy notes. Vintage perfumes often used a lot of base-heavy blends with real musks, civet, and oakmoss. (Modern regulations restrict some of these, but synthetic or natural-safe alternatives exist.)

🧬 2. Aroma Chemicals (Optional but Highly Recommended)

These are man-made or nature-identical compounds that offer stability, projection, and complexity. These you will find at Perfumers Apprentice.

• Iso E Super (woody, transparent)

• Hedione (fresh jasmine-like, radiant)

• Ambroxan (ambergris alternative, musky/amber)

• Galaxolide or Cashmeran (clean musks)

• Linalool (floral, light)

• Vanillin (creamy, sweet vanilla)

• Coumarin (tonka bean, warm almond/spice)

  
  

⚠️ Note: Aroma chemicals can be potent. Use precise scales (0.01g) and proper dilution (often to 10%).

🍸 3. Solvents / Carriers

Perfume needs a base to dissolve and blend in.

• Perfumer’s Alcohol – The industry standard (denatured alcohol specifically made for perfumes). Clean, evaporates quickly, lets the fragrance shine.

• Dipropylene Glycol (DPG) – Optional, used in oil-based perfumes or to slow evaporation.

• Jojoba Oil – For oil-based roll-ons; stable and long-lasting on the skin.

  
  

📏 4. Fixatives (To Help the Perfume Last)

Natural fixatives help anchor volatile top notes.

• Orris Root (powder or tincture)

• Labdanum

• Ambrette Seed

• Benzoin

• Myrrh

• Oakmoss (restricted, but safe alternatives exist)

• Tolu Balsam

  
  

🧰 5. Tools and Supplies

You’ll need these for safe and accurate blending:

• Glass droppers / pipettes

• Beakers / graduated cylinders (small 10–50ml)

• Digital scale (to 0.01g precision)

• Scent strips (blotters)

• Dark glass bottles (for maceration and storage)

• Roll-on or spray bottles (for testing)

• Notebook or perfume journal (log every formula, dilution, and result)

  
  

6. Safety & Regulatory Ingredients

• Gloves – For handling undiluted ingredients

• Goggles – Especially when working with alcohol or strong aroma chemicals

• Labels – Always date and name your blends

• IFRA Standards (optional but good practice) – Look into safe usage levels per material, especially if you plan to sell.

  
  

Note: Perfume Ratio — 3:5:2

Note Type	Purpose	Part of Total	Percentage
Top Notes	First impression, evaporates fast	3 parts	30%
Middle Notes	Heart of the fragrance	5 parts	50%
Base Notes	Depth, richness, longevity	2 parts	20%

Note Type	Amount (ml)
Top Notes	3ml
Middle Notes	5ml
Base Notes	2ml

Note Type	Drops
Top Notes	30 drops
Middle Notes	50 drops
Base Notes	20 drops

This ratio is excellent for creating balanced perfumes — it gives enough freshness up top, a strong heart, and a soft but lasting base.

If you have a harder time calculating the amount of perfumer's alcohol needed, that's where you can turn to ChatGPT and let it help you make accurate calculations.

I hope this guide motivates you to go and create something of your own.

Don't hesitate to message me if you have any questions about perfume creation.

As always, thank you for reading.

Love,

Ana