Blending factors

[Guest guest]

Helen said:

Interesting about your blending factors. I've not seen this method before,

but I

can see that those oils with a very strong smell (eg eucalyptus and

lemongrass)

would have fewer drops in a blend than the gentler cypress.

It looks like a formula to make blending easier.

But the only criticism I would have of it is that it doesn't take the notes

into

consideration (at least, from your example). The mixture you describe would

benefit

from having a base note, I would say. Vetiver for instance, or patchouli.

Did the teacher who gave the course develop this method? If so, could you

ask him

or her for the blending factors of other oils?

=================

 

Hi Helen

Thanks for your response.

I don't know where this method came from, but I'll check with my teacher

next week. If you don't use such a method, how do you decide how many drops

of what to put in a blend?

 

Suzanna

[Guest guest]

Hi Suzanna

You wrote:

 

<I don't know where this method came from, but I'll check with my teacher

next week. If you don't use such a method, how do you decide how many drops

of what to put in a blend?>

 

Since replying to you, I checked in my books and came across a list of 'odour

intensity' of about 30 or so oils, in Robert Tisserand's first book, 'The Art of

Aromatherapy' - I can write them out for you if you email me privately. Maybe

your

teacher used this list, or made up his/her own.

 

How many drops of what to put in a blend is, I would say, the art of

aromatherapy.

When you first start, it might be a good idea to make a list of all the symptoms

you

want to address. Then look up all the oils that attack such symptoms and list

them

too. Then examine your list and see which oils crop up more than once, and

choose

three or four of them for your blend. Taking their notes into consideration too

(or

their odour intensity) will tell you which you need more of and which you need

less

of. As you get to know the oils better, you will not need to make the lists so

much.

Hope this helps.

Helen in Cape Town

[Guest guest]

Hi Helen

You said ...

Since replying to you, I checked in my books and came across a list of

'odour

intensity' of about 30 or so oils, in Robert Tisserand's first book, 'The

Art of

Aromatherapy' - I can write them out for you if you email me privately.

Maybe your

teacher used this list, or made up his/her own.

=============

I bet this she did get it from this book as Tisserand's was a recommended

text and I have a list of about 30 oils and their " blending factors " ...

anyway I will ask, but I think the mystery is solved. One of my reasons

for asking is that when I use my instinct for the numbers of drops, it is

likely to differ from the amount according to the blending factor, so I

guess I'm getting a bit of a feel for it. Thanks very much for your

assistance with this.

 

All the best

 

Suzanna Sherlock

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Helen,

I am trying to put together a list of Odour Clasification from Wm. A

Poucher's, Cosmetics and Perfumery book 7th Edition, 1959 and also add

information from the Tisserand book that you mentioned earlier for the list

as well as for a class on blending that I am teaching next month. I worked

on this list for over 5 hours last night and I still have a way to go before

it's finished. I realized that we still have a long way to go in odor

classification. As soon as I'm finished with this list I will post it to the

list. If you have any questions please send them to me privately so that I

can try to include your requests on the completed list for the group.

Thanks for your patience and help.

Rhavda Cooper Emison <sos1

> " Helen Ranger " <hranger

>

>Hi Suzanna

>Since replying to you, I checked in my books and came across a list of 'odour

>intensity' of about 30 or so oils, in Robert Tisserand's first book, 'The

Art of

>Aromatherapy' - I can write them out for you if you email me privately.

Maybe your

>teacher used this list, or made up his/her own.

>Hope this helps.

>Helen in Cape Town

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Helen Ranger <hranger and others,

The following information is from a class that I am preparing to

teach and the materials are gathered from Willam A. Poucher's book on

" Perfumery, Cosmetics, and Soaps, " Vol. II, 7th Ed., 1959, Chapter IV, Odour

Classification and Fixation, and Robert Tisserand's book on " The Art of

Aromatherapy, " 1977.

Blending is in many ways is the first step toward becoming a

perfumer. In the United States there are about 200 recognized perfumers and

many aromatherapist/perfumers (number unkown) who are also on their way to

becoming perfumers of aromatherapy. Blending is like a song, wonderful,

illusive, and difficult to behold and understand. Blending is like a fine

composition that comes together with the perfect blend of notes to make just

the right scent. No two blenders or perfumers see the same composition of a

formula in the same way. The combination of just the right notes make the

perfect scent. It is like magic openning up new worlds.

Modern blending/perfumery draws upon the many skills that a

blender/perfumer possesses. A blender/perfumer needs to be visionary, a

poet, a music composer, an artist on all levels who brings together the

right smells to make that perfect, wonderful smell is called a blend or a

perfume.

A good blender/perfumer is always experimenting with new smells and

formulas. A fine blend or perfume may have over 150 or 200 different

fragrances in it to make a specific scent. There are over 800 perfumes on

the commercial market today with many people still seeking the right smell

for them.

One of the easiest ways to explain how to make a blend or perfume is

to equate it to writing a musical composition with Top notes (melody),

Middle Notes (to compliment the melody and be a bridge between the top and

the base), and the Base Notes (which give staying power to the melody). The

top notes are light, airy, happy, and evaporate very quickly. The middle

notes build a bridge between the top notes and the base notes. These are

medium evaporation notes that like to hang around a little longer and tease

us a little longer before they leave. Base notes evaporate very slowly and

hold the top and middle notes in check. Base notes added properly can make

or break a fragrance.

The following Odour Classification chart is numbered 1 to 100 and

divided into top notes (1 - 14), middle notes (15 - 60), and base notes (61

- 100) from Poucher's book. The information with (T) behind it are from

Tisserand's book. Many oils are not listed because I could not find a number

listed for them, so this chart is only as complete as the references sources

available to me. If any of you know of any other references available,

please email them to me so that I can add them to this chart for everyone.

Some of these oils are referenced more than once because of overlapping

information from both books.

Continued on the next email.

Rhavda Emison