Update: I have a last-minute opening in the Citrus workshop on Wednesday. You don’t need any essential oils for that class, just citrus fruit and easy-to-find spices. The seat has been taken. Thank you for your interest! If you’ve missed this round of registration, please subscribe to receive updates about new workshops.
When I first started planning my perfume classes, I decided that for the fundamental series, I will offer the option of using common spices and fruits as study aids. My belief is that anything can be useful to training our sense of smell, as long as we follow the proper technique, smell consciously and practice regularly. You can create a box of spices and study them, noting their different nuances. Even after a week of diligently smelling your spices, you will find your sense of smell much sharper.
Once you learn the basics, you can consider investing into a smelling kit. I researched a few reputable options, compare them and made the guide below. Some of the products I mention are available in the US, others in the EU. Either way, I hope to give you a few choices. And to repeat, these kits are not necessary when you first start out with your perfume explorations, but they become useful if you devote more time to unraveling notes and accords.
Le Nez Du Vin
A good kit of 54 notes commonly found in wine. Most of these notes are accords such as apple, black currant, oak, caramel. Although designed for wine students, it’s useful for perfume aficionados. The main downside is the cost of €289. I worked with this kit as part of a research project, which is why I’m familiar with it, but for my personal use, I bought a Tasterplace kit.
NB: Although it seems counterintuitive, the wine kits are more useful to learn about smells and accords using in fragrances and flavors. If you are interesting in learning the aromas of wines, I recommend investing into perfume material kits, which include actual ingredients and aroma-molecules, rather than artificial accords meant to resemble wine notes. You will find such kits below.
Perfumer’s Apprentice has a number of different perfume study kits, but their Perfume Notes Kit is both well priced at $95 and varied enough. It features both natural ingredients and synthetics. Unlike the wine kits, this selection includes the actual materials, rather than accords. They are diluted and ready for smelling.
Synthetics includes are: Adoxal @ 1.82% Aldehyde C-12 MNA @ 0.78% Aldehyde C-14 @ 2.33% Allyl Amyl Glycolate @ 1.04% Ambroxan @ 0.21% Calone @ 1.04% Cassis @ 1.58% Civet @ 0.13% Coumarin @ 2.42% Dihydromyrcenol @ 3.66% Galaxolide 50%@ 14.80% Habanolide @ 7.99% Hedione @ 37.29% Helional @ 6.35% Heliotropine @ 0.82% Ionone Alpha @ 4.15%
Naturals: Bergamot (Bergapten Free) @ 1.06% Black Pepper @ 1.04% Frankincense (Olibanum) @ 0.78% Galbanum @ 1.05% Additional Supplies: _ 40 – Medium Disposable Pipettes _ 1 – Pack of 100 Scent Strips Isobutavan @ 11.36% Iso E Super @ 5.94% Kephalis @ 3.07% Leaf Alcohol @ 1.04% Lilial @ 3.10% Linalool @ 4.64% Lyral @ 6.72% Mandarine Aldehyde @ 1.55% Melonal @ 2.08% Methyl Pamplemousse @ 2.08% Muguet (Hydroxycitronellal) @ 21.75% Musk Ketone @ 6.13% Pyralone @ 5.91% Tonalide @ 7.08% Vertofix @ 8.16% Immortelle (Helichrysum) @ 0.37% Jasmine Absolute @ 1.82% Rose Absolute (Bulgaria) @ 2.09% Sandalwood (Amyris) @ 4.39% Vetiver @ 1.30%
Perfumer’s Apprentice is based in the US, so their shipping is limited to the NA region.
Perfumer’s World
Another company that makes good
perfume kits with ingredients used in perfumery. They ship worldwide, but the kits are pricey.
Galimard Student of Perfumery Gift Set
Galimard kits include
accords (not perfume ingredients) that can be smelled or used to make your own composition. Student of Perfumery gift set is priced at
€89
and contains 18 bases (15 ml each, in Eau de Parfum concentration), a pipette, paper blotters, a 100ml bottle, a measuring cylinder and a booklet in French and English. It makes for a good gift.
Experimental Perfume Club (UK)
An excellent option for the UK residents. Experimental Perfume Club offers affordable kits priced at £55 with 15 different perfume ingredients, both natural and synthetic. The amount you receive is large enough to train your nose and to experiment with making accords.
De Herserij (Benelux/EU)
De Herserij offers a variety of materials, natural and synthetic. They have a selection of tools needed for making blends. They also offer Beginners set fragrance materials *ADR*. For € 59,95, you will receive 10 ml of the following fragrances: EO Lemon CP, EO Orange sweet CP, EO Ylang ylang III, EO Black pepper, EO Bergamot FCF, EO Clove nail, Labdanum 45% in TEC, Benzyl salicylate, Iso E Super (IFF ), Linalyl Acetate, Heliotropex N (IFF), Vanillin 25% in DPG, Aurantiol 50% in DPG. All of these materials can purchased separately, but it’s more affordable and convenient to buy them in dilutions.
Do you have any suggestions for stores or website that sell perfume ingredients and kits?
Photography by Bois de Jasmin
17 Comments
Robin Alexander: You are doing an online perfume-making class, right? When is that scheduled for? December 18, 2023 at 9:43am
Victoria: I don’t have a date yet, but I’m planning it for mid to late January. We will start with a simple cologne accord and then elaborate on it. December 18, 2023 at 9:54am
Marium Khan: Any info on that please ? Is that already booked ? December 18, 2023 at 10:11am
Victoria: Not yet! I will announce it first via my newsletter and then on Bois de Jasmin. December 18, 2023 at 10:19am
Joan Rosasco: I think the Osmothèque in Versailles had a kit, maybe still do. December 18, 2023 at 11:26am
Victoria: Yes, they do, except that it’s not available online. I wrote about their kit here: https://boisdejasmin.com/2018/11/osmotheques-perfume-materials-coffret.html
You can buy it from the boutique in Versailles. December 18, 2023 at 2:23pm
Victoria: Oh, and the price now is 70€. December 18, 2023 at 2:23pm
Julia: I have been wanting to buy a kit for the longest time. This is so helpful, thank you! December 18, 2023 at 12:51pm
Victoria: Glad that my timing was good! Hope that you find something you like. December 18, 2023 at 2:24pm
Barbara: What is the difference between your newsletter and bois de Jasmin? December 18, 2023 at 2:46pm
Victoria: The newsletter notifies my subscribers about my new classes, projects and other topics that don’t always get posted here. Next year I plan to offer giveaways via my newsletter. December 18, 2023 at 2:52pm
Barbara: How may I sign up for the newsletter? December 18, 2023 at 3:18pm
Victoria: The subscription links are right under this post. Also, you can find them on the right. Or you can just follow this link: https://mailchi.mp/390e816eb8e3/boisdejasmin-classes?fbclid=IwAR3Te6enA3swPWHCqwwZgYiHT0JxGOwSgtOzdfAWOyg9U3HcTDi5DI1-UT4 December 18, 2023 at 4:14pm
Inma: Hello,
Here Seville oranges are being haversted in the streets. I think about this community when I walk next to that and I imagine a perfumery class just in that place (woods, citruses, leaves and ground in the city) December 21, 2023 at 9:19am
Victoria: How lovely! I can just imagine it. 🙂 December 22, 2023 at 2:30am
Vivienne: Do you have any recommendations for perfumery kits from suppliers in the Southern Hemisphere? I live in New Zealand. December 21, 2023 at 1:00pm
Victoria: I Will have to research this! December 22, 2023 at 2:29am