THE ART OF THE PERFUMER 243 THE ART OF THE PERFUMER W. C. BOTFIELD* A lecture delivered before the Society on 17th _February 1958. A description of the various problems encountered in preparing perfumes for cosmetics is given, together wlth a list of essential offs and synthetics which are known to cause irritation and discoloration in creams and in tofiet soaps. THE TITLE of this talk, "The Art of the Perfumer," is perhaps ambiguous enough to allow us to wander over the various aspects of perfumery, especially that section relating to handkerchief perfumes, cosmetics and beauty aids. Perfumery does, of course, cover a much wider field, but I feel it is sufficient to deal now with the section where the present interest lies. That perfumery is an art is a correct description, but it is an art that must be more closely related to science than the other arts. The perfumer and the chemist must work together and in most projects there must be a close co-operation. A perfume of distinction can only be created if the perfumer has complete freedom of choice of materials and if all other considerations, such as price and sources of materials, are ignored, and this can only be attempted where a really high quality handkerchief perfume is required. The perfumer, before attempting a creation, must have knowledge of the purpose for which the perfume is intended, and the result should be a product which possesses life, warmth and harmony, and although the finished perfume will no doubt possess these qualities it is also essential that it remains stable for a considerable time. Such a perfume of character cannot be produced unless the perfumer has sufficient experience of all raw materials and is very wide in his choice of these materials, and obviously has the ability to blend them together skilfully. The correct inclusion of natural absolutes and essentiM oils, together with a choice of specialities, isolates, derivatives and synthetics, is most important. The perfumes for various purposes, that is, perfumes used in lotions, cosmetics, soap, etc., must differ. It cannot be expected that one perfume compound could be suitable for perfuming a whole range of these products, as they are all different, both chemically and physically. There are liquids, solids, gases and emulsions, which are mixtures of solids and liquids. In preparing compounds, the use of the absolute oils is very necessary, and it is true that present-day costs of these tremendously important products prevent their liberal use. Nevertheless, a perfume is all the better for their inclusion, and even if the price factor allows only 1 per cent I do * W. J. Bush & Co. Ltd., London, E.8.

244 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS advise that they are incorporated. The choice of absolute oil will, of course, be governed by the complex, and one, two or three absolutes can be incor- porated. It is helpful if the floral absolute of the same odour complex is used, such as a jasmin for a jasmin complex or a rose for a rose complex, but this is not a hard-and-fast rule, for the addition of rose absolute will improve a jasmin complex but the addition of jasmin absolute w/ll not benefit a rose complex to the same extent. Otto of rose benefits most complexes, and one must decide from experience whether this rose would be better in a perfume than Rose de Mai, or vice versa. Most of these absolute oils possess a deep coloration, and that is one thing to guard against. They are inclined to over-colour a finished product and, as this is not always deskable, care should be exercised. There are those absolutes which possess a low price value such as Mimosa, Lavender and Oakmoss which can be used in higher proportions, though obviously one does not expect to include the expensive absolutes in compounds of the low price bracket, and there are absolutes of reasonable price value which can be used in fair proportion such as Genet, Immortelle, Jonquil and Tuberose. The expensive absolutes are Jasmin, Orange Flower, Cassie, Rose de Mai, Clary Sage, Violet, and I should include Otto Rose in the category of absolutes for this purpose. (Although a figure of 1 per cent has been mentioned previously, it is not intended that only 1 per cent should be used, but considerably more if the price allows.) The value of essential oils cannot be overestimated, and although good use is made of the more well-known oils, more use could be made of the lesser-used oils. I will not describe them as lesser known as they kre all known even if not used, but trace amounts of these essential oils could be and should be used to a great advantage, and many subtle effects are obtained. The oils I have in mind are such as Ambrette, Angelica, Basil, Carrot, Celery, Chamomile, Costus, Cumin, Elemi, Estragon, Ginger, Hops, Hyssup, Juniper, Lovage, Mace and Myrtle. An oil such as Ambrette must be used very cautiously, not only because of its high price, but because of its very powerful odour. In minute traces, however, it can have a very pleasing influence on perfume compounds, particularly on those of a heavy tonality. Oil of Celery can be very helpful to a jasmin complex, and Costus will give warmth to many compositions, especially those with a Violet complex. It is not necessary, however, to keep within conventional lines, and the perfumer should be imaginative and a little bold in his use of these oils. Many interesting tonalities can be obtained by their judicious use, though care should be taken not to make their presence obvious. The many aromatic gums which are obtainable, such as Galbanum, Labdanum, Benzoin, Olibanum, etc., yield very interesting oils in distillation, and they can be used together with the resinoid of the gum or alone to give a characteristic note. The value of these oils lies in the fact that they are