DIY Perfumerie - Cetalox & Ambroxan (Beginner's Edition)

For any perfume addict out there who has ever considered making perfumes as a DIY hobby, I feel you. And I really feel you if your wallet is kinda thin!

A few things to realize about perfumes:

1. Perfumes can be patented but are not (see below), and smells can not be patented.
2. They are way more expensive than necessary (IMO)
3. You can sometimes create your own dupes

Now, about the patent issue, I was surprised to learn that:

"The primary reason that fragrance clones are legal is that a smell cannot be patented.  Only the brand name, perfume name, description, and packaging can be protected by law.  Perfume companies could patent products, but in order to do so they would have to disclose their formulas." (source)

It is now so obvious that they are more expensive than they should be. That's because I started looking at the cost of raw materials. (Correction: Perfumes can be as expensive as the owner would like. There is just no reason for someone as broke as I am to splurge out on those.)

One example of an easy fragrance to DIY dupe is JHAG's Not a Perfume. It's one of my favorite scents of all time. I recently learned that it is almost completely made of Cetalox. Right now on Amazon, NAP is running around $160 - for just over 3 ounces. That's an impossible purchase for me. 

However, I bought 8 grams of Cetalox for about $16 and 4 ml of Ambrox DL for under 10 dollars. Using a three-dollar bottle of perfumer's alcohol, I made my own version of NAP.

For someone who likes a wide variety of fragrances and fragrance types, this might not be ideal. However, I am a simple gal. I like scents that are soft, sweet, and long-lasting. I don't need a large stock of ingredients to keep myself smelling delicious and staying on budget.

If you are interested in going the DIY route, I can't do much other than point you to the sources I have used. I'm sure there are a ton more around. This is how I started:

• I found a YouTube channel that's helpful (this video got me inspired)
• I found a supply site that I trust
• I set a low budget ($30 every other month)
• I utilize some of my existing fragrances
• I keep a small notebook to track my ingredients and formulas

This is such a cheap hobby for me. There was a time when I was subscribed to fragrance boxes that cost around $15/mo - for one fragrance meant to last 28 days... 

Since I really wanted to save money, I utilized some of the empty vials those subscription fragrances came in. I have quite a few of those in addition to the little glass bottles from ScentSplit.

As I come across other helpful info or links, I will update this page.

Peace

--Free