We all love to smell good. It not just feels good but also adds to our personality and confidence. We have many brands selling the most exotic range of fragrances to make this happen.
Perfume is not a new entity, as there are records stating the presence of fragrances as old as the Second millennium BC. But, the process of making perfume has become more refined over the years. If you are fond of perfumes, you must know how these are made. Here’s a post shedding light on the process of making perfume.
The Perfume Manufacturing Process
There are many steps involved in making a perfume, such as:
- Ingredients collection
- Extraction of oils
- Blending
- Aging
- Quality Control
Making a perfume is similar to making fine wine, as both take a lot of work and time.
The basic technique of making perfume has remained the same but has been fine-tuned over the years.
Ingredients
Many perfume manufacturers make their scents by extracting oil from natural ingredients. This oil is scented and works as the primary ingredient. The oil can be extracted from wood, fruits, plants, and other natural sources. Some makers also add coal, tar, and alcohol to the perfume manufacturing process.
Some scents are not available in nature or as essential oils. In that case, synthetic chemicals are used to produce the scent. Nowadays, many bestselling perfumes come with these chemically produced and hard-to-find scents. So you can say that it is these manmade scents that make a fragrance rare.
Extraction
Extraction is an important step in perfume manufacturing, as the oils are taken out from natural ingredients. Manufacturers use some of these ways to extract oil:
- Solvent extraction – Plants and other ingredients are put into rotating drums and covered with benzene or petroleum ether. While the parts of the plants dissolve in the liquid, the remaining substance has the oil. The next step involves dissolving the leftover substance in ethyl alcohol and burning it to get perfume oil.
- Steam distillation – In this process, natural materials are placed still till they are extracted. Then, the substance derived from extraction is passed through tubes, cooled, and liquified.
- Enfleurage – In this process, flowers and other ingredients are placed on large glass sheets that are coated with grease. The next step involves placing the sheets in tiers between wooden frames. The final step is to move flowers by hand and replace them till grease absorbs the fragrance.
- Expression – A simple method that has been in practice for years. Extraction is mainly used to extract citrus oil. The plant is pressed until the oil is extracted.
- Maceration – This process is similar to Enfleurage, but warmed-up fats are used in place of grease to absorb the fragrance.
Blending
All the extracted oils are blended accordingly to the formula created to prepare a particular fragrance. Animal substances are also used in this step as these enable the perfume to last for a longer duration while editing the odors.
Water and alcohol both are used for dilution in the perfume. If a perfume has more essential oil, it will be more expensive.
Aging
To ensure that proper scent is made, perfumes are aged for months and longer tenure. Another reason for aging is to ensure that all the notes blend together.
Quality Control
The last step of perfume manufacturing is quality control, and it is perhaps the most crucial one. Quality control determines that perfume doesn’t have any banned harmful products or ingredients.
Why are Some Perfumes More Expensive than Others?
The market is flooded with fragrances available at the different price ranges. But what differentiates an expensive perfume from a cheaper one. The answer is the extraction process, blending, and aging. Ingredients and oils that are rare to find make a fragrance expensive.
How to Get Better Deals on Perfumes?
If you are looking for a good perfume, we recommend you to buy perfume online. There are many stores where you can buy perfume online in UAE, which promise authentic products at competitive prices. Moreover, you will find a lot of options for every budget. So, it makes sense to shop for fragrances online as it saves your money and time.
