Glossary of Perfumes Speciality Raw Materials and Bases Perfumes
The products in this list may not all still be available. The products in this list may not all still be available. Specialty Chemicals and Derivatives Continued
Functional Groups and their Relation to Odor
A functional group may be defined as a group of atoms, part of a larger molecule, whose bonds have a characteristic chemical behavior. In whatever molecule it occurs the group will behave in approximately the same way. The classification of chemical substances is based on the functional groups that they contain. Examples of such groups are double bonds, the aldehydes, alcohols, and esters. A list of the more important of these, together with their nomenclature and chemical formulas, is given in...
Chemical Structure and Volatility
As a general rule the larger the molecular size that is, the higher the number of carbon atoms the lower is the volatility of the compound. For example, the monoterpenes C10 are more volatile, and therefore less persistent, than the sesquiterpenes C15 . However, the presence in a molecule of a functional group containing oxygen has the result of greatly reducing the volatility. For example, the three hydrocarbons, ethane C2, a gas , benzene C6 , and cedrene C15 , are all very much more volatile...
Compatibility with the Container
In the experiments by Burrell 1974 with superfatted soap and laundry detergent it was apparent that although chemical instability was observed in some instances, a far more general cause of odor loss in products whose packaging is odor permeable is the evaporation of perfume components. The vapor pressures given in Tables 13.1-13.3 can serve as a general indicator of the risk of loss by evaporation. Burrell actually measured the retention of perfume materials applied to a commercial detergent...
Acknowledgments
The writing of this book has been supported in numerous ways by our colleagues at Dragoco and by the company's management. To them we owe our sincere gratitude. Without wanting to depreciate the contribution of the others, we should like to give special thanks to Dr. Hans-Ulrich Warnecke for his critical reading of Chapter 17, and to the perfumers who by their work on the great perfumes have provided a great deal of the substance of Chapter 12. Our thanks are due to Frank Rittler for much of...
Color Stability
In addition to instability manifested by odor changes, there is also perfume instability that results in color changes. These are particularly bothersome in light-colored soap bars but may also cause problems in products such as creams and lotions, deodorant sticks, and shampoos. Usually they involve a progressive darkening from colorless through yellow to brown tones, although instances of reddish discolorations are also known e.g., by indole . The most important perfume materials that often...
Calandre and Rive Gauche
Calandre was created in 1968 to reflect the metallic theme used at that time by Paco Rabanne in his fashion designs. Although it follows the same general pattern as Madame Rochas, both the rose and muguet notes show interesting developments. The use of rose oxide and diphenyl oxide in combination with geranium, nerol, and geranyl acetate as part of the rose complex provides much of the metallic character. Although the comparatively simple representation of the muguet aspect of the perfume is...
Compatibility with the Product
Compatibility is, in a sense, the reverse side of stability. While stability is a question of the effects of the medium on the perfume, compatibility has to do with the effects of the perfume upon the medium. Ideally the perfume has no effect whatsoever upon the product base. Special care in perfume formulation may be required to achieve or approach this ideal. In products containing inherently unstable oxidizing agents such as hypochlorites or peroxides, perfume components may accelerate the...
Paris
In Paris there is again a close similarity to the structure of L'Air du Temps, but in this case with violet and rose as the dominant florals. An important innovation has been the use of Iso E Super 6 as the main woody material, forming an accord with the musk complex and methyl ionone 10 . Methyl ionone is one of the most versatile materials used in perfumery. Although it occurs in a number of different isomeric forms see Appendix D , the qualities most widely used today are either the gamma...
Vanderbilt
Another perfume that may be included in the sweet floral family, and that has enjoyed great success in the United States, is Vanderbilt, created in 1981. Built around a combination of fresh citrus top notes, orange blossom, and tuberose, Hedione, methyl ionone, heliotropin, vanillin, and musk ketone, with iso E super coming in as the woody note, it lacks much of the heavy floral sweetness of the other perfumes in the group, lacking most of the eugenol with little or no ylang or coumarin. Of...
Opium
Although the influence of Youth Dew can be seen in Dioressence 1970 , it was not until 1977, with the launch of Opium by Yves St. Laurent, that the oriental theme was further developed in a perfume of major importance, which was in turn to provide the inspiration for the creation of a number of subsequent fragrances within the genre. In Opium the two types of oriental, represented by Youth Dew and Shalimar, are brought together by the combination of the mellis and ambreine accords. Again there...
Hostile Bases and Stability Testing
As has already been mentioned, many of the functional products with which perfumers are concerned are weakly or strongly hostile toward a wide range of perfumery materials. Household products such as bleaches are powerfully alkaline, whereas those that remove limescale are strongly acidic. Modern detergent powders contain active ingredients that present perfumers with yet another set of problems. Liquid detergents may selectively lower the volatility and thus the performance of different...
The Use of Bases
Bases may be thought of as the prefabricated building blocks of perfumery. They may be as simple as an accord between three or four materials or nearly as complicated as a complete perfume. A base should have a well-defined character, since it is an essential structural element of the perfume's composition. Perfumers vary widely in the extent to which they use bases in the creation of their perfumes. Some regard the making of bases as one of the most important aspects of their creative work....
The Balance Between Simplicity and Complexity
As we saw in an earlier chapter, many of the most beautiful fragrances that occur in nature, for example, those of flowers, are made up of a combination of hundreds of individual ingredients. Of these comparatively few make up the main structure of the oil, while all the other ingredients make up the small remaining part. This balance between simplicity and complexity appears also to play an essential part in the structure of a well-made perfume that has both identity and that indefinable...