A classical aldehyde perfume

Around 1920, a revolution took place in the world of perfume. Although modern aromatic chemicals were already being used in higher concentrations in more avant-garde perfumes, things really took off from the 1920s onwards: nitromusks, lily-of-the-valley molecules, ionones and other substances were used increasingly. The use of linear aldehydes gave rise to a completely new fragrance group: aldehydic perfumes.

The recipe we provide here is for just such an aldehydic perfume. At the time, it was ultra-modern, but now we consider it classical. Perfumes like this are still made and used, over time we may find they are timeless.

A classical aldehyde perfume

First prepare the fragrance composition by dripping the following substances into a glass beaker or bottle. The first is the number of drops, followed by the substance and, where applicable, the dilution. Example “25 – Coumarin 10% in DPG” means: put 25 drops of a 10% solution of coumarin in DPG in the beaker.

25 – Coumarin 10% in DPG
10 – Ethylene Brassylate
6 – Isoraldeine 95 (Giv) Methyl Ionone
5 – Mayol (Fir)
4 – EO Ylang ylang complete (org)
4 – Linalool
4 – Phenylethyl Alcohol
4 – Rosa Hex 2 base
3 – EO Bergamot FCF (org)
3 – Benzyl Acetate
3 – Benzyl Salicylate
3 – Vanillin 25% in DPG
3 – Amyl cinnamal
2 – Auralva (IFF) aurantiol 10% in DPG
2 – Methylisoeugenol
2 – Muscenone (Fir)
2 – Ambrettolide
2 – Cetalox (Fir) 10%
2 – Oakmoss abs 5% in DPG
2 – Labdanum res 45% in TEC
1 – Aldehyde C10 10% in DPG
1 – Aldehyde C11 Undecylene 10% in DPG
1 – Aldehyde C12 MNA 10% in DPG
1 – Cinnamyl Acetate
1 – Civette Synth (Fir) 10% in DPG
1 – Ionone alpha
1 – EO Patchouli 50% in DPG
1 – EO Sandalwood white
1 – Vetiveryl Acetate

After you have mixed these 100 drops together you can make a perfume by adding 20-30 ml of Cosmetic Hair Water. Anything stronger can increase the risk of an allergic reaction. Stir well and put in a suitable bottle.

Due to the high percentage of aldehydes, this perfume needs a long maturation time: at least 2 months, preferably a little longer. Until it is sufficiently matured, the aldehyde smell will be strongly predominant.