When it is thought that all the odors have been placed, a test is made by preparing a mixture according to the recipe resulting from the trial.
Not pure oils, always alcoholic dilutions in a certain ratio should be used, in order not to disturb the task by a surplus of the different varieties, since it is easy to add more, but impossible to take away.
It is true this method requires patience, perseverance, and a fine sense of smell. One smelling test should not be considered sufficient, but the glasses should be carried to the nose as often as possible.
Fixing Agents In Perfumes.
Musk is depressing, and its use in cologne in even the minutest quantity will spoil the cologne. The musk lingers after the lighter odors have disappeared, and a sick person is pretty sure to feel its effects. Persons in vigorous health will not notice the depressing effects of musk, but when lassitude prevails these are very unpleasant. Moreover, it is not a necessity in these toilet accessories, either as a blending or as a fixing agent. Its place is better supplied by benzoin for both purposes.
As to alcohol, a lot of nonsense has been written about the necessity of extreme care in selecting it, such as certain kinds requiring alcohol made from grapes and others demanding extreme purification, etc. A reasonable attention to a good quality of alcohol, even at a slight increase in cost, will always pay, but, other things being equal, a good quality of oils in a poor quality of alcohol will give far better satisfaction than the opposite combination. The public is not composed of exacting connoisseurs, and it does not appreciate extreme care or expense in either particular. A good grade of alcohol, reasonably free from heavy and lingering foreign odors, will answer practically all the requirements.
General Directions For Making Perfumes.
Seeds, pods, bark rhizomes, etc., should be cut up in small pieces or powdered.
Perfumes improve by storing. It is a good plan to tie over the mouth of the containing vessel some fairly thick porous material, and to allow the vessel to stand for a week or two in a cool place, instead of corking at once.
It is perhaps unnecessary to add that as large a quantity as possible should be decanted, and then the residue filtered. This obviously prevents loss by evaporation. Talc or kieselguhr (amorphous SiO2) are perhaps the best substances to add to the filter in order to render liquid perfumes bright and clear, and more especially necessary in the case of aromatic vinegars.