Solid Perfume Development

I have been playing around with a solid perfume base using organic beeswax and jojoba oil for the past few weeks. In the tests to date I have poured the melted beeswax/jojoba into 10 gram aluminum tins, but what I am finding is that the top surface of the perfume is probably too hard, and lower down (1/3 below the surface) it is too soft.

What may be occurring here is a partial gelling effect instead of a homogeneous mixture of the beeswax and jojoba. What should be achieved in the end is homogenous mixture with a melting point that maintains good solidification at our ambient temperatures in Malaysia and at the same time maintains its structure at elevated temperatures expected in normal use.

I will have to run more tests with wider variations of the beeswax: jojoba ratio and also look more closely at my mixing regime and melting temperatures when mixing the beeswax and jojoba. Another factor may be the cooling rates after the 10-gram cans are poured.  For the for each test batch produced, we will need to try them for hardness, and meltability.

 Once the base is sorted, the next tests will involve choosing the fragrance....may be a challenge as the beeswax has a fragrance of its own!!

Dr. Mike Thair

Co-founder and Managing Director
Indochine Natural Sdn Bhd

www.indochinenatural.com 

Working on our New Solid Perfume Product

Dr. Mike Thair, our co-founder & Managing Director, is currently working on developing a new solid perfume product to be added to the Indochine Natural range.

Developing the solid base

The solid perfume base will be a blend of organic beeswax and Jojoba oil, and the challenge here is to develop a blend that is not too hard and not too soft.  A good starting point is 1 part beeswax to 2 parts Jojoba oil, and if this produces a base that is either too hard or too soft, then try another test batch with more Jojoba oil to produce a softer base, or less for something harder. Our first batches were a bit on the hard side

The photo below shows the set-up for starting a test batch for the solid base.

Blending the fragrance

Developing a new fragrance blend with essential oils for a product like this is a process that can take weeks (if we are lucky), months, or even years (Dr. Mike started on the international Nina Ferrucci range in 2011 with around 30 products and this range is now is only just being finalized).

The solid perfume base beeswax has a fragrance of its own, and the challenge then is to use essential oil fragrances that blend well with this beeswax fragrance. This requires careful selection and blending of base notes that complement the beeswax, and hopefully anchor for example citrus or floral top-notes. The result must be an attractive and appealing fragrance.

Dr. Mike has a preference for the "darker" base notes of Vetiver & Patchouli, and is experimenting with Frankincense which is a light, fleeting with an almost orangy-lemony hint that can be quite difficult to blend.

We wait patiently for the outcome.