How to start formulating perfume: the first raw materials to learn

When you begin studying perfume formulation, one of the most common questions is: which raw materials should I buy first? The temptation is to build a large collection of bottles immediately: citrus materials, florals, woods, musks, spices, famous molecules, bases and naturals. But having more ingredients does not necessarily mean learning faster.

At the beginning, it is often more useful to work with a small but functionally varied palette. The goal is not to own everything needed to create any possible perfume, but to understand what happens when a material enters a formula: does it increase volume? change texture? connect two areas? soften the drydown? dominate an accord even in a small amount?

For this reason, we created a selection of 8 essential raw materials for starting perfume formulation. It is not a ready-made formula and it is not a complete professional palette. It is a teaching core designed to let you compare very different functions with a limited number of materials.

First rule: do not start with the pyramid, start with function

The olfactory pyramid — top, heart and base — is useful for describing the perceived evolution of a composition, but it is not enough for learning formulation. Two raw materials that both sit mainly in the base can perform completely different jobs: one may build woody volume, another may round the drydown, while another may support a floral accord.

For a beginner, it is therefore useful to ask of every ingredient:

• What does it smell like on its own?
• How intense is it?
• How long does it last?
• What does it change when it enters a formula?
• Which effect disappears if I remove it?

This shift — from smell to function in the formula — is what turns raw-material study into real formulation practice.

The first 8 raw materials to study

1. ISO E SUPER®: learning that a material can create space

ISO E SUPER® is an excellent teaching material because it helps you move beyond the idea that every ingredient must correspond to a clearly recognisable “note”. Its interest is not limited to its woody-amber character: in a formula it can contribute volume, softness, continuity and a sense of transparent space.

One of the most useful exercises is to compare the same small accord with and without ISO E SUPER®. Do not ask only whether you smell more “wood”. Observe whether the composition feels wider, smoother or more cohesive.

2. TIMBERSILK™: understanding that related materials are not identical

TIMBERSILK™ occupies a woody-amber space close to ISO E SUPER®, but generally gives a fuller and warmer impression. Studying the two side by side is much more instructive than memorising their descriptions separately.

Prepare two versions of the same simple accord, changing only the woody-amber material. This teaches a fundamental rule: two raw materials from the same family are not automatically interchangeable 1:1. The choice changes the architecture, not only the “colour” of the smell.

For a deeper comparison, you can also read the dedicated guide to ISO E SUPER®, TIMBERSILK™ and SYLVAMBER™ in Perfumery Guides.

3. GALAXOLIDE® PURE: studying musk as volume, not only as a note

GALAXOLIDE® PURE allows you to observe how a musk can contribute cleanliness, softness, diffusion and continuity in the drydown. A common beginner mistake is to think of musks only as an olfactory family to recognise.

In practice, a musk can also act as structural space in a formula: it changes how other materials are perceived and how the drydown unfolds over time.

4. ETHYLENE BRASSYLATE: learning by comparing two musks

ETHYLENE BRASSYLATE offers a softer, rounder musky direction. Comparing it directly with GALAXOLIDE® PURE helps you understand very early that “musk” does not describe one single effect.

A simple way to study them is to build the same small base and prepare two versions. Evaluate not only the immediate smell but also volume, softness, integration and presence after several hours.

5. BENZYL SALICYLATE: discovering the value of connecting materials

BENZYL SALICYLATE is useful because it teaches a less spectacular but essential function: bridging. Its floral-balsamic character can support floral accords and help create continuity between materials that might otherwise feel more separated.

To learn formulation, it is important to study ingredients that do not always need to “announce themselves”. A professional formula is not made only of protagonists: many materials matter precisely because they improve the relationship between other components.

6. COUMARIN: understanding how dosage changes the meaning of a raw material

COUMARIN is useful for studying an olfactory area that can move from hay and tonka toward almond-like and powdery sweetness. Working at several dosage levels helps you observe the point at which the material remains a nuance and the point at which it starts defining the character of the accord.

This exercise teaches that the olfactory description of a raw material is not a fixed destination: dosage changes function.

7. VANILLIN: distinguishing different kinds of sweetness

VANILLIN is one of the clearest references for studying vanilla-like, creamy and balsamic sweetness. Comparing it with COUMARIN is particularly useful because it shows that two materials both perceived as “sweet” can build completely different results.

Observe not only which feels sweeter, but how the texture changes: does the accord become more powdery, creamier, more gourmand, drier or more balsamic?

8. CALONE: learning respect for high-impact materials

CALONE is an excellent teaching material because it makes one of the most important lessons of formulation immediately obvious: more does not necessarily mean better.

Its marine, ozonic and aquatic character can transform an accord rapidly. Working with controlled variations helps you understand how a highly characteristic ingredient can move from accent to dominant theme.

Learning to recognise the threshold at which a material changes role is more useful than memorising a “correct” percentage found online.

Do not mix all eight materials immediately

This selection was not designed as a recipe. Using every material in the first experiment would hide exactly what you need to learn.

It is more useful to work through comparisons:

• ISO E SUPER® vs TIMBERSILK™;
• GALAXOLIDE® PURE vs ETHYLENE BRASSYLATE;
• COUMARIN vs VANILLIN;
• a small structure with and without BENZYL SALICYLATE;
• a neutral accord with progressive, controlled variations of CALONE.

This way, every exercise answers a precise question.

A simple method for studying a new raw material

1. Evaluate it on its own. Observe the opening, evolution and drydown at a concentration technically appropriate for the material.
2. Use a working dilution when useful. This can be particularly helpful for very powerful, solid or otherwise difficult-to-dose materials in small quantities.
3. Build mini-accords of 2–4 ingredients. A short structure makes the contribution of each component easier to read.
4. Run an A/B test. Keep everything identical and change only one variable.
5. Evaluate over time. Smell immediately, after several hours and again the next day.
6. Write down what you did. Record weight, percentage, exact raw material, commercial grade and observations. Without a written formula, the test is not truly repeatable.

Do you already need a balance?

If you want to learn formulation in a repeatable way, working by weight with an appropriate balance is far more useful than counting drops. Drops are not a constant unit: they vary with viscosity, dropper, temperature and material.

You do not need to make large quantities. Small, carefully weighed, numbered and documented tests teach more than large bottles prepared without control.

How large should your first palette be?

There is no universal number. Eight materials are not enough to represent all of perfumery, and this selection does not claim to do that. It deliberately leaves out many directions: citrus, green materials, more explicit florals, spices, naturals, aldehydes and many other tools.

The advantage of starting with only a few materials is that you can know them properly. When you start to predict what an ingredient will do before adding it to a formula, then expanding the palette becomes much more useful.

To understand how natural and synthetic materials can complement each other, see Natural and synthetic raw materials in perfumery: differences and why they are used together.

When should you move from 8 to 20, 50 or more materials?

Add a new ingredient when you have a specific reason: you are missing a citrus direction, a floral transparency, a green note, a natural wood, a spice, a diffusive effect or another kind of musk. In this way, the palette grows through functions and contrasts, not accumulation.

At first, it can be useful to add only one new material at a time and compare it with something you already know. This builds an organised olfactory memory.

Aroma chemicals: learning to read beyond the name of the smell

Many materials in a first palette are aroma chemicals. To understand them properly, it is not enough to associate each one with a note. ISO E SUPER® is not only “wood”, CALONE is not only “sea”, and a musk is not useful only for making a formula smell musky.

The guide Aroma chemicals: what they are and how to use them in perfumery develops this functional approach in more detail.

From study exercise to a formula intended for skin

A laboratory exercise and a cosmetic product intended for use on skin are not the same thing. When a formula becomes a finished perfume, you also need to consider final concentration, supplier documentation, allergens, applicable restrictions and safety requirements.

An IFRA value, where one applies, is not a creatively “recommended” dosage. To understand how to read limits correctly, see IFRA Category 4: how to read and calculate limits correctly.

Where should you start in practice?

You can begin with the Essential raw materials for starting perfume formulation collection, choose the materials individually and build a sequence of small exercises.

One possible progression is:

1. compare the two woody ambers;
2. compare the two musks;
3. study COUMARIN and VANILLIN separately;
4. place BENZYL SALICYLATE into a mini-accord and observe what it connects;
5. use CALONE as an exercise in dosage control;
6. finally combine some of the functions you already understand in slightly more complex accords.

Conclusion

You do not need one hundred raw materials to start formulating. You need to learn to see a formula through functions.

Eight well-studied ingredients can teach fundamental differences between volume and impact, between two different musk effects, between two kinds of sweetness, and between a protagonist material and a material that connects the structure.

The best first palette is not the one with the most bottles. It is the one in which you can explain why each material is present and what changes when you remove it.