Hi everyone!
I was doing some research on what raw materials I should get my hands on first and reading through various lists from independent perfumers, blogs, YouTube videos, and curated beginners kits offered by suppliers. I quickly realized every company and perfumer has a different set of materials they think people new to perfumery should begin with. Then… my ADHD hyperfocus kicked in and I decided I wanted to figure out if there is any consensus on certain materials or if it’s a total crapshoot. So I proceeded to create a Notion database where I tracked the frequency of times each material was recommended out of 12 total lists. Was this a waste of time? Possibly. But what can I say… sometimes I’m a mere slave to my hyperfixations 😂
So what did I learn? While there isn’t a consensus on a complete collection of raw materials for beginners, a handful of them were recommended by all or most of the companies/perfumers. There also seems to be agreement that you should familiarize yourself with both natural materials and synthetic aroma chemicals at the same time. Moreover, unsurprisingly, you should be trying out materials across all the scent categories.
This obviously is not meant to be a comprehensive shopping list for beginners, especially since there are some redundancies and the top recommendations don’t necessarily cover the breadth of scent categories. Like, for example, while florals were by far the most recommended category recommended, there wasn’t any real agreement on exactly which florals to start with (besides Hedione). But, at least this list could give you a sense of some materials you might prioritize if you’re just starting out. Also, just FYI, I’m based in the States, so the publicly available lists I was finding are just from the English speaking world (and there are probably some I missed as well), so I can imagine there might be some variance in the recommendations if I had a wider range to add to the database.
I should also point out that while some people/companies would reference a material generally (ie. “Calone”), others were very specific (ie. “Calone 1951”). I deferred to the specific materials mentioned just for convenience sake. Additionally, I categorized each material by natural vs synthetic vs base/accord as well as by their scent profile. So I suppose you can let me know if you’re looking for, say, the most commonly recommended natural materials or the florals, woods, musks, etc.
I’m curious what all of you more experienced perfumers think of this list? Are there any “must have” materials you think are missing? Anything you think is overrated and should be skipped?
- Hilary
p.s. Let me know if you want my sources and I’ll comment with all the links.
p.p.s. Yes! I included the list provided by the mods (Remi) here on this subreddit.
p.p.p.s. I’m still working on scent training my nose, so I’ve recently gotten a “Nose Training Kit” from Cirrus Parfum. I love Zoey’s work, so this was an easy place to start. Though it’s likely only available in the States, just fyi. It’s often sold out, but if you follow her Instagram she posts on restocks. https://cirrusparfum.com/products/nose-training-kit-preorder
p.p.p.p.s. Even after all this I might just say “fuck it” and order a kit from Perfumer’s Apprentice, lol
11 Mentions
- Ambroxan
- Hedione
- Iso E Super
10 Mentions
- Patchouli EO
9 Mentions
- Calone 1951
- Galaxolide
- Vanillin
8 Mentions
- Dihydro Myrcenol
- Ethyl Maltol
- Labdanum Absolute
- Vetiver (Haiti)
7 Mentions
- Bergamot Oil (FCF)
- Cedarwood EO (Virginia)
- Coumarin
- Hexenol-3-CIS
- Lemon EO
- Orange (Sweet) EO
6 Mentions
- Aldehyde C-10 (decanal)
- Gamma Undecalactone “Aldehyde” C-14 (Peach)
- Helional
- Lavender EO
5 Mentions
- Cassis 345F
- Ethyl Linalool
- Habanolide
- Jasmine Sambac (Absolute)
- Linalool
- Veramoss (Evernyl)
- Vertofix® Coeur