Ask the Perfumer - Sunday, September 9, 2012, - until 10 PM EST
I'll be here until 10 PM ET to answer your questions about perfumery, and in the meantime read my update, below, including a giveaway of my latest launch, Patchouli Silk!
This has been my laziest summer ever! Now it's time to get seriously back into the perfumery world. I'll have Prima Rosa, a perfume, to release in October. I may only release one perfume a year, because that pace, to me, seems "right". I will be releasing Room Candy, my line of 100% organic and natural room fragrance wax tarts, later this month, as soon as the packaging is finalized. The response from my newsletter readers who received samples of Room Candy has been very positive, with kudos for "long lasting", "the scent fills my big house" and "love the fragrance".
Now, for a surprise - luxury bar soap! The first soap launched will be Patchouli Silk. 100% natural, exceptionally creamy and yes, it feels silky and will leave your skin silky - and perfumed with patchouli, myrrh sandalwood, liatris and sweet woodruff. Liatris and sweet woodruff are both herbs with a vanilla/coumarin/sweet hay fragrance. They're in herb form in the soap, for a gentle exfoliating texture.
The first five readers who respond to this blog post - on the blog, not Facebook - will receive bars of the Patchouli Silk. :-) Email me privately with your addresses via http://anyasgarden.com/contact.htm
This has been my laziest summer ever! Now it's time to get seriously back into the perfumery world. I'll have Prima Rosa, a perfume, to release in October. I may only release one perfume a year, because that pace, to me, seems "right". I will be releasing Room Candy, my line of 100% organic and natural room fragrance wax tarts, later this month, as soon as the packaging is finalized. The response from my newsletter readers who received samples of Room Candy has been very positive, with kudos for "long lasting", "the scent fills my big house" and "love the fragrance".Now, for a surprise - luxury bar soap! The first soap launched will be Patchouli Silk. 100% natural, exceptionally creamy and yes, it feels silky and will leave your skin silky - and perfumed with patchouli, myrrh sandalwood, liatris and sweet woodruff. Liatris and sweet woodruff are both herbs with a vanilla/coumarin/sweet hay fragrance. They're in herb form in the soap, for a gentle exfoliating texture.
The first five readers who respond to this blog post - on the blog, not Facebook - will receive bars of the Patchouli Silk. :-) Email me privately with your addresses via http://anyasgarden.com/contact.htm
Haha. Anya it doesn't sound like a lazy summer to me. Obviously your brain was hard at work even if your hands were a little more idle than normal.
ReplyDeleteRachel
I would love to try your soap! I love natural luxury soaps and can't wait to see yours. I am also anxious to try out your Room Candy when it becomes available - this sounds like something I have been looking for for a long time! Thanks for all your great advice over the years. I always look forward to hearing what's up at Anya's Garden!
ReplyDeletePatchouli is one of my favorite eo's. I'd love to try your soap.
ReplyDeleteYour soap sounds amazing - I really, really LOVE patchouli! I need to learn more about liatris and sweet woodruff, those sound like great pairings with patchouli.
ReplyDeleteHi I am trying to figure out how to determine pricing for my eo creations. since there is such a huge difference in cost from one eo to the other and in viscosity and other factors how does one make sure that you're charging enough for something to cover your costs plus profit?
ReplyDeleteThanks for this giveaway! I would love to try the new soap. Patchouli is one of my favorite scents, and the liatris and sweet woodruff sound like beautiful additions.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm late to the draw but I just wanted to say, this soap sounds heavenly!
ReplyDeletexoxoA
Your soap sounds unusual and gorgeous...
ReplyDeleteI’m trying to standardize all my material by diluting them to 20%. First, is that advisable? Even with the citrus oils?
ReplyDeleteSecond, if I have 2 grams of material X would I put it in 10 grams of alcohol or 8 grams of alcohol to make the 20% dilution? Maybe this is the easiest question in the world but for some reason it’s stumping me.
Once I do have the 20% dilution and I’m making a blend using the drop method, would 5 diluted drops then equal 1 concentrated drop. Thanks for the help and can't wait for Prima Rosa.
My lazy summer continues! I played all day, and just am getting to answer the questions now. All five winners of the Patchouli Soap will receive their lathery goodness in two weeks or so, after I finalize the packaging. Maybe earlier if I realize the packaging is going to take some time. It's such an incredibly wonderful Autumn/Winter scent that lingers, I'm sure you'll love it!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Anya
Dear HR:
ReplyDeleteyou aksed: Hi I am trying to figure out how to determine pricing for my eo creations. since there is such a huge difference in cost from one eo to the other and in viscosity and other factors how does one make sure that you're charging enough for something to cover your costs plus profit?
Your question and the other one asked today are needing a complex response that is beyond the scope of a Sunday forum, but I'll try to help you the best I can.
Pricing is tricky. There are so many factors that enter into it besides the cost of materials. There's R&D, labor, packaging, insurance, website maintenance, marketing, wholesale pricing, retail pricing, etc. etc.
So, if you can roughly estimate what the costs of those expenses are, and you know the cost of each milliliter or gram of your product, you still need to look at comparable. Research what comparable products are going for on other websites and in stores.
It's actually a bit of a shortcut to figure out the rough estimates mentioned above. The market dictates the value, and you'll see if your product is in the ballpark. If you're using all-natural or organic, make sure you factor that in the comparables.
Sorry I couldn't give you a cut-and-dry answer, such as "sell your 5ml perfume for x". You have to do a lot of the figuring out on your own. I recommend you use an Excel spreadsheet for keeping track of raw material expenses for every products, including bottles and labels.
HTH,
Anya
Hi Suzy:
ReplyDeleteYou asked:
I’m trying to standardize all my material by diluting them to 20%. First, is that advisable? Even with the citrus oils?<
I standardize the majority of oils on my perfume organ to 10%. Still, some very assertive oils, like galbanum or lemon myrtle can be diluted down to 3%. I don't do that, I just work with ratios when I'm blending, so maybe only 1 drop of the lemon myrtle is used. Even the light oils, like citrus, or copaiba balsam, are diluted to 10%. Play with this method, it's been very successful for me, the French schools who pioneered it, and many others.
Second, if I have 2 grams of material X would I put it in 10 grams of alcohol or 8 grams of alcohol to make the 20% dilution? Maybe this is the easiest question in the world but for some reason it’s stumping me.<
Pretty easy! 2 g aromatic in 8 g alcohol. 10% dilution is 1g to 9g. Now you have the basis of the percentages, you can do the 3% ;-)
Once I do have the 20% dilution and I’m making a blend using the drop method, would 5 diluted drops then equal 1 concentrated drop. Thanks for the help and can't wait for Prima Rosa.<
Ok, this confuses me a little, maybe because it's late. I hope you're using the drop method for making the mods, and the weight (specific gravity) method for making the actual perfume. Please switch off the drop method for making perfumes if that's what you're doing! You will waste time and energy and money and get poor results over time.
I've seen this a lot of wonderful new perfumers, and I'm thinking of offering a short version of my course, covering just this, for them. Measuring by drops, or teaspoons, or other volume measures is something I hope all perfumers leave behind. I hope I'm not coming across too pedantic, but I have a mission to upgrade the skills of perfumers. I might not have it all perfectly figured out, but I do have 98% figured out, and I know 100% that drops are not the way to go in making perfumes.
xoxo,
Anya
Anya, your response is greatly appreciated. Please let us know if and when you decide to offer the course you mentioned. The logistics are what tie me down sometimes and I'd really like to have a precise and scientific way of being accurate.
ReplyDeleteThanks again,
Suzy
I agree with Suzy! Being dyslexic math is not easy to say the least, my brain literally clouds over. Luckily I'm very visual and have a great sense of space and smell!
ReplyDelete