DIY education
19 September 2024 / 27 October 2024 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
Reed diffusers have become a popular method of adding fragrance to indoor spaces, offering a flame-free and low-maintenance option compared to candles or incense. One of the key components in creating an effective reed diffuser is the solvent or carrier. This liquid carries the fragrance oil through the reeds and into the air via evaporation. […]
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DIY education ingredient Making your own perfume natural
14 March 2015 / 27 July 2023 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
Tolu Balsam is a very useful natural fixative as well as a lovely base-note in its own right, but it isn’t the easiest of materials to handle. It comes from the South American tree Myroxylon balsamum. It is used to fix materials such as juniper, petitgrain, spices and florals of many kinds and frequently forms a […]
Disambiguation DIY education ingredient Making your own perfume Sticky Leather Sky
10 January 2015 / 27 July 2023 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
I thought it might be useful to do another in my occasional series of disambiguation posts about perfumery ingredients with easily confused names or equivalences. This time I’m looking at a group of similar ingredients used to create an earthy, leather note in fragrances: No quinolines in Sticky Leather Sky Isobutyl quinoline (CAS number 65442-31-1), of which […]
DIY education Making your own perfume workshops
12 December 2014 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
Following on from my post last month, I’m now able to confirm dates and location for the workshops. There are two workshops Introductory and Advanced – there are still places on the Introductory but only one place left on the Advanced: Some ingredients for the Introductory Workshop On Saturday 7th February I’ll be holding a […]
7 December 2014 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
Just one place left on this workshop! On Saturday 31st January I’m running another in my series of perfume making workshops, this one is in association with the Perfume Lovers London Meet-up Group and follows on from a talk I’m giving the previous Thursday on the use of incense notes in fragrance: you don’t have […]
DIY education equipment ingredient Making your own perfume Pell Wall in the media
13 August 2014 / 26 April 2024 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
The spread at the beginning of the article as it appeared in print on 3rd August 2014 If you want to make perfume yourself and are looking for help to get you started, this is the place. Here are links to methods, sources of ingredients, recommended equipment and advice: everything I wished I could find […]
education ingredient nature of smell news synthetic
10 August 2014 / 26 April 2024 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
The implications of a fascinating piece of new research could be widespread: Researchers at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany have found that not only are there olfactory receptors in the top layer of human skin, but have shown that a particular sandalwood odourant can trigger those receptors resulting in increased growth and migration in the surrounding cells. […]
DIY education IFRA ingredient Lily of the Valley natural synthetic
30 July 2014 / 26 April 2024 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
Mystery Perfumery has always glorified the floral and for centuries perfumers have sought ways to extract the essence from real flowers to incorporate into their creations. With many flowers this quest has met with considerable success, with a few commercially viable products produced that are still used in modern perfumery: rose and jasmine being the […]
DIY education news workshops
11 March 2014 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
Perfume Making Workshop with the Pell Wall Perfumer I’m pleased to report that, by popular demand, I will be running another perfume making workshop in London on: Saturday 31st May from 11am to 5pm at The Scent Salon Les Senteurs: 2 Seymour Place, Marble Arch, London W1H 7NA (that’s the Wigmore Street end of Seymour Place) The […]
23 August 2013 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
I’m pleased to report that following several requests I’m going to be running a workshop in London on A Perfume Making Evening in Shropshire 28th September from 11am. It will have a similar format to perfume making evenings that I’ve run before in that it is aimed at people who have never made a fragrance for […]
Disambiguation DIY education ingredient natural
19 July 2013 / 26 April 2024 by Pell Wall | 2 Comments on Natural Perfume Materials: what the terms mean
There are quite a few methods by which the aromatic principles of natural materials are made available for use in perfumery and unfortunately some of the terms used are obscure and others are sometimes mis-used. The purpose of this post is to set out the main terms used, together with definitions of widespread acceptance. In […]
education news Pell Wall in the media
8 July 2013 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
For a great day out this weekend 13th – 14th July, come along to the Shropshire Lavender Farm where I’ll be giving talks at 12.30 and 14.30 on perfume, what it is, how it’s made and what’s really in it. There will be ingredients and blends for you to smell to illustrate the talk and […]
education entertainment event Making your own perfume
17 May 2013 by Pell Wall | 3 Comments on Perfume Making Evening in Shropshire
If you are in or near Shropshire in June, how do you fancy an evening of making your own perfume? I’m running a gently educational, but mostly fun evening putting together your own fragrance on Tuesday 11th June from 6pm. At the Craft Café 2, Wellington Road, Newport, Shropshire With the Pell Wall Perfumer Three and a half […]
ambergris animal Disambiguation DIY education Making your own perfume natural synthetic
29 April 2013 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
I’ve written already about natural ambergris (also called Ambra) and mentioned there that most perfumery uses synthetic substitutes. Here I’m setting out some of those substitutes (mainly synthetic, but including some naturals) and trying to sort out some of the confusion resulting from the fact that there are so many different products with very similar names. […]
choosing and classifying fragrance DIY education Making your own perfume PWP Product synthetic
25 March 2013 by Pell Wall | 1 Comment on Introduction to Aroma Chemicals Kits
Aroma-chemicals Blending Kit by Pell Wall I’ve been asked a few times whether I have perfumery materials, especially the synthetics, available in small amounts for amateur perfumers and indeed for perfume collectors who want to learn more about what makes up the notes in their favourite perfumes. I’m often asked what I would recommend for […]
education nature of smell news
23 March 2013 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
Here is an excellent, short lecture on olfaction from perfumer and teacher Vedat Ozan where he describes how smell works and why it is so important to us as humans.
DIY education equipment FAQ Making your own perfume
1 September 2012 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
I’ve written elsewhere on this blog about what materials I recommend to start with and I’ve also talked about the single largest investment for most starting perfumers, which is good scales. What I have not covered is all the other things you are going to need in order to be able to experiment effectively with […]
education nature of smell
24 July 2012 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
Interesting article exploring how research into the way the sense of smell works has applications for wider human health. Included is a well-written explanation of the prevailing theory of how smells are perceived. Mill Hill Essays | MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London
collecting perfumes education FAQ ingredient
22 June 2012 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
A question that often seems to come up is What’s the best way to store my fragrances? So I thought I’d give some advice and the logic behind it here. Open shelves might not be the best choice to store your fragrances Heat and light are the enemies of fragrance longevity, but a bit of temporary […]
choosing and classifying fragrance education ingredient Making your own perfume natural synthetic
13 June 2012 by Pell Wall | 1 Comment on Books about Perfumes and Perfumery
There are quite a lot of books about on the subject of perfumes, perfumery and the making of perfumes and many of them are not all that helpful, so I’ve tried to gather together here some recommendations for books I’ve found to be particularly helpful or interesting. Some books from the Pell Wall Perfumes bookshelf […]
education ingredient Making your own perfume
28 May 2012 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
I thought this video presentation from Yann Vasnier was a fascinating insight into the way one perfumer came to join this odd industry and also gives a very clear idea of what it is to create a new fragrance. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.
education ingredient Jacinth Pretty in Pink
27 May 2012 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
The weather has been glorious for the last few days and the late Spring flowers are busy scenting the garden. But it was this first rose that was the surprise and makes it feel even more like summer has come early to the Pell Wall garden. It won’t be long before I’ll be able to […]
14 May 2012 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
This article from Red Orbit discusses some new research that suggests odour detection in the olfactory bulb and brain may work in a different way from that previously thought. From an evolutionary point of view this new theory seems to make good sense – it will be interesting to see whether further research supports it. […]
choosing and classifying fragrance education
10 May 2012 by Pell Wall | Leave a Comment
For those interested in wearing and using fragrances, rather than making them, and curious to know more about the industry and how to get the best out of it I would recommend Michael Edwards’ ‘Top 100 Perfume Questions’ as a great place to start. Michael himself is charming as well as highly knowledgeable about all […]
