Foolproof Blending

FRAGRANCE BASICS

The building blocks of fragrance are called  "notes" or " accords".

For our purposes, the terms mean the same thing: the smallest combination of ingredients that represents an identifiable, usable smell.  For simplicity, we will just refer to them as notes.

Notes have special characteristics: they express their scented nature immediately, and do not change over time.  All Demeter fragrances are notes: they express their nature immediately, and do not change over time.  It is this simplicity and familiarity that make Demeter scents ideal for everyday. 

Notes that are the ingredients that a master perfumer uses to make more complex prestige fragrances, whether designer, celebrity or artisanal. By "complex", we generally mean:

1.  Fragrances that contain many different notes and ingredients, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, and;

2. Fragrances whose smell changes over time.  Different notes express their scent after different periods of time. The "dry down", or changes in complex scents that we experience, are the different notes naturally expressing themselves at after different lengths of time.

The Traditional Approach to Categorizing Notes

Historically, notes into three broad categories:

Top 

Middle

Base

A complex fragrance is normally made up of notes from each of the three groups, and unfolds over time.

Top notes: These are expressed immediately on the application of a perfume, and evaporate quickly. Top notes form the initial impression of a perfume.

Middle notes: Also known as "Heart" of a complex fragrance, these emerge just prior to the dissipation of the top note. These notes form the main body of a perfume,  and in complex blends, they mask the occasional unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant as they mellow over time. 

Base notes: These appear close to the departure of middle notes, and form the main theme of a complex fragrance. Base notes bring depth to a complex blend.

FRAGRANCE FAMILIES

Fragrance families are a way to classify individual fragrances into groups based on their olfactory characteristics. These classifications are to help people find fragrances they might like, even when they may not be able to smell the fragrance; you know what smells you like.  But like many industries, fragrance has built up a mysterious jargon, with fragrance families with names like Chypre and Aromatic, that may not be helpful to understanding what something smells like, or how it blends.

CREATING YOUR SIGNATURE SCENT

At Demeter, we have created our own Fragrance Families in familiar, understandable language; no jargon here, so you can easily understand which categories of smells appeal to you.  

Fragrances within the same family will almost always will blend well together.   So if you like Green fragrances, mixing together several variations from within that family will create your own unique Signature Scent in the Green olfactory space that you know you already love.  And so too within all Fragrance Families.

You can also create more complex blends by combining fragrances from different families. And while there is value to using the Top/Middle/Bottom note construction, at Demeter we have created a different approach, to make blending simpler and easier.

UNIVERSAL BLENDING CATEGORY

            Clean

            Fruity

            Citrus

            Water

FRAGRANT HEART CATEGORY

            Edible

            Chocolate

            Vanilla

            Coffee & Tea

            Florals (light & heavy)

            Spices

BASE ACCENTS CATEGORY

            Incense

            Leather

            Tobacco

            Woody

            Earthy

Universal fragrances will combine well with each other and almost anything else. Both Fragrant Hearts and Base Accents will blend well with Universal scents-bit they will NOT always work well with each other. They might; but they might not…

Blending Tips

Combine. Experiment. Blend.

Now anyone can fully express themselves in scent. Using Demeter's
Library as your fragrance palette, you can design and blend your own custom scent
by combining Demeter Fragrances directly on the skin or in a Blending Bottle

"Perfume is like a personal signature, which is why I like to mix my own.”
~ Christian Dior T

Tip # 1

There are no rules.
Simply select your favorite scents. Combine. Experiment. Blend.

Tip #2

• Try combining different fragrances from with a single fragrance FAMILY
• Try combining different fragrances from within a single fragrance CATEGORY
• Try combining fragrances between the FRAGRANT HEART category and UNIVERSAL category
• Try combining fragrances between the BASE ACCENTS category and UNIVERSAL category

Experiment with different fragrance combinations and proportions
Even the order that you apply the fragrances to the skin will affect the
final fragrance

Tip #3

See Tip #1

The creation, categories, families and rules are simply designed to make blending less daunting and scary. The Beauty Industrial Complex has made fragrance mysterious and confusing when it does not have to be. At Demeter, we want to cut through all that history and help you create you own Signature Scent,, with only the smells you love, and none of the ones you do not.

Tip #4

• Spray each fragrance on separate paper strips. Combine strips and smell in
  various sequences until you find the scent you want to use on your skin.
• Use multiple strips of a single fragrance to play with different concentrations

Foolproof Blending

Demeter users tend to be less structured and more free flowing about their fragrance experience than people who wear prestige scents exclusively. But we understand that does not mean that free form blending is for everyone. Some people are more comfortable with guardrails. And for those people, we have created Foolproof Blending Stories, a breakthrough to creating your own Signature Scent.

A Foolproof Blending Story is a collection of fragrances designed to elicit a particular kind of emotional response.  So a Foolproof Blending Story may be about a feeling, like Happy or Sexy, or a seasonal collection, like Spring.

The fragrances are curated for each collection because they can be combined or mixed in any combination or proportion, and smell fantastic!  As long as you choose fragrances within one of these Foolproof Blending Stories, you will have no problem whatsoever creating you own Signature Scent, whether you do so by layering fragrances directly on skin, o using Demeter’s Tool Kit, which includes your own natural spray Blending Bottle.