The Chemistry of Perfume Blog Post #4, Unit 4: Solutions and Solubility

Link to my article: http://www.chemistryislife.com/the-chemistry-of-perfume

The Chemistry of Perfume

Everyday we add a spray of perfume or cologne to make ourselves smell good. How does perfume relate to chemistry you ask? Well, I'm about to enlighten you about the making of perfume and how chemistry plays an important role in its production. During Unit 4, solutions and solubility, we looked at many topics such as dilution, characteristics of solutions, acids/bases and so much more. Perfume is mainly made up of water and ethyl alcohol. Water is the worlds most abundant universal solvent. Although water is given the title "universal solvent", it is not able to dissolve every single substance. During our class time, we learned about miscible and immiscible compounds. A miscible compound, is the compounds ability to mix with another compound to form a solution. An example of this is when ethyl and water mix readily together to form a solution for the perfume. A compound that is immiscible is unable to form a solution. This is usually describing liquids that cannot readily mix together. An example of this is water and oil, when they are mixed together they will not mix readily with one another to form a solution. This is caused because of non-polar and polar bonds. Water is highly polar, meaning it has strong oxygen-hydrogen bonds. Since ethyl is polar like water, it is able to mix readily with it, since they both contain oxygen-hydrogen bonds. Water however is not able to mix readily with oil, because water itself is polar but oil is non-polar since it contains no oxygen-hydrogen bonds. As well as oil is a hydrocarbon and hydrocarbons do not mix readily with water. The term "like dissolves like", refers to a solute being dissolved in a solvent of the same polarity. Only a non-polar solute can dissolve in a non-polar solvent and a polar solute can dissolve in a polar solvent. This is very important in the making of perfume because perfume needs a perfect solution to make the smell just right. Dilution is the process in which the concentration of solution is being reduced is this is done by adding more solvent. This helps the perfume to achieve the perfect appealing smell.

In the article, "The Chemistry of Perfume", it talks about the chemistry of making perfume. Perfume is a substance that is used on the human body to help our scent to be more appealing. The first step in making perfume is to choose the right base and a fragrance that it should be composed of. The common base for perfume is water and ethyl alcohol because they are able to mix perfectly to create a solution. Ethyl is used because it can evaporate on skin quickly. It is also used because it helps the fragrance to spread out. Water is used because it can help spread the smell of the fragrance. Perfume is dilated so that it's scent will be more appealing. Strengths of a perfume depend on how much it is diluted. The most concentrated perfume that can be bought is 15-25%. Cologne which is the least concentrated can be bought at 10%. Factors that can affect the smell of the perfume are is when the sunlight is reflected on it. Sunlight can morph out the smell of the perfume as well as the air can corrode the fragrance by oxidation. Everyone's body will respond differently to perfume. Not every perfume will have the same effect on the same person. Each person has a genetic code with different responses to smell. For example; warm vanilla sugar from bath and body works is sprayed on two individuals. On one individual, it smells just like vanilla and on the other, like cinnamon with a bit of vanilla. Fragrance chemists are the people that are responsible for making our perfume and cologne. Their job is to make different types of perfume that is appealing to specific audiences. Producing perfume can take quite a bit of time because chemists have to make perfume from scratch since it does not have a smell from a direct source.

After reading this article, I learned so many things I did not know about the making of perfume. The production of perfume is a long process. Since chemists do not have a direct source for the smell of perfume, they are responsible for producing our favourite smells in the laboratory. Each perfume has to have the perfect combination of a base, commonly water and ethyl so that the smell will be just right. Chemists can make a base of a perfume by taking it from a plant or animal. Is there another way scientist can chemically make a base without harming the environment? How will this effect the overall smell of the perfume?