What alcohol to use for perfume
Use perfumer's alcohol: ethanol of about 95 percent strength, usually denatured, with no smell of its own once it has evaporated. It dissolves almost every aromatic material, lifts the top notes off the skin and then disappears. Vodka, rubbing alcohol and pharmacy spirits all fall short in ways you can smell.
What is perfumer's alcohol?
High-purity ethanol, typically 95 to 96 percent, the rest water. It is almost always denatured: a small amount of a bitter or unpleasant additive makes it undrinkable, which removes the beverage tax that would otherwise make it expensive. Fragrance-grade denatured alcohol uses denaturants chosen not to smell, such as denatonium benzoate, so the perfume smells of the formula and not of the additive. In the PerfuMate catalog it is Perfumer's ethanol.
Some suppliers sell "perfumer's alcohol" as a blend with a small share of a glycol or a fixative already in it. That is not wrong, but it changes the formula, so read the label and write the additive into your formula as a material.
Can I use vodka?
Not for a real perfume. Most vodka is 40 percent alcohol and 60 percent water, and many perfume materials do not dissolve in that much water. The result turns cloudy, separates, throws a film on top, or simply smells weaker than the same concentrate in proper alcohol, because the insoluble part never reaches the air. Water also slows evaporation, so the opening feels damp instead of bright. A very light citrus cologne can tolerate some water; almost nothing else can.
What about rubbing alcohol or isopropyl alcohol?
No. Isopropyl alcohol has a harsh, medical smell that sits over the top notes, and it is not meant for leaving on skin. Pharmacy "surgical spirit" often carries other denaturants with smells of their own. Anything sold for cleaning should stay away from the bench.
Does it need to be 99 percent pure?
No. Anhydrous ethanol works, but 95 to 96 percent is the standard carrier of fine fragrance and dissolves the same materials. The small share of water is normal and helps some materials open up. What matters more is that the alcohol is clean: no smell of its own, no sediment, and a closed bottle, because ethanol takes up water from the air.
How much alcohol goes into a perfume?
Most of it. An eau de parfum is roughly 15 to 20 percent concentrate, so 80 to 85 percent of the bottle is alcohol; an eau de toilette carries more. Weigh the alcohol like every other material: about 0.8 g per ml, so a 30 ml bottle holds about 24 g. The oil to alcohol ratio page works the numbers for each concentration.
Why is my perfume cloudy after adding alcohol?
Usually water, cold or a material that does not stay dissolved: a resin, a wax from an absolute, a crystal added at too high a share. Let it rest, then chill it for a day and filter it through a paper filter. A haze that comes back at room temperature points at a material, not at the alcohol. Why a perfume smells of alcohol covers the other side of the same problem.
Can I make perfume without alcohol?
Yes, as a perfume oil. Jojoba oil, Fractionated coconut oil (MCT) and Isopropyl myristate carry a concentrate without evaporating. The perfume sits closer to the skin and opens more slowly, because nothing lifts the top notes. How to make perfume oil.
Is perfumer's alcohol safe to handle?
It is flammable: keep it away from flames, hobs and sparks, and work in a ventilated room. Store it sealed, upright and out of reach of children. Denatured alcohol is poisonous to drink by design.
In PerfuMate, perfumer's alcohol is a catalog material marked as a solvent: the Scale sheet works out how much of it a bottle needs at any strength, and the IFRA check reads it as the carrier, not as part of the concentrate. The same happens on the free IFRA calculator. Start a formula, free.