Solvents and Additives Kit

Perfume Making Kit: Solvents and Additives

These are nine of the most useful solvents and additives for general perfumery use: full details of what’s included are below.

What you get in this kit is nine materials, 30g or 50g of each in our aluminium bottles, all contained in one of our black storage boxes.

This kit represents an exceptionally good value way to buy small amounts of some of the most widely used solvents and additives in perfumery: if you’re just starting out this is an ideal set to add to our 100 Essential Aroma Chemicals series.

Materials in the kit:

• 2-ethylhexyl salicylate – this is used as a UV stabiliser to help ensure your perfume does not deteriorate when exposed to light
• Benzyl benzoate – a useful solvent for certain traditional musks, and other difficult to dissolve materials as well as an aromatic in its own right
• BHT – one of the most effective anti-oxidants, vital for keeping citrus and other vulnerable materials fresh (comes as a powder and only 15g are included, which is loads as it’s used in tiny amounts)
• DEP – slightly out of favour now due to other phthalates being found to have harmful effects (this one doesn’t) but still very useful for difficult to handle materials
• DOA – the best solvent for most candle scents, this gives great performance and is fully miscible with most waxes
• DPG – perhaps the most common perfumery solvent, it’s sticky but otherwise a great choice for many materials
• IPM – another very common perfumery solvent, this one has fixative properties as well, excellent for highly non-polar materials
• MMB – probably the best solvent for reed diffuser use, this is also one of very few alternatives to ethanol for a sprayable liquid
• TEC – excellent for many resinoids and other solid naturals, this is a useful solvent for slightly more polar materials.