How it's made

1. 1

   The brief

   A brand asks for a scent around an idea, a mood, a target customer and a price. Often several perfumers at different fragrance companies compete on the same brief.

2. 2

   The formula

   The perfumer (the 'nose') writes a recipe: anywhere from a dozen to a few hundred naturals and molecules, each weighed to the milligram.

3. 3

   Mods and evaluation

   The formula goes through dozens, sometimes hundreds, of versions ('mods'). Evaluators smell them on blotters and skin, in heat and cold, and compare them with competitors, until the scent holds together from top to base.

4. 4

   Safety rules (IFRA)

   IFRA, the industry body, limits or bans materials that can irritate skin or cause allergies. That is why oakmoss is now used in tiny amounts, and why some classics have been reformulated.

5. 5

   Maceration

   The finished concentrate is mixed with alcohol and left to rest for days to weeks so the materials 'marry', a bit like a stew that tastes better the next day.

6. 6

   Chilling and filtering

   The perfume is chilled so waxes and cloudy particles fall out, then filtered. This keeps it clear in the bottle, even in a cold room.

7. 7

   Bottling

   Finally it is bottled, crimped and boxed. From brief to shop shelf usually takes one to three years.

Things most people don't know

• Most designer perfumes are not made by the brand itself: fashion houses commission big fragrance companies (Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, Symrise...) whose perfumers compose them.
• A typical perfume is mostly alcohol: even an EDP is about 80% alcohol and water.
• 'Natural' does not mean better or safer: many beloved smells (lily of the valley, musks, marine notes) exist in perfume only thanks to molecules.