Perfumery is the artful combination of scents that produce a unique fragrance for an individual or brand. When the average person buys a bottle of perfume, the decision is totally subjective and can be compared to an instant, indelible attraction. Not only is there no logic attached to the purchase, there also isn’t any thought …

Tonka beans are the seeds of a large tree known as the Coumarou that is indigenous to the rainforests of Central and South America. Although highly prized for its hardwood timber, its true claim to fame lies in the intoxicating, complex fragrance of its seeds, which bear enticing notes of milky, deeply sweet vanilla …

If you’ve ever wanted to create your very own perfume or cologne line, you’ve probably asked yourself how do you begin, what are the practical steps involved, what are the costs and how do you avoid the pitfalls that others might have made throughout the process?Having created thousands of fragrances over the years …

Aldehydes and perfumery are bonded symbiotically and there is hardly a fragrance in the world that exists without them. These organic compounds are present in many natural materials, such as rose, vanilla orange rind, pine essence, citronella and cinnamon essential oils, and are the reason they are so pleasant …

Our sense of smell, which is also known as olfaction, is as old as time. It is the most primeval and mysterious of all the five senses, and more connected to human survival and evolution than the other four. It is said that a fetus in the wombstarting at about 28 weeks into a pregnancy can actually smell the same odors as the mother …

Synthetic and natural fragrances compete in the global perfume market place with all the rivalry of sparring siblings. Instead of vying for parental attention, however, the focus is on which is preferred by consumers, lasts longer, costs less etc. The issue of lower cost always makes synthetic the winner because pure compounds are often …

Perfumery is both a science and an art. Defining a quality fragrance is elusive and subjective because for some the balance of the note pyramid makes all the difference, and for others longevity, depth and complexity mark the distinction between a compelling scent and an unremarkable one. While there’s no question that the top …

Perfume has a long, colorful and very fragrant history whose origins date back to the ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt. The art was further refined by the Roman and Arab civilizations. Derived form the Latin verb, perfumare meaning: “to smoke through,” the world’s oldest surviving perfume factory was discovered in Cyprus …

It is no coincidence that two distinct art forms, namely perfumery and music, use the same terms to describe their compositions. The word, accord, represents two elements that combine to make a third; in one case, it’s a musical composition, and in the other, a unique blended fragrance. The word also indicates that mixtures …

The pervasive nature of smells is staggering to the human experience. Scents are ubiquitous and linger in the air throughout our waking hours. They are integral to the formation of youthful memories that are permanently imprinted in the mind’s eye for an entire lifetime. It has only been over the course of the last few decades …

Brands are born, developed and nurtured within the halls of our laboratories, and we love flexing the most powerful muscle in our arsenal; namely, our sense of smell. We create a vast array of exceptional scents every day that both showcase modern brands and build consumer loyalty. With a rich history of operation, an evolving …

Perfume, and its masterful creation, is almost as old as time.  In the ancient world, there were only natural fragrances laboriously extracted from essential oils and tinctures of spices and flowers. Ancient Egypt scented their tombs and their bodies; the Romans their baths, and in 2003 archaeologists discovered the oldest perfume factory known …

Each season of the year has its own unique allure and is experienced at least in part by the scents associated with it. Whether we are surrounded by brisk winter pine, aromatic spring lavender or a meadow drenched in the perfume of summer wildflowers, seasonal scents determine the moods and memories that we associate with them …

Developing a custom fragrance can be compared to creating a work of art. It involves a detailed process that incorporates consumer appeal and ultimately brand identification and loyalty. Fragrances can be bold and flirty or quiet and subtle and they can evoke any and every mood under the sun. When used in personal care products …

Do you speak perfume? If you are a champion perfume formulator, such as our masters at Alpha Aromatics, you don’t need it, but for others, a crash course in conversational perfume may well be in order. Fragrance is said to be the poetry of the gods, but the enduring allure surrounding its mysterious language is both elusive and ethereal. The decoding …

Offensive odors have plagued mankind across all of human history. They were more or less tolerated as an inescapable evil until about 200 years ago, when sewage systems, garbage collection and other control measures were institutionalized. In the U.S., as late as 1914, there were still more privies than toilets and the burning of incense …

Capturing the elusive essence of a particular brand in the form of a signature scent is no easy task and one that is best left in the care of professionals, such as our master Alpha Aromatics fragrance artists, who live, know, respect and understand both the language and power of perfume. Its allure is always …

Valentine’s Day and romance are forever linked, as are all the accompanying flourishes such as: flowers, chocolates and erotic fragrances designed to attract the opposite sex. How did this centuries old pagan holiday honoring lovers originate? Research indicates that much more is steeped in legend than secured by fact. Nevertheless, this …

What do women really want in their personal care products? The answer seems to continually haunt cosmetic, personal care I&I (Industrial and Institutional) packagers with turnkey opportunities as well as product manufacturers, mainly because the modern woman has a dynamic …

Natural and organic are two buzzwords used in product marketing that get thrown around a lot. Like most things that are overused, their true meaning somehow gets lost in the shuffle. Consider hackneyed words such as ‘cute’, which no one can really say what it means. It’s just cute …

The art of layering fragrances, which is also known as fragrance cocktailing, can be simply defined as knowing how to combine two different perfumes on top of one another in order to create an entirely new and unique aroma. Whether layering a fragrance to create a unique brand or just …

If your brand is all about opulence, there are a great many things that you can do to create a look, feel, sensation, or scent that will carry and enforce your customers’ perceptions. Scent, in particular, is increasingly being used by a growing array of businesses to heighten their …

Building a brand by using fragrance is a formidable task that demands a coalition of professional marketing skills that take years to perfect. More than one thousand new scents are launched world wide every year, and for companies such as Alpha Aromatics, creativity as well as…

To say that smell can ring a bell not only rhymes but is also true. Scent and autobiographical memory formation are forever intertwined. A summer garden, lush tropical glade, seaside breeze, steaming apple pie and a cozy fireplace all evoke recall of past and often happier times. Modern …

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, today’s consumers utilize more than 5,000 chemical fragrances in some combination in diverse products ranging from candles and diffusers, to perfume, scented lotions, soaps and deodorants. But what is …

Today, aromatherapy has taken on many therapeutic faces via the use of essential (volatile) oils derived from diverse plants for the purpose of improving the spiritual, emotional and physical well being of humans everywhere. In fact, in 2015, the global Aromatherapy and Essential Oils …

Scents and fragrances may be invisible, but they nevertheless permeate every aspect of our busy lives. In her book, the Scent of Desire, Rachel Hertz delves into the wide-ranging but almost universally underrated impact scent has on our moods, health, well-being and memory …

What do our noses really know when it comes to scent? We all are aware that they live on our faces midway between our eyes and our mouths, but how do noses know how to smell? What taught them and why? This conundrum can and should be better put and can be boiled down …

Perfume has had a glorious and sweet-smelling past that dates back to the dawn of recorded history. The word itself is Latin and derives from per meaning through and fumun or smoke. Perfumes were originally meant to emulate nature’s pleasant aromas. Natural oils were extracted from …

As an extension of our recent guide to scented candle manufacturing, we thought we’d dig a little deeper into the rich history of candle making and provide a comprehensive overview of candle use in the Victorian era. With candle manufacturing becoming an …

Reed diffusers have recently and rather rapidly grown to be become one of the best alternatives to candles, mainly because they offer wonderfully vibrant aromas and for the fire-conscious, they are absolutely flame-free. Their popularity has spread across Europe, the United States …

As the world’s only source of illumination for centuries, candle making has a rich and noble past that dates back at least 5,000 years. Candles were used in almost every culture in the ancient world but exactly which civilization was the very first to create them is information …

Some questions aren’t that easy to answer and what women want in their personal products used for bath, body, hair, cosmetics or skin care is certainly one of them. Women have dynamic tastes (and rightfully so), and yet they are also loyal to their favorite brands. How can this be explained …

Human love for fragrance is deeply rooted in millenniums of cultural and spiritual practice. The history of perfume is rich and colorful, dating back to antiquity and the glorious civilizations of China, Persia, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Ancient fragrances were usually a combination …

Choosing the best fragrance for cosmetics and personal care products can be a daunting task for the simple reason that there are so many scents available. Consumers can also be a fickle lot and change their minds about preferred scent almost as often as they change their clothes …

Perfume, Eau de Cologne, Eau Fraiche and Eau de Toilette all have historical roots, some of which may not be well known. Some very famous people down through time have indulged in these fragrances. Here are some tales of some sweet-smelling famous notables down through the …

Roger Howell, Vice President of U.S. fragrance manufacturer Alpha Aromatics, was recently profiled on the company’s website and in the company’s social media platforms. The piece focuses on his extensive career as a perfumer, and how his career path brought him to …

Roger Howell is one of the most recognized perfumer authorities in the world, using both his creative and scientific expertise to compose fragrances for thousands of grateful clients. For nearly 10 years, he has held the position as the Vice President and Chief Perfumer of Alpha Aromatics, a U.S. fragrance manufacturer …

Aromas have the power to tap into the essence of human memory. Both the manufacturers of scented candles and those who buy them seek those fragrances that erode dark thoughts and replace them with the nostalgic recall of the past; the poignancy of lost youth and the warmth of home …

At Alpha Aromatics, we like to think of ourselves as “fragrance people.” To earn that title, we have to stay on the pulse and know everything that’s going on in the fragrance world—attending conferences, talking to our colleagues around the world, and visiting with others in the industry. Our marketing …

Pittsburgh-based Alpha Aromatics Inc. displayed select pieces from its extensive collection of historical fragrance artifacts at the World Perfumery Congress in Miami Beach , Florida, June 13-15 2016. “VP and Chief Perfumer, Roger Howell explains Alpha’s decision to fully dedicate its booth space to …

Alpha Aromatics, the leading U.S. fragrance manufacturer, has introduced new spring and summer 2016 scents for all industry applications, including personal care, home, away-from-home, organic, and fine fragrances. Each scent for this line was chosen based on meticulous market research and client …