How to capture and recreate a specific scent?
October 28, 2011 7:20 PM Subscribe
A friend and I are trying to create a product with a very particular scent. Our Google skills have failed. Is there a company that does this? More inside.
We want to make a scented candle that smells like a freshly-opened pack of Magic the Gathering cards. It might make a fun Kickstarter project or nerd gift. Is there a company that can create a specific scent like that?
We want to make a scented candle that smells like a freshly-opened pack of Magic the Gathering cards. It might make a fun Kickstarter project or nerd gift. Is there a company that can create a specific scent like that?
Yeah, you'd need a really good perfumer, someone like this.
posted by Lutoslawski at 7:32 PM on October 28, 2011
posted by Lutoslawski at 7:32 PM on October 28, 2011
I came in to recommend the folks Lutoslawski linked to.
I noticed a shop recently while driving around LA, called Jitterbug Perfume Parlor. According to this blog, the Master Blender is named Kenra Hart.
posted by jbenben at 7:47 PM on October 28, 2011
I noticed a shop recently while driving around LA, called Jitterbug Perfume Parlor. According to this blog, the Master Blender is named Kenra Hart.
posted by jbenben at 7:47 PM on October 28, 2011
You might be able to hire a contract analytical chemist to figure out what the card is made of. Or you could try investigating who actually manufacturers the cardstock and ink that makes up a Magic card. You might have to come up with some clever stories to extract that info, though.
A candle may not be the vehicle of choice for such a specific smell, because burning things in wax changes the scent. There is a reason perfumes and colognes are much more complex and nuanced than scented candles. For this reason a mister/evaporator may work better for your purposes.
posted by blargerz at 7:52 PM on October 28, 2011
A candle may not be the vehicle of choice for such a specific smell, because burning things in wax changes the scent. There is a reason perfumes and colognes are much more complex and nuanced than scented candles. For this reason a mister/evaporator may work better for your purposes.
posted by blargerz at 7:52 PM on October 28, 2011
I've done a ton of online research into fragrance suppliers because I make soaps and lotions, and for your particular request, I would try The Good Scents Company. They seem geeky enough to be able to do what you want, and laid back enough to maybe be willing to deal in the (to them) relatively small quantity you'll require.
posted by MexicanYenta at 9:24 PM on October 28, 2011
posted by MexicanYenta at 9:24 PM on October 28, 2011
The BBC did a 4-episode show on perfume, the second of which ("Bottling the Memory") was about Christopher Brosius (the fellow whose store/website Lutoslawski linked to) working with a client to create a fragrance that would evoke exactly the feeling and mood the client wanted.
(Favorite moment: second segment, 7:21. "Yay!" And I swear, I could quite happily listen to Christopher Brosius read the tax code aloud.)
posted by Lexica at 5:26 PM on October 29, 2011
(Favorite moment: second segment, 7:21. "Yay!" And I swear, I could quite happily listen to Christopher Brosius read the tax code aloud.)
posted by Lexica at 5:26 PM on October 29, 2011
This would be the best scent EVER, oh my god. I love that smell.
You usually extract scent fom something (well, most somethings) by soaking them in carrier oil, then straining the oil; the oil will have the scent. Sometimes you have to strain and soak new material in the same oil multiple times before the scent is strong enough. So you could try buying a few booster packs and throwing all the commons in some almond oil, and removing them the next day. You may also end up with a lot of dye in the oil, though. If it doesn't work you could try ripping the cards up first and then soaking them, but you may get a ripped cardstock smell in there.
If you decide to do this, and the oil does pick up the scent, you could then make a soap, perfume, or candle from it relatively easy (well, a cold process soap would be easy, anyway). I agree that a candle may not give off the scent well; even with a strong scent of new Magic Cards that turns out not to degrade when burned, the scent of a burning wick will probably overpower it. If you're looking to scent a room, you could spray the perfume or make a room spray -- really a diluted perfume, sometimes with some water in it. To make a strong perfume, you would just dilute the oil down in Everclear or vodka (or perfumer's alcohol) so the oil is 30% of the mix, or for the sake of simplicity, two parts alcohol to one part oil. Then you would dilute it down with more alcohol if you think it's too strong.
Making a candle is crazy easy if you have the scent oil, but I haven't done it since I was a kid. There are good tutorials out there, though. You could also get wax crystals in the Magic Card colors and make some cool designs, or make a small candle of each color and place them on a tray mimicing the color wheel on the back of the cards. I would be curious to know if the scent holds and projects well.
This is all assuming the oil pulls out the scent satisfactorily, though. Some things cannot have their scent taken by oil very well.
Man, I'm really tempted to try this...
posted by Nattie at 12:25 PM on October 30, 2011
You usually extract scent fom something (well, most somethings) by soaking them in carrier oil, then straining the oil; the oil will have the scent. Sometimes you have to strain and soak new material in the same oil multiple times before the scent is strong enough. So you could try buying a few booster packs and throwing all the commons in some almond oil, and removing them the next day. You may also end up with a lot of dye in the oil, though. If it doesn't work you could try ripping the cards up first and then soaking them, but you may get a ripped cardstock smell in there.
If you decide to do this, and the oil does pick up the scent, you could then make a soap, perfume, or candle from it relatively easy (well, a cold process soap would be easy, anyway). I agree that a candle may not give off the scent well; even with a strong scent of new Magic Cards that turns out not to degrade when burned, the scent of a burning wick will probably overpower it. If you're looking to scent a room, you could spray the perfume or make a room spray -- really a diluted perfume, sometimes with some water in it. To make a strong perfume, you would just dilute the oil down in Everclear or vodka (or perfumer's alcohol) so the oil is 30% of the mix, or for the sake of simplicity, two parts alcohol to one part oil. Then you would dilute it down with more alcohol if you think it's too strong.
Making a candle is crazy easy if you have the scent oil, but I haven't done it since I was a kid. There are good tutorials out there, though. You could also get wax crystals in the Magic Card colors and make some cool designs, or make a small candle of each color and place them on a tray mimicing the color wheel on the back of the cards. I would be curious to know if the scent holds and projects well.
This is all assuming the oil pulls out the scent satisfactorily, though. Some things cannot have their scent taken by oil very well.
Man, I'm really tempted to try this...
posted by Nattie at 12:25 PM on October 30, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Honestly any company who is going to manufacture something for you will expect you to have the exact specifications of what you need, so you need to have it narrowed down as far as possible before you get to that stage.
posted by hermitosis at 7:28 PM on October 28, 2011