Minimalist Air Freshener

March 1, 2017 1:37 PM

I have fallen in love with this (not a) perfume, which is made out of a single ingredient, Cetalox (artificial ambergris). I would love to have one of those diffusers with a bottle of liquid and reeds sticking out of it with this scent. Googling has not led me anyplace helpful. Do you have any suggestions of alternatives or good instructions on how to make this myself?

Basically, I want my office to subtly smell like this (almost clinically clean, but with a bit of warmth is the best description I can come up with), but without having to do anything actively. Being subtle is also important, since this is a work environment, albeit it is a fairly large private office. So, just spraying the perfume as an air freshener isn't going to work, as much as I would love to do that.

posted by Fig to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

I think the key google words are "diy reed diffuser" and this was the first tutorial that popped up. There are more but basically all the same idea.
posted by tipsyBumblebee at 1:58 PM on March 1, 2017

I would probably source and buy the perfume molecule rather than buying it pre-mixed in whatever they are mixing it with (alcohol, probably). Here is a good place for Cetalox.

Then you can mix what you bought with a reed diffuser base, experimenting with how strong you want it to be reed diffuser base. You need a proper base that will be able to travel up the reed. You can buy the reeds from this place as well.

This is probably what I would do, rather than trying to get a perfume formulation to work with the reeds as it requires a different base. Good luck, this sounds like a fun project.
posted by nanook at 2:23 PM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: So, I think my problem is that (from what I've seen online) Cetalox is dissolved in alcohol. Most DIY reed diffusers and other fragrance-blending projects start with the smelly parts in oil. If I had smelly oil I'd be all set. Maybe I'll get some straight-up Cetalox and see what it does in oil. I did find this, but DPG seems to be not good in diffusers, according to the googles.
posted by Fig at 2:35 PM on March 1, 2017

Best answer: Check with the Fragrance DIY forum on Basenotes (although the site seems to be down at the moment) as they have plenty of people familiar with reed diffusers and Cetalox. Not A Perfume is made from Cetalox and ethanol. Escentric Molecules does the same thing with their fragrance Molecule 02 with a slightly different (but often confused) artificial ambergris, Ambroxan (meaning, you might want to try both and see which you prefer). Making the perfume is simple enough; however the solvent situation for reed diffusers is a bit different due to evaporation and other issues which is why you should check the forum.

That said, in my opinion, reed diffusers are a bit strong for an office so maybe a satchet would work better... in which case, why not just a satchet of the Cetalox and/or Ambroxan crystals? I saw someone posted on Basenotes talking about how they could smell their bottle of Ambroxan crystals from across the room.
posted by acidic at 2:45 PM on March 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

As pointed out in the gas chromatograph output linked in the comment above, this fragrance is not just cetalox and ethanol. It's a mixture of a number of fragrance molecules, including some that are quite potent and likely contribute to the "warm" part of the smell you're attracted to (like hedione and musk ketone). Cetalox and the other variations on ambergris can smell almost harshly soapy on their own (I still have vivid memories of organic chemistry labs in college, synthesizing smelly compounds and usually regretting it).

You may like to try turning a small amount of your perfume (a few milliliters) into a solid emulsion. There are loads of tutorials out there. If you put the final product in a tin with a lid (like those rosebud salve containers), you can open and close the solid perfume to suit your desired amount of fragrance in the room.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 3:19 PM on March 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

I walked up to an amazing smelling stranger and was directed to this fragrance! I concur the smell is amazing...

I put a few drops of essential oil into Vodka to make a disinfectant spray (the vodka keeps the oil dispersed if you shake before use), a few drops of Frankincense essential oil + Vodka + H2O in a spray bottle to make a "Monster & Bad Dream GoAway Spray" for my young son to use at night... I also have nuggets of Frankincense I think I can dissolve in oil to make homemade essential oil....

My point is you can make a diffuser liquid for this.

Cetalox is also known as Ambroxan and comes in crystal form. This person used Everclear to make a perfume with it. There were a lot of links in that blog post that looked helpful.

I would probably dissolve the crystals in hot water, mix 50/50 with vodka or not. You could also try dissolving the crystals in a neutral oil, you might get lucky! Or just research it.

Anyway, you can buy these crystals and use them. Have fun!!
posted by jbenben at 3:36 PM on March 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Mix 4 oz of a carrier oil like sweet almond or jojoba with 2 teaspoons of your perfume in a relatively narrow-necked pretty bottle/jar/container. Cover it and shake well to blend the liquids. Uncover it, stick diffuser reeds in it (you can get them at most craft stores). Voila! You now have a DIY scent diffuser.
posted by erst at 4:21 PM on March 1, 2017

Best answer: I was very into the idea of reed diffusers until someone here on the green talked about the solution in them being evaporating plastic, which has kind of put me off them for life. I feel very cynical about using other oils, like almond or whatever, because those things don't evaporate, and maybe you'd be better just mixing some perfume into a bottle of alcohol and leaving it open from time to time.

I don't think the crystals would dissolve in water.

On the other hand, following the link to the crystals, above, also shows a 10% in Dipropylene Glycol solution, which you could easily dilute into vodka or something and either leave open every now and then, or evaporate, a drop or two at a time on one of those plug in oil diffusers (I have a ceramic one that stays plugged in almost all the time, and never gets very warm, and just gently evaporates any essential oils we drop on it). I think there are even little tiny ones that plug into your usb thingie on your computer.
posted by glitter at 12:09 AM on March 2, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Update! I ordered some Abroxan crystals, and after noticing that I could smell them every time I walked by the shelf I had them sitting on, dumped them into the cotton drawstring bag my Sephora Play! subscription box goodies come in and put it in my car. It's fragrancing my car quite nicely -- not overwhelming, but definitely present. It's a little different than the perfume, but close enough for me to love it.

When I get around to it, I'll probably do a similar thing with more crystals and tape it under my desk.

Thanks for your help, everyone!
posted by Fig at 2:09 PM on April 21, 2017