Back in March, we hosted a perfumery competition. There was no premise or theme, but simply a limitation that the formulas must be made up of materials from our in-house perfumery raw materials collection (because we had to be able to make up the entries of course). 

Out of all 12 entries, we selected 1 winner and 3 runners up. In this post we will explore some of the details of the winning formulas in order to provide some inspiration for your own perfume compositions. 

Rose of the Woods 

Rose of the Woods, the winner of the competition, was picked because of its creative take on rose and good performance over the top, mid and base note regions of the perfume evaporation profile. Rose of the woods makes unique use of undecavertol, a green raw material, in combination with high levels of alpha-ionone to create a violet twist on the classic rose. A further departure from the traditional is made by using cinnamyl alcohol in the base note to creative effect and the addition of vanillin to sweeten the perfume. The perfume is finished with a balance of musks. 

Trend Seeker V2 

Trend Seeker V2 was selected as a runner up due to its well balanced and fresh base note. The formula carefully bridges earthy notes to woody ambers through to ambergris style ambers and finally aquatic notes. 

Blue Jeans 

Again, Blue Jeans was selected as a runner up due to its strong base note. This composition is centred around a bed of well-chosen musks, embellished with a juxtaposition between earthy notes and sweet floral leaning notes. 

No cardamom 

This perfume was unusual and creative. The concept was to include the smell of cardamom without using cardamom. The perfume succeeds in making a massive overdose of rosemary sit well and features an original base note which in our eyes imitates the smell of a swampy forest. 

Summary 

I would like to thank the entrants of this competition for their excellent ideas. Hopefully the formulas above provide you, the reader, with some inspiration in your own perfumery. If you’re interested in the other entries and a much more in-depth analysis, see our 2-part video series which comprehensively covers the competition below.