- What are top, middle, and base notes in perfumery?
- Top notes are the first impression — light, volatile molecules like citrus (bergamot, lemon, grapefruit) or herbs that evaporate within 15–30 minutes. Middle (heart) notes form the main character of a fragrance: florals, spices, and greens that last 30 minutes to several hours. Base notes are the foundation — heavy, slow-evaporating materials like woods (sandalwood, cedar), musks, resins, and vanillin that can persist for many hours or even days. A classic ratio is roughly 30% top : 50% middle : 20% base, though creative blending ignores rules.
- Why normalize ratios instead of entering percentages directly?
- When you adjust one ingredient's proportion, every other ingredient's percentage changes too. Entering raw weights (parts by weight, milliliters, or drops) and letting the tool normalize means you can freely add, remove, or tweak individual ingredients without having to recalculate the whole formula by hand. For example, Bergamot 30 + Rose 50 + Sandalwood 20 sums to 100 — but Bergamot 3 + Rose 5 + Sandalwood 2 yields the exact same 30% / 50% / 20% split. The numbers you enter are ratios, not final percentages.
- How do I use the exported CSV or PDF?
- The CSV file opens in any spreadsheet app (Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers) and contains one row per ingredient with its name, category, note tier, raw weight, and normalized percentage. The PDF is a formatted recipe card with the same data — suitable for printing, sharing with a supplier, or archiving in your fragrance journal. Both exports reflect the current state of the recipe on screen, including the normalized ratios.