Industrial Chemistry Laboratory

Cologne Making

Martinez, Chelsea M.

Prof. Medarlo De Jesus

Professor

26 February 2016
 Industrial Chemistry Laboratory 2

Abstract
This experiment primarily aims to give knowledge on the preparation of cologne. Various
materials were used and each has its own role in the overall product. Varying the amounts
of both alcohol and essential oil corresponds to change in the quality of the product.
Temperature also plays a vital role in the evaluation of the final product. There are three
types of components that can be used to make hand blended perfumes, essential oils,
fragrance oils and aroma chemicals. Manufactured perfumes use "aroma chemicals"
which are the broken down constituents of fragrance oils and synthesized constituents of
natural essential oils. In this experiment, a cologne rather than a perfume was made. Its
quality was examined by evaluating its fragrance, persistence and effect on skin and
fabrics. Basically, fragrances have three basic constituents – vehicle, fixatives and
odorous substances. The most common solvent or vehicle, used for holding and blending
fragrances, is highly refined ethyl alcohol. It can contain substantial amount of water
depending on the solubility of the oil employed. The odour of the vehicle must be removed
to avoid odour interference with the fragrant product. Meanwhile, fixatives are substances
that have lower volatility compared to odorous oils. It can retard and even up the rate of
evaporation of various odorous constituents. These odorous constituents give the
significant scent to the fragrance, and are generally categorized as essential oils, isolates
and synthetic or semi-synthetic chemicals.

perfumes. Some essential oils are

readily soluble in oil, some are only
 Introduction soluble in alcohol.

The first source of aroma chemicals is
from isolates of essential oils -- the
second source is chemically modified
isolates from essential oils. -- The third
source of aroma chemicals is from the
petrochemical industry.
Essential oils are the volatile essences
extracted from various parts of living
plants. They are said to be the "life force"
of the plant. Of the thousands of plants in
the world, only 200 produce essential oils
that are used in the art of perfumery.
Essential oils are very intense and must
be diluted when using to make
Because essential oils are highly
concentrated they cannot be used directly
on the skin.
Fragrances are products that make a
major contribution to the cosmetic
industry, as well as to the production of
soaps and detergents. These products
are industrially useful in masking,
neutralizing, and altering the odor of
various products. It can provide additional
crating aroma for normally odorless
products.
Egyptians were responsible for the origin
of perfume. They utilized scents in
everything from religious ceremonies to
burial preparations and even daily wear.
 Industrial Chemistry Laboratory 3

The rich elites of Egyptian society, male

and female alike, would adorn  Experimental Section
themselves with aromas like lily to denote
their status. The Persians took over the Material Used: graduated cylinders,
use of perfume as a sign of political 100mL beakers, 250 mL beakers, stirring
status, but it wasn't until the Greeks and rods, dropper
Romans became acquainted with it that it
Reagents Used: 95% ethanol, essential
began to be viewed as a form of art and
oil(enchanted and eternity)
produced en masse and in consistent
quality. Archaeologists recently
Cologne Making: Three cologne
uncovered a perfume factory from 2,000
formulations were followed.
BC, located in Cyprus, which seemed to
have specialized in the production of
Cologne %w %w %w
scents like coriander, laurel, myrtle,
Alcohol Essential Water
lavender, and rosemary. Perfume slowly Formulation oil
spread throughout the globe, and for a
while, scents were reserved mainly for C-1 60.0 3.0 37.00
use in religious ceremonies. However, in
1190, perfume began to be produced C-2 40.0 3.0 57.00
commercially in Paris, and from there, it C-3 60.0 5.0 35.00
blossomed into a massive industry once
more.
There are primarily three fragrance The required amounts of alcohol,
constituents that contribute to the quality enssential oils and water were weighed.
of the cologne: vehicle, fixative and The essential oil was dissolved in alcohol
odorous substances. The table below and then water was added to this mixture.
shows each constituent’s function. The resulting solution was stirred
thoroughly. This cologne was divided into
Table 1. Three Fragrance constituents two and were transferred into separate
Constituent Function1 bottles which were then tightly covered.
Vehicle Projects the scent it Evaluation: One bottle was stored in a
carries which are inert
refrigerator and the other was stored at
to the solute and is
not irritating to skin room temperature overnight. The
Fixatives Retard or even up the fragrance and persistence were
rate of oil evaporation evaluated for each. Effects on skin were
Odorous substances Gives scent and also determined by applying the cologne
identity to the directly on skin and allowing it to stay for
fragrance product

1
Austin, G.T., 1984, Shreve’s Chemical Process
Industries. 5th edition. McGraw-Hill: USA
 Industrial Chemistry Laboratory 4

a certain period of time. Same was done

for the fabric.
Discussion of Results

Table 2. Colognes stored at refrigerator

Formulation Fragrance Persistence Effect on Effect on Fabric

Skin
C-1 The smell of alcohol is 3 hrs Sticky feeling Absorbed by the
stronger than the oil at first fabric faster
but the longer it stays, the than C-2
more pleasing the smell
C-2 The smell of alcohol 2 hrs Slippery Reference. Fast
overpowers the scent of oil absorbance
but eventually the smell of
the oil fades
C-3 The cologne smells just fine. 4 hrs Slippery with Fastest
The combination becomes some volatile absorbance
great and exact. feeling

Table 3. Colognes stored at room temperature ( several hours after the laboratory
experiment)
Formulation Fragrance Persistence Effect on Skin Effect on Fabric
C-1 The smell of alcohol is 15 mins Non-irritating. The cologne
stronger than the oil at Feels smooth spread easily on
first but the longer the the fabric.
time it takes to stay, Becomes pale
the more pleasing the yellow at
smell indefinite reason
C-2 The smell of alcohol 2 mins Sticky feeling Fabric absorbed
overpowers the scent the cologne faster
of oil but eventually relative to C-1
the smell of the oil
fades
C-3 The cologne smells 3 hours Sticky feeling and It takes time
just fine. The the cologne is a before the fabric
combination little bit viscous absorbed the
becomes great and compared to the cologne. It is quite
other two ironic, because it
exact.
has the higher %
(w) alcohol and
essential oil.
 Industrial Chemistry Laboratory
Tables 2 and 3 shows the data gathered
after storing the colognes at different
temperatures. Both conditions revealed
same fragrances for the colognes. Also it
was noticed that C-2 had the least time of
persistence for both cold and room
temperature. It is because this cologne
formulation has the least amount of
alcohol and greatest amount of water
among the three formulations. It can be
inferred that increasing the amount of
water in the formulation reduces the
persistence of the cologne. When it
comes to viscosity, C-3 appeared to be
most viscous since it has the greatest
amount of essential oil added relative to
the other substances.
5
Figure 1. Final products
Figure 1 shows the obtained cologne
after storing them at different
temperatures.
Additional Observations
For C-1 on the above table, the
persistence is almost the same for both
cases. It was determined for both skin
and fabric while for the rest of the
formulations have a longer persistence
when applied on fabric than when applied
on skin.
After letting the C-2 settle at room
temperature overnight, its cloudiness
reduced as it was cooled down to room
temperature.
The C-3 formulation is apparent and
transparent compared to C-1 and C-2
formulations.
The persistence of the colognes were
greater when they underwent exposure
to freezing temperature overnight and
cooled down compared to when exposed
to room temperature.
 Conclusion and
Recommendations
In this experiment, cologne was
successfully prepared at different
concentration using different cologne
formulations consisting of the main
constituents of fragrance namely, the
vehicle, odorous substance and water.
 Industrial Chemistry Laboratory 6

It can be inferred that cologne has least the same pressure (atmospheric
amount of odorous substance, as for its pressure).
concentration in the mixture ranges about
2-3% wt/wt. For further enhancement of the product,
more research on the right proportions of
Higher concentration of essential oil the reagents is recommended, something
essentially leads to stronger cologne that will improve the persistence and
fragrance. On the other hand, vehicle scent of the cologne.
(commonly ethyl alcohol) can mask or
interfere with the fragrance, leading to
less concentrated smell, although it can  References
improve persistence as proven by the
evaluation made. Water, also reduces the Forteneau, A. (2004). Chemistry
strength of fragrance because it acts as perfumes your daily life. Journal of
the diluter, producing cheaper but lowers Chemical Education. 56(7):327-40.
the quality of the cologne.
Grant, N. Perfumes and the art of
Regarding the temperature at which perfumery. Journal of Chemical
colognes are stored, those stored at Education. March 10, 1972, p. C3 (N).
colder temperature were proved to last
longer than those stored at room Shiner, L. (2015). Art scents: perume,
temperature. By the virtue of temperature design and olfactory. Oxford Journal.
dependence of vapor pressure, essential 34(1):234-31
oils can readily vaporize at higher
temperature than at lower temperature at