Short answer
Perfume formula version control means every change to a formula's materials or amounts creates a new, numbered version while earlier versions stay readable and unchanged. Use a stable formula code plus a version number that only ever increases and is never reused; record what changed and why for each version; give versions a status; and lock the approved one so that later edits must become a new version. Trials, samples and batches then refer to a specific code and version, and any of them can be traced.
What counts as a new version
| Change | New version? |
|---|---|
| Any material added, removed or substituted | Yes |
| Any amount changed | Yes |
| A dilution changed | Yes — the formula's composition changes even if the weight does not |
| A material from a new supplier or grade | Yes, if recorded as a different material |
| Scaling to a new batch size | No — proportions are unchanged; record it as a batch |
| Notes, tags or name edited | No |
The rule of thumb: if two vials made from the two records could smell different, they are different versions.
Numbering
- Simple integers (v1, v2, v3…) are clear and sufficient for most labs.
- Never renumber. If v2 is abandoned, the next is v3, and v2 stays on record as abandoned. Renumbering breaks every reference in notebooks, sample labels and batch records.
- Branches, when you explore two directions from one version, can be handled with a suffix (v4a, v4b) or by duplicating into a new formula code with a note of its parent. Choose one convention and use it consistently.
The change record
For each version, write down:
- version number and date;
- parent version;
- what changed — material, old amount, new amount, dilution;
- why — the observation that prompted it;
- the result of evaluating it, once known.
The "why" is the part most often skipped and most valued later. A version history that only shows numbers tells you what happened, not what was learned. How to decide on and make each change is covered in how to adjust and refine a perfume formula.
Statuses and locking
Statuses tell you which version matters: many versions are Draft or Testing; one becomes Approved; it may then go into Production. Lock the approved version. Any further change — a reformulation for a new IFRA amendment, a substitute for a discontinued material — is made on a copy and becomes the next version, which must be approved in turn. This is what guarantees that a batch made "from the approved formula" is made from exactly what was approved. Collections, codes and statuses together are covered in how to organize a digital perfume formula library.
Versions and samples
When versions go out as samples to a client or panel, they often get their own labels (mod A, mod B) for blind evaluation. Keep a map from each sample label to its code and version, and record the feedback against the version, not the label. How to track fragrance mods and samples covers this loop.
In a spreadsheet
Spreadsheets have no built-in idea of versions. Workable conventions are one sheet per version, never edited after a trial is made from it, or one long table with code and version on every row. The failure to avoid is editing the same sheet after every trial, which destroys the history — see spreadsheet perfume formulas: 9 failure modes.
In software
Dedicated tools usually build versions in. In RUŌOD Lab, each formula has a version number and a status, duplicating a formula creates a marked copy for the next round of changes while the original stays as it was, version marks never renumber (delete v2 of four and v4 stays v4), a lock prevents deletion of a formula you need to keep, and edits are undoable across the app. Whatever the tool, the discipline above — what counts as a version, and why it changed — is still yours. For the broader role of software, see the perfume formulation software guide.
To see exactly what changed between two versions — or whether a copy matches the original — compare them on the same basis; see how to compare two perfume formulas.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need versions for personal projects?
Yes, if you want to learn from them. Without versions you cannot go back to the trial that was better, and you cannot tell which change made the difference.
How many old versions should I keep?
All of them. A version is a few lines of data; the cost of keeping it is negligible, and the cost of needing it and not having it is high.
Written and reviewed by the RUŌOD Lab team. This article is general education about perfume formulation and record-keeping; it is not legal, regulatory or safety advice, and the examples are illustrations, not validated commercial formulas. How we write and check these guides.