In short
This project brings Levels 4 to 6 together: you compose one complete floral from a brief. A floral needs a clear flower or idea at its center, an opening that leads into it, and a base that does not bury it. It is the most crowded family in perfumery, so the challenge is to make something specific.
What you will learn
- Plan a complete floral structure from a brief
- Use your own accord as the center of a composition
- Revise by planned rounds toward a stated target
Before this lesson: Diffusion and Substantivity
The composition method
All five family projects use the same seven steps.
- Brief. Write one, using the study guide.
- Jobs. Fill in a table for opening, heart and drydown.
- Budget. Rough out shares by job.
- Build the center first. Heart alone, until it is good by itself.
- Add the base, and judge at 24 hours.
- Add the top, and check the handover.
- Revise by rounds, one change at a time, each recorded, until your criteria are met or you stop. See when to stop.
Budget shares are a thinking tool. A published formula may look nothing like your first budget.
Planning a floral
| Part | Illustrative share | Possible content |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | 10 to 20% | Citrus or green, with a link to the heart |
| Main floral accord | 25 to 40% | Your rose, jasmine or other floral |
| Air and body | 20 to 30% | Hedione and light florals |
| Modifier | Under 3% | Green, spice or a low-dose animalic |
| Base | 15 to 25% | Musk with a soft wood |
Making it specific
Three things usually separate a real floral from a generic one:
- A point of view. "White flowers" is a category. "Gardenia browning at the edges" is an idea.
- A little real material. Even a small share of rose absolute or ylang-ylang inside a built accord can change how real it feels. Test with and without.
- Something not floral. A contrast keeps it from being sweet soap. Look back at your contrast studies.
Read published florals, such as the magnolia cartography and champaca tea room, for how they structure these ideas. They are a study aid and not a target. House formulas in the library carry their own assessment status, so check each page.
How you will judge it
| Criterion | What meets it |
|---|---|
| Fits the brief | A reader, or a blind smeller, can connect it with the brief |
| Holds together | No unintended gap across a day |
| Clear idea | You can name what each line does |
| Recorded | Each version can be remade from its record |
| Honest | You can name its biggest remaining weakness |
Practical exercise: Composition 1: a complete floral
Allow several weeks, with short sessions, since most of the time is resting and revisiting.
- Write the brief and the jobs table.
- Build the heart, then the base, then the top, as separate recorded versions.
- Revise for at least two more rounds, each with a single stated change.
- Let the best version rest for two weeks. Then compare it with a freshly made batch, as the maceration guide describes.
- Ask at least one person to smell it, blind to the brief, and record what they say.
- Score it against the criteria above, in writing.
This stays on strips. The composition has not been checked for restrictions or safety, so it should not be worn or given away.
You have done this well if your record lets someone remake the composition, your notes cover all the time points, and you can name one change you would test next and why.
Common mistakes
- Beginning with the top. You will then design the rest around a material that disappears.
- Stacking florals. They average out. Give one the lead.
- Stopping at the first pleasant version. Pleasant is common. Check it against the brief.
Knowledge check
Written and reviewed by the RUŌOD Lab team. This is general education, not legal, regulatory, medical or safety advice. Example dilutions and exercises are for learning, are not validated products, and have not been safety-assessed. Completing a lesson confers no qualification. How we check these lessons.