# percentages of base/mid/top notes



## cnm (Dec 1, 2017)

Is there any kind of a general rule of thumb to what percentages one should use? Like 50% top, 30% base 20% mid.
I'm guessing it would depend on the types of oils used. I'll say I'm doing a woodsy, citrus, hoppy beer soap w/ myrrh, frank, cedarwood base, grapefruit top, and maybe juniper, lemongrass mid.

I might be over thinking this also.


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## MorpheusPA (Dec 1, 2017)

You may find (I do find) that the top notes tend to disappear in soap after a while.  Citrus notes?  I have very little luck with them having any staying power.

Bergamot will hang a while, but even that fades faster than the mid and base notes.

So I'd personally play with it, but count on the base notes hanging the strongest and the longest.  Sandalwood, vetiver, and the like are the most durable scents in my soap.


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## lsg (Dec 2, 2017)

Top notes 15 - 25% of the blend. Middle notes 30 - 40% of the blend. Base notes 45 - 55% of the blend.  Fixatives are also used to slow down evaporation rate.  The best way to learn about blending is to read and experiment.  I use drops on cotton balls or cotton swabs.  I put my blends in a small glass jar and check every day or so to see how the blend develops.

https://www.edenbotanicals.com/natural-perfumery-basics.html

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Complete_Guide_to_Essential_Oils/A_to_Z_of_essential_oils


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## Zany_in_CO (Dec 4, 2017)

I also use drops on a cotton ball, placed on a square of tinfoil. For 50% - 5 drops; 30% - 3 drops; 20% - 2 drops. I make labels for each blend that I attempt. I usually do one then 3-4 variations, all written out ahead of time. The labels are used to close the tinfoil over the cotton ball. Then the samples go on my book shelf at nose level for sniffing over the next few weeks. 

There's good info on this site too:
https://www.aromaweb.com/articles/aromaticblending.asp


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