A perfume secret, byJ12 of the M4

Playing with the big boys

There are lines you have to cross when you want to start selling your scents. Like other stuff you can make at home, like jam, cakes and chutney, when you go from blends for friends to retail, there's a whole extra stash of paperwork.

That's what we've been working on, me and my perfume pals, since April.

Getting our certificates

I've got lots of certificates, including a mass of O Levels and one for teaching yoga. Some have been harder to earn, but none of them have been as tricky as my EU and IFRA papers.

First, every material you use for a perfume has to have its own material safety data sheet, which list EU allergens by quantity, and many other things; they're usually around 16 pages. Some suppliers either don't have them, or have incomplete ones. Not good enough.

But now we're there.

Let's hear it for Streatley Software

On a business park by a lake, by the M4, you'll find the answer to an indie perfumer's prayers. Streatley Software have put together a really impressive ...thing. It's complex, it's comprehensive and it's not cheap, and it's mine. So now I have access to all the official databases and their updates, and a way to make sure that all my formulae comply with every regulation you can shake a stick at.

Want to try it?

Indie perfumers all have a hard time getting legal, so I'm happy to help.

Now, indie perfumers might worry that I'd try to copy their formulae, but to be honest, I'm only interested in creating my own.

 So give me a wave if you want a go.