Project Description
We produce Perfume Testing Strips, Scent Strips, Fragrance Tester Strips, Smelling strips.
Smelling strips, known in French as mouillettes (“bread sticks”) or touche à sentir, and also referred to as fragrance or scent blotters.
Perfume testing strips come in an array of shapes, sizes, and qualities, and whether you are studying raw materials, learning perfumery, or evaluating fragrances for your own use, the type of mouillette you need will likely be different from those branded blotters commonly found at department store perfume counters. The latter are great marketing tools, but the longer, thinner strips used by perfumers have advantages for those with a real passion for perfume testing. Three types on the market are distinguishable.
Tapered or pointed-end strips are great for dipping into bottles with narrow necks, and perfumers do work directly with the liquids after all; they don’t spray the juice when combining absolutes and oils. If all you plan to do is get a whiff of scents that have already been created, this may not be a priority for you, however.
Square-end strips, although not great for dipping, can be easily branded and are often sold in tear-out booklets.
Paddle-end strips have a wide surface area, better for spraying from an atomizer, and also a narrow end for dipping. Having a wider end on any strip is perfect for writing notes on, such as the name and dipping time or time to smell (more on that later).
- Write the scent name and/or other details on the strip before dipping so that you can go back and evaluate later.
- With raw materials, a little dip’ll do ya! You only need the smallest amount of liquid on the tip to infuse the paper with its scent, and you don’t want to make the strip wet. Also consider the cost of those lovely raw materials that you may have bought.
- Don’t place the perfumed part of the strip directly on your table or other surface, lest it transfer the scent or even stain it. The advantage of long strips is that you can fold the dipped or sprayed end up at a right angle so that the material does not touch the surface. Of course, if you have a smelling strip holder of some sort, then problem solved!
- Don’t put the strip right on your nose when smelling. While I assume this is extremely rare, a rash is not desirable, and it may interfere with your sniffing experience. Fanning the strips in front of your nostrils is recommended, too.
- Take small, short sniffs of a raw material on the strip; don’t smell for too long or your nose will suffer from scent burnout in no time.
- Mark the first strip with “base,” the current time, and name of the scent. Spray it, then let it sit and come back to sniff it in a couple of hours. At that time, you should get an appreciation of the base notes belonging to a particular scent. If you are working with a finished product and are unsure of the scent’s longevity, you can be more liberal with this spray.
- Mark the second strip with “mid,” and again the current time and fragrance name. Come back to that strip in 30 minutes, and you will be able to perceive the heart notes of the scent.
- The last strip you needn’t mark, really, as you are just going to spray and sniff immediately, and allow yourself to enjoy the scent’s top notes. These notes will dissipate in minutes.
