The good ?nose? at Henkel

Every person is born with his own individual body aroma ? except for Jean Baptiste Grenouille. Jean Baptiste Grenouille is the main character in Suskind?s novel "Perfume", and his own odorless state is what causes him to search for the ultimate fragrance ? as does Frank Rittler. Frank Rittler is one of 35 perfumers in Germany. As one of the Henkel Fragrance Center?s seven perfumers in Krefeld near Düsseldorf, his work centers especially around developing fragrances for branded consumer products to make them smell good.

Why do products have to ?smell??
The fragrances used in Henkel products are especially important because they appeal to our sense of smell. A product must not only look attractive to the consumer and feel good, but it must smell right, too. Detergents, for example, not only need a pleasant fragrance, but should also smell clean, fresh und disinfectant. An adhesive, on the other hand, needs to exude a biting odor that will put off children. Shower gels, foam baths and soap, however, should leave a fresh smell on the skin. This is why some 9,000 tons of pure perfume oil are produced annually at the Henkel Fragrance Center.

How is a fragrance created?

To precisely mix fragrance nuances, such as flowery-fruity or tart-spicy, the perfumer needs to have many thousands of ingredients in his head. Senior perfumer Rittler approaches the creation of a fragrance like a composer. To begin with, he thinks up a melody. ?Then I begin to add small chords and progressively build up the fragrance,? says Rittler. Only after this, he actually writes down the formula. As many as 40 to 120 components may be mixed in the laboratory and then incorporated into the product that requires the fragrance (e.g. shower gel, shampoo, adhesive). Then test persons are asked to judge the fragrance. Perfecting the scent can take as long as several months.

What does a perfume consist of?
A perfume consists of three notes. The top note, such as tangerine and lime, which immediately fades away, the middle note or ?heart? of the perfume, such as rose, clove, jasmine, coriander or sage, which always lasts about an hour, and the base note, such as amber, chocolate, sandalwood, musk and moss, which clings to the skin for several hours.

Fa Magazine up-to-date
	Here you will find hot beauty topics that will be updated regularly.
Feel good at home
	Yoghurt doesn?t only taste good but also pampers your skin. Try it!
Feel good away from home
	There is no need to work up a sweat when you are away from home. We can tell you how!
Feel good trends
	The latest feel good trends: increase your well-being with a moisturizing face mask made of kefir.