What marvellous wonders of perfumery are created by the judicious use of Aldehyde C-12 MNA. It singlehandedly adds character to Raphael's 1944 Replique (one of the forgotten masterpieces of classical perfumery), it adds a je ne sais quoi to Monsieur Roucel's novel Eau de Cologne (2000) for Helmut Lang and it was perfumery's metaphorical shot heard around the world when Ernest Beaux overdosed it with three other aldehydes (C-10, C-11 Undecylenic, and C-12 Lauric) in No 5 for Coco Chanel's first foray into scent. And, if I may be so bold as to name myself amongst these luminaries of our art, at an overdose of 0.3% I use it to add an amber sweetness to the French lavender top note of my perfume Porthos (2022). Fun Fact: Madame Chanel offered No 5 as a free gift to her clients and customers but soon her shop was filled with Parisienne ladies clamouring (elegantly of course) to obtain just the scent. And so she popped on a price tag — $30 to be exact (equal to a jaw dropping $650 today) and the rest is history as the cliché goes. This aliphatic aldehyde (one of only two not found in nature) transforms a scent in ways no other material can. The merest whisper in a blend creates olfactory pleasures beyond words. One drop and you have instant perfume. Alchemists dreamed of the transmutation of lead into gold. Aldehyde C-12 MNA performs just that powerful magic on aroma chemicals. As with all true aldehydes, we recommend dilution in an alcohol upon receipt of this product. Ethyl alcohol is the most commonly used for this purpose, but others such as phenyl ethyl alcohol or benzyl alcohol are also suitable. One final word of warning: when using aldehydes in a fragrance blend it can become very difficult to evaluate the finished product because aldehydes really need the time macerating in alcohol to develop their true character. For that reason, we always recommend evaluating a blend after resting it for a week or so diluted in alcohol rather than directly as raw juice.
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