Frequently Asked Questions about Candora Paris perfume creation

We hope you will find here the answer to your question. If not, do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail : contact@candora.fr, we try to answer within 24 hours.

Candora Perfume Workshops

– “Can my 8 year old child participate to the workshop ?”

Our “regular” workshop, starts with a one hour section on perfumes, how they are made, the history of major brands… That might be difficult to follow or a bit long for children below 10 years of age. But it really depends on your child. We did have some very focused and passionate 7 or 8 year old participants, so the final call is yours. Otherwise we do have a workshop specially designed for children aged 6 to 10 and their parents which you can check our perfume workshop for families.

– Can someone “just attend” the workshop with me, without making a fragrance ?

Unfortunately this is not possible, our workshop is very interactive, we can only accept paying participants. The Candora shop is in the very heart of Paris, a nice walk can be enjoyed by those who won’t be attending the workshop.

– “Can I cancel my workshop booking ?”

You can cancel and get a refund, after deduction of a 10€ booking fee per ticket, only within 7 days after your payment and with a minimum of 5 days before the workshop.

Otherwise you can reschedule for another day or obtain a voucher for a later booking, we always try to find a solution, contact us, we will see what can be done for your personal case.

Candora Fragrances

– “Where are Candora fragrances made ?”

Our concentrates are made in Grasse, in Provence, the historic city of French fragrances. Then production is finalized 50km north of Paris. Our choice of French or European suppliers, bottles and packaging, serves both quality objectives and our carbon footprint.

– “Are Candora fragrances made with natural ingredients ?”

We use natural ingredients whenever they are available and add quality to the smelling experience. Nevertheless synthetic molecules are unavoidable since the end of the 19th century ! Using them has revolutionized perfume making, giving many more possibilities to the perfumer.

In case you are curious to know more, synthetic materials offer many valuable assets to the perfumer by:

reproducing the scent of some raw materials that cannot be extracted naturally. Such as the odor of sea.
protecting species by avoiding raw materials or animals threatened with extinction.
improving the quality and lifespan of perfumes thanks to the stability of synthetic materials.
making formulations safer, by containing less allergenic ingredients.

Thanks to the synthesis, perfumers have thousands of different scents to create their perfumes, against just 300 before. Perfume and synthesis make a beautiful couple!

– “I have allergies, how can I know if the substance I am allergic to is present in Candora fragrances ?”

If you have an allergy to an ingredient often present in fragrances, you should avoid fragrances in general. If your allergy is to a clearly identified, you will find the official list with all the ingredients we legally have to inform you about here.

If you have a sensitive skin, alcohol can be agressive, you should spray your fragrance on your clothes.

– “Can I re order the fragrance I created ?”

Yes, you can order it on our website : ordering my fragrance. You will just need your formula, we offer to keep it in our database, if you do not have it but you registered it at the time of your workshop, you can use Retrieve my formula.

– “I have not kept my formula, can you find it for me ?”

Since April 2019, we offer the possibility to register your formula on our website at the end of the workshop. If you did register yours we have it in our database and we can find it for you, just use retrieve my formula. If you participated to a workshop before April 2019, me might have taken a picture of the formula card we were using then, we will try to find it, knowing when you took the workshop will help us : boutique@candora.fr.

Fragrances in general

– “How long can I keep my fragrance ?”

The enemies of your fragrance are heat, light and oxygen. The 3 of them shorten the lifespan of your fragrance. If you used half of your bottle and you keep it in your bedroom, we advise you to use it within a year. If you live in an area with hot conditions, we would advise you to keep it in the refrigerator in the summer.

– “The color of my fragrance has changed, has it turned bad ?”

At Candora we do not use colorants in our fragrances, so the color comes from the natural ingredients we use. This is why it can change from one tone to an other. And some, like our wonderful Vanilla and Jasmin, do change with time, they tend to get a darker yellow tone. Their scent changes slightly, like a wine. But it does not mean that the fragrance is damaged.

– “Eau de Toilette – Eau de parfum, what is the difference ?”

It is a question of how much fragrance concentrate there is in alcohol. Eau de parfum is usually above 10 or 12%, while Eau de Toilette is between 8 and 10%. At Candora we use the bracket 8 to 14%, we chose the right level for each fragrance reference, depending on its ingredients. But we decided not to claim the fact that some are indeed Eau de Parfum, it would be confusing.

– “What are “top / middle / base notes “

It refers to a classification of scents depending on how long they last. This classification called “the olfactive pyramid” separates 3 categories. Top notes have a short life. This is mainly the fresh scents of citruses and aromatic plants. In a fragrance they are also boosted by alcohol evaporating, which makes them very powerful during the first 20 to 30 minutes. Then they leave way to middle notes, mostly made of flowers and fruits. Base notes are the very long lasting woods and spices. Your fragrance usually combines the 3, but proportions would explain why a fragrance is long lasting or not.

– “What are the ingredients for making perfumes ?”

Perfume creation is very complex, a perfumer can include up to 80 different ingredients ! You have some natural ones, mostly extracted from plants. When extracted by water vapor distillation they are called essential oils, but it only works when the smelling element is under an oil form. Sometimes maceration into an alcohol is more efficient, the extract is then called absolute. For some plants like the rose, both can be done, for others only one is working. Since the end of the 19th century, synthetic molecules are increasing the possibilities offered to the perfumer.

– “how were perfumes invented ?”

Using elements to master the impact on our sense of smell has been done by men for over 4000 years on our planet ! the origin relates to the origin of the word perfume, in latin “per fumum” means by the smoke. It all started with things you would burn to create a very special scent, manly in your relation with the gods in temples. Amongst the products used incense and myrrh come from Mesopotamia, the birthplace of perfumes. They were 2 of the 3 gifts brought to newborn Jesus by the wisemen, and myrrh would be exchanged weight for weight with gold. But Religious use can also be traced very early in Asia. Then the religious use transferred to making a human different, more elevated, more attractive. It started in ancient Greece and Egypt : priests, kings, athletes, wealthy and powerful people. The smell was also believed to have a direct impact on treating or curing, several scents were used in the mummification process. And experts started exercising their skills in extracting and blending smelling ingredients.

– “why do perfumes contain alcohol ?”

Alcohol is the best base for perfumes. Not only it is an ideal conserving agent but it evaporates quickly on the skin, leaving the scent in a pleasant way when the sticky oils or greases used before were doing poorly. But this use is quite recent in the history of perfume making as it required the mastering of alcohol production, a skill Europe stole from the arabs in the 14th century.

– “what is the best alcohol to be used for perfumes ?”

Ethanol is used for perfumes. At Candora, we use the highest quality 100% French, made by Cristalco, and produced with beetroots coming from sustainable agriculture. It is guaranteed GMO-free and has all the required certificates of the highest quality standards for allergens, no tests on animals, nanomaterials, etc. An addition of denaturing agent, DEP is made to make this alcohol improper for consumption.Do not try to drink your perfume, it would be purposely awfully bitter.

– “Is it possible to use vodka to create your own perfume ?”

Perfume has your skin for final destination… one of the most precious component of your body. At Candora, we do offer the possibility to create your own perfume but we take special care of all the ingredients we use. They are selected and tested for their harmlessness, they abide by the most recent and very strict regulations of IFRA, the international cosmetic companies association. We recommend not to use fully home made perfumes if you are not a trained specialist. Remember that the most common allergies come from 100% natural products.

Last update : Feb 2022.