You’ve Made Soup! - How to Avoid a Muddy Fragrance

You’ve Made Soup! - How to Avoid a Muddy Fragrance

From The Perfume Making Podcast by Karen Gilbert

November 10, 2025 · 33 min · Episode 26

About this episode

Karen Gilbert discusses how to avoid creating a muddy fragrance in perfume making.

“You’ve made soup!” is a phrase French perfume teachers often say to their students. In the world of fragrance, soup refers to a perfume that smells muddy, flat, or undefined. But what causes a scent to turn into “soup,” and how can you prevent it? In this week’s episode, Karen breaks down the many ways a perfume can lose its clarity and character, often through well-intentioned choices that seem right at first. Tune in to learn the common pitfalls. KEY TAKEAWAYS One easy way to achieve a muddy scent is by constantly adding materials on top of each other, just because you like them. Karen explains why this is a bad idea. Copying a notes list from a perfume you admire is another fast track to achieving a muddy scent. So why do people do it, and why should you avoid it? Understanding scent structure is crucial to creating a well-balanced perfume. Karen breaks down why this is and why it should be the first thing you master. Nose fatigue is a very real thing, and it can lead you to make crucial mistakes when creating a scent. Karen shares her top tips to avoid this trap. BEST MOMENTS “Adding more materials won’t fix anything; it will just make your fragrance more dense and…

People in this episode

Host: Karen Gilbert

Topics covered

  • fragrance clarity
  • perfume making
  • scent structure
  • nose fatigue
  • common pitfalls

Keywords

  • muddy fragrance
  • scent structure
  • nose fatigue
  • perfume making tips
  • fragrance clarity

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