Do I need a substitute?
Hello All, thank you in advance for any help you can offer.
I recently got started making perfumes with my wife, and we've been having a ball with it. I went ahead and ordered my first "professional" ingredients with the idea that I would use them to make a base my wife could use with her creations that would make sure her scents lasted a long time and projected well. I got a very small order, six ingredients only, but I figured that was a good way to get started without overwhelming myself. I'll include the formula for her base below since I believe these ingredients are pretty common and someone else might have the same sweet tooth taste that my wife does.
I decided I would try using those same ingredients to see if I could come up with something more masculine that I might enjoy. I used AI to help me get started, but also played around with different ratios until I got something I like:
180 parts Ambroxan
240 parts Hedione
60 parts Ethyl Vanillin
30 parts Coumarin
15 parts Pimento EO
Now, before I added that last one, I already had something I thought was pretty interesting. I might try making this again with less Hedione, but that's only going to make the real question tougher. I kinda fell in love with this formula when I added the Pimento, but that's when I discovered the problem. It turns out Pimento EO has pretty strict IFRA restrictions - 0.13-0.22% depending on the Eugenol content - and the amount I've got in my formula is way over that. At 25% perfume concentration, that's still 0.73% according to Formulair.
I've tried it on my skin and there hasn't been any problems, but I imagine IFRA rules exist for a reason.
I tried asking AI for help, and it suggested trying Clove EO, Cardamom EO, or Black Pepper EO. I tried each one, but none of them were even close to making that super warm and luxuriously deep smell the Pimento added. I'd like to be able to share this perfume with others. I know Pimento is a rare ingredient to use, so it might be the case that nobody knows it well enough, but is there another other ingredient I can try that might work as a good substitute? Something with more relaxed restrictions?
Thanks again in advance,
Hobby Perfumer