I engaged a perfumer just over a year ago on a new project. The essential request was to create a fragrance inspired by an existing one with a bit of a twist. I paid for a very high end GCMS. In the past year, I have only received two iterations/drafts of the formula (neither particularly close to what was asked for), with the perfumer taking months to communicate and no clear reason for the substantial delays.
What is reasonable timing for developing a fragrance? Understanding this is an art, not a science, but if we are simply taking a fragrance that is essentially a mass market one (literally dozens of clones of it already on the market) and adding a minor twist, is it reasonable that it would take more than a year to even come close to completing this?
Keep in mind I have now spent thousands of dollars between a GCMS and paying the perfumer the first half of the installment for the project on top of the time wasted. At this point I think it may make the most sense to consider it a loss and move on, but would like to hear other views before I do that.