Ask the Perfumer - Sunday, April 17, 2011 - until 10 PM EST

I'm up early because it's going to be a busy, busy day, but I'm not too busy to answer your questions about perfumery.  If you know what I'm "soft" launching tomorrow in an expansion of the Anya's Garden Perfumes fragrant products, and you post here with the correct answer, you'll win two of the launch products ;-)

Comments

  1. Hi Anya!
    I decided to chime in with a question. I am somewhat new to the guild and have been practicing natural perfumery for about a year now. I have been hard at work on three soliflores recently (a challenge that I am loving!), and I am curious about longevity. I have found base accords that work well to enhance bit not overwhelm the florals -- sandalwood, benzoin, ambrette, etc. -- but it seems difficult in general to get the soliflores to the same level of longevity as some of my other fragrances with more tenacious bases (patchouli, amber, vetiver, etc.). Is this just the nature of soliflores? Is there a way to increase longevity/tenacity without overpowering the florals? (I am blending in jojoba, by the way).
    Thanks so much!
    Have a wonderful day --
    Tara
    Plume Natural Perfumery

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  2. Two Outlaw Perfumes: Amberess and Light! That project appeals to me more all the time, especially in view of the junk that gets pushed into the commercial 'fumestream. Yes, I made up a word, and I'm proud of it. Lovers of perfume are being bombarded by corporate chemical-purveyors posing as "exclusif" and "niche". Sorry to rant...have a lovely day! :-)

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  3. Hi Tara

    Soliflores are tricky. You are savvy in knowing you don't want to overwhelm the note with aggressive base notes.

    There are some middle notes that can help, such as gurjun balsam and copaiba balsam. Both are middle notes of low intensity, and they help bolster the heart, providing a bridge to the base.

    Look into lighter bases, such as amyris and frankincense.

    HTH!
    Anya

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  4. Queen of Cupcakes (I would like that title, but it's hard to find a good cupcake in Miami, and I don't bake much, so you got it!)

    Thanks for leaving a succinct comment. Yes, many share your views!

    Anya

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  5. I know the product that will soft launch, but as know it because of some personal correspondences, I will leave it for another to share. I will say it is incredibly exciting and has been mentioned in the blog a few times now!

    I had a question on pomades. I have recharged 10 times my jasmine enfleurage, and I do believe the flowers I will get this year are done. What is the best thing to do with the resulting pomade?

    I know as an oil it could only be used in solid perfumes. I know some people will wash it with alcohol and get a resulting tincture. As I do not have any distilling equipment I would have to stop there. While it is quite fragrant, I know some texts say it can be recharged a lot more, 36 times I think I saw. Should I freeze it for next year? What do you find to be the best way to handle your pomades?

    Thanks so much!
    Michael

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  6. Hi Michael:

    Yes you do know about the launch, don't you? ;-) I've been rather quiet about it, just a few bits here and there. So many people are helping me with this - I'm honored.

    I put my enfleurage fat into a Mason jar, screw the lid on tight, label it, and refrigerate it. Works like a charm. No need to freeze, well, I don't, because I just don't have the room in my freezer.

    Yes, 36 times is the charm, supposedly, although I believe I reached a great point with my jasmine tinctures after about 20. Oh, my tiny, tiny aglaia flowers. It took about three years of harvesting them, but now I have a quart of glorious tincture, as strong as the absolute.

    In a few months, after I do some more research and experimenting, I may be able to post a kitchen sink way of distilling absolutes from washed tinctures. I hope!

    Anya

    PS how are your studies coming? I'll get the kit and tuberose out this week, I've been swamped with the launch.

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  7. Hello Anya,

    Will you be launching your food and drink line tomorrow? How exciting it must be to see growth and change; and all done in such an honest, lovely fashion.

    Best to you and I look forward to seeing it!

    Chris

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  8. HI Anya,

    my guess for the launch is your food & drink kit.

    Question:
    Is there a chart available with recent information on amounts of plant material and how much essence is yielded (like in Piesse's book only updated)?

    Lisa

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  9. Hi Chris:

    Is this Chris S from CA? You got the right answer for the launch, so I'll be shipping out the oils later this week. The webpage will go live later today. What sort of foods and drinks do you like? Any particular ethnicity or trend? That'll help me choose your oils.

    Thanks for the nice comments about growth. I have so many projects bottled up inside me, that since me new-found freedom of the last few months is sinking in, I'm really excited!

    Anya

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  10. Hi Lisa:

    Thanks for stopping by, but Chris beat you to the correct guess. Better luck next time, and I'll be hosting future giveaways.

    About a "list". I suppose one might exist somewhere, but even then, I believe there would be variables. Why? Well, due to climatic factors, yields might vary due to EO concentration in the cells.

    I have a number of books I refer to when I have to look this sort of information up. To help educate my students on the great variables in yield, not due to the factor I mentioned above so much, but more general, I cobbled together a small chart for the textbook:

    Plant material Percentage yield
    Roses 0.006
    Basil 0.5 - 1.5
    Bay leaf 3
    Clary Sage 0.1 - 0.34
    Rosemary 2

    Well, the chart gridlines didn't post, but you can read it, I hope.

    Is there any particular plant you're interested in?

    Anya

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  11. Yes, better luck next time. I'm looking forward to seeing the kits.

    Congratulations Chris! :)

    I didn't have a particular flower in mind. It was more a general question that I came to while reading about violets. I started at one point, move on to another, then another until I found my way around to the list lol.

    Thanks for the information.

    Lisa

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  12. Thanks Anya!

    This is Chris S. from CA. I will email you later with some info and address etc. I am very excited!

    Thanks to you too for your kind wishes Lisa!

    Chris

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  13. Hi Lisa:

    I think that beyond the fact that violets are incredibly labor intensive (all that bending over!) their yield is very low. I know an alchemist who is working on extracting the violet flower scent we love from various other plant materials we have, including carrots!

    I feel that in 20 years the fragrance industry will be seeing so many new products it'll be dizzying.

    Oh, violet leaves are harvested by mowing, of course, so they're available at a decent cost.

    Anya

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  14. Hi Chris:

    Nice to know it's you, and I'll be waiting to hear from you.

    Anya

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  15. Hi Anya,

    Thanks for the information regarding the pomade! I will be keeping an eye out for the kitchen sink distilling of absolutes, sounds fascinating.

    Studies are going very well. I must say I love the structure and logic behind your Natural Perfumery course. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for instruction in this art. I am doing the basic offline study right now, but hope to upgrade to the online study in a few months.

    I look forward to the Aromatics Kit 2 and the Tuberose, thank you for the update!

    Congratulation on the launch of the food and drink line, it promises to be another amazing offering.

    Michael

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  16. Hi Michael:

    Thank you for the kind words about my study course. It was a labor of love, and the revision took a year and a half, creating a truly technical textbook that engages both sides of the brain ;-)

    I can't wait to see what food or drink item you create with the tuberose!

    Anya

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  17. I think that you are launching your food and drink kit :)

    What a wonderful and interesting project! I wish you luck and a lot of success!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Food and Drink Culinary Essential Oils
    sounds very intriguing...........I have had Lavender Tea but there is a whole new genre of edible essentials waiting to be created! Very exciting.

    ReplyDelete

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