Can you help me? I need two things from my readers. There will be a freebie gift for two helpful souls who reply, one for each subject. First: Back in late 2006, I stumbled across *fresh* ginger root essential oil at liberty natural. There were two - one from Madagascar, one from Indonesia. I immediately told my perfumery friends about it, and I used the fresh version in the kits for my students. Why the excitement? Fresh grated ginger - zest, fresh, hot, spicy fragrance Previously, the only ginger root oil available was from the peeled, sun-dried roots, and it was a middle note for perfumery. It had a mellow, soft fragrance, much like the dried ginger powder you get for baking purposes. This fresh ginger, on the other hand, smelled just like the fresh cut or grated root! Hot, spicy, wet, luscious, and a top note! I've used the aged, dried ginger EO, because it is valuable in perfumery and for food and drink purposes, but its soft character was just that, soft, c
Anya,
ReplyDeleteYour opening comment poises the perfect questions. Perhaps I start
with do you age with or without
alcohol?
As always, thank you for all your
help
Hi Denise:
ReplyDeleteI age with alcohol, because as you know from the textbook, I make the perfume mods with the already-diluted aromatics. When I am ready to make the perfume, I mix the compound by weight, and add the alcohol by volume.
There are many techniques, and I wanted to talk about them, but it's a lazy, quiet Sunday, and not much chat.
Then, of course, there's the techniques taught in the Intermediate course ;-)
Thanks for stopping by
Anya
I'd love to hear anything you were hoping to talk about. I don't feel I know enough yet to bring anything to the conversational table, but I'm eager to learn.
ReplyDeleteLaura
Hi Anya,
ReplyDeleteMy question is about making light perfumes. A lot of customers seem to want something light, fresh etc. A lot of them seem to really want citrus notes specifically. As we all know, this is not so practical in a natural perfume; the customer winds up disappointed about longevity.
When formulating a perfume, how do you negotiate between these two conflicting things?
Hi Laura:
ReplyDeleteI was hoping for a conversation with others who use different techniques, but since it's the height of summer here, not much activity for the chat. Even Twitter is in the doldrums ;-)
Anya
Hi Fallah:
ReplyDeleteLook for accessory notes that are citrus-y, such as lemon myrtle. They will prolong the citrus experience. Also use light mid-note fixatives like copaiba balsam, and try fixing your alcohol with up to 5% glycerin or benzoin.
Anya