Ask the Perfumer - Sunday, September 26, 2010 - 10 a.m. to 10 PM EST

-
I got a late start today after an early visit to my mother, but I'm back in the studio now, so if you have any perfumery questions, ask away.

Comments

  1. Ankica9/26/2010 11:19 AM

    Dear Anya!

    How are you? I am grateful that you are continuing with Q&A even though you are busy with personal and professional stuff.

    Quick question from me:
    Do you always, sometimes or never consider "blends well" option? For example, in literature, there are tips what blends well with what (example: sage blends well with lavandin, rosemary, citrus oils). Do you follow that as a rule?

    Once again, thank you very much for your time!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnyasGardenPerfumes9/26/2010 11:50 AM

    Hello Ankica, nice to see you again.

    I was just discussing this the other day with a perfumer. I have never paid attention to those lists, so of course I have never written one.

    I also don't give out even minor blending suggestions, other than the strict accord-building I teach my students.

    It is all very subjective, and once trained, the perfumer artist has the ability to determine for themself what "goes with what".

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ankica9/26/2010 1:26 PM

    Thank you Anya! Somehow I though this will be your answer :)

    I have more questions, but I will leave it for some other Sunday :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown9/26/2010 4:11 PM

    Dear Anya,

    I was really curious about the goat hair tincture in Pan because it sounds so unusual. Can you basically tincture anything that is tincture-able? I've never made a tincture before, but I've done a little research and I'd like to learn more. Are there any rules to follow?

    ~Lauren

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnyasGardenPerfumes9/26/2010 4:30 PM

    HI Lauren:

    Most fragrant things are tincture-able, but there are always exceptions, and you have to do research before you begin to see if some may have poisonous or otherwise undesirable characteristics.

    For instance, don't tincture tomato leaves or daphne flowers - both are very poisonous. You can buy tomato leaf absolute that has the alkaloid removed, but there is no daphne EO or absolute, so you have to do without.

    Tincturing for scent is different than tincturing for herbal/health reasons. You use the high proof alcohol for scent tincturing because that most effectively extracts the scent molecules. HTH!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnyasGardenPerfumes9/26/2010 4:31 PM

    Lauren, I forgot to add - before you tincture something, ask here on Sundays and I'll let you know if I know if it's safe or not.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Unknown9/26/2010 7:23 PM

    Thanks for the advice, Anya! I didn't know that tomato leaves were poisonous. I JUST came back from picking tomatoes in the garden and the smell is still on my hands.

    Also, do you think that 151 proof is high enough? It's all I have at the moment. I've heard of bacteria growing and causing a really nasty smell if you aren't careful.

    Thanks again,
    Lauren

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnyasGardenPerfumes9/26/2010 7:37 PM

    Lauren, 151 proof isn't suitable for perfumery. Since the plant materials may give up some water anyway, 190 proof is the minimum. You can google Shoppers Vineyard in New jersey for shipments of 190 proof Everclear. It's more economical to get three bottles at a time from them, due to shipping/haz mat costs.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9/26/2010 8:30 PM

    Hi Anya
    Just listened to the accessory notes podcast on your course site; a rich resource... am now wondering, what 'should' a good ambrette seed smell like from opening notes to its drydown?
    Thanks so much.
    Margi Mac
    Australia

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnyasGardenPerfumes9/26/2010 9:46 PM

    Hi Margi:

    Ambrette seed has a distinctly nutty, warm, fatty, musky-floral scent, and it gets gentler on dryddown, and a touch of powderyness enters then. It's a warm skin scent, IMO. If you get new oil, know that it can take months for it to age properly. There is a touch of a rich brandy-like note to it, also. The fatty note can dissipate with aging.

    As always, I suggest you order as many samples as possible from as many sources as possible to get an idea of the spectrum of scent profiles in ambrette seed. The spectrum isn't wide, but good quality will jump out at you and you will know it.

    PS always top any amount you buy with a bit of alcohol to avoid it going rancid. It is high in fatty acids, and is prone to rancidity if not preserved with alcohol.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous9/27/2010 1:07 AM

    Thanks Anya.
    My current ambrette behaves nicely in the drydown, but isn't jumping out at me in a good way in the opening.
    Time to go shopping!
    Margi

    ReplyDelete
  12. BCas9/27/2010 10:31 AM

    Hi Anya.
    You suggest alcohol to preserve the rancidity.
    To prevent bacterial growth or to retard the oxidation?
    Thank you dear.XO Elisabeth( Perfumes Bighouse)

    ReplyDelete
  13. BCas9/27/2010 10:31 AM

    Hi Anya.
    You suggest alcohol to preserve the rancidity.
    To prevent bacterial growth or to retard the oxidation?
    Thank you dear.XO Elisabeth( Perfumes Bighouse)

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnyasGardenPerfumes9/27/2010 10:42 AM

    Prevent oxidation.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boxgasm - for perfumers, aromatherapists, bath and body manufacturers, chandlers. What the heck is a boxgasm? Well, read below and you may have one.

-
Image
Project Boxgasm Announcement: If you are an artisan who makes perfume, bath & body products, aromatherapy products, candles - you can now make your own custom boxes! The Natural Perfumers Guild wishes to share this discovery with everyone, so please share the link to this blog with other groups, forums and chat places you may frequent.  The more the merrier - let's upgrade our products to the next level, with lovely, custom boxes!  I am the President of the Guild, and I like to roam social media sites and check out, and "like" the various projects and announcements of the Guild members.  Little did I dream when I visited a Facebook page of one of our members, a page that only had 21 followers, since it's new, that I'd discover something that can help all artisan small business owners. But there it was, an iconic image out of South Africa - custom perfume boxes! When I called some members of the Natural Perfumers Guild and told them about the discovery th...
Read more

Natural Isolates and the Natural Perfumer - Being the Captain of Your Own Fragrant Ship

-
Image
Get a cup of coffee or tea - this is a long blog post, with lots of twists and turns and surprises - good surprises!  Please see the blog post yesterday on the Guild member vote on the definition of natural isolates if you have not already read it. Backstory Do you ever wonder why I never taught a course in natural isolates or began to sell them on my website? After all, I was the pioneer natural perfumer who first used them in my MoonDance and StarFlower perfumes, both best sellers and award winners. Something told me that I needed to do a lot more research because a wrong move, the wrong isolate sold, could ruin the creations of lots of perfumes made by my (natural perfumer) customers. I have a duty as a trusted authority in natural perfumery, a person who heads the Natural Perfumers Guild, and who started a Yahoo discussion group on natural perfumeryin 2002, to be responsible and proceed slowly. Currently there are no regulations that address natural isolates, or ...
Read more

Ask the Perfumer Sunday Oct 21, 2012

-
Image
Ask the Perfumer - and an Ambergris hypothesis Guild member Lisa Coburn posted a link on Facebook that took me to a video on how cephalopods--squid, cuttlefish and octopus, are masters of disguise.  As I watched it, I made a perfume connection, straight to the elusive, mysterious, rare and valued ambergris, a gorgeous material used in perfumery. Photo of the famed 'Yeti' chunk of ambergris. Ambergris is produced by the stomach/intestinal secretions of the sperm whale to protect its insides from the sharp beaks of the squid and cuttlefish, two main items in its diet.  The whale evacuates the chunk of ambergris when it becomes large enough to be an irritant on its own, albeit a softer, rounder irritant compared to the beak and cartilage of the squid or cuttlefish.  As a perfumer, I often have to gently remind excitable newbies ;-)  that the scent of the ambergris is secondary to its major contribution to a perfume, which is its ability to 'marry' and a...
Read more