Ask the Perfumer July 28, 2013 Tincturing the Fragrant Harvest
Originally published July 28, 2013
I was digging up some old photos for a writing project, and this one of Jasmine sambac Grand Duke of Tuscany is from 2005. I used a thumbnail of it on the original naturalperfumery.com website that was launched that year. The thumbnail is an ironic term here since it features my thumbnail! What huge flowers from the Grand Duke! Many are the size of small carnations, which they remind people of, due to their tightly-clustered petals. The window to harvest this flower is small since they’re slow to ripen to the proper stage for harvesting, and then, boom, overnight, it seems, they start to turn brown.
So many of the white flowers produce an orangey-brown absolute or tincture, have you noticed that? Jasmines and gardenias, Michelia, and lotus come to mind. When I pop Michelia alba flowers into a tincture, the menstruum turns reddish-brown immediately! The Grand Dukes take a bit longer to change color.
Isn’t that amazing? You’d expect the color change from tea, mushrooms, or other darkly-colored plant material, but these white flowers have a hidden ‘dark side’ (couldn’t resist!)
Any tincturing or other perfume questions today? I’ll be here until 10PM ET USA.
hello Anya. how can I retain color in my essential oil perfumes. I love the blue color created from blue cypress essential oil, however it fades pretty quickly no matter how much I add. Is there a natural color perservative I could use. Thank you for your help, jen
Hi Jen:
All of the blue oils are very fragile. Did you know the blue color only appears during distillation? If you tincture the blue cypress, you won’t get the blue color? It’s the guaiazulene in the plant that gives the blue color. The blue oils are notorious for fading. Refrigeration may hold the fading off for some time, but I think it’s inevitable. There is a group of experienced aromatherapists and distillers on LinkedIn who may be able to offer more assistance. Join this group and ask: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Essential-Oils-1850885?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr If someone there doesn’t have a solution, I’ll bet there isn’t one. I know you expected an answer here, and I’m sending you off elsewhere, but it’s really the best option. I know enough to know when to say I don’t know something! 😉
HTH,
Anya
As a natural dyer (using plants & insects) it is quite common for a plant to yield its hidden coloring constituents. I’ve often thought of the overlap of natural dyeing and natural perfumery but don’t think I’ll get to try dyeing with any of our expensive botanical aromatics anytime soon!
Hi Anya,
when tincturing naturals like fruits like figs, dates and i even tried coriander leaves, I want to try tamarind for use in fragrances what is the percentage of perfumer’s alcohol in regards to the actual fruit or other product being tinctured.I got a lot of sandal wood power and i tried tincturing some since i am running short of mysore sandalwood and it is hard to get by these days. So how much powder in relation to alcohol is used to make a perfect tincture. Thanks
Jamal
Hi Jamal:
I usually use the “Simplers Method” which means just cover the material with alcohol. There is no single rule for weights if that’s what you want to pursue, because the botanicals can vary in scent strength so much. Don’t forget that many botanicals require many recharges of the plant material, after you strain the previous batch. It took me many, many recharges of the tiny aglaia flower, over a year, to get a good tincture. On the other hand, michelia flowers give their scent up very quickly, and need much fewer recharges.
I don’t believe you’ll ever get a tincture of sandalwood powder in alcohol that would duplicate the scent and strength of the oil. Just be happy if you get a nice, lightly-scented alcohol that will provide a sheer backdrop scent of sandalwood and some fixative power. I have some I’ve made, and I used two oz of powder (first quality, not spent from the distillation process) in a liter of alcohol.
HTH,
Anya
I got a chuckle from your thumbnail remark! I love tincturing! The flower is so pretty, white and tightly clustered.
Tinturing is one of the first things I use to make a natural colorants for my little perfumes. I’ve been using Rosa alba powder to make beautiful bases with hints of rose notes, rice tinure to give a powedery note, lavender tinture to add a base for fresh lavender blend with essential oil. I mainly use it as an adornment since the tintures can stain my work clothes.
By adorment or acessory note I meant just a hit, but tinturing make a fine and excuisite perfume. So, the percentate I use depends of the plant it self like in the case of Star of Anise. I might use a lot of jasmine rice tinture be cause it takes a lot of them to make the scent of just a little piece of Star of Anise be cause a little bit goes a long way. Practice and good notaton will be the key to use when tinturing.
Hi Jen:
All of the blue oils are very fragile. Did you know the blue color only appears during distillation? If you tincture the blue cypress, you won’t get the blue color? It’s the guaiazulene in the plant that gives the blue color. The blue oils are notorious for fading. Refrigeration may hold the fading off for some time, but I think it’s inevitable. There is a group of experienced aromatherapists and distillers on LinkedIn who may be able to offer more assistance. Join this group and ask: http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Essential-Oils-1850885?trk=myg_ugrp_ovr If someone there doesn’t have a solution, I’ll bet there isn’t one. I know you expected an answer here, and I’m sending you off elsewhere, but it’s really the best option. I know enough to know when to say I don’t know something! 😉
HTH,
Anya
Hi Anya,
I’m working my way slowly through the Sell text. Thank you again for that suggestion and contact.
I’ve been playing with placing herbs, spices, fruits, and flowers in different liquids: alcohol, water, vinegar, and oil.
My goal is to develop curriculum for my public high school classroom, so I’m looking for materials that meet these criteria:
-cheap
-wow factor (great smell, pretty color, something surprising)
-clearly related to chemistry
So far I’m thinking that cloves work nicely, behaving so differently in the different liquids. I was also pleased with the color changes when I used fresh Thai basil leaves, although the smell was negligible.
I was disappointed with my citrus peels. I tried them fresh and dried. The most interesting one was the water, after a nice fermentation got going. But that’s microbiology more than chemistry, so I want to save that for another semester.
I picked a few roses in the yard as well. They didn’t have much smell on the plant, so I wasn’t expecting much. It was really fun to work with them, but I don’t think I can get them in quantity, from an ethical source, during the school year, and within my school’s budget.
Can you recommend some other combinations to try for my class?
Thank you so much!
Regards,
Annie
Hi Annie:
I suggest you purchase some essential oils for the class. Have a good combination of top, middle and base notes. That way you’ll have some workable material and be able to compare them to the tinctured and infused materials you’ve been making. About the citrus peels and other light materials, don’t foret to remove and recharge the alcohol many times.
HTH,
Anya
Hi Anya,
Could the tint be caused by oxidation?
-Kristie
I love my organic lavender tincture. Purple flowers that yield an emerald green color!