Let’s do the twist again.
A new twist on Orange flower; I am returning to one of my favourite natural scents which is orange flower absolute from Morocco. My goal is to try a new twist; to peel the scent to an abstraction which highlights its freshness and crispiness, enhancing its woody, smoky base a little bit and at the mean time reduce its narcotic, sweet-foully, overwhelming aspects to a story line on the side. And I want a twist in it, a spicy green touch.
As Luca Turin mentioned lately in his weblog “Synthetics are the bone of a perfume, naturals the flesh” (a citation from René Laruelle).
Interestingly enough, I always start a composition with the naturals, the flesh, and use the synthetics to set the tonality and hold everything together.
This might also be an interesting topic for debate: Where do you start building your fragrance? For me, it never worked the other way round. I need the naturals for inspiration and as guidelines. However, the idea for a scent, the overall motive is set at the very beginning.
So, let’s do it: (I will keep you posted on that one once I come out of the lab…)
Woody base: Sandalwood (the Australian and the Mysore quality), birch tar (a hint only), cocoa absolute (a touch of it), combined with patchouli
Fresh and spicy line: Frankincense, green pepper
Soft flower heart: Orange flower absolute (Morocco), mimosa (lots of it), a touch of Moroccan chamomile
Green twist: Lime, lavender, galbanum, with hints of vetiver
# posted by andy : 7:49 AM
2 Comments:
I make a soap which is a Lavender and Lime combo its lovely.
I find Galbanum too bitter sometimes
and I would never have thought of vetiver as an addition to green
does it work though?
you never say which bits are natural and which are synthetic - how would a fully natural editon compare? do you know?
Is the orange blossom flower absolute, Neroli? How does orange blossom differ from Neroli if it is not the same?
Oh Andy so many questions you raise!
Dear Heather. It is the orange flower absolute and a comparison with Neroli is different as Neroli and Orange flower absolute are like two very different incarnations on the same theme. One (Neroli) being a clear, transparent liquid, a light spirit, fresh and sunny, with an aura of clarity, perfectly suited for eau de colognes and fitting with almost everything. The other (Orange flower absolute) being an orange, almost brown liquid, dense, full, incredibly complex with a sweet white flower start with vibrant chords, an animalic touch to it, narcotic even, with woody undertones, a lasting middle note for powerful perfumes, and very challenging to work with. I have two different qualities: The Moroccan absolute (which is somewhat dirty in its dry out note, the other one is the Spanish absolute (which is my favourite, but I have to replace it with the Tunesian quality as the Spain Orange flower absolute is not available at the moment anymore).
I will send you a letter over the weekend with a sample of each because my words cannot describe the pleasures I get with these absolutes…
The lavender lime combo. No doubt this must smell gorgeous… Have you tried a recipe with lavender and spruce essential oil and a citrus oil yet? I find spruce essential oil very nice to combine with lime.
Galbanum: Yes, very difficult not to let it dominated and there is something bitter-stingy to it. The resinoid is less harsh in my nose than the essential oil.
The synthetics and the naturals. I will post on that one…
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