naturals – Her Two Scents

Musings on making scents with … Beeswax absolute. The room is mighty cold, less than 12 degrees in here (don’t ask!) so I’m pretty sure the note didn’t evaporate as it typically would; I’m a bit out of practice and the dilutions are a bit aged, not a bad thing because if this means they’ve gone “off” or “bad” it’s just one more exercise for my nose to learn about this scent. Remember, only your nose can tell you if something does or doesn’t smell right. If to your nose it smells like its gone bad then it has, the ultimate authority where it comes to smell is you.

Source: Alambica

Common name: Beeswax absolute

Botanical name: Cera Alba

Note: Heart/Base

Family: Gourmand/Balsamic. Sometimes I really struggle with putting notes into a specific family because there are those that could fit into more than one, or those that fit almost but not perfectly, such is the case with beeswax absolute. Let your nose be the judge.

Diffusion: 3

Dilution: 10%

Blends well with: Ambrette seed, Cassie, chamomile, champaca, clary sage, clove bud, coconut, fir balsam, galbanum, ginger, hay, helichrysum, jasmine, mandarine, mimosa, orange blossom, orris root, osmanthus, rose, tobacco, tonka bean, tuberose, vanilla, vetiver, ylang ylang. Beeswax absolute is useful in perfumes where similar notes occur (as a modifier). (Eden Botanicals)

My nose: Right off the bat this smells a bit “off”, could be this batch of dilution has expired, or it’s too cold in the room or quite simply I’m out of practice, but I persevere: this smells sweet, thick and round if I could give it a shape. After just 15min there’s a hint of tobacco, warm, dry and intimate with very little projection. 30min on and beeswax absolute is soft, warm, comforting and close. 45min now and the scent strip smells strong, pungent, more like honeycomb, sweet and uncomplicated. It’s 2hrs into the evolution of beeswax absolute and it’s drier, and much more reminiscent of tobacco than beeswax! 3hrs later what my mind keeps noticing about this note is how it dries down to a deep tobacco absolute smell, dry – like stepping onto a bed of autumn leaves. Does my nose pick up smoke? I can’t be sure as I did just throw another log on the fire. At the 7hr mark the scent strip is very dry with barely a hint of beeswax yet still very tobacco-like. 12hrs now and oddly enough what I’m picking up is a dry, somewhat alcoholic note similar to cognac. Still powerfully reminiscent of tobacco, parched and brittle. Good tenacity, it’s holding up really well in the dry down. Subtle and intimate. 24hrs and it’s still heavily recalling tobacco. I can smell aged honeycomb hidden in the recesses. It’s dry and calming to me, like a balm – yes, it’s like smelling honeycomb wax candles! I followed this note up to 36hrs and it remains warm, soft, tobacco-like and still is very alive on the strip.

I’m still working on my iPad so no “bells and whistles” till next week, just the facts. Feel free to share in the comments your experience working with beeswax absolute and what your brain picks up when you smell it.

Cheers!

Common name: Peach

Genus name: Prunus persica (subfamily Prunoideae – think: cherry, plum, apricot and almond, of the Rosaceae family – think: apples, pears, quince, raspberries, strawberries, and rose)

Supplier: Hermitage

Note: accent note, Heart

Family: Fruit, Floral

Diffusion: 4-5

Blends well with: Perfumer’s Apprentice has a nice peach accord to try. I did some research and it seems to play nicely with: florals, clove, vanilla, patchouli, oakmoss, agarwood, cinnamon, iris, pepper, rose, vetiver, bergamot, juniper berry, sandalwood, opoponax, mind, lavender and plum.

Chemical components: More than 80 chemical compounds contribute to the peach aroma. Among others are found C6 gamma-lactones, C8 and C10 (gamma-decalactone), C10 delta-lactone, several esters (such as linalyl butyrate or linalyl formate), acids and alcohols, and benzaldehyde. – Wikipedia

Interesting bits: “Peaches are first mentioned in ancient Chinese scriptures from the 10th century BC, where they were regarded as the most precious fruit, favored by emperors and nobles. The peach entered Europe after Alexander the Great conquered the Persians and brought into his homeland what was then called “Persian apple.” French word for apple is “pêche,” and this is how the modern English name for peach came to life.” – Fragrantica

“For Chinese people, peach is a symbol of longevity, as it blossoms even before the leaves sprout.” – Fragrantica

“The rich flavor of ripe peach stems from its high contents of lactones, especially gamma- and delta-decalactone, and combines very well with fruity and floral compositions. Peach note adds a hit of velvety suppleness to an olfactory harmony, and it is commonly used to ground chypre-based compositions.” – Fragrantica

Their nose: “fruity note, fleshy, sweet, nectarous” – Fragrantica

“The subtly sweet, cozy, comforting scent of milk is a prized note in perfumes. Not only does it create a regression to childhood, welcome solace, but it enhances floral components and matches the sweeter elements really well. White florals and classical chypres often exhibit “milky” notes, due to added lactones, components whose name derives indeed from the Latin for milk; this is because in nature tuberose, jasmine and gardenia do contain lactones among hundreds of other molecules in their chemical makeup. And so do certain fruits which find themselves recreated in fruity chypres, such as plum, peach and apricot. Their infamous skin compatibility (bordering on the naughtily cuddly) isn’t such a mystery; our bodies decompose proteins breaking them up in analogous materials, therefore lactones stick well on skin.” – Perfume Shrine

My nose: Peach concrete opens up fruity and bold like a bowl of ripe summer fruit, jammy! Sweet, hint of animalic quality, warm and pleasurable. 15min in and it’s still very jammy, reminding me of breakfast, fruity, chunky bits hiding in the background, edible. 30min later and it’s almost gone! Plump, fruity, jammy still, sticky , sweet, honey-like in quality and emotion, needs the heat to come alive it seems. 45min and I get an impression of the peach kernel, I can sense and almost feel the grooves and texture and luscious juiciness. No, it’s not gone completely, just sort of receded. 1 hour later and it’s still sweet, jam, apricots even, pleasure of the kitchen, satisfying, summer, is what I get. 2 hours into it and it remains pretty linear, it hasn’t changed much, it holds the note intact throughout. 3 hours and it continues in sweetness, now I get an orange colour, thick, jam, nectar like juice nectar, just like apricot nectar from a juice box! After 7 hours what is that I smell? Wet dog?! Something smells like it has gone bad! Very unpleasant odour like rotting fruit. Wow! 24 hours later and there is still a slight impression of peach but I’m getting more of the rotting fruit aspect, some peach, apricot, warming in the sun.

Musings on composition: I get an impulse to try this with florals but nothing striking jumps out at me immediately. I also feel inspired to create an accord around this concrete with the help of some synthetics but I’d love to get this accord to sparkle.

I wish you a happy day!

Tag: naturals

Beeswax Absolute

aromatic profile: peach co2