A Lovely New Aromatic for the Perfumers - Omumbiri resin

Omumbiri resin

The Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group I host is a diverse, huge collection of lovers of natural aromatics from around the world. Recently, a member from South Africa wrote about a resin that is collected by the women of the Himba tribe of Namibia that shows promise in perfumery. The Himba collect the resin of Commiphora wildii - common name Omumbibi - to make body perfumes for themselves from this lovely fragrance material. It's related to myrrh, but has a lighter, fresher scent. The Himba mix the resin with fat, a process we can equate with an unguent, much like those known in ancient Egypt.

Estee Lauder, Robertet and other large corporations have been investigating use of Omumbibi resin for a few years. Thankfully, Sophia, our NP Yahoo group member, was able to connect with the organization that is set up to protect the Himba and their aromatic resin and obtain some for experimentation by natural perfumers. This is the same organization that the corporations have been working with.

Anya's Garden Perfumes were approved as an evaluator, as were several others, inlcuding some incense makers and distillers. My 700 grams arrived yesterday. The resins are divided into seven different "grades" for want of a better word, based on color and size. After I examine and evaluate the resins under different conditions - warming for incense, tincturing for alcoholic extract, and distillation for essential oil - I will report back to the organization. All who received the resins signed a release form that specifies our obligations to them re: our findings, and I regard this as a very good stance for them to take in protecting the property of the Himba. We are also not to sell any of the resin, but who can imagine a natural perfumer or botanical incense creator parting with any of this precious initial shipment? Not me ;-)

The first thing I did was to get out the new device that Natural Perfumers Guild member Katlyn Breen of Mermade Magikal Arts is promoting as a quick and easy tool to evaluate resins and woods. The Aromatic Vaporizer Kit (AVK) is a breeze to use! What a clever gadget that can be used anywhere, anytime. The funny thing is it was a while before this old hippie realized what the AVK was first developed for, but let's stick to resins and incense at this time, LOL.

The AVK gently warming the golden nugget of Omumbiri resin - lovely scent, a bit of citrus and incense.

I then switched to the black Omumbiri resin, and here is a photo with a pen in the photo to help you visualize the size of the AVK and the resin - only crumbs are needed for the evaluation.

In the photo with the golden resin you can see where the silver battery is inserted to make the heating element work, and in the photo above you can see the charger case with the batteries in it.

New technology used for quick field evaluations of raw aromatic materials - it's a great world!

BTW, the black omumbiri is, as you might expect, a bit darker in scent than the golden. I'll have to read more of what Sophia wrote me earlier about the resins before I proceed. Some of the resin is collected before it drops on the ground. Maybe the darker resin is older, or has some soil mixed in? I'll check further.

There's a funny bit about how the women are the traditional collectors, but when the men of the tribe realized the interest in the resin, and how the women were making money, they decided to collect it, too. Problem is, they are not as careful and discerning in their collection methods, and were turning in bags of resin with a lot of twigs, dirt, stones, etc., and so the women insisted that their resins be considered separately from the men's.

I will also check into something I read that the men wear a body perfume made from a different species (or subspecies?) of the same tree.

What a lot of fun and a true adventure, being involved in the first-ever independent, niche perfumer's study of a new aromatic! I feel blessed.

photo credit: Karen Nott

Question of Freedom of Speech Put to Blogger(s)

Octavian of 1000 Fragrances blog received a warning from the attorneys of LVMH, the corporate giant that now owns Guerlain fragrances, that he must remove recent posts he wrote critical of their product. To quote from his blog: Without any personal message Guerlain legal service attacked me on blogger.com about what I have posted on Guerlain Idylle - Coty and it seems that I have to remove all, otherwise my acount will be deleted.

This tactic should be a warning to other bloggers. My stance is to support Octavian and to call for other bloggers to spread the word on this matter, so that perhaps we can communicate amongst ourselves on how to handle any threats like this in the future. I have no idea if blogger.com will indeed censure Octavian. I encourage you to subscribe to his blog to keep apprised of developments.

Now Smell This Hosts Giveaway and Announcement of Launch of Kaffir in Cologne strength

About a year and a half ago, Kevin of the Now Smell This blog reviewed my Kaffir perfume and stated he wished it was available in cologne strength for summer. Cost also figured in, and a hope for a bigger bottle. Well, I didn't make it last summer, but I have small 15ml spray cologne offerings of the zesty and leathery/woody Kaffir ready for this summer. (Yes, a perfume can open zesty and get all leathery and sexy and woody!)

I wrote Robin, the head honcho of NST and offered her the exclusive release of Kaffir and a bottle to be awarded to a US or Canadian winner of a random draw. There were so many quick responses, and so many disappointed late entrants, I promptly offered two more bottles. As soon as I get the winner's addresses, the bottles will be in the mail, resplendent in their unique recycled boxes - that will grow wildflowers if planted!

Its just a way to give back to the community, to thank Kevin for planting the idea of a cologne, and for Robin for being such a pioneer and great egg in the blogging community.

Kaffir is perfect for summer, and I hope everyone enjoys it - and the affordable price of $35 for the 15mls.

Reminder: Natural Perfumers Guild Supplier Allured Business Media Offers 30% off all books Through June 30, 2009

30% discount off any book published by Allured Books through June 30th!

Natural Perfumers Guild member Allured Books - 30% off books

Once again Allured Books, a division of Allured Business Media, has come through with a great discount offer on books! Allured is one of the top publishing houses in the world for fragrance and cosmetics books.

If one of their gems is on your wish list, now is the time to take advantage of this offer and save! Just enter Anya30 as the coupon code when checking out to receive the 30% off the price of the book(s). If you have any questions on their books or ordering online, you can contact them at Books@allured.com, subject line- Anya30. Web site - www.allured.com/bookstore

Distillation Part One - Gemini New Moon Distillation - The Noble Bay Laurel in a Heart Magic distillation unit

Bay Leaf hydrosol flowing into the beaker

I recently had to cut down - with much sorrow - a huge bay leaf tree/bush that I planted about 10 years ago. Many meals have benefited from the organic leaves of the Laurus nobilis I harvested from that tree. Planted at the SE corner of my patio, it had to be removed for patio expansion. I saved the roots, trunk, limbs and leaves, and they are all going to be used, nothing wasted. The roots, trunk and twigs will be used when I barbeque, as their aromatic beauty will flavor everything on the grill with a complex, floral, yet earthy and woody fragrance and taste.

Now, I reasoned, was a great time to start distilling. Then with amazing clarity, the Universe confirmed my feeling. Within one week, a distiller I had known for years on the internet but not corresponded with in a year or two contacted me about joining the Guild with his newly-founded business, a Yahoo Natural Perfumery (YNP) group member joined the Guild and informed me he's making absolutes and tinctures of some of the rarest, best quality ambergris in the world (and is a distillation expert), and chat on the YNP group caused me to contact a fellow who makes hand-blown glass distillation units and he sent me one. Wow!

My student Elise Pearlstine of Tambela Belly Perfumes is my partner in the distillation process. Ironically, she was to meet with Ambergris Guy in Salt Lake City last year but they missed each other. She's going back in two weeks, and they'll meet up. Small world.

Elise and I assist each other with interpreting the instructions on the distillation unit(s) we have worked with in the two sessions we've held so far. The first, a few weeks ago, was with a unit loaned by Chris Ziegler of A Little Olfactory. We got the best-smelling bay leaf hydrosol, true to scent, floral, earthy, woody and fitting Suzanne Catty's descrition of well-made bay leaf hydrosol in her book Hydrosols.

HeartMagic Distillation Unit - 2 liter size

Like many of you, I use bay leaf often in cooking. I have never used the essential oil of it in perfumery, although I purchased some back in the 70's. I used that for cooking, too. Our first distillation was done in the back garden, under the huge oak trees, near the fragrant plants - a very calm and peaceful setting.

However, it was a big comical, since I had to run inside the house every two minutes to get stuff we needed:
scissors, a twistee, more ice, etc., etc. Once the distillation started, we were enthralled, and spent a lot of time fiddling with the heat source, checking the connections, wearing eye protection and generally geeking out. Alchemy occurred, and we were the anxious witnesses. We got about 250mls of hydrosol, maybe a tiny film of oil.

Yesterday, under the energizing Gemini New Moon, we had a much more fruitful and less comical alchemical session. Everything was there, the HeartMagic unit went together rather well. We marveled at the beauty of the hand-blown glass, recognizing Gary Stadler really, really put together a beautiful unit. He has developed a unique receiver, with hydrosol coming out one spout, and the essential oil capture in the middle of the receiver, waiting for the person distilling to release it into a bottle.

You can see the meniscus where the bay leaf essential oil is floating on top of the hydrosol.

As per Gary's instructions, the hydrosol started to flow about thirty minutes after we turned on the heat source. The fragrance was beautiful and we enjoyed tasting the hydrosol at various intervals to check for the change - which evidenced itself as a slightly less spicy taste, which is when we stopped the distillation.

Following Gary's instructions, I let the unit cool down, and got some more hydrosol released from the glassworks, a total of 350mls. About a half ml of oil was produced. I'll be posting a lot more soon, I just wanted to share this with y'all, and share how the distillation urge is hitting so many folks right now - hopefully, you, too!

"Distillation is the act of the
invisible being made visible"
. . . Jeanne Rose 2001
from Jeanne Rose's website

Natural Perfumers Guild Member Allured Publishing - Great Discounts on books 30% off through June 30th

Once again Allured has come through with a great discount offer on books! Allured is one of the top publishing house in the world for fragrance and cosmetics books, and if one of their gems is on your wish list, you may wish to take advantage of this offer. Just enter Anya30 as the voucher code when checking out to receive the 30% off the price of the book(s).

New Members - The Natural Perfumers Guild Will Celebrate Beginning Its Fourth Year on June 1st with a Chance to Win the Arctander CD worth $900

The Natural Perfumers Guild Will Celebrate Beginning Its Fourth Year on June 1st
with a Chance to Win the Steffen Arctander CD worth $900 - New Members Only


From the Slow Scent Newsletter May 1, 2009 sent to Subscribers

The Natural Perfumers Guild will celebrate its Fourth anniversary on June 1, 2009 and Guild President Anya McCoy in asssociation with Allured Publishing Media announces that a CD of the three-volume set that includes Aroma Chemicals Vol. 1, Aroma Chemicals Vol. 2 and Natural Origins is being awarded in a random drawing for new members who join the Guild this month.

This valuable CD retails for $900, and it might be yours if you join the NPG between May 1 and June 1, 2009. If your completed application and membership fee is received between those dates, your name will
be entered into the giveaway for the CD.

This is a great opportunity to be in the running to obtain one of the most coveted research tools in perfumery. The legacy of Steffan Arctander is that he produced one of the best reference books (or, in this case, CDs) in the history of perfumery.

Read about this opportunity here:

http://www.naturalperfumers.com/send050109.htm

A Celebration of the Perfumes of the Earth and the Art of Those Who Love Them

Aztec Gold Plumeria aka Fragipani

Natural perfumers have an innate love of nature, flowers and the beauty of this planet. I say that after years of observing the posts by them on a Yahoo group devoted to natural perfumery. Most like to get their hands "in the soil" and grow herbs and flowers so that they can enjoy the harvest as tasty food or as an ingredient in a perfume they create. I'm one of them. I've been a gardener for many, many years. I wrote a paper on organic gardening for a class back in 1972, and later wrote for Organic Gardening magazine. Passionate about herbs, fragrant plants, veggies and tree crops, I've grown plants in Pennsylvania, California, Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Florida - talk about spanning growing zones!

The photo of the white and gold plumeria above, the variety known as "Aztec Gold" was taken in 2003 in my garden. I've been tincturing the flowers for years, obtaining a beautifully golden fragrant extract that I use in my perfumes. I encourage you to click on the top photo to see it enlarged, when the exuberant nature of the flowers can be more completely appreciated. This year I'm enfleuraging the flowers for the first time, and with only three changes of flowers in the nonhydrogenated organic palm oil shortening, the fragrance I'm collecting is fantastic - much more peachy than the tinctures. The fresh flowers smell like ripe peaches, and the enfleurage fat does, too.

Vietnamese Gardenia

Another flower I'm enfleuraging is the showy and delightful Vietnamese Gardenia. Not at all like the gardenias we're very familiar with here in the States, it has a distinct ylang ylang note, albeit subdued, and a hint of what I can only describe as Beechnut gum! Floral and spicy, this knockout flower absolutely captivates me.

I'm not sure if I'm correct, but I may be the only person in the United States enfleuraging these flowers. That is part of the unique niche we natural perfumers find ourselves in. We're always seeking the next great sniff, and we try to extract it ourselves if it isn't on the market. Many report about the dried fruits, soil, mushrooms, rare flowers and sticky resins they're exploring via extraction processes.

The future will see many more artisanal extractions like this coming from natural perfumers. The regulators may try to clamp down and make us only buy from narrow-channel sources, but I know we'll just keep on our artistic and outlaw path. It's just what we do.

White Sandalwood Oil + Full Moon in Libra = A Perfumer's Dream

I'm overwhelmed with the sultry, woody, spicy, balsamic, heavy, transcendent scent of the bottles of Santalum album, aka White Sandalwood essential oil that I've been pouring for the members of the Natural Perfumers Guild. Tonight there's a Full Moon in Libra, the sign of beauty, and sandalwood is in the Pantheon of glorious, gorgeous, sought-after rare and elusive beautiful raw aromatics for fine natural perfumery. My sign is Libra, so I feel the utterly exalting power of this historic, deep, balsamic oil. Being a rather sloppy "pourer" of raw materials, I managed to get about 2mls of this oil on either my hands or in the pouring tray, where it was easy to recover. So I just got to schmering it, to use a little Yiddish, in honor of Pesach, and I'm in heaven!

I also rubbed some on my shoulder, which was yanked out a bit today playing with the huge puppy I'm fostering, and the pain just melted away. Or maybe I'm just melting. I'm as tranquil as that moonlit river in the photo - serene, tranquil and reflecting(ive).

This is the second buy from Anya's Garden that I've put together for the Guild, sourcing extremely rare aromatics. Previously I received the only bit of the 2008 golden Boronia absolute that was parceled out to non-longterm customers. Now I've found a sustainable source of "old school" sandalwood untouched by the ecological, political or other negative issues found in Mysore, the historic home of the finest white sandalwood. I've been sourcing sandalwood oil, or at least buying directly from reputable retail sources, since 1974. This oil ranks up there with the best Mysore, and it just goes to prove that aromatic plant materials can be established far away from the original home base and manufactured beautifully by skilled people, giving rise to the hope that as some homelands disappear (for whatever reason) that others can be born elsewhere.

I may offer some for sale to the general public after the Guild members place their orders. I didn't have any extra Boronia, but I may have the sandalwood. I'm thinking of just buying more, I shouldn't pass up on this great aromatic - it's just so, so fine.

10% off at Anya's Garden Perfumes through April 4, 2009

To obtain your 10% off any scented purchase at Anya's Garden Perfumes, just use the code kaffirlime at checkout.