Turn-around time on orders is just a bit longer for a few days while I catch up after being out all yesterday afternoon. I tested several ET mods again today and may skip the floral notes after all, but I need to wear the mods again to be sure. It may be too far afield from the original ET to add the jasmine and OB components, but I’ll try cutting back on the OB even more to satisfy my curiosity (and that direction may lead me to an incensy floral in the future so I’ll keep my notes).
I ran out of Ambre Noir this morning and took it off the site for a few days because I want to try a little test with a new ingredient before I finish a new batch. The new ingredient is a very pretty cistus oil that might add beauty to the labdanum absolute already in Ambre Noir. I usually prefer labdanum absolute to cistus EO, but this is a special cistus fraction that I tried recently and love. It is rich, deep, long lasting, a bit smoky with hints of leather, and does not have the medicinal notes that have bothered me in other cistus EOs. It is powerful so I would only want to use a little touch of it. I’m just testing it tonight in a little trial of Ambre Noir and need to wear it tomorrow to decide.
I also received some yummy mate absolute and something new to me — oakwood absolute from wine barrels in France. The oakwood is a great woodsy note with earthy and mossy nuances. I thought it was especially appropriate to use in scents for Sonoma Scent Studio given the wine-making origin! 🙂
Can’t wait to play with my new incoming ingredients, but I need to keep to the game plan. I’ll catch up with orders, get Ambre Noir back up, finish the ET tester (I’m feeling good about my favorite of the moment), and then back to Bouquet Blanche…
6 comments
Oakwood absolute? Swoon! Sounds wonderful, and I can’t wait to see what you do with it. I also can’t wait to smell everything you’ve been working on, especially the ET and AN.
Forgot to ask – do you always use orange blossom or do you also use neroli? Since you know my take on sweetness, you won’t be surprised to hear that I much prefer the neroli as I really like the crisper petitgrain like smell.
Hi Donna,
The oakwood absolute is interesting and not a commonly-used ingredient. It is more of a heart note from my experiments so far — it adds a lot to the middle section of the scent but retreats to the background by the end.
I do use both neroli and orange blossom notes. I’ve used both in Jour Ensoleille for example. Neroli does tend to be crisper and fresher, and orange blossom absolute often has an indolic nuance. The orange blossom note tends to be cleaned up quite a bit in many perfumes by adding synthetics that emphasize the sweeter floral aspects and minimize the dirtier aspects of the absolute, so that may sometimes push it even sweeter than the straight absolute for you.
I tried my neroli in ET and it didn’t seem to quite work for me. I also tried OB and at first I thought the little touch of OB would be nice, but now I’ve gone back to preferring my original sample.
I’m working with AN now so I can restock it, and then I’ll get back to ET. I think a little touch of this cistus may be wonderful in AN. i tried it in ET too but I think I like that one better without it. I keep coming back to this one ET sample, so that may mean it’ll be my pick for testers.
Ah, Laurie !
I’m an oakwood fan, too.
The cistus sounds wonderful.
As regards all the ‘oranges’ , in their various glories-
I adore the charm each has to offer.
I can’t tell you how much I treasure, and relish-
These nuts ‘n’ bolts conversations…
I secretly believe that many essences choose US; they grab us by the nose, and refuse to let go.
We are smitten !
May our holidays be blessed.
[Love you folk !]
Hi Chaya! It’s always fun to source new materials and see what doors they open. I’m really looking forward to using the oakwood, cistus, and mate.
I totally agree on the way certain notes grab us, resonate with us, and inspire smiles! I’m smitten with many of them, like most of us who love fragrance. Rose and jasmine essences always raise my spirits. But even some things that were unfamiliar to me when I first smelled them because I hadn’t experienced them through gardening (like frankincense) were instantly beautiful to me. We seem to be drawn to many essences just naturally by our nature. It’s interesting how that works — the essences do indeed each offer unique charms!
I can’t believe it is holiday time already. Best wishes to you too for a wonderful season! Thanks for stopping by!
the real combination of ideas are very candesnce in the later way .