So I just finished reading Mandy Aftel's "Essence and Alchemy" and am just fascinated.

Apparently I don't have a lot of experience with "natural" perfumes, because I tried Madeleine and it's a whole 'nother world from what I've experienced. (A good one.)

I've also tried Aftelier's "Cacao". I don't particularly wish to discuss brand specifics, but use it as an example: it doesn't smell "pretty" out of the bottle. Is this the nature of perfumes made from natural essences? I found the same to be so with "Madeleine", but it quickly did become a very accessible aroma.

I do find I adore the lack of (probably) aldehydes in the few natural perfumes I've tried.

And can anyone, (Kristen too?) recommend a *good* musk -- or IS there even such a thing anymore?

Eager to hear what the Aficionadas and Maven have to say!

I wore Madeleine today and two people asked me what perfume I had on! I got the AL sample pack a few days ago and have been trying them.

I usually wear oils. I LOVE Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs, but they have soooo many scents that your head will spin. Every time I order I spend a small fortune, even if I just order the imps (sample sizes). I also love Goth Rosary's Nocturnal. Sometimes ordering online is tough, if you can find a store (usually health/natural foods, or even in the organic sections of some supermarkets) that carries natural perfumes, at least you can try before you buy.

Scents will often smell different on you than they do in the bottle, so you really do have to try them on. And they can smell different from one person to the next.

Oh my. My head IS spinning from all those fragrance names!!

I'm going to look into some of them, though.

I'm trying Madeleine again today. I do like it; it just dried down to mostly orange on me. I may look into AL's fragrance sample pack too...

As with any essence or perfume, once mixed with your own chemistry it can smell wonderful or not-so-wonderful. Natural essences straight from the vial do tend to smell a little strong, then once applied to your skin it softens and you can then see how it mellows out on the skin.

What surprised me about ALs scents was(based on the description) the ones I though I would like the most, I liked the least and the ones I thought I wouldn't like as much turned out I liked the most. So it is really hard to tell based on descriptions alone.

I have tried all of Kristen's fragrances and each one is unique and beautiful. My favorites are Madeleine, Kristen, Isobel and Adelaide(for spring and summer). You really need to try them all!

hi Celeste! I'm certainly no expert on fragrance (maybe those who know more than I do can jump in and correct me if needed), but I'm fascinated by what my DH simply calls "smelly stuff" and have started studying it more in depth recently... I tell ya, it's given me a whole new appreciation for formulators!!

quote:

it doesn't smell "pretty" out of the bottle. Is this the nature of perfumes made from natural essences?

I do know that a lot of essential oils (EOs) and absolutes (particularly the florals) contain organic compounds called "indoles," which have very strong fecal overtones, but they're still natural constituents of many flowers' scents, and at very low concentrations, they have a more flowery smell (this is just one reason why you'll usually see only tiny amounts of EOs used for fragrance)... also, w/natural perfumes, we frequently get a lot more of the whole plant smell than what we're used to w/synthetic fragrances: where we're used to smelling only the sweet flowery scent of orange blossoms, for example, neroli absolute (orange blossom extract) could also include snippets of stems, leaves, "hips," seeds, etc. I was given some (extortionately expensive!!) jasmine absolute that I ADORE, but I have to blend it w/other EOs and dilute it in a carrier (I'm partial to light oils and glacés myself), or it actually STINKS...

as for musk, natural musk traditionally comes from young male musk deer and can't be obtained w/o killing the animal; musk deer are a protected species, so almost all perfumers use synthetic musk now... hth!!

*MWAH!*
Tanya

Yes, this is what I noticed in the "Cacao" -- it smelled like easter lilies! That deep green/moss/plants odor. It's not offensive, and frankly I prefer the indoles to a lot of modern synthetic perfumes.

I have Madeleine on today and it's got much, much more staying power than any others I've tried. Right now (put it on 30 minutes ago) it's still got lots of bakery aroma, some cocoa and spice, but not too "food"-y.

I've recently read two blogs on musks... one person (who's smelt the real thing) says it is clean and sweet, and good synthetics can approach it. Another reviewed CB's musk and describes it as almost shocking (but it does not pretend to be real musk, either).

I wear an oil that resembles the old Satana from the 70's. Very clean and warm and sexy. No idea what's in the blend; whether it's synthetic or natural (meaning something like ambrette). Talk about a memory fragrance!

I started a thread on chocolate perfume, and many of the gals referred to Mandy Aftel's book. I've been fascinated with the whole world of scent since I read it! But maybe it's just my nose: she says Boronia is one of the most heavenly fragrances in the world: and I can only pick up "green" and no floral/apricot/raspberry.

(To me, a heavenly flower is plumeria or freesia, but I have never ever encountered a perfume that could accurately capture those scents!)

quote:

Originally posted by CelesteMcC:
Oh my. My head IS spinning from all those fragrance names!!

I'm going to look into some of them, though.

I'm trying Madeleine again today. I do like it; it just dried down to mostly orange on me. I may look into AL's fragrance sample pack too...

The AL sample pack is the way to go. I like to try one every couple of days. And although YOU may not be able to notice the scent after a while, other people may. (I always have to remind my MIL of this - she tends to put on so much perfume that you choke if you get within 30 feet of her!)

BPAL will make you crazy just trying to read through all the descriptions! I just try to order different scents each time, then write down which I liked to try to figure out which "ingredients" I like best.

I'm ordering AL's sampler and GR's sampler as well. SO many things sound SO nice... best to do it this way rather than be tempted to get full sizes...

And still exploring natural fragrances...!

Samples are the way to go! And any you're not fond of, pass along, or put in places that could use a little freshener (a closet, the car, etc)

AntiSally (from Goth Rosary) is a real sweetie, you won't be disappointed by her stuff.

There are certain scents that just cannot be captured naturally via enfleurage/"absolute" methods... the flowers are too fragile, and the method doesn't capture all of the various chemical signatures that create the fragrance. An example of this might be hyacinth, or lilac... you'll never recreate those... naturally or synthetically.

I adore the scent of Lilacs- in Rochester, I always lived a stone's throw away from Highland Park, where the Lilac Festival is held every year. springtime for me means LILACS. thousands of lilac bushes blooming, walking through the park with my dogs. How I miss that! I used to just brush up against them so I could get some lilac on me. LOL.

Hyacinth is a nother love. A single hyacinth bloom can intensely saturate an entire room. But you can't capture it naturally. Hyacinth and other "fleshy" flowers can't be captured!

Celeste, have you smelled a real plumeria absolute? Or just synthetic ones? You can smell a real one for $140 an ounce!
http://essentialoils.org/shop/oil/3222

Mmmmmm.... lilacs. Yes, we had some in our backyard, they'd scent the house in May.

I don't know that I've ever smelled a real plumeria absolute. I have smelled a (probably synthetic) perfume. Real plumeria is not quite a delicate scent but it is ephemeral, and the perfume is not.

(Sigh. Dreaming of Hawaii.)

Eagerly running to the link...!

BTW, today Madeleine dried down slowly, and retained most of its character, how interesting! I'm going to play more with it!

Miss K, have you ever considered (I'm not in a hurry, you have enough on your plate -- just curious!) making a solid perfume?

Celeste,

Most of my perfumes are based on the absolutes being dissolved in perfumer's alcohol. The fragrance materials I use have to dissolve- they can't be combined with oil. For example, cocoa absolute is thick and dark brown. It has to be combined with alcohol and the final perfume that contains it has to be filtered about 20 times. Same with anything with vanilla, as well as some other absolutes.

Only essential oils and things that are clear and free flowing can blend with oil and be made into solid perfume. This really limits you. Also, when you make a solid perfume, you're adding the fragrance into heated oils. This changes the fragrance.

I used to make a solid perfume similar to Isobel, but it drastically changed the fragrance... it's why I don't do it anymore. When you use essential oils and absolutes that cost hundreds of dollars an ounce, subjecting them to heat and changing their fragrance and also losing part of the strength of the fragrance due to adding them to heated oils- feels like such a waste.

I think that solid perfumes are great for synthetic perfumes but not for natural perfumes.

Hope this all makes sense!

K

Thanks Kristen, this actually makes a great deal of sense, especially now that I've been reading about the nature and extraction of absolutes and essential oil. The more I learn, the more fascinating I'm finding this whole alchemy of perfume -- it is genuinely an art!

And now off to preparing less intoxicating, but also appealing smells of Christmas roast beef, and lovely fresh vegetables and herbs... (Nice, but maybe not for daily "wear"...)

It is extremely fascinating... once you starting reading, you want to start buying absolutes though! It's dangerous!

Mmmm... your roast sounds divine... I went grocery shopping earlier and did all of my Christmas shopping. I'm delighted that things have slowed down enough around here that I have time to cook! I love to cook, but am never able to. I'm always working... so my husband does it! I really miss it!

Oooh, thanks. I'm treating the roast with extra care. Organic prime rib. With roasted carrots, roasted mushrooms with rosemary, fennel with wine and parmesan, and green beens with shallots. And wasabi mashed potatoes. Here's hoping for success!

Thinking of wearable fragrances though -- Cin, I'm trying the sample pack from Goth Rosary (have I said this already? Sorry, brain leak) and narrowed down six samples from BPAL. And Dulcinea's next on my list.

(Very amused to see one line of fragrances based on H.P. Lovecraft novels! "Cthulu" perfume, indeed!)

Signed, not a goth, but would love to play one on TV...