Amber

Amber, the fossilized resin.
There is no such thing as amber essential oil.  Essential oils (and absolutes for that matter) are derived from plants.  There is no one single plant that creates the note "amber". Some regard a certain species of fir grown in the Himalaya's as the source of the note but that would be false.  The oils we identify as "amber oil" are really proprietary blends, secret formulas, of oils and resins blended together to produce a warm, rich, caramel-like note. The concept of amber came into being in the late 19th Century with the development of vanillin (a synthetic vanilla) which was combined with labdanum, the exudate of Cistus labdanum.

Amber is a primary ingredient in Oriental perfumes, a classification heralded by Guerlain's Shalimar, which used vanillin, labdanum and coumarin (the principal note in tonka bean) to create a sweet, warm, powdery and erotic fragrance.  Not all Oriental perfumes, however, are ambery.  Opoponax and other balsamic and resinous materials are used as bases as well creating a wider spectrum of Orientals.

There are materials that are often confused with amber. The prehistoric tree, Pinus succinifera, produces a fossilized resin used in jewelry making.  A process called destructive distillation is used to produce a material called fossilized amber, or Baltic Amber. Most of what I've smelled is not pleasing and so not used much in perfumery.  I've sourced out a beautiful oil that is deep, rich and smokey with a subtly sweet and lasting dry down. Ambergis is the waxy secretion of the sperm whale.  It is secreted by the gastrointestinal tract of the whale to coat and soothe it from the sharp beaks of it's favorite meal, the cuttlefish.  The mass is excreted and floats on the ocean.  The synergy of sun and salt water transform it into a sensual, warm and somewhat ambery perfume substance that lasts and lasts. Ambrette is rendered from a type of hibiscus and is referred to as the vegetal equivalent of musk.  It is ever so slightly ambery (but more animalic) and becomes sweeter during its long dry down.

Cistus labdanum
Natural perfumers seeking to create amber accords will most heavily rely on labdanum. As well as vanilla, other balsamic materials are used to create the chord.  Benzoin, from the tree Styrax tonkenensis, is secreted when the tree is injured and is soft, warm and caramel-like with a powdery drydown. Styrax, from Liquidambar orientalis, is another tree resin and smells a little like glue and cinnamon.  Other materials would be Peru Balsam, Balsam Tolu, opoponax and tonka bean.  Other camphorous materials, incense resins, florals and woods are included to add distinction.

Amber Oil
Years ago, after reading about the realities of amber, I attempted to create my own amber accord.  I collected every material I'd ever read might be included in formulating the accord and began to create my own.  It's wonderful - and useful - to have my own formula to use for blending perfumes.  Pleased with my concoction, I made my own version of Amber Oil (available on my website and Etsy store).

On the heels of my recent Spice Route perfume class (and the resultant research I did) I'm teaching a class on Amber and Oriental perfume making in my home studio in Brooklyn on Sunday, July 19th. We'll review the Oriental classification and pass around some examples of established and niche perfumes.  Resins, balsams, florals and spices that were discovered along the Spice Route will be discussed, explored and available to work with to create two perfumes.  For more information and to register look here.

Resins and Balsams



My recent class on the Spice Route has me surrounded by various resins and balsams.  They're a principal ingredient in Oriental perfumes and have been used as a fixative since the dawn of the spice route.  I've looked up the definitions of both, as well as gum and oleoresin, and they all appear to be the same.  

According to Elena Vosnaki :
"The distinction between resin and balsam is one of form, on a fundamental level: Simply put and generalizing, resinous materials come in the form of solidified, gum-like "tears" seeping from the elixir vitae circulating into the bark of big trees, such as the Boswellia Carteri (which produces frankincense). Balsams on the other hand are tricky materials, not necessarily tree secretions, often coming as they do from flower pods or bushy twigs (such as vanilla orchids or the Mediterranean rockrose). But there are exceptions to every rule: Opopanax, though resinous smelling itself, actually comes from a herb, opopanax chironium.
So the real focus when referencing balsamic and resinous terminology is how the materials actually smell and how they're different or common in scent, rather than what their origin is.  Therefore, for ease, resinous & balsamic materials are classified into 3 distinct olfactory profiles according to their aromatic properties first and foremost." 
Styrax from the Liquidambar orientalis tree,
smells a little like cinnamon and glue.

 In my mind balsams such as benzoin, peru balsam, tolu balsam and labdanum are sweeter and softer. They're gentler and enveloping and add a fixative quality to florals.  Resins like frankincense, myrrh, oppoponax and styrax are widely used in incense and have a more defined characteristic.  They're usually antiseptic so have a medicinal quality to them.

 These materials are the basis for Oriental and Amber perfumes, some of the first perfumes, created since antiquity.  In ancient Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Mesopotamia and classical Rome resins and balsams were combined with sweet and pungent spices and exotic flowers to create perfume for the gods.

 I'll be hosting and Oriental/Amber perfume workshop in July in my home studio.  Email me for more information or to register.
Amber resin

Perfume Along the Spice Route



No one benefitted more from the Spice Route than the early perfumers. 

 Prior to the abundance of materials becoming available from the spice trade, perfumers in Europe were using the materials available to them, mostly herbs and some locally growing flowers, to create the fragrances of the day. The explorations of Africa, India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the West Indies garnered fragrant spices, resins and balsams that created an olfactory palette that would create an industry.
I've always wanted to know more about the Spice Route and the Incense Road so took the opportunity when asked to teach a perfume blending class based on the fragrant discoveries of those ancient explorers. I've read that the search for far away treasure goes back as far as 3000BC.  Some of these materials, such as sandalwood and frankincense, have been in continuous use since then.
After a bit of looking into it I discerned that most of the oils in my perfumer's organ were discovered along those ancient routes.  My oils represent the whole world, not only from western countries but places far and wide, all with their own fragrant tale to tell.  I dug a little deeper when it came to purchasing oils for the class. Resins, spices and exotic flowers I've never imagined are all on their way to my studio.

In this workshop we’ll delve into the discoveries of the early explorers and learn about resinous frankincense, rich vanilla bean, piquant saffron and voluptuous sandalwood. You’ll gain a basic understanding of the sense of smell, the history of perfume and learn how to blend these precious oils into your own bespoke perfume. The process harkens back to a time several centuries past when these materials became available (long before synthetic scent molecules were invented in laboratories). Each participant will leave with two bottles of perfume.



Saturday, May 16th, 1-4pm
543 Union Street (at Nevins)
Brooklyn, NY



These are just some of the fragrant oils we'll be using in class:

Black pepper from Madagascar.
Mace, the delicate membrane surrounding nutmeg.
Vanilla orchids
Ground spices from a market in Sri Lanka
Frankincense bark exuding tears.
Bundles of cinnamon bark
Saffron, the fragrant stamens from a certain crocus.










Fougere Workshop

Create the scent of the forrest floor.
There has been some interest amongst a small group of students in doing another Fougere Workshop.  I'm so happy to teach this class again on Sunday, April 12th, 1-4pm.

Fougere is a fragrance family that came into fashion towards the end of the 19th C.  The word means fern, which makes it a fantasy category seeing how ferns don't really have a fragrance.  Fougere's are meant to smell like the forrest floor and, to my understanding, must have three ingredients:  lavender, oakmoss and a coumarin note (found in tonka bean, hay, sweet clover, etc.).  Often herbs like geranium, linalool rich rosewood and more assertive notes like patchouli are added but it's the careful consideration of the other ingredients that makes the fougere your own.

In class we'll explore the genre and sample many perfumes including the original Fougere Royale and Jicky - the vanguards of the classification -  along with samples from some of the best natural perfumers working today. You'll be choosing from materials like tonka bean, sweet clover, concretes of lavender, geranium and clary sage, several lavender absolutes and essential oils, cedarmoss, cassia and ho wood.  You'll have the opportunity to create two perfumes.  $25 extra to make a third, time considering.

Sunday, April 12th, 1-4pm.  You can register here.

You can see the coumarin crystals forming on these tonka beans.
Once oakmoss is harvested it rests for seven years to develop it's wet forrest scent.
Clover also contain coumarins.
Lavender, one of the key ingredients in a fougere, also contains coumarins.

Nice Write Up in Crain's New York

I've been remiss in posting this lovely article about myself and my perfume business in Crain's New York.  I was lucky enough to be contacted by the magazine for the interview.  They sent over a photographer with more equipment than I thought would fit into my studio or that he and his assistant could possibly use.  They used every bit of it!

Flora, a Perfume with Carnation at it's Heart

Carnations, underrated and maligned, are actually one of my favorite floral fragrances. Not the mass produced carnations available in every florist shop and displayed in funeral arrangements across the country. Those carnations have been hybridized to be big and showy but most have no scent whatsoever, and if they do it's faint and rather stinky. I'm talking about old fashioned carnations like the ones my mother grew in her garden when I was growing up. At that tender young age I wasn't put off yet by the florist industry so my appreciation of them was pure. 

 I was approached recently by the floral industry giant, Teleflora. They were possibly interested in having a fragrance created to celebrate a new line of arrangements they were launching. At one time in my career I was a floral designer working for high end designers in New York City. We cringed at companies like Teleflora and FTD and the use of carnations in general. At first when I got the offer I wondered how I could reconcile my disdain for mass produced arrangements with the possibility of being hired to create a fragrance. Alas the job fell through almost as soon as it was offered but the challenge stayed with me. It became a quest to create the most beautiful carnation floral fragrance I could muster. 

The result is Flora, a spicy, earthy floral with carnation at it's heart. Mitti, an Indian attar of sandalwood saturated in baked earth, is the foundation of the perfume. Warm vanilla absolute bonds with the vanilla notes in the carnations to bring it's sweetness all the way into the dry down. A touch of agarwood co2 and dark patchouli add darker and more tenacious nuances. 

Clove bud absolute brings out the spiciness in the carnation which is sweetened just a bit with orange blossom concrete and apricot isolate. Wild lavender adds a floral aspect to the top with blood orange lending a touch of sweetness and linalool rich ho wood acts as a bright and warm invitation. 

"Flora evokes the kind of fairy that hovered around Juliet's bed just after Romeo left. Flora has Juliet feeling sultry and lustful, shimmering in that innocent radiance at its fullest when a maiden has found her naughtiest dreams come true." Victoria O. 
samples are available


Top notes: ho wood, wild lavender, blood orange 
Heart notes: carnation absolute, clove bud absolute, apricot natural isolate, orange blossom concrete 
Base notes: mitti attar, vanilla absolute, agarwood absolute, dark patchouli
You can purchase Flora from my website, herbalalchemy.net or my Etsy store, etsy.com/shop/herbalalchemy.



Home Studio Classes

It's official.  I've begun teaching small groups in my cozy and intimate home studio.  I've been wanting to teach here for many years and the surprise closing of 3rd Ward last month deemed it time to begin.  I taught a beginner's class a few weeks ago but this past Saturday I taught my Fougere Workshop, the one I've been talking about for months now.

It's no secret that I've been fascinated by fougere's and the delightful and enticing molecule, coumarin, for some time now.  I'm a natural born researcher so when I set out to make my first creation (which turned out to be Sol de la Foret) I had to do my homework first and read up on it.  I began to send for samples of some of the original fougere's, notably Fougere Royale by Houbigant and Jicky by Guerlain, and also from some of the natural perfume world's best perfumers who've made a perfume in this classification.  As I compiled information, both factually and sensorily, I realized that I had the makings of a great workshop devoted specifically to this genre.

After taking in the samples and getting an idea of the generalities of a fougere and the wide breadth of different varieties we explored the materials in a little more depth.  Tonka bean, hay absolute, sweet clover absolute, oak moss, cedar moss, ho wood and cassia as well as a selection of lavender essential oils, absolutes and concretes were introduced.  At this point the students set out to make their own quintessential fougere.  After a little gentle critiquing of their creations we went further and discussed the different classifications more in depth (amber, floral, fresh, leather, oriental and precious wood fougere's).  A few new materials were introduced such as davana, buddahwood, ambrette, choya nak, aglaia and magnolia and then the students set out to create their second perfume.

Tester strips of some of the perfumes we sampled

The class was such a success and the students so enthusiastic that I broached the subject of a salon series meeting semi-regularly to break down the fragrance classifications.  The group was so enamored of the choya nak (a destructive distillation of roasted seashells) that the conversation kept turning to leather notes.   They were excited about the notion of an exploration in leather perfumes so I can see I have my work cut out for me with my next research project.  My head is already spinning with images of 16th Century Parisian glove makers using gorgeous florals to cover up the smell of animal skin.  Smokey cade, birch, myrtle, styrax...  Expect a leather perfume to follow!


If you're interested in being part of the Salon please email me at info@herbalalchemy.net. Space is limited.




Lovely Review in Fragrantica

I taught my first workshop in my home studio last weekend and among my students were very special guests Olga Ivanova and Zoran Cerar of Fragrantica.  Their eagerness to participate and infectious enthusiasm were a delight.   I was so honored to have them and thrilled by the beautiful review they gave the class.

Fougere

I've fallen in love with a fragrance family, the fougere.  French for fern, fougere is a fantasy concept meant to capture the scent of the natural habitat of ferns - the forest floor.  The principal notes in a fougere are oakmoss, tonka bean and lavender.

The first fougere was Fougere Royale by Houbigant, created in 1882, and spurred a whole new perfume category.  While it's probable that these fragrant chords were popular before the release of Fougere Royale, the fragrance captured a moment in time and has forever become linked with it's origination.  Houbigant was the first house to develop a scent chemical meant to replicate the scent of fresh mown hay, otherwise known as coumarin.  Coumarin is present in tonka beans, hay, sweet clover, sweet woodruff, sweetgrass, flouve and deertounge and in lesser degrees lavender, cassia, cherries, strawberries and apricots.  It is an overall pleasant odor reminiscent of sweet grass with vanilla overtones.

Jicky by Guerlain was created soon after in 1889 and it has notes of lavender, rosemary, bergamot,  opoponax, precious woods, vanilla, and tonka bean.


Fougere captured the imagination of perfumers who used tonka, oakmoss and lavender as a base to create new versions of the concept.  Often the base is supplemented by patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood and myrrh.  Often there is a rosy heart supported by geranium and clary sage, jasmine and orange blossom with top notes of lavender, rosewood, citrus, rosemary and bergamot.  There are sub-categories of floral, fresh, oriental, amber, leather and precious wood fougeres.

I'm hosting a fougere workshop in my home atelier on Saturday, July 27th.  We'll be sampling Fougere Royale, Jicky and a careful selection of fragrances by some of the botanical perfume world's best perfumers including Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, Charna Ethier, Ayala Moriel and others.  Each participant will get to create two perfumes using an assortment of oils I've collected just for the occasion.  Tonka bean, sweet clover and hay absolute will be on hand along with several lavender absolutes and essential oils.  This will be an opportunity to experiment with a few rare and precious oils like orris, ambrette, choya nak, ho wood, buddahwood and wild sweet orange.

Fougere Workshop
Saturday, July 27th
1:30 to 4:30
$130 includes all materials
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Call (718)788-6480 or send an email to info@herbalalchemy.net for more information or to register.


Natural Perfume Blending with Mandy Aftel

I don't know if I can say more about how wonderful it is to arrive at Mandy Aftel's beautiful studio in Berkeley, California.  For a woman who loves the raw materials of perfumery it's the closest thing to heaven.  I'm proud of my collection of oils and absolutes that I've assembled, but it pales in comparison to the quantity, quality and desirability of Mandy's scent organ.  What a joy to use the finest (and sometimes rarest) materials in their ground glass stoppered bottles and jars. 

Mandy collects antique oils as well and displays their original bottles in the window with the gorgeous California light streaming through.  It was a visual feast as well as olfactory.

Questions answered, curiosity piqued, inspiration fired up I return to my studio to get to work on new creations.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity and for another chance to get to know Mandy a little better.  I'm a fan!



Mandy also sells a collection of oils.  Let her do the work for you tracking down the best possible materials.   Visit her website at aftelier.com.

A Nice Review of my Perfume Blending Class

A young woman approached me after my last Natural Perfume Blending class at 3rd Ward who had been sent to take the class from Brooklyn Magazine.  She had a few of questions and we exchanged contact info.  I was so incredibly delighted to read the review she sent me today from their blog.

I was most pleased to read that "Everyone in the class was really engaged and took notes and participated in the class in a way that was, frankly, really fun to be a part of", and that she though of me as "a lively, informative presence during the class, which she starts off with a history of perfume that manages to be both comprehensive and easy-to-follow for the novice.".  What I hope most about my classes is that they're informative and fun.  It's nice to receive some validation that I'm getting it right.



Natural Perfume Blending Workshop, Part Two

This coming Saturday I'll be teaching part two of my perfumery course.  The class is for students who have taken the first class in Natural Perfume Blending but want to further their blending skills. The original kit of 50 or so oils will be added to with some rare and precious oils such as ambrette, hay absolute, tuberose, yuzu and pink pepper. The concepts of locking and burying will be explored and there will be specific assignments to deepen your understanding of blending and perfume creation, as well as sharpen your sense of smell.



Saturday, November 10th
1:30 to 4:30
3rd Ward
195 Morgan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY

Park Perfumes Review

The online gardening magazine Soiled and Seeded, dedicated to cultivating a garden culture, has been so kind as to review my trio of Park Perfumes.  This is some of my earliest work and includes some synthetic oils that I couldn't get in nature.  I'm in the process of revising those perfumes using only natural oils and utilizing some of the skills and experience I've accumulated over the past ten years.  The first to be finished is The Ambergill which formerly used a synthetic amber note.

After extensively researching amber I discovered that there is no real amber oil extracted from a plant. There is a pine tree in India that exudes a sap that a lot of it starts from, but then many processes occur and a proprietary blend of oils and macerations are added to create amber in many forms. Some are crystalized in beezwax so a mere touch melts on the fingertips.  These blends are closely guarded secret formulas.

I've had a bottle of amber oil for many years that I bought from the Persian perfume vendors on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. I knew that it was probably adulterated with synthetic materials but I liked that warm velvety chord and couldn't be deprived. This year I made my own proprietary blend with absolutes and essential oils. I'm happy to have come up with a blend I can use in my perfumes without resorting to it's synthetic counterpart.  From that I've created a scented Amber Oil.

Now that I had an amber chord to work with I went ahead and recreated The Ambergill, a perfume inspired by the beautiful Ambergill ravine and falls in the Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY. A gill is a narrow stream-filled glen, which feeds a grotto known as the Amergill Pool, whose banks are populated by green herons, columbine, wild roses & blackberries. Amber, oakmoss & neroli are the peak notes of this warm perfume.

Summer Workshops Announced

Three new Natural Perfume Workshops have just been booked for 3rd Ward in Brooklyn.  Classes fill up fast so sign up early!  Classes are scheduled for

Saturday, June 9, 1:30 to 4:30
Sunday, July 22, 1:30 to 4:30
Saturday, August 11, 1:30 to 4:30

The sense of smell is so neglected, take an opportunity to develop yours and broaden your scent horizons!

More Workshops Announced

Two new Natural Perfume Blending Workshops have been scheduled for this spring.  There is still room available for the May 5th class at 3rd Ward.  I'm so pleased to be offering a workshop at my new favorite boutique, By Brooklyn, in Carroll Gardens on June 2nd.  The classes have been a lot of fun and I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing everyone's reactions to discovering oils they've never experienced before, and it's great to see the different fragrances students come up with from the same collection.




Teaching Natural Perfume

A selection of natural oils
My Natural Perfume Blending Workshops at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn have been a joy to teach.  It's was enormous fun to introduce students to a selection of essential oils, absolutes and concretes and guide them towards blending their own fragrance.

For most of the students it was the first time they had a chance to smell some of the more exotic and rare oils that a natural perfumer uses.  Ambery labdanum and earthy oak moss were favorite bottom notes for the group.  They swooned over sultry jasmine sambac and orange flower concrete, rich and complex honey and spicy aromatic clove absolute.  Head notes of pink grapefruit, fir needle and black pepper peaked their interest for top notes. 

The January and February classes at 3rd Ward have filled up already but there is a link to get on a wait list for future classes.  I'll also be teaching at Observatory Room sometime this spring.  I've discovered that I love teaching!


Natural Perfume Blending Workshops

Smell is the most neglected of our senses yet it has an instantaneous power to penetrate our consciousness invoking memories and emotion. Odors are ethereal and elusive yet can strongly attract or repel.

As a concerned consumer, you are choosing organic food, seeking out sustainable products and opting for eco-friendly packaging. But what about the fragrance you wear? That signature scent is likely composed of synthetic materials (as most commercial fragrances are), mass-produced, packaged and shipped around the world in the millions of units.   Natural perfumery is a much different process that uses only essential oils and precious absolutes that are extracted from plants. Like fine wine, subtle differences can be found from the same plant from year to year depending on soil conditions and climate meaning that it is not an exact science but a creative alchemical process.

In this sensory workshop we will examine the artisanal art of natural perfumery.  Students will gain a basic understanding of the sense of smell, the history of perfume, the advent of synthetic ingredients and the return to naturals.  Perfume ingredients and formulation will be explored and each participant will leave with two bottles of their own bespoke perfume.

No prior knowledge of perfume making is required.  Students should bring a notebook to class, all other materials will be provided.

3rd Ward
195 Morgan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, December 11th
2:30 - 5:300pm

and in 2012...

3rd Ward
195 Morgan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Thursday, January 19th
7:00 - 10:00pm
and
Saturday, February 11th
1:30 - 4:30pm

Herbal Alchemy Gets Some Love

I was recently interviewed for the online magazine Scout Mob, a great resource for local businesses.  They offer daily deals for subscribers so check it out.  The lovely Carly Wray made me look like I really know what I'm talking about.  The post sent me a flurry of interest in my lectures and workshops, quite a few sales off my website and several offers to be my intern!  I'm feeling the love!

Natural Perfume Workshop with Mandy Aftel

Mandy's scent organ
I recently attended a most informative, creative and sensual workshop in the art of natural perfume in the home studio of Mandy Aftel, the premier natural perfumer and author the the natural perfumers bible, Essence and Alchemy.  Over the years I've taken several perfume and aromatherapy workshops but the difference here is, aside from all of the practical information (of which there was plenty), it was also akin to taking an art class.  Indeed, Mandy has elevated natural perfume from hippie fragrance to an art form and my appreciation of her as an artist grew throughout the weekend.  Her teaching method was simple and straight from art school:  a morning lecture explaining concepts and exploring materials and techniques followed by a blending session where we each made our own perfume.  We were then critiqued and spent some time adjusting our formulas and critiqued again.  Her critiques were accurate but delivered gently and inevitably we all made better perfumes the second time around.

I came away with a better understanding of the shape and texture of a perfume and with a nose tuned in to the subtle differences in aromas, better able to distinguish between a good quality oil from it's lesser counterpart.  Indeed, my sense of smell is heightened overall.  As I walk down the streets of my Brooklyn neighborhood in Spring I can pick up subtle scents wafting in the breeze.  I came across a vase of fresh peonies the other day and could distinctly pick up the variance in the scent of each blossom.

I also had the opportunity to smell things I had only read about and things I have searched for to no avail.  One such oil is Flouve, a sweet, herbaceous tobacco-like oil that is so rich and complex that one keeps finding notes in it.  Another is Oud, a rare and precious oil from the Agarwood tree, one of the most expensive perfume ingredients around at about $1000 to $1400 an ounce.  Mandy collects antique oils as well which she hunts the globe for.  Antique patchouli oil is rich and complex and bears little resemblance to the ubiquitous hippie aroma.

The workshop was a wonderful, creative and expansive experience which I'll be drawing from to create new fragrances for Herbal Alchemy.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity to study with Mandy and to get to know a little better this warm, generous and dedicated teacher and perfumer.
A selection of top notes from the perfume organ.