Amber

July 10, 2015 Julianne Zaleta

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.

Spice Markets

June 7, 2015 Julianne Zaleta

Spice market in Istanbul

My recent Spice Route Perfume Workshop had me knee deep in spices - and research. Studying the spice route is really studying the history of civilization. Collecting and selling spices is a global trade and tradition.

I'm lucky enough to live in New York City where ethnic diversity is the norm. I can wander city streets and travel through various ethnic neighborhoods, each with their own cuisine and spice markets. Chinatown has it's herbal pharmacies and food markets but just up the street is Little Italy. Beyond that is one of the city's Indian neighborhoods with fragrant spices spilling out. My favorite were the Greek markets on 9th Avenue in the 90's with containers of spices piled high into cone shapes. Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn is teeming with Middle Eastern markets with their potent spices.

There are spice markets all over the world,

each with rich and colorful histories.

Parisian Spice Market

Bzurya Market

Market in Aix-en-Provence

Herb and spice market in Guangzhou

Resins and Balsams

June 6, 2015 Julianne Zaleta

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

April 27, 2015 Julianne Zaleta

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.

Proteus Gowanus

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: