Sorry for my late reply, I was gardening, relaxing. For the botanical fixatives, I recommend you look into the sources we used in the Mystery of Musk project in 2010:
Botanical Sources:
Ambrette Seed
Angelica Root
(Ambrette seed and angelica root are the only botanicals that contain macrocyclic musk, like the musk deer.)
Sandalwood
Labdanum
Vetiver
Spikenard
Oud
Vanilla
Musk Rose
Black Currant
Jasmine sambac
Patchouli
Cumin
Black pepper
Costus
Seaweed
Carrot Seed
For increased sillage: use a bit of water in your perfumes, and use your experience to tell you what oils naturally have sillage: galbanum, kaffir lime, etc. Then, use them in your perfumes.
A while back I bought some pre-diluted ambrette CO2, at 10% in alcohol, from a reputable (I think) supplier. I formulated a perfume with it, and then when I needed some more, I bought some undiluted from another place. The odor strength was so drastically different that I had to dilute it down almost to 1% to get the same effect. What do you think happened? Did the first one I had oxidize and lose its strength? Mis-diluted? Do they vary so much?
Hi Anya,
I’d love to hear your tips on botanical fixatives and creating more sillage in natural perfumery. Thanks!
Hi Crystal:
Sorry for my late reply, I was gardening, relaxing. For the botanical fixatives, I recommend you look into the sources we used in the Mystery of Musk project in 2010:
Botanical Sources:
Ambrette Seed
Angelica Root
(Ambrette seed and angelica root are the only botanicals that contain macrocyclic musk, like the musk deer.)
Sandalwood
Labdanum
Vetiver
Spikenard
Oud
Vanilla
Musk Rose
Black Currant
Jasmine sambac
Patchouli
Cumin
Black pepper
Costus
Seaweed
Carrot Seed
For increased sillage: use a bit of water in your perfumes, and use your experience to tell you what oils naturally have sillage: galbanum, kaffir lime, etc. Then, use them in your perfumes.
Thanks so much, this is great! Looking forward to your upcoming book.
Hi Anya,
A while back I bought some pre-diluted ambrette CO2, at 10% in alcohol, from a reputable (I think) supplier. I formulated a perfume with it, and then when I needed some more, I bought some undiluted from another place. The odor strength was so drastically different that I had to dilute it down almost to 1% to get the same effect. What do you think happened? Did the first one I had oxidize and lose its strength? Mis-diluted? Do they vary so much?
Thanks