Skip to main content

Comparing Geraniums

First Whiff
1. Himalayan geranium: initial smell is sweet, light and floral.
2. Atlantic bourbon geranium (certified organic): initial smell is dry, floral and slightly bitter.
3, Anatolian bourbon geranium: initial smell, rounder and also dry. More floral than the Atlantic.

After 2 minutes
1. Light and sweet but drying out slightly, not at all bitter. A sweet floral note.
2. Much dryer, becoming more leafy now and a green tinge coming through.
3. Also much dryer but becoming more fruity than leafy, more of a soft fruity floral.

After 5 minutes
1. Is still light and now fruity floral, still more sweet than dry.
2. A distinct bitterness which is not present in the Himalayan geranium, a dry floral note.
3. No bitterness, the more fruity of the three.

After 10 minutes
1. A definite citrus note coming in from nowhere, lifting this one up again, mmmmh I'm really enjoying the Himalayan geranium.
2. A softer herbal tea type note, less bitter and a little cloying compared to the Himalayan type.
3. Even more tea like now, a bergamot note mixed with a light leafy note.

After 30 minutes
1. Mellowing to a very nice soft floral, no bitterness and really only now could it be described as dry.
2. Starting to fade to a dry tea fruit note, uninteresting at this point apart from a slight bitterness still left, a hint of citrus note present now which comes as a surprise, might be hard at this point to tell this one apart from the dry out of some citruses.
3. A bitter tea note is the first impression after 30 minutes, there is a soft citrus note present at this point in the Anatolian bourbon geranium.

Summary
What is surprising me with all three of the geraniums is the tendency to shift to a citrus note on the dry out. Out of the 3 I have a clear favorite and that is the Himalayan geranium. I have the impression that the Himalayan type would blend much more harmoniously in a perfume as it lacked the bitter note that was present in the other two. It has maintained it's light sweetness all the way through and had a much more distinct citrus note at the 30 minute mark than has either of the other two.

Thanks to Eden botanicals, Anatolian treasures and Atlantic aromatics for supplying the Geranium oils (Pelargonium graveolens) for comparison.
If you would like me to do a particular comparison here on White Witch Perfumers Journal.
Just email me at ruth@whitewitch.ie

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shelly Waddington to Teach Unit at Natural Perfume Academy

We have a new addition to the Natural Perfume Academy's year long Natural Botanical Perfume course starting in May. Shelley Waddington is going to teach a unit about Isolates. "The use of natural isolates is a new cutting edge trend in natural perfumery. This course is designed to allow the perfume student to take advantage of this new trend by providing a basic understanding of what an isolate is, how it is produced, and how to incorporate isolates into their own perfume compositions. The student will also receive a comprehensive bibliography for personal reference. Upon completion of this unit, the student will have a basic understanding of natural isolates and will be ready to begin blending using these fragrance materials. A kit of natural isolates will be available at the store and is highly recommended for the course." About Shelley Waddington Shelley Waddington is the President of Beau Soleil, LLC, and the Chief Perfumer for The Carmel Perfumery, locat
2 comments
Read more

A stress free existance and a perfume blending evening

It's been ages, I know, and I apologize to readers for my absence. I have been following up on my goals for 2009. Main goal... to make it the best year yet . To achieve this as you can imagine is no easy task in today's world! I have been reading and looking after my family and the rest can just go and take a hike because I ain't buying into anything that raises my stress-o-meter out of the zero zone! When I was reading I found out some very interesting stuff about females. Women need a hormone called oxytocin to feel good and to lower our stress levels. The more we have the better we feel. We also need something called serotonin to effectively cope with normal day to day living in a nice happy mood. Women use up serotonin twice as fast as men and men store 50% of their serotonin for emergencies. Men are also able make new serotonin twice as fast as women. For me the key to a stress free existence is to make more oxytocin and find ways to make my body create serotonin
2 comments
Read more

Just Once...

Opoponax and Cassie, two friends of mine. They met in September and by June they had turned the moon blue. <><><><><><><><><><><><> What's your blue moon?
2 comments
Read more