A Natural Perfumers Journal

The five petals of the Frangipani flower represent five qualities necessary for Psychological Perfection: sincerity, faith, aspiration, devotion and surrender. One of the most beautiful trees and shrubs of the tropical and sub tropical regions is Plumeria Rubra or Frangipani. They are often used as decorative plants around official buildings, in private gardens and parks. They can be found all over Africa and The West Indies. They grow prolifically in China, and other Eastern countries. Like most tropical flowers they emit their most powerful perfume at night. They release a such a powerful fragrance that the cut flowers cannot be left overnight in one's room. The odor is similar to neroli and gardenia, very sweet yet fresh, sophisticated, and extremely tenacious. The absolute of the flowers is expensive, around 145 US dollars for 5mls, and is a versatile floral ingredient for honeysuckle, gardenia, tubrose, lilac, muguet or heavy oriental floral perfumes. http://natural

Osmanthus ( Osmanthus fragrans ) flowers are used to produce osmanthus-scented jam (called guì huā jiàng).  An incredibly unique, fruity floral, with notes of milky apricot and ripe plums. It has a beautiful soft and leather-like dry down. Because of it's natural white floral aspect it goes particularly well other white florals such as orange blossom, jasmine, and gardenia. It takes 3,000 kilos of flowers to make one kilo of concrete and therefore Osmanthus absolute is very expensive, around $4,000 per kilo. I have 2 types in my possession, both of which are from China. Traditionally it is favoured as a flower symbolizing love and romance. There is an ancient legend involving Osmanthus, a giant and the moon, it goes like this: A giant named Wu Gang committed a serious mistake out of jealousy and was sentenced to the moon by the Jade Emperor. His task was to find the Palace of Guanghangong and chop down the huge Osmanthus tree that was growing there. However the Osmanthus tree

A fine specimen of white ambergris from the West Coast of Ireland - Courtesy of www.celticambergris.com High quality Ambergris like this can fetch upwardly of €99 per gram Ambra , also called Ambregris or Ambergris, is a substance of animal tissue, formed in the stomach or intestine of Physeter Catodon , the cachalot whale. It is conceivable that Ambra is the result of a pathological condition caused by irritation of the whale's stomach walls due to certain indigestible particles in the whales food. Consequently, Ambra is one of the few natural perfumery raw materials which cannot be "cultivated", not even in the same way that pearls, for example, are cultivated. Pieces of Ambra are either washed ashore on various temperate ocean coasts and islands, or they are found inside the whales when these great mammals are captured for their oil (spermaceti oil). There is no particular area where Ambra can be found or searched for with regular success. The "big"

1kg agarwood sells for up to $5,000 USD! According to Steffen Arctander true agarwood has been known for several thousand years and its use is possibly as old as that of sandalwood.  He describes agarwood essential oil as a pale yellow to brownish yellow or dark amber color; a viscous liquid of rich and sweet-woody, almost balsamic odor with a sweetness similar to that of sandalwood oil. Pearl of the Forest Agarwood is the most expensive wood in the world, with 1kg fetching up to $5,000 USD! It is also known as Oud (can be spelled Oudh), Aloes wood (more a generic name for fragrant woods in India) and Wood of the Gods. The tree is found growing in India and parts of China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. The fragrant wood is formed as a result of the trees' immune response to a fungal infection. As a response the tree produces an oleo resin which stops the growth of the fungus. This resin changes the color of the wood from light to dark brown or even black. The rest

The ecstasy of love is not very far removed from religious ardor and fragrant wreaths of smoke in sacred rituals often help us to bridge the gap between the two. Since the Dark Ages, places of worship have been infused with various fragrances from odorous woods, balms and various essences intended to call upon the favor of the gods with their subtle fragrances. Cypress and cedarwood were burned in the temples of Mesopotamia, while the smell of incense and rancid butter hangs in Tibetan monasteries. In India, the air in sacred places is thick with the scent of the sandalwood from which the holy statues are carved, and the lotus flower unfolds its fragrant petals at Buddha's feet. Rose and musk essences are enshrined in the heart of mosques, while aromatic, peppery basil haunts Orthodox places of worship. Incense, whose purpose, according to Michel de Montaigne, was "to delight, arouse and purify the senses in order to make us more fit for contemplation," clouds the n