Attar/Mukhallat of the Day

[Mr.P]

I’m currently reading a 9th. Century book by Yaqub Alkindi on perfumery, he has almost a dozen recipes for ambergris substitutes, but going out and hunting for ambergris on the beach is easier than some of the recipes mentioned. I’ll share them if you’re interested.

100% interested in traditional recipes especially from non-western traditions regardless of how complicated they are. Obviously the more practical the better but I imagine there's something to learn from all of these 🙂

 

[Saudalhajri]

100% interested in traditional recipes especially from non-western traditions regardless of how complicated they are. Obviously the more practical the better but I imagine there's something to learn from all of these 🙂

You’ll love it. It also has recipes for distillation (including deer musk hydrosol), substitutes for ambergris, musk, oud, camphor, many attars and incenses, and more. I’ll read through it and post the good finds on my other thread after translating them.

 

[Mr.P]

You’ll love it. It also has recipes for distillation (including deer musk hydrosol), substitutes for ambergris, musk, oud, camphor, many attars and incenses, and more. I’ll read through it and post the good finds on my other thread after translating them.

I will keep an eye out, so nice to have somebody acting as a conduit for this information!

 

[William Birch]

I’m currently reading a 9th. Century book by Yaqub Alkindi on perfumery

Hello sir would you be able to give the name of this work?

I tried googling it but I couldn’t seem to find it.

 

[Saudalhajri]

Hello sir would you be able to give the name of this work?

I tried googling it but I couldn’t seem to find it.

it's a rare investigation and realization of a manuscript by Al-Kindi, : كتاب الترفق في العطر
Investigated and copied by Dr. Saif ibn Shaheen Al-Muraikhi, published by the Qatar ministry of culture, and printed by Doha Modern Printing Press Ltd. the internet archive has a copy

 

[William Birch]

it's a rare investigation and realization of a manuscript by Al-Kindi, : كتاب الترفق في العطر
Investigated and copied by Dr. Saif ibn Shaheen Al-Muraikhi, published by the Qatar ministry of culture, and printed by Doha Modern Printing Press Ltd. the internet archive has a copy

Sounds amazing alas I cannot read Arabic 😭

 

[Fragdoctor]

Rose Ambra by Kashtii fragrances - a very good blend indeed.

Instantly I get a green crisp rose with its citrusy qualities and subtle sweetness and this is being lifted by a salty aquatic note of ambergris. Patchouli is giving this opening half hour a textured dryness. The oud here has the dry down quality of a both Assam and Nagaland and adds a little leather to the base of this blend. The rose is the main player I would say. A thorough enjoyment of desi gulab.

 

[studio.albion]

on either hand one of two experiments that turned out nicely--

>jasmine ghaliya: feat.
*wild sumatra bleu oil
*musk macerated in mysore
*ambergris macerated in mysore
--all courtesy brother @mesOUD
*sandalwood from brother @Habz786
*egyptian jasmine grandflorium

this came out rather lovely (a gift for my wife)-- evolved quite radically from day to day for the first two weeks. the jasmine really gives the resinous/sweet/deep qualities of the rest a kind of holographic wateriness

>the other is a simple two-ingredient blend
*generous end of bottle of al-hareer from habz (curious what folks w more hindi experience than i think of that one btw)
*remarkable andalusian lavender acquired here in paris

don't hear much about oud/lavender blends, but to my nose there is something really uplifting about the muscle of the hindi & the freshness/euphoria of the lavender. also, if you've not tried andalusian lavender, the colour & aroma is much deeper, spicier, and rustic than what we asssociate with french lavenders (which are indeed beautiful, esp the wild.)

 

[Al Shareef Oudh]

it's a rare investigation and realization of a manuscript by Al-Kindi, : كتاب الترفق في العطر
Investigated and copied by Dr. Saif ibn Shaheen Al-Muraikhi, published by the Qatar ministry of culture, and printed by Doha Modern Printing Press Ltd. the internet archive has a copy

did Kindi have a book by this name
كتاب الترفق في العطر

Kindi's famous work is كيمياء العطور and this work
)
كتاب الترفق في العطر
(
seems to be pretty much a copy of Dr Jabir Al Shukri's work on the subject matter.

 

[Saudalhajri]

on either hand one of two experiments that turned out nicely--

>jasmine ghaliya: feat.
*wild sumatra bleu oil
*musk macerated in mysore
*ambergris macerated in mysore
--all courtesy brother @mesOUD
*sandalwood from brother @Habz786
*egyptian jasmine grandflorium

this came out rather lovely (a gift for my wife)-- evolved quite radically from day to day for the first two weeks. the jasmine really gives the resinous/sweet/deep qualities of the rest a kind of holographic wateriness

>the other is a simple two-ingredient blend
*generous end of bottle of al-hareer from habz (curious what folks w more hindi experience than i think of that one btw)
*remarkable andalusian lavender acquired here in paris

don't hear much about oud/lavender blends, but to my nose there is something really uplifting about the muscle of the hindi & the freshness/euphoria of the lavender. also, if you've not tried andalusian lavender, the colour & aroma is much deeper, spicier, and rustic than what we asssociate with french lavenders (which are indeed beautiful, esp the wild.)

I never thought lavender and oud can go well together. My opinion changed today when I put a drop of lavender EO on top of a chip of Hindi oud on coals, the two scents do go well with each other, even if the lavender overpowers.

 

[Saudalhajri]

did Kindi have a book by this name
كتاب الترفق في العطر

Kindi's famous work is كيمياء العطور and this work
)
كتاب الترفق في العطر
(
seems to be pretty much a copy of Dr Jabir Al Shukri's work on the subject matter.

it is the same book named differently. There are only a handful of surviving copies of the original manuscripts. And each was named a different name. Old manuscripts and books usually are written untitled, and the owner not the author names them, or even the copier centuries later. But AFAIK he only wrote one book on perfumery and it's named both names you mentioned.

 

[sevki_ak]

Speaking of which I was following a conversation @Faris and @Saudalhajri were talking about An Najwa's Ruh Khus and I was way too lost in work to post that day, but I tried three dots of it with a slight bit more of Kangiiten's Kangii Attar (which reminded me of you, Jazzoid) and the resulting combination was just mind-blowing!

Not simply good, or pretty good but out of this world almost! By itself I find Kangii Attar to be way too sweet for my liking but just the touch of this special Ruh Khus, while initially overtaken by the musky rose overload, settled into something rounder and toned down the sweetness. The roundness almost reminded me of Sandalwood, if anyone can believe that!

The rest of the week I really enjoyed mixing some oils I purchased from Sokkat Al Teeb. While the ghaliyahs have been delightful, there's been a combination of various types of plantation Crassnas with Bulgarian rose, Turkish Lavender and Cardamom that I've been gravitating towards. I'm using a mukhallat of Prachin Oud with a co-distillation of Lavender and Cardamom, and another simpler mukhallat of Prachin Oud and Lavender, alongside their Bulgarian Rose oil to come up with a lot of combinations. I love using the cool spiciness of Cardamom, but a little can mask everything so exercise caution!

I think what I'll explore next is wearing the Kangii Attar with some of Lavender/Cardamom/Oud mukhallat, and perhaps a bit of the Khus as well. I do regret the days I find a recipe I can't get enough of, having no way of accurately replicating it.

How does Ruh Khus even smell like? I couldnt smell it from fragrances because its something I dont know. Should I expect a green-animalic scent? I tried a Frangipani Absolue and for me is was very strong green, citrusy and to be honest, unpleasant

 

[Al Shareef Oudh]

it is the same book named differently. There are only a handful of surviving copies of the original manuscripts. And each was named a different name. Old manuscripts and books usually are written untitled, and the owner not the author names them, or even the copier centuries later. But AFAIK he only wrote one book on perfumery and it's named both names you mentioned.

I am going to keep this simple.

Al Kindi had named the book كيمياء العطور

Dr. Saif Al Muraikhi named his own work on
كيمياء العطور (Kimya Al Utoor) as

كتاب الترفق في العطر

As I pointed out earlier Dr. Saif's work is very similar to Dr. Jabir Al Shukri's work.

Please be accurate in how you quote classical works. I have noted a number of times inconsistencies in how you quote these works and also your translations. I am not here to police or treate posts like marking essays, but Ilm (Knowledge) is a trust.

 

[Mr.P]

How does Ruh Khus even smell like? I couldnt smell it from fragrances because its something I dont know. Should I expect a green-animalic scent? I tried a Frangipani Absolue and for me is was very strong green, citrusy and to be honest, unpleasant

Ruh khus is interesting - I have smelled earthy, clay-like, waxy, sweet, cool almost minty, some notes like raw potato or asparagus, some notes like caramelized sugar or molasses depending on the batch

 

[Saudalhajri]

I am going to keep this simple.

Al Kindi had named the book كيمياء العطور

Dr. Saif Al Muraikhi named his own work on
كيمياء العطور (Kimya Al Utoor) as

كتاب الترفق في العطر

As I pointed out earlier Dr. Saif's work is very similar to Dr. Jabir Al Shukri's work.

Please be accurate in how you quote classical works. I have noted a number of times inconsistencies in how you quote these works and also your translations. I am not here to police or treate posts like marking essays, but Ilm (Knowledge) is a trust.

Thank you for the correction and clarification brother, I try to be as accurate and unbiased as I can but nobody is infallible and we all make mistakes sometimes. My choice of words was poor, but I meant what you’re saying, that the name of the study/copy is one thing, and the name of the original manuscript is another.
جزاك الله خيرا وزادنا و اياك من علمه.

How does Ruh Khus even smell like? I couldnt smell it from fragrances because its something I dont know. Should I expect a green-animalic scent? I tried a Frangipani Absolue and for me is was very strong green, citrusy and to be honest, unpleasant

Like Mr.P said it differs depending on things like region, wether it’s wild or farmed, distillation method, etc. it all revolves on green rooty, with different layers depending on the batch, some is fresh and almost minty, some sweet, etc.

 

[Mr.P]

Thank you for the correction and clarification brother, I try to be as accurate and unbiased as I can but nobody is infallible and we all make mistakes sometimes. My choice of words was poor, but I meant what you’re saying, that the name of the study/copy is one thing, and the name of the original manuscript is another.
جزاك الله خيرا وزادنا و اياك من علمه.


Like Mr.P said it differs depending on things like region, wether it’s wild or farmed, distillation method, etc. it all revolves on green rooty, with different layers depending on the batch, some is fresh and almost minty, some sweet, etc.

The aligarch from @An Najwa is one of the first Indian wild khus oils to truly appeal to me. Something rich and sparkling / vibrant about the earthiness - engaging not heavy or cloying. I can absolutely imagine collecting different variations of this grade of material and obsessing over the nuances.

 

[Obada]

Old Baazar - Mesoud
This is my type of attar/perfume. Straightforward spicy, coffee, woody, vanillic, oudy with earthy green touches but not dry or bitter in any way. It has a good natural sweetness, rounding up the experience.

 

[Shiningrobes]

I never thought lavender and oud can go well together. My opinion changed today when I put a drop of lavender EO on top of a chip of Hindi oud on coals, the two scents do go well with each other, even if the lavender overpowers.

Seville lavender is my favorite! Like dried apricots and leather with a camphor top note. It’s also great with patchouli. I can imagine it’s spectacular with Hindi oud

 

[Fragdoctor]

Old Baazar - Mesoud
This is my type of attar/perfume. Straightforward spicy, coffee, woody, vanillic, oudy with earthy green touches but not dry or bitter in any way. It has a good natural sweetness, rounding up the experience.

lovely stuff - deep, dark and warm

 

[studio.albion]

Seville lavender is my favorite! Like dried apricots and leather with a camphor top note. It’s also great with patchouli. I can imagine it’s spectacular with Hindi oud

@Shiningrobes so cool you know of it, i think a highly underrated aromatic... matched with an aged patchouli would be so wonderful, great idea