Attar/Mukhallat of the Day

[Joe]

Thanks for reminding me about that Rose Trilogy, I just looked it up, seems like just what I've been looking for! I have a very small sample of Rosa Damascena Absolute from Turkey I got from mesOud ages ago, that's what I've based my entire experience upon. There's a beautiful opening to it, but somewhere in the mid it starts to smell quite yeasty, almost bread dough like, it's something I find quite off putting. I've also found it in Areej le Dore's Ottoman Empire IV, which is a scent I adore to no end, puts a smile on my face every time I sniff or wear it, but on clothes that yeasty facet comes out, leaving me with mixed feelings.

Lavender EO especially it seems from some regions is quite potent and pungent. Not in a stinky but in a, "immediately opens up the sinuses" sort of way. In blends where it's used, and according to Eden Botanical's reference of Arctander, Steffen, it has to be used in high percentages, I've found "less is more" when applying those oil blends. For Lavender Absolutes I was looking a bit more at Fraterworks. I do wonder if they can be used to give a bloom to oud oils without much of a top, in the same way the EO can used.

I don't use lavender a lot in my work, nor am I crazy about the scent on its own. It's too....herbal/camphorous/aromatherapy or something of the like--however, adding it to a crassna is a very compelling idea to me for the reasons @Shiningrobes says. It would be expensive to experiment with, but it would be a niche scent, that's for sure!

 

[Joe]

n

Obsidian Bloom - The Oud Factory

This blend is fire. Strong fruity notes accompanied by Oud and sandalwood. Strong sillage and projection.

View attachment 48184

nice bottle.

 

[Mr.P]

I've been enjoying some rose oils from @Adweeya Mufriha - these are truly special beautiful damascena oils that smell like rosa damacena per se and not like something cooked! Absolutely pristine rose with a kind of clarity and beauty that can hold its own against any Taif, Bulgarian or Ruh Gulab i have smelled. Purity of scent is what strikes me. I have only swiped these oils once, so this is a first impression. I'm excited to study these more closely, and will share my thoughts.

 

[Adweeya Mufriha]

I've been enjoying some rose oils from @Adweeya Mufriha - these are truly special beautiful damascena oils that smell like rosa damacena per se and not like something cooked! Absolutely pristine rose with a kind of clarity and beauty that can hold its own against any Taif, Bulgarian or Ruh Gulab i have smelled. Purity of scent is what strikes me. I have only swiped these oils once, so this is a first impression. I'm excited to study these more closely, and will share my thoughts.

Thank you so much for this ! 🙏❤️

As you know, I regard your writing and knowledge of aromatics highly and receiving such feeback is really so meaningful !

The purity of scent is what we work so hard towards, both in the way we cultivate the orchard and approach distillation.

I am immensely looking forward to your future thoughts !

 

[Mr.P]

Thank you so much for this ! 🙏❤️

As you know, I regard your writing and knowledge of aromatics highly and receiving such feeback is really so meaningful !

The purity of scent is what we work so hard towards, both in the way we cultivate the orchard and approach distillation.

I am immensely looking forward to your future thoughts !

It really shows. I love rose otto in general and have come to accept certain "accessory" notes as par for the course for the mass produced oils. These notes can be a little "sweaty", a bit cooked or dull, sometimes a dull raspberry note; gulab often has faint hints of mitti or almost like khus in the top notes.

The complete damascena oil you sent has none of these that I could smell and is like some good taif specimens i have in that respect - just pure rose aroma. I am trying to figure out what region I would've guessed if I had been given this blind… probably small batch select Bulgarian or Turkish. I've smelled a couple of samples of ultra premium Turkish oil which had some similar characteristics, that might've been my guess as well.

 

[Mr.P]

Last night i was enjoying the expletive out of this light Aceh oil. This is young oil, and the top notes reflect it - they are still strong, all elbows and knees so to speak, but the heart and dry down are just killing it. I applied a big swipe late in the evening yesterday, a happy coincidence because I also drank way too much water, having accumulated thirst at the end of the day (and having an unlimited supply of delicious cold spring water from my tap). I say a happy coincidence because I ended up having to get up a couple of times thanks to all the water, and that patchouli was smelling soooo good - it was all over the blankets and pillow and myself. Beautiful persistent deep woody resinous dry dusty camphorus smooth sophisticated - just the most profoundly beautiful aroma. Could not be improved upon by any addition or subtraction of anything. All perfume is mere dalliance compared to a good natural at its peak.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Gensei - Oudique. The Chinese medicine note is really outstanding in this patchouli based attar. The description says a Japanese incense tincture forms part of the ingredients so I'd say that's what I'm smelling. 100% has those incense notes. Camphor, juniper, Hinoki. Very more-ish.

 

[Shiningrobes]

I’ve been so curious about those Oudique patchouli attars. Glad to hear from someone who’s tried one.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

I’ve been so curious about those Oudique patchouli attars. Glad to hear from someone who’s tried one.

They've currently got a 30% off all attars sale so I'd be grabbing some if you're curious. I might get some more of it myself.

 

[Marwan Faruq]

Wearing my own '" Asl Aswad " (Black Honey), an attar/perfume of my making built around tobacco, sandalwood, beeswax, red champaca, bourbon vanilla, aged patchouli, vetiver absolute, hyraceum, ambergris and a spice accord. Going to make a large batch and try to sell it as part of my first attempt a commercial release.

 

[Joe]

Wearing my own '" Asl Aswad " (Black Honey), an attar/perfume of my making built around tobacco, sandalwood, beeswax, red champaca, bourbon vanilla, aged patchouli, vetiver absolute, hyraceum, ambergris and a spice accord. Going to make a large batch and try to sell it as part of my first attempt a commercial release.

sounds lovely... You should do it! Register with your county to become a business and sell it!

 

[SteveE]

Special Reserve #3 from @Al Hashimi is so delightful. Oud, musk and rose in harmony. Has become a “date night” attar around our house - delightful.

 

[Mr.P]

This is a special Hindu Kush damask rose otto from @Adweeya Mufriha / Scentient Nature.

My understanding, and I hope I portray this accurately, is that unlike typical rose oil which is distilled over rosewater left over from the previous distillation, this is the result of a single distillation when distilled over fresh water. Because of the ability of water to absorb a significant portion of rose oil, the yield is much lower.

The usual reason for distilling roses over rose water from a previous distillation is that the rosewater is already saturated with rose oil so more of the freshly distilled oil floats to the top instead of dissolving in the water.

Sorting out Rose oils takes time and is challenging, but to my nose this is especially delicious, with a completely appealing rosy resonance. Not highly citric, not highly geranium oriented - just a delightful damascena rose balance very much like a smell of fresh blossoms.

I don't know if I've ever smelled a rose oil like this before, my understanding is it is pretty unusual to make rose this way and usually these first run oils are combined with all of the subsequent distillations that occur, which take place in a still charged with rose water instead of fresh water.

 

[Mr.P]

Following up on that previous post, absolutely outstanding rose, the dry down is salivation inducing lol.

Interesting because it seems to transcend regional types -it's just this kind of beautiful essential heart of rose otto.

 

[Adweeya Mufriha]

Following up on that previous post, absolutely outstanding rose, the dry down is salivation inducing lol.

Warm thanks for sharing your experience and impressions !

I was also surprised by how the dry down turned out. Becasue of the difference in chemical compotision of the volatiles extracted outlined below I was somewhow intuitively / projectively not expecting it to be so evolutive & long lasting. It was really an excellent surprise.

This is a special Hindu Kush damask rose otto from @Adweeya Mufriha / Scentient Nature.

My understanding, and I hope I portray this accurately, is that unlike typical rose oil which is distilled over rosewater left over from the previous distillation, this is the result of a single distillation when distilled over fresh water. Because of the ability of water to absorb a significant portion of rose oil, the yield is much lower.

The usual reason for distilling roses over rose water from a previous distillation is that the rosewater is already saturated with rose oil so more of the freshly distilled oil floats to the top instead of dissolving in the water.

Sorting out Rose oils takes time and is challenging, but to my nose this is especially delicious, with a completely appealing rosy resonance. Not highly citric, not highly geranium oriented - just a delightful damascena rose balance very much like a smell of fresh blossoms.

I don't know if I've ever smelled a rose oil like this before, my understanding is it is pretty unusual to make rose this way and usually these first run oils are combined with all of the subsequent distillations that occur, which take place in a still charged with rose water instead of fresh water.

Our usual offering, is made by cohobation (multiple cycles of gentle hydrodistillation of the same rose raw material combined).

In very short:

The first fraction, indeed made with fresh water, gives a different profile, more concentrated in lighter and much appreciated aromatic compounds like nerol, geraniol, citronellol contributing to its remarkable floral brightess and vibrancy, concentrated in top and heartnotes.

Some of rose's aromatic compounds are soluble in water to different degrees, so mutliple cycles allow to extract a maximum of those. The totum thus captures a fuller specturm of compounds : components absent form the first run due to their water solubility as well as heavier volatiles, and compounds remaining in the petals themselves after the first cycle, resulting in a more rounded profile, with added depth and complexity... and much more yield.

Both are pristine in their rosiness, very powerful, long lasting and without off notes, because of the care at all stages of orchard management, harvest, etc. which also play a significant role for the overall quality of rose oils, and of course, the mutlifactorial care in the distillation process. Both are a joy (to me at least) as a "wear alone experience" lasting several hours - and evolving - on skin, as well as interesting for perfume composition: they are just different beasts.

Interesting because it seems to transcend regional types -it's just this kind of beautiful essential heart of rose otto.

Regional types seem mostly relevant when rose oil is done following a clear traditional way, matching the local cultivars, the terroir and climate, the traditional ways of cultivating, harvesting... and, centrally, of all the different paramteres involved in distillation set up and process. We did research a lot to combine knowledge from different experiences (different traditions, scientific sources, try outs & refinement of the process) to develop our thing so it would makes sense that is not easily pinned as this or that

It is also important to note that a few hundred metres of altitude difference, relative dryness / humidity / max and min of temperatures, differences in the composition of the soil and water sources can already change a lot of things even within a small "region"... just like with ouds and many (if not most ?) quality artisan aromatics, types / geographical labels do only tell part of the story and can even be misleading in some instances.

 

[Mr.P]

Warm thanks for sharing your experience and impressions !

I was also surprised by how the dry down turned out. Becasue of the difference in chemical compotision of the volatiles extracted outlined below I was somewhow intuitively / projectively not expecting it to be so evolutive & long lasting. It was really an excellent surprise.



Our usual offering, is made by cohobation (multiple cycles of gentle hydrodistillation of the same rose raw material combined).

In very short:

The first fraction, indeed made with fresh water, gives a different profile, more concentrated in lighter and much appreciated aromatic compounds like nerol, geraniol, citronellol contributing to its remarkable floral brightess and vibrancy, concentrated in top and heartnotes.

Some of rose's aromatic compounds are soluble in water to different degrees, so mutliple cycles allow to extract a maximum of those. The totum thus captures a fuller specturm of compounds : components absent form the first run due to their water solubility as well as heavier volatiles, and compounds remaining in the petals themselves after the first cycle, resulting in a more rounded profile, with added depth and complexity... and much more yield.

Both are pristine in their rosiness, very powerful, long lasting and without off notes, because of the care at all stages of orchard management, harvest, etc. which also play a significant role for the overall quality of rose oils, and of course, the mutlifactorial care in the distillation process. Both are a joy (to me at least) as a "wear alone experience" lasting several hours - and evolving - on skin, as well as interesting for perfume composition: they are just different beasts.



Regional types seem mostly relevant when rose oil is done following a clear traditional way, matching the local cultivars, the terroir and climate, the traditional ways of cultivating, harvesting... and, centrally, of all the different paramteres involved in distillation set up and process. We did research a lot to combine knowledge from different experiences (different traditions, scientific sources, try outs & refinement of the process) to develop our thing so it would makes sense that is not easily pinned as this or that

It is also important to note that a few hundred metres of altitude difference, relative dryness / humidity / max and min of temperatures, differences in the composition of the soil and water sources can already change a lot of things even within a small "region"... just like with ouds and many (if not most ?) quality artisan aromatics, types / geographical labels do only tell part of the story and can even be misleading in some instances.

Very interesting, thank you.

 

[Mr.P]

Last night I applied a swipe of a jasmine grand absolute from India (the extractor for this oil is MANE, which has an outstanding reputation based on my understanding). Woke up this morning with the most delightful jasmine aroma...

This is an excellent Jasmine oil in quite different from typical Indian oils with a more universal Jasmine profile and less of some of the terroir notes I associate with Indian grandiflorum. Over the years the ordinary quality Indian grandiflorum oils have fallen into two categories every time: innocuous, low complexity and blandly pleasant on the one hand or else more interesting and complex but funky to the point of smelling borderline fecal. This has neither of those issues, it is beautiful and complex with a slight tuberose-like aspect in the top notes (the tuberose note seemed stronger in previous batches).

 

[Alamande]

30% Siberian musk in sandalwood oil - Sibermusk

I knew this would take a long time to arrive, but I had full confidence it would, so I let the weeks pass silently without sending chasers or queries.

Then, today, an ominous package with Cyrillic writing on it drops through my door. The postmark says “Барнаул”. I Google it. Altai Republic: home of the incredible throat singers…and Siberian musk.

I don’t claim to have much experience with musk, but this is mind-bending. I wasn’t prepared to be as bowled over by it as I am. It’s all-encompassing, broad-spectrum stuff. I tried to put a few swipes of Ta’if rose on top, but they were quickly eaten up by it.

I would love to make my own musk infusions, but when the ready-made stuff is this good, it makes me wonder if I should bother. 😅

 

[Mr.P]

A swipe of Lysimachia extract (rei ryoko) this morning. From a distance, little tendrils of the scent bring some of the diffusive top notes of musk to mind, overall smells medicinal, sweet, with a peculiar warm pungency that is vaguely curry-like. Quite a distinctive scent and this definitely adds a new "note" to my perfumer's organ.

I'm going to make at least one other extraction today, possibly haisoko, Agastache rugosa which i have a small bale of.

 

[Shiningrobes]

An Najwa - Ghaliyah Banu Hashim

The beauty of this is humbling. Just such profound depth to this attar. I don’t know that I’ve ever smelled something that is so immediately perfect for me. That osmanthus burst in the opening and the little lactic puff of oud before the overwhelming wave of musky perfection pulls the whole horizon up close. I absolutely adore osmanthus but I’ve never smelled it used so perfectly and seamlessly. It’s never isolated here except in that initial opening blast, but it makes its presence known far, far in the background, supporting the musk that is the unquestioned star here with the way it transforms all that it touches. I’m a little in awe of this. It smells important, but not stuffy or stern. Regal, but not separate or apart. It smells ennobling. Uplifting. It makes the heart important. It makes the inner soul the king.