MFH - Experiments & Materials

[MaxFromHolland]

Finished the run. Didn't result in much worth sharing. Maybe in a few days when i revisit the oil.

Two things worth sharing perhaps are:
- That you can actually use distillation to infuse a carrier oil (sandal/amyris/jojoba or other) in the receiver with non volatile but water soluble ingredients. Using lab glassware, to mimic a deg-bhapka setup, you want to make sure the drips from the condenser gently land on top of the oil so they sink down slowly. And it takes time. Letting 4 liter of scented water, for example, run drip-by-drip trough the oil 3 times takes 72 hours at a 180gr/hr steamflow.*

- Simmering fruit for 3 days and still have them smelling fresh? Can be achieved by adding a handful of charcoal to the boiling water.

*180 gr/hr is my personal wanna-be-artisan sweetspot i keep returning to in various experiments, fwiw 🙂

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Funny, the other day i bought some betula lenta oil after giving up on trying to find bark to distill myself and swiped some in my beard. That resulted in the fresh wintergreen scent.
Today i put a more generous amount on my sore knees and discovered a surprising depth with smoky wood and other notes i cant put a name on (as usual🙂).
Guess with this stuff less isn't more.

(And yes knees stopped hurting within 2 minutes, but i stink to high heaven)
Edit:
(And no you shouldnt copy it as per modern doctrine the stuff is toxic and whatnot)
(And for the olfactory experience sans overdose: mix a little with guaiac wood and a trace of birchtar)

 

[SevenHills]

6,5 hours later:
View attachment 52404

Almost as black as the bottle caps.
Lovely creamy scent, just like the leaves had. One could mistake it for sandalwood.
Stains like crazy though, think I'll just rub it in (whats left of) my hair.

This looks amazing, and the description is really nice to match. Out of curiosity, are any of these available for purchase? or any other materials you are working with?

 

[Kai Leon Art Perfumer]

I got inspired when i looked up this perfume and saw the list of notes

So i wrote them down to build my own story with. I'll call it
The Tibetan Project 🙂
This will be my list of ingredients to represent the notes:

Top
Black pepper, Madagascar
Bergamot orange, Sicily Italy
Bay berry, Türkiye

Heart
Frankincense Frereana, Somalia
Cipres, Italian
Cedar, Virginia

Base
Oakmoss Complete, MFH
Styrax Benzoin, Indonesia
Oud NS, Attar Mohd Ayub

If i get anywhere with it i'll follow up with percentages and the role of the ingredients (in my amateur-opinion, that is).

Merci 🫡 holy-wood

Sounds very lovely, but if I may offer a little contribution, simply for inspiration - in the context of Tibet and Tibet-related materials:
Quite a few years ago I've made a conceptual perfume for a private client, based on the ambience of Himalyan/Tibetan Buddhist Temples - which is also close to my heart as a lifelong buddhist, which I'd called 'Le Toit du Mond' - 'The Roof of the World'; it was about the high-altitude tucked-away spiritual sanctuaries - noble and aloof, grand and rugged Nature at the foot of majestic Mountains; ancient traditions, secret mistic rituals; overall green-bitter-mineralic-earthy but also airy, even ozonic, and of course meditative vibes...

The main key materials (from top to bottom) were Yuzu (or more precisely, another Japanese Citrus-hybrid called Sudachi), Grapefruit, Hyssop, Absinthe, Clary Sage, White Thyme, Pine absolute, Eucalyptus absolute (very different profile from the distilled oil), Nepalese Rhododendron, Galbanum, Himalayan Cedar, Kupang Sandalwood (the most rugged and robust of all Sandalwoods), North-Indian (green) Vetiver, aged Patchouli abs., Northern Borneo Ouds (Kinabalu and Sabah) and Nepalese (blue-green) Spikenard;
with supporting notes of Labdanum abs., Orris germanica butter (from Morocco), Pakistani Nagarmotha and Myrrh;
and with the minor nuances - the 'entertaining' touches and roundings - with Bergamot, Blue Chamomile, Lavender, White Ambergris tincture, Angelica root, Oakmoss, Indian Rosewood (Palisander), Ambrette seed abs., Laurel leaf abs. (also very different from the disillted essence), White Lotus' and Frangipani absolutes (if I remember corectly, both were from Thailand).
The most 'Tibetan' line in all that was from bitter Citrus and bitter herbs - to Rhododendron - to rich dark woods and to the deep and musky earthiness of Spikenard and Nagarmotha...
🙂

 

[MaxFromHolland]

This looks amazing, and the description is really nice to match. Out of curiosity, are any of these available for purchase? or any other materials you are working with?

No sorry, i have nothing to sell. Instead i prefer to share how i go about so others can copy if they wish. Best way to keep the hobby fun 🙂

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Sounds very lovely, but if I may offer a little contribution, simply for inspiration - in the context of Tibet and Tibet-related materials:
Quite a few years ago I've made a conceptual perfume for a private client, based on the ambience of Himalyan/Tibetan Buddhist Temples - which is also close to my heart as a lifelong buddhist, which I'd called 'Le Toit du Mond' - 'The Roof of the World'; it was about the high-altitude tucked-away spiritual sanctuaries - noble and aloof, grand and rugged Nature of at the foot of majestic Mountains; ancient traditions, secret mistic rituals; overall green-bitter-mineralic-earthy but also airy, even ozonic, and of course meditative vibes...

The main key materials (from top to bottom) were Yuzu (or more precisely, another Japanese Citrus-hybrid called Sudachi), Grapefruit, Hyssop, Absinthe, Clary Sage, White Thyme, Pine absolute, Eucalyptus absolute (very different profile from the distilled oil), Nepalese Rhododendron, Galbanum, Himalayan Cedar, Kupang Sandalwood (the most rugged and robist of Sandalwoods), North-Indian (green) Vetiver, Northern Borneo Ouds (Kinabalu and Sabah) and Nepalese (blue-green) Spikenard;
with supporting notes of Labdanum abs., Orris germanica butter (from Morocco), Pakistani Nagarmotha and Myrrh;
and with the minor nuances - the 'entertaining' touches and roundings - with Bergamot, Blue Chamomile, Lavender, White Ambergris tincture, Angelica root, Oakmoss, Indian Rosewood (Palisander), Ambrette seed abs., Laurel leaf abs. (also very different from the disillted essence), White Lotus' and Frangipani absolutes (if I remember corectly, both were from Thailand).
The most 'Tibetan' line in all that was from bitter Citrus and bitter herbs - to Rhododendron - to rich dark woods and the to deep and musky earthiness of Spikenard...
🙂

That's not a little contribution but lightyears ahead from where i stand 🙂 as i am probably in over my head with 9 ingredients already. But it will be a fun exercise to try group ingredients and learn how you built up the various notes. Such discoveries will be inspiring.

My idea with the 9 ingredients is to make the pepper the star of the open and only use a small amount of bergamot to launch the pepper from.
Bayberry with a heavier spice note and its bitter green as a bridge to the heart.
There frankincense i like to be the elegant star. A small amount of cipres to extent the freshness and green and the dry wood of the cedar to ground the frankincense and bridge.
In the base the oakmoss for a light impression of a forest with only a small amount of oud as a distant darkness. The benzoin adding warmth and keeping the leather and tobacco notes from becoming to heavy. The oakmoss outlives the oud with easy so that darkness kind of fades away.

The scent i borrowed the notes from is said to be Tibet inspired and about motion. If there is anything Tibet about my interpretation, then for me it's in the base: seeing the darkness, let it be, let it fade. But that only occured to me after trying the oud oakmoss combination.

 

[Kai Leon Art Perfumer]

That's not a little contribution but lightyears ahead from where i stand 🙂 as i am probably in over my head with 9 ingredients already. But it will be a fun exercise to try group ingredients and learn how you built up the various notes. Such discoveries will be inspiring.

My idea with the 9 ingredients is to make the pepper the star of the open and only use a small amount of bergamot to launch the pepper from.
Bayberry with a heavier spice note and its bitter green as a bridge to the heart.
There frankincense i like to be the elegant star. A small amount of cipres to extent the freshness and green and the dry wood of the cedar to ground the frankincense and bridge.
In the base the oakmoss for a light impression of a forest with only a small amount of oud as a distant darkness. The benzoin adding warmth and keeping the leather and tobacco notes from becoming to heavy. The oakmoss outlives the oud with easy so that darkness kind of fades away.

The scent i borrowed the notes from is said to be Tibet inspired and about motion. If there is anything Tibet about my interpretation, then for me it's in the base: seeing the darkness, let it be, let it fade. But that only occured to me after trying the oud oakmoss combination.

When creating with few impactful ingredients there are two challenging issues -
first is the aromatic sharpness, the domineering harshness and the overwhelming power of some materials that can obliterate the less powerful materials - when present in high percentage; Spices are like that (Bay and Pepper), so while conceptually a spice may be central, quantitatively it need to be really minor - 1-2% from the Top's share is quite plenty.

Another issue is Safety by using high doses of 'difficult' ingredients - like uncut Oakmoss - which I like personally too, but which also requires light hand; also, Oakmoss is relatively dominant material.
Thus, such simple compositions are in fact very difficult to balance and unite without any additional ingredients - those that bridge and moderate and help the Unison and Cohesion.
Bergamot (Bergaptene-free) in a relatively high dose can help unify all the challenging top notes - as among its many other beneficial traits, Bergamot is a 'hugging chameleon' - becoming a radiant encapsulation, a supporting background for sharper materials.
In the Base, If I would be limited to a single ingredient to unify, smooth and fixate it all - in the 'Tibetan Mood' composition - and create a fused 'Mandala' of the scent, I'd go with Sandalwood.
Benzoin is fine but its sweetness and cinnamic edge can be sometimes overbearing and cloying (for my personal dislike of it), although it is more a matter of taste than of functionality, and it can be present in high doses (up to 20-25% of the composition).
As for the bigger, general issue of the 'Orchestration' of complex and very complex compositions, it is really like with Symphonic music -
- know the strength, the intensitiy and longevity of each of your 'tones' - the materials,
- define your main melodic theme, your aromatic ambience - 'the vision, as well as important supporting and developing nuances to it;
and then create the Major Line ('the Leitmotif') of 2 to 6 ingredients as the 'Temporal Backbone', from the top of Top to the bottom of the Base; add the conceptual nuances that accentuate the theme in the right places - from different facets of it - in the quantities at least a magnitude less than the main elements; also, balance anything 'screeching', and seal the aromatic gaps - with master 'gap-sealers' (Bergamot, Orange, Rose, Rosewood, mellow Sandalwoods, Cistus and Labdanum function as such - at various layers of the fragrance);
- then think of 'Fioritura' - some decorative and whimsical little elements (mostly in traces up to max 1-2%), although it is a matter of style - as with rich and grand ingredients used at the center (a high-class Oud is a good example), there is less need in multiple secondary decorative distractions:
-last, think of the functional necessities, like continuity, radiance, fragrant volume ('the Body'), tenacity - and add what may improve those according to the detected need(s) - while staying within the central defined theme - by choosing the goal-matching mateirals.
In general, every element must serve the core character and the conceptual purpose, in accordance with its traits and properties you identify and appreciate - in your personal view 🙂

 

[MaxFromHolland]

When creating with few impactful ingredients there are two challenging issues -
first is the aromatic sharpness, the domineering harshness and the overwhelming power of some materials that can obliterate the less powerful materials - when present in high percentage; Spices are like that (Bay and Pepper), so while conceptually a spice may be central, quantitatively it need to be really minor - 1-2% from the Top's share is quite plenty.

Another issue is Safety by using high doses of 'difficult' ingredients - like uncut Oakmoss - which I like personally too, but which also requires light hand; also, Oakmoss is relatively dominant material.
Thus, such simple compositions are in fact very difficult to balance and unite without any additional ingredients - those that bridge and moderate and help the Unison and Cohesion.
Bergamot (Bergaptene-free) in a relatively high dose can help unify all the challenging top notes - as among its many other beneficial traits, Bergamot is a 'hugging chameleon' - becoming a radiant encapsulation, a supporting background for sharper materials.
In the Base, If I would be limited to a single ingredient to unify, smooth and fixate it all - in the 'Tibetan Mood' composition - and create a fused 'Mandala' of the scent, I'd go with Sandalwood.
Benzoin is fine but its sweetness and cinnamic edge can be sometimes overbearing and cloying (for my personal dislike of it), although it is more a matter of taste than of functionality, and it can be present in high doses (up to 20-25% of the composition).
As for the bigger, general issue of the 'Orchestration' of complex and very complex compositions, it is really like with Symphonic music -
- know the strength, the intensitiy and longevity of each of your 'tones' - the materials,
- define your main melodic theme, your aromatic ambience - 'the vision, as well as important supporting and developing nuances to it;
and then create the Major Line ('the Leitmotif') of 2 to 6 ingredients as the 'Temporal Backbone', from the top of Top to the bottom of the Base; add the conceptual nuances that accentuate the theme in the right places - from different facets of it - in the quantities at least a magnitude less than the main elements; also, balance anything 'screeching', and seal the aromatic gaps - with master 'gap-sealers' (Bergamot, Orange, Rose, Rosewood, mellow Sandalwoods, Cistus and Labdanum function as such - at various layers of the fragrance);
- then think of 'Fioritura' - some decorative and whimsical little elements (mostly in traces up to max 1-2%), although it is a matter of style - as with rich and grand ingredients used at the center (a high-class Oud is a good example), there is less need in multiple secondary decorative distractions:
-last, think of the functional necessities, like continuity, radiance, fragrant volume ('the Body'), tenacity - and add what may improve those according to the detected need(s) - while staying within the central defined theme - by choosing the goal-matching mateirals.
In general, every element must serve the core character and the conceptual purpose, in accordance with its traits and properties you identify and appreciate - in your personal view 🙂

Hm, i think i understand. So when you paint the mountain air with
Sudachi, Grapefruit and Bergamot it's maybe both because you like the different shades as well as to avoid any of the 3 to become to dominant. Which is one of the questionmarks in this project, how to keep the oakmoss or frankincense in the background of the pepper..
Now i'm worried about my 9 ingredients plan to be doomed 🙂 But i've been taught to take the problem as the starting point, so perhaps i should go about and create my nine flavour problem. Not to end up disappointed but to take it as the starting point to study how i can replace the offenders, soften them etc. in the ways you suggest. While at it i may as well try to unlearn my chronological way of thinking and start to think in a paint by numbers way, which is what i kind of automatically did when i -just- began to try place and group the ingredients of Le toit du mond. Imagine the landscape and see what goes where. I think the benefit of that is that everything can co-exist in the mental picture of the scent.

 

[roflwaffle]

Now i'm worried about my 9 ingredients plan to be doomed

Kai brings up masterful points, but look around here and 9 ingredient compositions can certainly yield striking results. I think it's generally 2 diff mindsets for compositions, with kai leaning more towards the western compounds based method of balancing and tuning and correcting (not suggesting he uses synthetic compounds, just the style aligns with that, you don't see synthetics based with 9 ingreds often, as you generally see less naturals only folks with 30 things. Exceptions abound)

Your own style can lean anywhere on the spectrum and you can achieve favorable results, and if it smells good to you, that's really all that matters, and fun to challenge yourself in either direction! Imo. I think as long as you generally just have what adds value and remove what doesn't, you're moving forward.

 

[Kai Leon Art Perfumer]

Hm, i think i understand. So when you paint the mountain air with
Sudachi, Grapefruit and Bergamot it's maybe both because you like the different shades as well as to avoid any of the 3 to become to dominant. Which is one of the questionmarks in this project, how to keep the oakmoss or frankincense in the background of the pepper..
Now i'm worried about my 9 ingredients plan to be doomed 🙂 But i've been taught to take the problem as the starting point, so perhaps i should go about and create my nine flavour problem. Not to end up disappointed but to take it as the starting point to study how i can replace the offenders, soften them etc. in the ways you suggest. While at it i may as well try to unlearn my chronological way of thinking and start to think in a paint by numbers way, which is what i kind of automatically did when i -just- began to try place and group the ingredients of Le toit du mond. Imagine the landscape and see what goes where. I think the benefit of that is that everything can co-exist in the mental picture of the scent.

Precisely - all materials are paints for a picture - in this approach it is following the nature of a material, and then the picture emerges out of simply listening to the interactions and proportions of the materials; in such case the object of the 'painting' will emerge only eventally and not to be defined in advance - it's more like improvising jam session in Jazz 😉
So your composition of '9 only' is not doomed per se at all:
if we abandon the adherence to the concept of 'Tibet vibe', or to any particular specific imagery at all - but simply look at these materials straightforward - aromatically, and what can be done led only by the technical aptitude of the perfumery craft;
- with only those nine materials, the major key ingredient - the all-rounder, the benevolent, mellow-enough and harmonizing 'emperor' to master over the rest can be Frankincense; with the rest in the quantity-descending order (defined only by their performance parameters and functionality in the blending) - Bergamot, Oud, Virginian Cedar, Benzoin, Cypress, Oakmoss, Black Pepper, Bay. The order is based on the streotypical 'average' sort of each essence - thus opened to subtle variations according to the specifics of the performance and the aesthetic impressions of your particular materials. In fact, alternatively - if the budget allows and the character of your particular Oud is at stand-alone 'perfume' grade, then it can switch a place with Frankincense - making such composition 'all about Oud'.
If you like to choose some challenging, highly impactful materials as your 'star' then you need to add one or two 'spacers' - facilitating 'moderators' - soft, 'hugging' materials to create a Space, an Envelope of volume and diffusion around the harsh 'emperor' - which are not among the initial nine;
- but even Rose alone - the most universal moderator - can do all that; or Rose and Sandalwood; or just Rosewood - cheap and cheerful (although the issue of need for the mellow fixative will remain).
Once you balance your composition technically to the maximal effect, then you can let it lead your aesthetic imagination and see what associations it evokes.

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Kai brings up masterful points, but look around here and 9 ingredient compositions can certainly yield striking results. I think it's generally 2 diff mindsets for compositions, with kai leaning more towards the western compounds based method of balancing and tuning and correcting (not suggesting he uses synthetic compounds, just the style aligns with that, you don't see synthetics based with 9 ingreds often, as you generally see less naturals only folks with 30 things. Exceptions abound)

Your own style can lean anywhere on the spectrum and you can achieve favorable results, and if it smells good to you, that's really all that matters, and fun to challenge yourself in either direction! Imo. I think as long as you generally just have what adds value and remove what doesn't, you're moving forward.

Yes, i've done several 'low count' blends that i consider succesful (on my level), but those usually are blends where the ingredients are picked to complement each other and to balance those isn't that difficult. Even in the Peat Project where notes all push for attention it works because in whatever constellation they dominate, it is interesting. The best experience in fact is putting it in the room scent machine, were the indoor airflow or lack thereof determines what reaches my nose and in which constellation.

The 9 of the Tibetan Project i mentally approach as some journey in time and while i may manage to balance top heart and base individually, i do not quite see how that would stay upright when combined.

So i very much appreciate the time and effort @Kai Leon Art Perfumer has put in both illustrating and explaining two other ways to go about. Plus that it is actually a fun exercise, knowing the inspiration, to place the ingredients of his composition on a drawing of a Tibetan mountain landscape. I encountered a few 'leftovers' that probably are the fillers, spacers or mergers.

The only downside being that the nightly conversation made todays working hours a bit of a challenge.. 🙂

So the plan. First i go about as if there has not been any feedback, to find out if, where and how it goes wrong. Next i will try to implement suggestions and see how that differs.

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Yes, i've done several 'low count' blends that i consider succesful (on my level), but those usually are blends where the ingredients are picked to complement each other and to balance those isn't that difficult. Even in the Peat Project where notes all push for attention it works because in whatever constellation they dominate, it is interesting. The best experience in fact is putting it in the room scent machine, were the indoor airflow or lack thereof determines what reaches my nose and in which constellation.

The 9 of the Tibetan Project i mentally approach as some journey in time and while i may manage to balance top heart and base individually, i do not quite see how that would stay upright when combined.

So i very much appreciate the time and effort @Kai Leon Art Perfumer has put in both illustrating and explaining two other ways to go about. Plus that it is actually a fun exercise, knowing the inspiration, to place the ingredients of his composition on a drawing of a Tibetan mountain landscape. I encountered a few 'leftovers' that probably are the fillers, spacers or mergers.

The only downside being that the nightly conversation made todays working hours a bit of a challenge.. 🙂

So the plan. First i go about as if there has not been any feedback, to find out if, where and how it goes wrong. Next i will try to implement suggestions and see how that differs.

I can see now why Kai recomments to use more of the Sicilian bergamot. It's magic combined with the bay and Madagascar pepper. But my gutfeel to put the pepper first seems justified too. There are so many beautiful small nuances in this particular oil (Biolandes) that i want enough of it to be present on top of the other two. Drydown of the pepper alone is almost like incense on the teststrip.

(Just the first experience with the 3 topnotes)

 

[MaxFromHolland]

I can see now why Kai recomments to use more of the Sicilian bergamot. It's magic combined with the bay and Madagascar pepper. But my gutfeel to put the pepper first seems justified too. There are so many beautiful small nuances in this particular oil (Biolandes) that i want enough of it to be present on top of the other two. Drydown of the pepper alone is almost like incense on the teststrip.

(Just the first experience with the 3 topnotes)

The three heart notes (frankincense, virginia cedar and cypress) seem to resemble some papyrus accord, albeit more woody and a tad more citrus. That needs some thought, unless the 'art of motion' would be about flying to Egypt 🙂

Edit
Unlike papyrus this seems to be heading to vetiver-like notes during dry down, including some mineral or iron-ish notes. Curious whats next..

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Tibetan project #1

Top 32%
Black pepper, Madagascar 14%
Bergamot Risso, Reggio di Calabria, Italy 9%
Bay berry, Türkiye 9%

Heart 32%
Frankincense Frereana, Somalia 14%
Cipres, Italian 9%
Cedar, Virginia 9%

Base 36%
Oakmoss Complete, MFH 16%
Styrax Benzoin, Indonesia 8%
Oud NS, Attar Mohd Ayub 12%

Total 100%

Can't honestly differentiate between one percent more or less of something, hence the simple numbers.
I first experimented with the 3 parts seperate, then combined and corrected for more base, so this is actually attempt number 2.
Needs to sit on the shelf for a few weeks but took a swipe nonetheless and took notes that i copy below fwiw.

Open
Narrow phenolic almost ozonic pepper
Broadens with citrus
Incense base start to form below citrus
Sweet fullness now, like a large bouquet of mixed flowers
Bitter green mixing with sweetness

Drydown
Tone gets warmer, light wood, less sweet
Vetiver-like earthy note sometimes shining trough
Mild incense lingering below constantly
Evergreen note developing
Mild candy sweetness in waves (where from?)
Something oily leather or
Furniture oil when applied
Cinnamon-like spice
Mild incense keeps lingering
Dont directly smell the oud but i sense the notes as a taste in mouth
Aware of the bitter green again, also darker notes of pepper

Dont notice much change anymore

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Tibetan project #1

Top 32%
Black pepper, Madagascar 14%
Bergamot Risso, Reggio di Calabria, Italy 9%
Bay berry, Türkiye 9%

Heart 32%
Frankincense Frereana, Somalia 14%
Cipres, Italian 9%
Cedar, Virginia 9%

Base 36%
Oakmoss Complete, MFH 16%
Styrax Benzoin, Indonesia 8%
Oud NS, Attar Mohd Ayub 12%

Total 100%

Can't honestly differentiate between one percent more or less of something, hence the simple numbers.
I first experimented with the 3 parts seperate, then combined and corrected for more base, so this is actually attempt number 2.
Needs to sit on the shelf for a few weeks but took a swipe nonetheless and took notes that i copy below fwiw.

Open
Narrow phenolic almost ozonic pepper
Broadens with citrus
Incense base start to form below citrus
Sweet fullness now, like a large bouquet of mixed flowers
Bitter green mixing with sweetness

Drydown
Tone gets warmer, light wood, less sweet
Vetiver-like earthy note sometimes shining trough
Mild incense lingering below constantly
Evergreen note developing
Mild candy sweetness in waves (where from?)
Something oily leather or
Furniture oil when applied
Cinnamon-like spice
Mild incense keeps lingering
Dont directly smell the oud but i sense the notes as a taste in mouth
Aware of the bitter green again, also darker notes of pepper

Dont notice much change anymore

I've been thinking about how to approach the next version. I think i should start with frankincense as main note, try ground it with cedar and add depth with oud.
Add bergamot and cypress to create the right kind of mood.
Add oakmoss to bridge wood with the others.
Add benzoin to soften and blend. And then use the pepper and bay to add spicy accents.
The concept of structure > mood > connecting > detailing is not unlike what goes on in the day job. Just need to figure out the logistics 😬

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Tibetan project #1

Top 32%
Black pepper, Madagascar 14%
Bergamot Risso, Reggio di Calabria, Italy 9%
Bay berry, Türkiye 9%

Heart 32%
Frankincense Frereana, Somalia 14%
Cipres, Italian 9%
Cedar, Virginia 9%

Base 36%
Oakmoss Complete, MFH 16%
Styrax Benzoin, Indonesia 8%
Oud NS, Attar Mohd Ayub 12%

Total 100%

Can't honestly differentiate between one percent more or less of something, hence the simple numbers.
I first experimented with the 3 parts seperate, then combined and corrected for more base, so this is actually attempt number 2.
Needs to sit on the shelf for a few weeks but took a swipe nonetheless and took notes that i copy below fwiw.

Open
Narrow phenolic almost ozonic pepper
Broadens with citrus
Incense base start to form below citrus
Sweet fullness now, like a large bouquet of mixed flowers
Bitter green mixing with sweetness

Drydown
Tone gets warmer, light wood, less sweet
Vetiver-like earthy note sometimes shining trough
Mild incense lingering below constantly
Evergreen note developing
Mild candy sweetness in waves (where from?)
Something oily leather or
Furniture oil when applied
Cinnamon-like spice
Mild incense keeps lingering
Dont directly smell the oud but i sense the notes as a taste in mouth
Aware of the bitter green again, also darker notes of pepper

Dont notice much change anymore

I forgot the unshaken newborn + parents picture 🙂

And no i don't keep the pipettes like that while working 😎 was going to rinse them in a bit of alc before disposal a-la @Mr.P mystery scent creativity 🙂

Oh, last remains on skin seems to be soft pepper flavoured benzoin.

 

[roflwaffle]

Added CO2 redistillation to my distillation model. Guess such cleaning up would result in something similar to an absolue, with a richer profile than an essential oil.
View attachment 55239

Did you ever end up redistilling CO2? Its been on my list as well, particularly as now i have some unimpressive but cheap co2, and some nice but also cheap co2. so looking for experiences with it before just diving in.

 

[MaxFromHolland]

I've been thinking about how to approach the next version. I think i should start with frankincense as main note, try ground it with cedar and add depth with oud.
Add bergamot and cypress to create the right kind of mood.
Add oakmoss to bridge wood with the others.
Add benzoin to soften and blend. And then use the pepper and bay to add spicy accents.
The concept of structure > mood > connecting > detailing is not unlike what goes on in the day job. Just need to figure out the logistics 😬

Tried to build a backbone, starting with the oud and cedar first. Found it going in the wrong direction. The Oud NS is to dark for this.
I tried a Prachin instead which, with cedar transforms much lighter fresher notes. If i touch it with some oakmoss, bay and bergamot, its much more floral in character and the mids are already hinting towards incense. It only took a tiny dot of benzoin to anchor that feel.
Feels to me like i'm creating the proper environment for the frankincense this way.

Did feel that the testpatch i painted on my skin screamed for a bit of guaiac. So that i tried and "omg yes" 🙂
I may simply have the wrong type of cedar, never felt like collecting different varieties, probably due to my first ever health store bottle which was horrible.

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Did you ever end up redistilling CO2? Its been on my list as well, particularly as now i have some unimpressive but cheap co2, and some nice but also cheap co2. so looking for experiences with it before just diving in.

Not yet..

 

[MaxFromHolland]

Tried to build a backbone, starting with the oud and cedar first. Found it going in the wrong direction. The Oud NS is to dark for this.
I tried a Prachin instead which, with cedar transforms much lighter fresher notes. If i touch it with some oakmoss, bay and bergamot, its much more floral in character and the mids are already hinting towards incense. It only took a tiny dot of benzoin to anchor that feel.
Feels to me like i'm creating the proper environment for the frankincense this way.

Did feel that the testpatch i painted on my skin screamed for a bit of guaiac. So that i tried and "omg yes" 🙂
I may simply have the wrong type of cedar, never felt like collecting different varieties, probably due to my first ever health store bottle which was horrible.

Tibetan project #2

Backbone
Frankincense Frereana, Somalia 30%
Guaiacwood 15%
Prachin oud, Laddawan 10%

Character
Bergamot Risso, Reggio di Calabria, Italy 12,5%
Bay berry, Türkiye 10%

Bridges
Oakmoss Complete, MFH 15%
Styrax Benzoin, Indonesia 2,5%

Accents
Cipres, Italian 2,5%
Black pepper, Madagascar 2,5%

I've replaced the red cedar with guaiac for a much rounder wood and to support the floral element and enhance the oud.

Think it needs to sit on the shelf quite a while before i can judge the profile. But for a first impression i'm rather pleased. In a followup i try write down what i've been trying to do here.

Aside 🙂 Just swiped some guaiac neat while it was liquid, such amazing material 😋