Miscellany of the day

[Shiningrobes]

After a few weeks of co-swiping and layering I finally bit the bullet today and combined a musky Hindi oud, santal/saffron/ambergris maceration, a frankincense amber perfume I make for myself and Mesoud Mitti Gulab with even more ambegris.

So far I’ve managed to create something that smells like hot dog water with a back-beat of incense 🤷🏻‍♂️. Delicious. Here’s hoping for the magic of time and synergy.

 

[Joe]

After a few weeks of co-swiping and layering I finally but the bullet today and combined a musky Hindi oud, santal/saffron/ambergris maceration, a frankincense amber perfume I make for myself and Mesoud Mitti Gulab with even more ambegris.

So far I’ve managed to create something that smells like hot dog water with a back-beat of incense 🤷🏻‍♂️. Delicious. Here’s hoping for the magic of time and synergy.

Time help. Lol

 

[Mr.P]

After a few weeks of co-swiping and layering I finally bit the bullet today and combined a musky Hindi oud, santal/saffron/ambergris maceration, a frankincense amber perfume I make for myself and Mesoud Mitti Gulab with even more ambegris.

So far I’ve managed to create something that smells like hot dog water with a back-beat of incense 🤷🏻‍♂️. Delicious. Here’s hoping for the magic of time and synergy.

I have always struggled with spontaneous blending. Meaning I've had great luck with layering in a relatively unstructured way but when it comes to making blends, I struggle to come up with anything really enjoyable unless I work in a step wise manner starting with a single pair of ingredients, try different ratios, etc. The layering doesn't translate directly to blending in one go, at least the way my brain works. If I could get over that I would be more productive.

 

[Ahmaoud]

The layering doesn't translate directly to blending in one go, at least the way my brain works. If I could get over that I would be more productive.

One of the most important lessons I've had to learn the hard way! It's insane to think that suppose you're layering an oud that's the same viscosity or near enough as rose otto, and you give yourself 3 swipes of that oud and 1 swipe of the rose, and if you were to make a blend with that proportion ... we'll you'll be the new owner of a slightly dirtied rose otto 😅 Yet the layered composition would somehow be magical in its own right!

That being said, the approach that @Shiningrobes takes is one I find myself very often drawn to, I've recently been playing around with two economical Cambodis trying to make something which couples the base of the one, with the top notes and added Ta'ifi Rose of the other. I had a bottle of a Siberian Musk maceration in Silani Sandalwood which I emptied into something larger, and there were some grains left at the bottom, and I, never wanting to have grains sitting there doing nothing, I added both to that. So far it's smelling pretty good, but it's not been enough time to call this profile anything near stable!

 

[Shiningrobes]

I don’t doubt that this will smell good given time. I’m a lot more cautious than I made this sound. I had my doubts with each of the initial macerations that went into it, but they all proved pretty amazing once mature. Actually pretty much everything I’ve blended has gone through an ugly duckling phase. Just some of those ducks got uglier over time. Im pretty careful with oud and other precious materials so I haven’t completely ruined anything yet. My only regret here is my hand slipped and I added a higher proportion of Mitti Gulab than I had meant to and I’m afraid it may have muted some of the beauty of the saffron ambergris which is really sublime on its own. I do plan on adding a drop of rose once this has all married and matured. I have a Persian, Indian and rose de mai with me, and figure this will eventually tell me which one it needs (I’m leaning toward the Persian right now). I think I might add a drop of patchouli/ambergris/musk to it as well but all of that is a ways off.

I just find it funny that somehow hot dog water of all things!

 

[Joe]

I have always struggled with spontaneous blending. Meaning I've had great luck with layering in a relatively unstructured way but when it comes to making blends, I struggle to come up with anything really enjoyable unless I work in a step wise manner starting with a single pair of ingredients, try different ratios, etc. The layering doesn't translate directly to blending in one go, at least the way my brain works. If I could get over that I would be more productive.

Did you and I go to the same school? Now I don’t always compare two, then three materials. There are some accords i have locked away in my head just from experimenting so much, but for the most part this is how i come up with the materials and the proportions.

 

[Joe]

I don’t doubt that this will smell good given time. I’m a lot more cautious than I made this sound. I had my doubts with each of the initial macerations that went into it, but they all proved pretty amazing once mature. Actually pretty much everything I’ve blended has gone through an ugly duckling phase. Just some of those ducks got uglier over time. Im pretty careful with oud and other precious materials so I haven’t completely ruined anything yet. My only regret here is my hand slipped and I added a higher proportion of Mitti Gulab than I had meant to and I’m afraid it may have muted some of the beauty of the saffron ambergris which is really sublime on its own. I do plan on adding a drop of rose once this has all married and matured. I have a Persian, Indian and rose de mai with me, and figure this will eventually tell me which one it needs (I’m leaning toward the Persian right now). I think I might add a drop of patchouli/ambergris/musk to it as well but all of that is a ways off.

I just find it funny that somehow hot dog water of all things!

Hey, this works too! I however can’t do this when working with a lot of materials. But the better quality the material the less materials you need if they’re all going to shine in your composition.

 

[Mr.P]

One of the most important lessons I've had to learn the hard way! It's insane to think that suppose you're layering an oud that's the same viscosity or near enough as rose otto, and you give yourself 3 swipes of that oud and 1 swipe of the rose, and if you were to make a blend with that proportion ... we'll you'll be the new owner of a slightly dirtied rose otto 😅 Yet the layered composition would somehow be magical in its own right!

it is indeed baffling and there are time when I think I've nailed the ratios in the layering and it's not even close in the mixed blend. every freaking time.

And there is nothing more sublime than well layered fragrance. Unimixtures don't come close is my controversial opinion of the moment. if you really take your own smell seriously, you have to wear multiple things at once. 😉

 

[Shiningrobes]

I’m basically mixing the olfactory equivalent of peanut butter and jelly here. Oud, musk, saffron, ambergris, sandalwood. So simple but so perfect and classic for a reason. I dont know how I was getting hot dog water earlier, maybe because my sister was burning not one but two different holiday candles simultaneously. Anyway, this is just what youd expect from those materials and I’m glad the saffron hasn’t been tamped down after all. The oud (Safeer) hasn’t had musk grains in it for long so those are still doing their thing and I think the addition of more oil helped wake them up a bit because as I shake the bottle I can watch them leak a little more color. The hard part is going to be not doing what I always do, which is “check on” things constantly to see how they’re progressing.

 

[Ahmaoud]

Lit up a stick of KyaraZen's Dreams of Nanban and swiped some oil, and nothing detailed to say, other than, what is the magic behind is aromatic? That it captivates us so deeply, yet remains impossible to describe, basically a "know it when you sniff it" sort of affair. Yet it clings to every fiber of our body, in memory, some times in literal scent as well, somehow never showcasing its entirely an any one specific form. Always leaving us chasing, and every moment we experience it, we desire to experience it another.

 

[Olfactory Nomad]

Took a fat swipe of Habz Haitian vetiver with a couple of drops of boswellia frereana oil from the Frankincense Store. This combo would be amazing on a hot day.

View attachment 51742

Nice. I've been considering getting some of this.

 

[Mr.P]

A tad of bee balm oil is a wonderful thing. Some plants in the mint family have a really nice citrus aroma and this is one. There are actually two varieties of bee balm, one of them has a citrus aroma and red blossoms, the other is more like oregano and has purple blossoms.

another great one is this one variety of lemon thyme (it has no traces of the oregano aroma) - one of my favorite flowery citrus materials in terms of the aroma of the fresh plant itself. I don't have any good oils of lemon thyme although I do have a double distilled infused alcohol, kind of like gin made from the plant.

anyhoo back to my main point which is if you enjoy citrusy rose scents or are blending perfumers you might get a kick out of Bee balm.

 

[Mr.P]

I have combined frank and myrrh on a burner, in layers and in blends countless times and never really found the combination to be an improvement over the two on their own. I assumed that their association was due to some kind of unique beauty when combined. My conclusion has been that the association of these two materials was one of coincidence, not some mutual affinity or resonance.

having a little different experience at the moment, combining a tincture of myrrh resin i got from Yamada Matsu (no clue as to origins) and the frankincense perfume that I was selling about a year ago. In the context of this perfume, the myrrh fits with a more satisfying fit - there is a strange bitter abstract note in myrrh that reminds me of carbon paper and I happen to like it in moderation. That bitter carbon paper edge is sitting nicely with the sweetened frankincense (the perfume is basically a large amount of tincture with a variety of other elements to sweeten and round the profile a bit).

Anyway I'm not promoting my stuff I don't have anything to sell here but I'm just happy that I found a situation where frankincense and myrrh create something that I feel is worth pursuing.

 

[Alamande]

I have combined frank and myrrh on a burner, in layers and in blends countless times and never really found the combination to be an improvement over the two on their own. I assumed that their association was due to some kind of unique beauty when combined. My conclusion has been that the association of these two materials was one of coincidence, not some mutual affinity or resonance.

having a little different experience at the moment, combining a tincture of myrrh resin i got from Yamada Matsu (no clue as to origins) and the frankincense perfume that I was selling about a year ago. In the context of this perfume, the myrrh fits with a more satisfying fit - there is a strange bitter abstract note in myrrh that reminds me of carbon paper and I happen to like it in moderation. That bitter carbon paper edge is sitting nicely with the sweetened frankincense (the perfume is basically a large amount of tincture with a variety of other elements to sweeten and round the profile a bit).

Anyway I'm not promoting my stuff I don't have anything to sell here but I'm just happy that I found a situation where frankincense and myrrh create something that I feel is worth pursuing.

This is interesting to read! I am not the most experienced person in the world with these resins, but in my own limited experience the whole is greater than the sum of the parts with frankincense and myrrh.

I haven’t found the latter to be particularly interesting on its own, though maybe I just need to keep trying different kinds. The guy I have been buying my myrrh off doesn’t really go into much detail about the myrrh side of things beyond describing it as Yemeni or Somali depending on where he got it from.

Together, I find frankincense and myrrh take on a bittersweetness that lies somewhere between orange marmalade and lemon curd, depending on exactly what you are heating. Right now I have some ‘royal’ hojari and Somali myrrh going, and this combo leans more lemony. If I add a darker frankincense (orange/yellow), it usually leans in a more orangey/marmalade direction. Maybe it’s just a matter of taste!

 

[Mr.P]

This is interesting to read! I am not the most experienced person in the world with these resins, but in my own limited experience the whole is greater than the sum of the parts with frankincense and myrrh.

I haven’t found the latter to be particularly interesting on its own, though maybe I just need to keep trying different kinds. The guy I have been buying my myrrh off doesn’t really go into much detail about the myrrh side of things beyond describing it as Yemeni or Somali depending on where he got it from.

Together, I find frankincense and myrrh take on a bittersweetness that lies somewhere between orange marmalade and lemon curd, depending on exactly what you are heating. Right now I have some ‘royal’ hojari and Somali myrrh going, and this combo leans more lemony. If I add a darker frankincense (orange/yellow), it usually leans in a more orangey/marmalade direction. Maybe it’s just a matter of taste!

I agree - this is squarely in "what happens to smell good to me" territory. It is not that the combination doesn't smell pleasant, just a preference for the resins separately in very simple mixtures when I have dabbled in the past. When part of a sweetened frankincense bouquet, the resinous edge added by this myrrh tincture is very appealing.

 

[Mr.P]

nagarmotha is such a strange oil. It is a little bit like vetiver just in terms of having such a strong singular presence. I've used a little bit of it in some blends but I don't feel like I really understand the material and how best to use it. I get a very strong savory and brothy vibe from it, which doesn't really resonate with my concept of pleasant personal fragrances in its own right. This is a material I hope to someday experiment more with, there must be some interesting accords waiting to be discovered.

 

[Shiningrobes]

PATCHOULI COLA/ MUSK !!!!!!
It‘s still early days in the way this will develop with age, but it is astoundingly beautiful already. This is my third maceration with animalics in patchouli and it might be my favorite. This was a special patchouli to begin with and all its best aspects are magnified with the deer musk. The cola aspect is getting quieter but the chinotto/ bittersweet orange soda bits I’ve always smelled in the opener are getting stronger and darker and taking on subtle spice notes. It reminds me a bit of digestive bitters. That slightly dark spicy/bitter quality kind of glides effortlessly into a powdery musk tone. The ”musky” parts of the patchouli are ramped up, and as it dries down the real musk gets more bold. Overall the whole has a burnished old, gold quality. Round and singing and clear. The musk has just clarified and amplified what was already there. I so regret missing out on the Yusa/Oudique patchouli attars, not to mention a full tola of this oil.

I have another maceration going with ambergris and musk that would be mature if I hadn’t added musk about five months ago. With that one the ambergris made the bouquet darker and darker until it almost had a metallic, taste of blood smell. The musk is subtly sweetening it and restoring a floral quality but it still smells green/black and incredibly compacted and dense, almost impenetrable at first like certain Merauke ouds. It takes hours and hours for it to start smelling like patchouli.

My next two are going to be another with musk only followed by one with patch and if I can find just the right patchouli possibly a low dose of castoreum.

 

[Alamande]

PATCHOULI COLA/ MUSK !!!!!!
It‘s still early days in the way this will develop with age, but it is astoundingly beautiful already. This is my third maceration with animalics in patchouli and it might be my favorite. This was a special patchouli to begin with and all its best aspects are magnified with the deer musk. The cola aspect is getting quieter but the chinitto/ bittersweet orange soda bits I’ve always smelled in the opener are getting stronger and darker and taking on subtle spice notes. It reminds me a bit of digestive bitters. That slightly dark spicy/bitter quality kind of glides effortlessly into a powdery musk tone. The ”musky” parts of the patchouli are ramped up, and as it dries down the real musk gets more bold. Overall the whole has a burnished old, gold quality. Round and singing and clear. The musk has just clarified and amplified what was already there. I so regret missing out on the Yusa/Oudique patchouli attars, not to mention a full tola of this oil.

I have another maceration going with ambergris and musk that would be mature if I hadn’t added musk about five months ago. With that one the ambergris made the bouquet darker and darker until it almost had a metallic, taste of blood smell. The musk is subtly sweetening it and restoring a floral quality but it still smells green/black and incredibly compacted and dense, almost impenetrable at first like certain Merauke ouds. It takes hours and hours for it to start smelling like patchouli.

My next two are going to be another with musk only followed by one with patch and if I can find just the right patchouli possibly a low dose of castoreum.

Congrats and great job! I have been thinking about doing a similar maceration - I have about 0.4g dried grains here. Do you think that will be enough in 3g patch cola? Too much?

 

[Shiningrobes]

Apologies if this is disjointed as I woke up 3 hours before my alarm clock. That amount seems like way more than enough to me. My grains were not fully dry so I would think dried grains would go much farther as they will expand in the oil, mine did. I ended up having to eyeball it since I didn’t have a scale when I did it, but I used very little. It took far, far less than you would imagine. I used around 10 percent. Since I’ve spent the last 30 years making paint and other materials for a living I have a good sense of proportion for mixing dried materials into liquids and vice versa so I had to rely on that skill. There’s a useful discussion in one of the deer musk threads, I think, on how to figure percentages In maceration that might be useful to you. I would err on the side of less is more, especially because you can always add more.

 

[Alamande]

Apologies if this is disjointed as I woke up 3 hours before my alarm clock. That amount seems like way more than enough to me. My grains were not fully dry so I would think dried grains would go much farther as they will expand in the oil, mine did. I ended up having to eyeball it since I didn’t have a scale when I did it, but I used very little. It took far, far less than you would imagine. I used around 10 percent. Since I’ve spent the last 30 years making paint and other materials for a living I have a good sense of proportion for mixing dried materials into liquids and vice versa so I had to rely on that skill. There’s a useful discussion in one of the deer musk threads, I think, on how to figure percentages In maceration that might be useful to you. I would err on the side of less is more, especially because you can always add more.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed and helpful reply!