Thoughts on amber attar recipe

[Mr.P]

The recipes I shared assume either 100% concentration or at least the same concentration of all materials.

It definitely gets a little bit challenging and becomes a situation where a spreadsheet comes in handy when you are not able to start with materials all at the same concentration.

The most basic way to handle it is to add more in proportion to the dilution. So if everything is at 100% except your benzoin is at 20% (1/5 strength) then you need to add 5x as much of your dilute benzoin to get the same total amount of benzoin into the mixture.

Of course you've now added a whole bunch of whatever the benzoin is diluted in, so that just becomes something that you have to remember is in there if it's important for you to know the exact concentration of everything in the end.

You may run into some issues as far as compatibility of whatever diluents are used for your diluted stock. Ideally, everything would be diluted in the same solvent...

This may not be practical but an alternative approach: I just buy everything at 100% and dilute them all to the same ratio* in the same solvent, ethyl alcohol in my case, and then it becomes super easy to mix things up.

* some materials are so potent that I deliberately dilute them 10 - 1000 times more than others but those are exceptions and it's done deliberately to control their impact

 

[Saudalhajri]

Isn't a maceration how EO are produced? Please correct me if wrong.

Essential oils are done by distillation.

 

[Mr.P]

Please provide other ingredient suggestions. This is exactly what I am after. If you can provide a recipe, even better.

if you haven't tried an authentic tonka bean absolute yet, I suggest getting some. To me it feels like a really good component of a convincing Amber. Recipes often use coumarin instead which is a much cheaper synthetic creation of the main odorant in tonka.

 

[Hammonje]

Source???

 

[Mr.P]

i like the one Eden carries - a very refined absolute, solid and crystalline, aroma very much like tonka beans and coumarin. Fraterworks has one that is like a dark syrup and the aroma has toasted facets. It produces more complex and diverse accords in blends but adds a distinctive toasted aroma that I don't associate with the beans themselves. Tonka features pretty prominently in my amber and I prepared two different batches with the two different absolute to compare - an interesting experiment. The one with the absolute from Fraterworks smelled more sophisticated and abstract, but deviated a little bit from my conception of what an amber should smell like.

 

[Hammonje]

Updated Amber No. 1233. Like to have your thoughts on proportions. Would also like to incorporate Tonka Bean Abs. from Eden's Botanicals. Or can one suggest an Amber source which would be good for bakhoor, sweet variety rather than Labdanum heavy for bakhoor production. I know Surrati and Al Haramain have Amber CPOs that I could use. Thank you.

Natural Amber Essence (Resin & Botanical-Based)​

Formula (1000 parts total)

• 200 parts Sandalwood oil (Mysore or Australian) → creamy, woody fixative
• 150 parts Labdanum absolute/resinoid → ambery backbone, leathery warmth
• 100 parts Frankincense resinoid (Boswellia sacra tears) → incense brightness
• 100 parts Styrax resinoid (Liquidambar orientalis) → smoky, balsamic, leathery note
• 100 parts Vetiver oil (Bourbon or Haiti) → earthy, grounding
• 80 parts Benzoin resinoid (Siam or Sumatra) → sweet vanilla-balsamic
• 70 parts Vanilla absolute OR tinctured vanilla bean → gourmand sweetness (replacing heliotropin)
• 50 parts Cinnamon leaf oil (or Cinnamon bark CO₂ in very small dose) → warm spicy note (replacing amyl/methyl cinnamates)
• 30 parts Rose absolute or Geranium oil (Egyptian) → floral lift, balances resins
• 20 parts Myrrh or Opoponax resinoid → dark balsamic depth (softening cinnamon/vanilla)

Total = 1000 parts

 

[Mr.P]

fyi the tonka i recommended was from Eden Botanicals / Biolandes and not Eden's Garden (not familiar with that vendor).

 

[Mr.P]

I wish I could give you some comment on your ratios but I find it super hard to process things like this - it must take a lifetime of preparing and testing formulas to develop the internal framework to look at something like this and imagine its smell.

I feel like you should have more benzoin and vanilla since there is no tonka here, and when you mix this up if you find there's something missing to the depth of sweetness in the very opening try a tad of bergamot and sweet orange. I am no connoisseur or expert of the amber accord but I read discussions on basenotes where people who seemed to know what they were talking about seemed to agree that a little bit of citrus, bergamot in particular, was important. I feel like the citrus and tonka kind of harmonize with each other
for that peculiar sweetness amber can have.

 

[Mr.P]

The frankincense will be a nice facet. once you get a nice amber figured out, it's worth dabbling with boosting the frankincense a little bit - there can be a really beautiful interaction there.

 

[Hammonje]

Also, do you know a source of Rose de Mai oil or absolute? Something not too expensive, but solid quality? Thank you.

 

[Mr.P]

Also, do you know a source of Rose de Mai oil or absolute? Something not too expensive, but solid quality? Thank you.

Rose de mai can I have a couple of different meanings including the OG: a May harvest of French grown Rosa centifolia. I smelled an Egyptian oil of the same species that I picked up from Eden botanicals but it did not smell typical based on my experience of the French material as well as centifolia oil from Morocco. I would love to get a good dense Moroccan centifolia - haven't seen one of those in a long time. I don't know which place to recommend just because I haven't really pursued this species recently. @mesOUD had a very nice centifolia absolute that he was involved in producing but I think that may be long gone.

 

[Joe]

Hope this message finds everyone well. I am looking to construct an amber attar for my personal bakhoor production. Enjoy making all types of my own bakhoor. Following is recipe for amber attar:

Amber Attar (Resin-Infused, Labdanum-Free)​

Ingredients for 10 mL Batch

• 8 mL Mysore Sandalwood oil (Sandalwood 4 mL + 4 mL clear jojoba split)
• 2 g Benzoin resin, Sumatra (sweet vanilla-balsamic)
• 1 g Opoponax resin (sweet myrrh) (warm, honeyed)
• 0.5 g Myrrh resin (dark, grounding)
• 0.5 g Frankincense resin (bright, incense lift)
• 0.3 mL Vanilla absolute (pre-diluted 1:7.5 in MCT)
• Optional: 1–2 drops Rose absolute or oil (if desired, once infusion is strained)

Mysore Sandalwood source is very pure (GC-MS, confirmed as high-quality) and scent is robust, so may need to reduce the Sandalwood oil in MCT or clear jojoba oil split. Attar smells very strong of Sandalwood oil from the get go. All resins are Royal grade from Salalah Oman, fresh and pungent. Vanilla absolute is Edens Gardens.

Method (Traditional Infusion)

1. Crush the resins - Break into small granules (rice-size). Don’t powder fully; you want manageable chunks.
2. Warm infusion - Place sandalwood (and/or MCT) oil in a glass beaker or jar. Put this inside a water bath (bain-marie). Keep at 40–50 °C (warm, not boiling).
3. Add resins - Stir in benzoin, opoponax, myrrh, and frankincense. Add Vanilla Abs as well.
4. Daily maceration - Heat gently for 2–3 hours per day for 7–10 days, stirring occasionally. Cover when not heating.
5. Curing - After 1–2 weeks of infusion, strain the oil through muslin or paper filter. Bottle the filtered resinous oil.
6. Final touch - Add rose absolute (optional) for a finishing nuance.
7. Age - Let rest 4–6 weeks sealed in a dark place. Shake gently every few days.

Let me have your thoughts on what I might change or alter to produce amber attar, for personal use to wear and add to bakhoor. All input and criticism is most welcome. Thank you.

I know the paragraph where you comment on the sandalwood isn’t AI generated, but the rest? If so, i bet you’ll do better, make better, using your own nose cause AI doesn’t make good decisions.