Aromatic profiles : Clary Sage

AROMATIC PROFILES : CLARY SAGE

Part of the sage family botanically speaking , Clary Sage is an aromatic in perfumery terms.

the entire plant is steam distilled in its native Russia and Hungary.

It smells quite green and grassy moss to me - with a bit of fennel/dill liquorice fern like greens in there. There is definitely a twigginess which leans towards nuttiness. A little bit of mouldiness comes thorugh on the strip and it makes me think of an old watermill smell without it becoming like musty socks !

I like the grassiness it delivers and have yet to really discover the versalitility of its modifier note status.

I found it to be medium in volatility becoming more pastel over time.

I think I can smell the gerianol but am not completely sure.

This is when I wish I had fellow students to bounce ideas off while sitting together - sniffing !

Studying remotley certainly has it challenges 

Aromatic profiles : Lavender

AROMATIC PROFILES : LAVENDER

The much loved lavender never disappoints. Unfailingly it manages to transport me to the lavender fields of Provence France, and to the little markets on the village squares where all manner of lavender produce is sold.

We have lavender fields in the Franschoek region of South Africa too, and they make for a glorious photo op when driving by before the harvest removes the flowers and leaves the grey rows of bushes.

Steam distillation is the extraction method used to coax the fragrance from the flower into the bottle.

Not all lavender smells the same. It has a chemical constituent of camphor in it and depending on the soil type and the weather conditions, and the harvest techniques etc, this camphor can be subdued to a barely there kind of smell, or it can totally overwhelm the lavender aromatic, and believe me , the camphory version is not nice at all.

Of course there are many species of lavender , and each one will resonate with  a different chord.

Angustifolia is what I am smelling today. It gives a light woody herbaceous smell , with ash and crsip clean sundried laundry. it has a gentle edge - soft like a baby.
it is a heart note on the perfume pyramid and is grouped in the aromatic family and not with the florals. While the smell of flowers is vaguely there - it is not a typical floral, but a herby woody sandy floral.

Aromatic Profiles : Coriander

AROMATIC PROFILES : CORIANDER

Well what a complete surprise !

Coriander for me, is synonymous with South African biltong and Boerewors - so it carries meaty foody connotations

not on your nellie

it is glorious and sunny - it is like walking through a citrus orchard on a summers day, with hidden geranium floral notes which jump out and delight you. It does not smell gourmand at all - not even vaguely.

The Indian and Moroccan cuisine makes extensive use of coriander and in food, somehow, it definitely has a spice smell.

but in the lexicon of perfumers , the seed oil , which is steam distilled, sits in the aromatic fragrance family next door to Lavender and Clary Sage.

it's orgin is Hungary ( which seems to go with its foodie spice status - hungry ..... sorry - could not resist ).

There is a flexibility and an adaptability in this oil - it is also a modifier note and can swing an accord in a new direction as I recently found out when playing with a new concoction.it warmed my accord and made it baser- in contrast to Clary Sage which made it greener and cooler.
On the skin, the oil reveals a little of its spice nature - slightly clovey with a dash of pepper.
i am unable to smell the camphor note which is somewhere in there with the ketones.

I am in love with this oil and see a great future for the two of us