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.
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