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Recipe of aroma: the ingredients
Nature is the primary supplier of the raw materials—flowers, plants,
herbs, fruits and vegetables—everything is used by the fragrance makers.
At least they are sup-posed to! In reality, as demand has grown and
volumes of products increased, synthetic chemicals have replaced the
real stuff. But first, let me tell you about Nature’s treasure trove of
aroma ingredients. It is too vast and varied to describe in details.
Here are some highlights:
Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the use of volatile liquid plant materials and
other aromatic compounds from plants to affect the mood or
health of a person. It is commonly associated with complementary
and alternative medicine (CAM).
The word was coined in the 1920s by French chemist René Maurice
Gattefossé. In an laboratory accident he lit his arm on fire and
thrust it into the nearest cold liquid, which was a vat of
lavender oil. Much to his amazement, the burn quickly healed
without a scar!
Some of the materials employed include:
Essential oils: Fragrant oils extracted from plants
chiefly through distillation or expression and by any solvent
extraction.
Absolutes: Fragrant oils extracted primarily from flowers
or delicate plant tissues through solvent or supercritical fluid
extraction. The term is also used to describe oils extracted
from fragrant butters, concretes, and enfleurage pommades using
ethanol.
Phytoncides: Various volatile organic compounds from
plants that kill microbes. |
Fragrant plants
Essential Oils are natural substances that are extracted from
grasses, flowers, herbs, shrubs, trees, resins and spices, usually
through steam distillation, such as:
| Sandalwood Oil:
Possibly originally introduced from the Timor islands, the
parasitic sandalwood trees. The market price of East Indian
sandal-wood at the time of writing is £425 per kilo!
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| Balsam Peru Oil: It is
derived from a large tropical tree up to 25m high, with straight
smooth trunk, beautiful foliage and very fragrant flowers.
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Lavender Oil: Lavender
is a timeless classic and one of the most versatile essential
oils of its kind, produced from only flowers and flower-stalks.
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Cedarwood Oil:
Cedarwood Virginiana is a coniferous, evergreen tree up to 33m
high with a narrow, dense and pramidal crown. Extracted by steam
distillation from the timber waste, sawdust, and shavings.
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| Cinnamon Leaf Oil:
Cinnamon Leaf grows on a tropical evergreen up to 15m high, with
shiny green leaves, small white flowers and oval bluish-white
berries. |
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| Eucalyptus Oil:
Eucalyptus tress are tall, aromatic evergreen tree of the myrtle
family, bearing pendent leaves and umbels of white, red, or pink
flowers and valued for the timber, gum and oil. |
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Rosewood, Jasmine, Ylang
Ylan, Patchoul, Lime, Clove Leaf, Menthol, Peppermint, Tea Tree. The
list is endless...find out more and add to the list.
Scent of an animal
Yes, in ancient cultures animal parts and extracts were used in
perfumery, in cosmetics, and in medicines. Now, use of all these
following products are banned:
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