Re: TOTD 112008: most useful/favorite animal essence

[Guest guest]

>

> Out of civet, castoreum, ambergris, Africa stone, bee goo (or

> whatever we're calling it now), even musk (which I've heard may

> still be available ultra rarely) or whatever others you might have

> (goat-hair tincture, etc), which do you find the most useful or do

> you use most often? Do you use different ones for different

> applications? Do you use alcohol tinctures and also oil infusions?

> Did you buy the tinctures/infusions or make them yourself? If you

> made them, where did you get the raw material?

>

I've not tried civet or castoreum yet. And I've never even smelled

musk. I'd like to -- just to know what the real thing smells like.

For now, I use ambergris, hyraceum, and bee goo. I still want to

tincture goat hair. I sent a friend an SASE to put some in, and asked

her if she'd mind snipping some hair from her goats. But that was

over a year ago and nothing's happened. I suppose I need to make the

long trip and see about helping her snip.

I use only alcohol tinctures of the ambergris, hyraceum and bee goo.

I make them myself.

I got my first bee goo when a friend passed away and his bee-keeping

equipment was hanging around doing nothing. The next came from a lady

up the road who keeps bees.

The hyraceum, I got in 2007 from a former list member. I've since had

a hell of a time trying to find it at anything like a decent price.

Ambergris - well, that's even harder to find than hyraceum right now.

I think I got that in 2007 as well.

I'd use more hyraceum and ambergris if I could find them at anything

like a viable price. But they're too rich for my pocketbook right

now, so I use what I have very sparingly and only for really special

stuff.

My favorite? That's difficult. For just sticking my nose in and

having a good snort, it's bee goo hands down. But the hyraceum and

ambergris are SOOOO wonderful and useful too. Not for smelling neat,

but what they do to other things -- wow!

Another good TOTD!

Andrine

[Guest guest]

I use most often a 3% ambergris tincture, followed by a similar one of civet.  I

have also made oil infusions of ambergris and civet, but use them rarely. 

 

I've made all my tinctures and infusions myself, with the exception of Mandy

Aftel's Africa Stone tincture, which is wonderful too and which I often use.

 

I bought the ambergris from a vendor in the US once I learned that ambergris was

not illegal.  The civet was sent to me by a friend in Chicago from his own

personal collection.

 

Alfred

[Guest guest]

I use most often a 3% ambergris tincture, followed by a similar one of civet.  I

have also made oil infusions of ambergris and civet, but use them rarely. 

 

I've made all my tinctures and infusions myself, with the exception of Mandy

Aftel's Africa Stone tincture, which is wonderful too and which I often use.

 

I bought the ambergris from a vendor in the US once I learned that ambergris was

not illegal.  The civet was sent to me by a friend in Chicago from his own

personal collection.

 

Alfred

[Guest guest]

Out of civet, castoreum, ambergris, Africa stone, bee goo (or

whatever we're calling it now), even musk (which I've heard may still

be available ultra rarely) or whatever others you might have (goat-

hair tincture, etc), which do you find the most useful or do you use

most often? Do you use different ones for different applications? Do

you use alcohol tinctures and also oil infusions? Did you buy the

tinctures/infusions or make them yourself? If you made them, where

did you get the raw material?

 

I  got the animal essences kit from Profumo back in September, I thought I would

treat myself for my birthday.  It has Ambergris, Civit, Beeswax, Hyraceum, and

Castoreum.  They are alcohol infusions in spray bottles.  I've only done one

major blend with Civit (Black Cat), and I did spritz some Ambergris in a blend

that I had already made previously.  I think the Ambergris really did add some

oomph to the blend, but I haven't noticed it lasting that long on its own.  I

have to check back on the Black Cat, I made it around Halloween and it's been

marrying ever since.  I also used my Blackberry tincture as a base. It also has

Osmanthus, Jasmine, Cacao, Patchouly, Blood Orange, Black Pepper, and Nutmeg.

  The only animal essence that I like on it's own is Castoreum, as I've already

mentioned in the leather accord posting.  What really struck me about Civit is

how it really reminds me of marigolds!  French, African, tagetes-type marigolds,

not the calendula types.  At first it smells like poo, then it smells like

tagetes, then it mellows out into a sort of warm, flowery, funky smell.  It's

really weird!   The Ambergris is the opposite-its starts out sweet and flowery

and turns animalic with a hint of tagetes too!  Do I have marigolds on the

mind? 

[Guest guest]

> I use most often a 3% ambergris tincture, followed by a

> similar one of civet. I have also made oil infusions of

> ambergris and civet, but use them rarely.

>

> I've made all my tinctures and infusions myself, with

> the exception of Mandy Aftel's Africa Stone tincture,

> which is wonderful too and which I often use.

>

> I bought the ambergris from a vendor in the US once I

> learned that ambergris was not illegal. The civet was sent

> to me by a friend in Chicago from his own personal

> collection.

>

> Alfred

>

alfred

My friend Zan stayed at Liza's house and she put one mixturewith spikenard that

you just gave her on me I think she said that also it had cinnamon, and myrhh in

it. OBG it was so gourgeous!

Love

Bb

[Guest guest]

Adam Gottschalk wrote:

> Out of civet, castoreum, ambergris, Africa stone, bee goo (or

> whatever we're calling it now), even musk (which I've heard may still

> be available ultra rarely) or whatever others you might have (goat-

> hair tincture, etc), which do you find the most useful or do you use

> most often? Do you use different ones for different applications? Do

> you use alcohol tinctures and also oil infusions? Did you buy the

> tinctures/infusions or make them yourself? If you made them, where

> did you get the raw material?

>

Hi Adam, Folks....

The only animal essence I have any experince with is civet....

I was made a gift of some in solution and some raw material....

I just put it all together in a fair amount of Evercler....

Took a few months for it to go into solution....

I apparently had diluted it enough, because the final result no longer

makes me want to wretch....there's just a faint reminder of the original

funk...

Added it to a blend once so far....I'm not sure how to describe the

result, but it definitely changed the way the other things in the blend

react to each other....for the good...

--

W. Bourbonais

L'Hermite Aromatique

A.J.P. (GIA)

[Guest guest]

I got recently a tiny sample of civet tincture (Profumo via the Perfumed Court)

that I use

with ambregris tincture (PerfumerApprentice) to made a pheronome perfume for

myself.

For about 6 months, I made a musk tincture, a friend of mine has travelled in

Asia and

gave me that musk pod as a gift. At first, it smellst unusual, a bit stinky but

after a few

months of maceration and filtering, the tincture becomes a very human scent, I

would say

the scent of a human skin, animalic and sensual. A few drops takes wonder in a

perfume. I

would say, it makes it shining, give it a uncommon lasting power.

Further, I have a hyraceum tincture, made a propolis tincture and bought a

beewax

absolute diluted at 10 % from a french supplier (Hevea).

I have had a little amount of castoreum from Cinquième Sens, the perfumer school

in

Paris, but I think it was not the real thing, they claimed is was natural, but

for me it was a

chemical stuff.

Friendly,

Thérèse

[Guest guest]

I've tried everything except musk. I wouldn't think now to use

anything but ambergris, maybe rock-hyrax/Africa-stone. I got 10g of

raw ambergris from Eden and made a 10% infusion in FCO. It makes my

solids stand up and say " All right! "

[Guest guest]

>

> I've tried everything except musk. I wouldn't think now to use

> anything but ambergris, maybe rock-hyrax/Africa-stone. I got 10g of

> raw ambergris from Eden and made a 10% infusion in FCO. It makes my

> solids stand up and say " All right! "

>

I've tried them all except rock hydrax. I love them all. I think my

favorite is civet, followed by amgergris.

RLReff