Re: Aussie ethanol - with ponderings about alcohol in general

[Guest guest]

>

> Ahisma is vastly overpriced...and I have my doubts about some of

their so called essential oils being natural. (amber being

> one of them)

Hi Ambrosia, and other Aussies reading long

at Ahimsa is quite up front about the 'amber' they sell, and

rang me when I once ordered some - he was concerned that a buyer

should understand that the 'real deal' it is a stinky horrible resin -

I got some anyway, out of curiosity... it smells like bitumen or tar,

maybe even a little evil .... I have no idea why they bother to sell

it, but there you go.

Ambers ain't ambers.

Thanks for mention of New Directions re alcohol... last time I asked

them, I got some guy there telling me they don't stock it, saying

alcohol isn't 'natural' ... though I'm wary of the quality from this

company.

Benzoin in 'perfumers alcohol' as per Ahimsa and Perfect Potion - I

hate it, it reminds me of sticking plasters - I couldn't bring myself

to use it for perfumery after the first couple of attempts, but it's

useful perhaps for your very first experiments, when you're doing

things on a very small scale as a beginner - I use their alcohols for

swishing out pipettes.

I'm ambivalent about alcohol-based perfumery - I like the affinity

which so many plant waxes, butters and oils ['fats'] have for human

skin.... and do sometimes wonder if alcohol became so popular because

it's cheaper relative to the plant 'fats', and commercially is more

viable in terms of stability, shelf-life etc.

I'm not sure - yet - that more artistry or skill is required to

produce a successful perfume in alcohol, rather than in 'fats'.

I know that in my examinations of alcohol-based perfumes, tinctures

etc, that alcohol opens eoils, absolutes or perfumes up for immediate

exposure of their true natures, but I'm yet to be convinced that this

is necessary for a creation which must ultimately do something magical

on a living breathing person.

Alcohol just seems a bit too inert for that.

I'd love to hear from those far more experienced than me, about your

own experiences of alcohol-based rather than, or as well as, 'fat'

based NPs.

Artistry?

More challenging and satisfying to work with?

More marketable / it's what consumers want?

More or less 'alive'?

Thanks

Margi

[Guest guest]

>

> I'd love to hear from those far more experienced than me, about your

> own experiences of alcohol-based rather than, or as well as, 'fat'

> based NPs.

>

> Artistry?

> More challenging and satisfying to work with?

> More marketable / it's what consumers want?

> More or less 'alive'?

>

> Thanks

> Margi

>

Hi Margi,

I doubt whether I'm more experienced than you are, but I'm tossing out

my opinion about alcohol versus fat for whatever it's worth.

Essences meld differently with fats than with alcohol, and both bases

strongly affect the properties of the essences used.

For example, alcohol is diffusive, so naturally it plays up the

diffusiveness of the more volatile essences. Fats, as Mandy Aftel

points out in Essence and Alchemy, " tamp down " the top notes and make

them less diffusive. She suggests using double the amounts of top notes

to offset this suppression.

Fats prolong the staying power of some lower middle and base notes. I

have had traces of sandalwood, ambrette seed, patchouli, oakmoss, balsam

of Peru, and cassie, for example, linger on my skin for days, despite

the daily shower.

I'm not sure if that's because the scented fats mixed with my own body

oils or if it's a different mechanism entirely. Whatever the reason,

essences in fat bases seem to remain truer and last longer than those in

alcohol.

On the other hand, essences in alcohol seem to transform more fully into

a new creation (I use that word because the transformation is not my

doing, but rather the result of the essences and the base acting

together) than those in fats.

I make perfumes in both bases for my custom clients. Based on how I

understand various essences to express themselves in the various bases,

I modify each of my blends to take maximum advantage of those

characteristics while still maintaining continuity between the oil and

alcohol forms.

I use the oil blends to make waxy solid perfumes, as well as to lightly

scent body butters, creams, oils and lotions, while the alcohol blends

make a concentrated spray cologne/perfume/eau de toilette and also

lightly scent water-based body products such as body toners and

splashes. I also blend the oil and alcohol blends together in my liquid

soap base to make scented bubble bath.

I have learned a lot from blending in both kinds of bases, so I would

recommend that you try blending in both. If nothing else, you'll learn

two things:

* Which type of base material you enjoy working with the most

* How the essences behave under different influences and in different

combinations

In the end, those things are worth knowing, no matter how you get there.

Joy of the season to you!

~Becky

[Guest guest]

Hi Becky

thanks for such a thoughtful, informative answer.

I love that you make bubble bath!

Margi