Perfumery Material: Peru Balsam & Tolu Balsam ~warm, majestic, plush notes

Tolu and Peru Balsams distinguish themselves among perfumery materials thanks to their refined and soft ambience, incandescent like the flick of a candle, a golden honey drop abandoning itself into a pool of hot liquid. The fragrances which contain them exude a warm, majestic, plush character, inviting and comforting, with a heft that corresponds to their dark, caramel-like thickness. Both of these materials have a gentle tone, while at the same time they're softly enveloping and have a pronounced character. They fix flowers into lasting longer and thanks to their properties when used in large quantities produce the Semi-Orientals or "Florientals" (i.e. in conjunction with rich floral essences).

Origin of the two balsams: the Myroxylon tree
Peru balsam comes from the Myroxylon tree, literally "fragrant wood" in Greek, (or else known as Quina/Balsamo), which also produces Tolu balsam, as you will see further on; the latter differs mainly in production methods and in its odor profile, being a little sweeter and fresher than Balsam of Peru. The species is also known as Myroxylon toluiferum HBK (which is mainly used for the production of Tolu balsam as its name suggests), M. balsamamum (L.) Harms and Myroxolon Pereirae (i.e. from Peru, which is mainly used for the production of Balsam of Peru, naturally).
The plant is mainly cultivated in the South America and the West Indies, although it has spread to other part of the world as well. Today El Salvador is the main exporter of Peru Balsam. The name of Balsam of Peru is a misnomer, however, since it was originally assembled and shipped to Europe from the ports of Callao and Lima, in Peru, even though the species is not indigenous to Peru. In fact Tolu balsam owes its name to the name of the native precolumbian people  (Tolú singular and Tolúes plural) who used to be the inhabitants at the same place where now is located Tolú, a small town and municipality in Sucre Department, northern Colombia (South America) by the Caribbean sea!

Odor Profile & Production
Tolu balsam is comprised of 3/4 fragrant resinous compound, containing approximately 15% free cinnamic acid and benzoic acid and about 40% of the benzyl and related esters of these free acids. A volatile oil is present in small amounts (from 1.5% to 7%). Traces of styrene, coumarin and vanillin are also present, giving the warm, lightly spicy character. The Tolu resin is tapped from the trunk of the tree through incisions into the bark, trickling yellow-brown semi-fluid or near solid material in thick "drops" and collected. The cold material fractures like flint and is stored for use in pharmaceuticals and perfumery. The dry resin has a complex aroma consisting chiefly of cinnamon and vanilla, while at the same time it has a floral aroma that is inviting and soft.
Peru Balsam on the other hand is a dark brown, thick liquid also with cinnamic and vanillic facets but with a gentle green olive base note that is earthier and bitter. The process of producing it from the Myroxylon tree differs: The balsam in the bark is obtained by boiling. Following removal of strips of bark from the tree, the exposed wood secretes balsam. The material soaks into rags wrapped around the tree, which then are boiled in water. The naturally heavier balsam sinks to the bottom and the water on top is thrown away.

vintage Youth Dew via pinterest

Fragrances featuring Tolu balsam :

Aqua di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Mandorlo di Sicilia
Ayala Moriel Finjan
Donna Karan Gold
DSH Perfumes Cafe Noir
Esteban Baume Tolu 
Estee Lauder Youth Dew
Estee Lauder Cinnabar
Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles
Kenzo Power
Lanvin My Sin
Ormonde Jayne Tolu
Parfum d'Empire Cuir Ottoman
Piguet Fracas
Reminiscence Eau de Patchouli
What we do in Paris is Secret A Lab on Fire
Yves Saint Laurent Opium
Yves Saint Laurent Opium pour Homme

Fragrances featuring Peru balsam:

Estee Lauder Youth Dew
DSH Perfumes Arome d'Egypte
Etro Heliotrope
Guerlain Chamade 
Guerlain Vol de Nuit
Guerlain Shalimar Eau de Cologne
Hermes Elixir des Merveilles
Hermes Parfum des Merveilles
Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles
Montale Oriental Flowers
Patricia de Nicolai Sacrebleu
Patricia de Nicolai Sacrebleu Intense
Santa Maria Novella Potpourri
Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan
Serge Lutens Fumerie Turque

Related reading on PerfumeShrine: Perfume term: Resinous & Balsamic

A Season of Thanks

To all our American readers celebrating, happy Thanksgiving.  It's nice to be officially reminded of all we should be thankful for.

Angel is Bubbles, Money, Glossy, while Prada Amber is Fog, Soil, Concrete...Perfume as Art

The Art of Scent has highlighted some of the aspects that make perfumery the engrossing, fascinating subject that it is. What can be communicated through scent that defies the breakdown of "notes" or even ingredients? Its artfulness can take many forms, none more so than evoking the stimuli that other senses would evoke in its place. The exhibition at the MAD Museum in NYC, curated by Chandler Burr, has opened to a great response and these are some photos to give you a glimpse of it...plus one pre-exhibition shot to show the space being prepared, pregnant with hope and expectations of history in the making...Enjoy!

Official photos by Ric Kallaher, courtesy of the > Museum of Arts and Design
click to enlarge

The catalogue of the exhibition including 11 essays by Burr and the vials of the collection can be purchased on the Musuem online store. Only 1000 copies are available, individually numbered.

Arabian Perfumery for Beginners: Mukhallat, Oudh et al

I have been fragrance consulting for a piece in Condé Nast's Traveler these past few days and it has come to my attention that the terminology of Arabian perfumery, despite its gradual seeping into the mainstream, is still elusive for many. So a few terms are hereby clarified for our readers.

via timeoutkl.com

One of the terms you often stumble upon is mukhallat/mukhallet/mokhalat. The term is rather generic to denote fragrance oil mix in Arabic. Oil form is prefered due to its sensual nature and because oil holds fragrance better. Seeds and leaves are grinded into powder to enrich those oils. Arabian women are increasingly appreciating the convenience of Western-style spray fragrances, emulating the Western ideal, yet there is also the belief those smell a little less beautiful due to the intense alcoholic blast out of the sprayer. It's very common fragrance practice in the Middle East, therefore "mukhallat al...something" is a fragrance oil to be used neat on the skin with X ingredient highlighted. Alternatively you might see the brand's name placed beside the mukhallat term, to denote their own "blend" version. [That said, there IS a company simply named Mukhallat which has an online site selling fragrances of Arabic inspiration].
Mukhallat is not to be confused with attar, which refers to any fragrant essential oil distilled from flowers into a carrier oil (usually sandalwood). So you can have a mukhallat containing attar of roses for instance, but also musk, saffron, oudh, amber (itself a mix)...The variations that distinguish mukhallats are not only the ingredients themselves (i.e. the "recipe") as these tend to tread familiar paths, but also for instance the species of the particular flower used, the origin of an ingredient (such as Omani frankincense versus Somalian), plant or animal based musk, the amber-note recipe, additional oils and the quality and quantity of individual ingredients. It's here important to note that although mukhallat sounds like a mix of all natural essences, in truth this is often not the case.

Oudh/Oud/Aoud (also: agarwood or aloeswood) is one of the most common and confusing ingredients to be featured in Arabian perfumery. Common because there's a significant tradition of using this oleoresin in Middle Eastern rituals, and confusing because so many of the fragrance blends are not based on the natural oud essence for various reasons, as you can see here. Oud/Oudh comes in two commercial forms: den al oudh which is an oil produced via either distilling the wood chips of the Aquilaria tree (a more economical option) or melting a small amount of the resin produced by the tree into a carrier oil. Thus den al oudh can be used neat on the skin as perfume. The pure resin (to be further manipulated for fragrance purposes) is usually referred to as oud mubakhar.

Some of the companies that do quality Arabian-inspired or Arabian perfumery are (in no specific order):
Amouage, Ajmal, Aluwwah.com, Arabian Oud, Al Haramain, ASAQ, Al Rehab, Yas: The Royal House of Perfumes. Rasasi and Swiss Arabian are also credible, if less luxurious.
And of course there are less expensive Arabian fragrant mixes that can be no less beautiful in their own way.

Kati Nescher's Beauty Secrets

"In Paris I have two favorite addresses: Caron for the very feminine fragrances (153 boulevard St Germain 75006 Paris) and Colette for the niche perfumes (213 rue Saint Honoré 75001 Paris). And whenever I am at Cologne I always visit Apropos, a concept store dotted with quite the distinguished selection (www.apropos-store.com). I don't like too loud fragrances. For me a perfume should be fresh, close to my natural scent."

via blog.set-fashion.com

Discover all of Kati Nescher's model-of-the-moment beauty secrets on French Vogue.

Art of Scent at MAD Museum Opens Finally & Pre-sale of Catalogue

‘The Art of Scent’ at the Museum of Arts and Design, delayed by superstorm Sandy by a week, is finally opening. Curated by Chandler Burr (well known to perfume aficionados so that he doesn't need an introduction), its aim is to place fragrance in a vision-free "zone" to be appreciated as pure art.“The fundamental goal of the department [of Olfactory Art],” mr. Burr said during a recent interview at his office, “is placing scent as an artistic medium alongside painting, sculpture and music.” For however “brilliant” or “extraordinary” the greatest scents may be, he added, “they’re not recognized as works of art, and the artists who create them are not recognized as artists.”

A gallery with 12 gently curved indentations in its walls was created by Diller Scofidio & Renfro. "Hidden behind each is a scent diffusion machine: a visitor who leans into the curve will set off an electronic eye, causing the machine to release a burst of fragrance calibrated to stay in place for four seconds, without spreading across the room (made by the German company Scentcommunication)".[source]

The catalogue of the exhibition is scheduled to be sold and ready to ship in about 2 weeks on the Store at MAD site here (check for pre-ordering). The catalogue includes essays on the fragrances, written by mr.Burr, referenced through art movements that correspond to the scents, and will retail for $250 and there are only 1,000 catalogues, numbered, 1 – 1,000. The catalogue will contain 11 of the 12 works of olfactory art that Burr is exhibiting —they haven’t been able to include Chanel N° 5 which will be exhibited in the show nevertheless. Each fragrance is contained in a Spartan 5ml vial of pure taste.

And the works contained are:

01 Romanticism

Jicky

1889

Aimé Guerlain

Lent by Guerlain

02  Abstract Expressionism

L’Interdit

1957

Francis Fabron

Lent by Givenchy and Givaudan

03 Early American School

Aromatics Elixir

1971

Bernard Chant

Lent by The Estée Lauder Companies and International Flavors and Fragrances

04 Industrialism

Drakkar Noir

1982

Pierre Wargnye

Lent by l’Oréal International Flavors and Fragrances

05 Surrealism

Angel

1992

Olivier Cresp

Lent by Clarins and Firmenich

06 Minimalism

L’Eau d’Issey

1992

Jacques Cavallier

Lent by BPI and Firmenich

07 Photo Realism

Pleasures

1995

Annie Buzantian, Alberto Morillas

Lent by The Estée Lauder Companies and Firmenich

08  Kinetic Sculpture

Light Blue

2001

Olivier Cresp

Lent by Dolce & Gabbana, P&G Prestige, and Firmenich

09 Neo-Romanticism

Prada Amber

2004

Carlos Benaïm, Max Gavarry, Clément Gavarry

Lent by Prada, Puig, and International Flavors & Fragrances

10 Luminism

Osmanthe Yunnan

2006

Jean-Claude Ellena

Lent by Hermès

11 Post-Brutalism

Untitled

2010

Daniela Andrier

Lent by l’Oréal and Givaudan