The ABCs of Essential Oils: Q-Z

Since I won't be getting around to individual posts for the ABCs of essential oils, here is the rest of the list. I needed to use latin names to get a full A-Z, and even then, they aren't common essential oils.

Quercus robur (Oakwood)

Rose

Spruce

Tuberose

Urtica dioica (Stinging Nettle)

Vetiver

Wintergreen

Xanthozylum

Ylang Ylang

Zdravetz

Charity Roses

Charity Roses is a collection of four very special roses with $1/ml sold going to the International Rescue Committee, San Jose office.I started working on this a few months ago, and finally have everything up and listed on Etsy. 

Afghan Rose

Forbidden Rose

French Rose

Rose Bourbonia

Choose 2 Samples

Each rose is available as a 1ml sample or 4ml full size roll on, diluted in organic jojoba at 5-10%. These roses are unique and hard to come by, and I might not be able to get more when I run out.

Pictured are the sampler tins, with two oils of your choice of two samples in a tin decorated with a vintage Japanese cabochon.

I decided on a refugee charity, because in addition to losing their homes and facing all the obstacles associated with that, refugees are likely to experience hate and other difficulties for being different. While I try to avoid politics in my business, I feel that is un-American to turn our backs on refugees, and I feel that this is one way I can show my support.

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Patchouli

Pogostemon cablin

Patchouli is one of those things you probably love or hate. And while I've met those who adore patchouli, it feels like the general public is wary of the scent. If you want to make perfumes, trying to find a way to use the oils you don't like is invaluable.

Patchouli has a reputation as a "dirty hippy" scent, and with its earthy odor, that might feel apt the first time you sniff it. It does have a strong scent, and if your first reaction is to wrinkle your nose up, try diluting it. A lot of essential oils are too strong in their pure state, so diluting it will help you appreciate it better. If you're still thinking "ew" after diluting it, don't give up hope.

Like other oils, you can find patchouli as an essential oil, CO2 extract, and absolute. I am a huge fan of CO2s and absolutes, which often have odor profiles quite different than the essential oil. While I haven't sniffed patchouli absolute (at least not too recently), the CO2 has a fresher scent that you might find more appealing than the essential oils. For the essential oils, you can seek out different distillation methods. I've seen double distilled, which removes parts of the essential oil, such as iron. "Light" patchouli, which is distilled in stainless steel, has not only a lighter color than dark patchouli, but a lighter scent as well. And then you can also explore aged patchoulis, with their richer, deeper scents.

Still not feeling the patchouli love? Time to move on to blending it. Add a small amount to a different single oil, like rose, and evaluate what it does to the rose scent. Split a blend in half, add a drop or two of patchouli to one of them, and leave the other aside. Go back a day later and sniff out the differences.

Arctander says, "Patchouli oil is used so extensively that it is hardly possible to specify its field of application," and goes on to list as "an important ingredient in Oriental bases, woody bases, fougeres, chypres, opoponax bases, powder-type perfumes, etc." As such, anyone who wants to work with fragrances beyond narrow subsets should learn go appreciate this oil. While you don't need to love it, rise above the hate, and expand your creative potential.

Previously:
Orange Blossom
Nutmeg
Mandarin
Lavender
Kewda
Jasmine
Immortelle
Ho Wood
Ginger
Frankincense

Eucalyptus

Davana

Coffee

Bergamot

Anise

One Dozen Roses Sale & Update

First, the exciting news (for those who want to buy some rose oils, at least): I am selling the 4ml roll-ons at 50% off while supplies last. I will be switching from plastic to glass roll-ons, so all plastic roll-ons are on sale. Quite a few are gone already (4, 5, 9, 11, and 12), and some are low stock, so if you've been waiting to buy any of the scents, now is the time.

My last complete set of One Dozen Roses sold in December, and while looking to restock some of the oils, I noticed a few were no longer available for purchase. The following 5 scents will no longer be included in the set:

1. Ruh Gulab Monsoon- Rosa Damascena- India- Ruh

2. White Rose Otto- Rosa Alba- Bulgaria Essential Oil

3. Rose Enfleurage- South America- Enfleurage

4. Russian Rose Otto- Rosa Damascena- Russia- Essential Oil

6. Chinese Tea Rose- Rosa Odorata- China- Essential Oil

I personally love some of these, and hope to bring them on as additions so those who haven't experienced them yet will get a chance to in the future. I also have my eye on some rare and precious roses that might not work for the set, but would be available separately as limited editions.

These will be making a return in the set, along with sample vials and 4ml roll-ons available to purchase separately.
5. Rose Gallica- Rosa Gallica- Moldova- Essential Oil

7. Rose Apothecary- Rosa Gallica- Russia Absolute

8. Rose de Mai- Rosa Centifolia- Egypt- Organic Extract

9. Rose de Mai Absolute- Rosa Centifolia- Egypt- Absolute

10. White Rose- Rosa Alba- Bulgaria- CO2

11. Moroccan Rose- Rosa Damascena- Morocco- Absolute

12. Rose Anatolian- Rosa Damascena- Turkey- Absolute

I will be adding the following to the One Dozen Roses set:
Rose Damascena - Bulgaria - CO2
Rosa Alba - Bulgaria - Absolute
Rosa Damascena - Bulgaria - Essential Oil
Rosa Rugosa - China - Essential Oil
Rosa Centifolia - Russia - Absolute

I hope to have new sets available within a few weeks, so you can treat yourself or someone you love to One Dozen Roses for Valentine's Day.

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Orange Blossom

Citrus aurantium

The orange tree is one of the most amazing suppliers of essential oils, supplying us with unique fragrances from its many parts. In addition to orange oil and petitgrain, we have the flowers, which create one of the most divine scents. When distilled, we call the oil neroli, which also creates orange flower water. When solvent extracted, we call it orange blossom absolute. There is also orange flower CO2 extract, which is more similar to neroli in scent, and probably the truest to nature.

As with many other florals, the different types of orange blossom are expensive, and quality can vary. If you can't afford them, look for a high quality petitgrain or perhaps petitgrain sur fleurs, which includes the flowers in the distillation. If you see orange blossom water absolute, beware, this might not be your oil. It has a very dirty scent, which has it's uses in tiny quantities, but out of the bottle it is rather gross.

Where to use neroli or orange flower absolute? Besides blending it with other florals or citrus oils, you can use it in oriental, chypre, amber and colognes.

Similar:
Honeysuckle
Jasmine
Mandarin Petitgrain
Petitgrain

Previously:
Nutmeg
Mandarin
Lavender
Kewda
Jasmine
Immortelle
Ho Wood
Ginger
Frankincense

Eucalyptus

Davana

Coffee

Bergamot

Anise

Figgy Pudding Body Scrub

Finished Product

Buying scrubs has been difficult for me, since they can be pricy and I go through them quickly. I've taken to making my own over the past several years, and here is a recent experiment: Figgy Pudding Body Scrub.

Ingredients:
16 oz demerara sugar
2 oz fig powder
1 tablespoon walnut shell powder
Pumpkin seed oil

Dry ingredients

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together, trying to break up any clumps. Add oil to desired consistency.

I had these ingredients on hand, and had wanted to use the fig powder in a scrub. Mixing it with the demerara sugar worked out well, since they give the finished product a sweet scent.

I through in the walnut shell after finding a small sample bag and deciding I might as well try it. I'm not sure it adds much to the finished product, but it does add a finer grain to the mix.

I don't like my scrubs overly oily, so I went light on the oil, probably about 6 oz. You could probably add quite a bit more oil. The pumpkin seed oil has a bit of a nutty scent, and a dark color, and could be substituted with a more neutral oil.

I left out scent because I wanted to appreciate the light figgy molasses scent from the ingredients used. I had thought of adding some vanilla oleoresin or absolute, but those can be hard to mix in, and I wanted to make something quick and easy.

Other ingredients I considered but skipped include some sort of surfactant, like polysorbate, an antioxidant, and a preservative. If making this for sale, a preservative would be a must, since it would be exposed to water in the shower. Since this was for personal use, I left it out. Also, adding an antioxidant so that the oil wouldn't turn rancid would be necessary for a sale product, but since I'm using this up pretty quickly, I'm not concerned about the product going rancid.

The final result is a scrub that worked pretty well for me. The pumpkin seed oil did turn my skin a greenish-yellow, but soaping up after scrubbing solves that problem. The sugar crystals are a little large, but did not irritate my skin- if you try to really rub it in, I imagine it could hurt more though.

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Nutmeg

Myristica fragrans

Nutmeg (or perhaps mace) is a spice you're probably most familiar with from baking or cooking, powdered. Perhaps you've seen the whole spice in a grinder at a coffee shop. The scent is warm and spicy, perhaps a comforting reminder of holidays past.

When creating a perfume, it's best to have at hand several spices, so you can choose the one best suited. Cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and all spice...you'll feel like you're in a bakery, or perhaps preparing the perfect chai.

While nutmeg essential oil is more easily found, for perfumery you should seek out the absolute. The scent is finer and richer, and will provide a warm middle note. The essential oil may work for aromatherapy purposes, but for perfumery, the absolute provides more depth and smoothness. Blend a small bit with jasmine or in a floral blend. Use it in an Oriental fragrance, or in any fragrance in need of some warm spice.

Similar:
Mace
Clove
Cinnamon
All Spice (Pimento Berry)

Previously:
Mandarin
Lavender
Kewda
Jasmine
Immortelle
Ho Wood
Ginger
Frankincense

Eucalyptus

Davana
Coffee
Bergamot
Anise