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Ambergris is a rare perfume ingredient.
It is already 6 years ago that a huge piece washed up on Texel (83 kg of a dead sperm whale.) The animal undoubtedly suffered from a blockage.
Many people think that ambergris bile is what spits out the sperm whale. However, this does not appear to be true. Amber originates in the intestines of the sperm whale, around undigested bits of cuttlefish that he eats. This does not happen with all sperm whales. Most sperm whales regularly spit out the indigestible pieces of deep sea squid. It is estimated that there are between 500,000 and 2 million sperm whales worldwide, with only 1 in 100 having a deviation. A leak between the stomachs causes the pieces of squid to end up in the gut and is embedded in a mixture of amber and half-digested back shells of the octopuses. A deep sea dive ensures that it is pressed into amber, a lump just as hard as wood. After a period of time the sperm whale pours out the pressed amber and these chunks can be found on the beach. The pieces often float at sea for a long time.
There are of course different shapes, colors and stages, of ambergris. Some pieces are black and still reasonably soft, they have an unpleasant smell! The smell is described as animal, musky, earthy. Depending on how long ambergris has been in the ocean, the smell can vary considerably. Here, too, it differs per person how the smell is received. The older pieces are more dry, harder and are gray / brown, in all kinds of gradations.
One of the properties of ambergris is to bind scents, which is often in the base of a perfume. A scent with a pinch of ambergris in it stays much longer than a scent without amber. Ambergris is therefore still used in the perfume industry and is worth a lot of money. For example, the block that comes from the sperm whale of Texel is estimated at a few tons.
Ambergris should not be confused with Amber (amber).
As a vegetable alternative, the fragrance Labdanum can be used, the resin of the cistus rose also corresponds to the fragrance aspect. Just like Ambrette seed and angelica (Angelica) are used as an alternative to the Ambergris.
Are you going to look for ambergris during your beach holiday?
PROFUMI DEL FORTE – Ambra
Created in 2009 by perfumer Arturetto, in which amber gray is combined with Orange, Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang and White musk.
TIZIANA TERENZI – Dionisio
Oriental Vanilla fragrance for both men and women. Where ambergris is combined with Musk, Jasmine, Agarwood and Madagascar Vanilla.
The name cinnamon comes from Latin, "canella", "stick".
(Ceylon) Cinnamon (or Cinnamomum verum) is one of the best-known spices that comes from the inner bark of the shoots of the cinnamon tree. There are several species, an important species is Cassia (or Cinnamomum aromaticum). Cassia is somewhat stronger and sweeter than Ceylon cinnamon. Cinnamon is one of the spices that can be used for both sweet and savory dishes.
In addition to that cinnamon one of the best-known spices, it is also one of the oldest. Around 2800 BC cinnamon is mentioned in the herbal book of the Chinese Emperor Shennung. In Chinese medicine, cinnamon is used for its antibacterial properties and has therefore been prescribed for centuries for diseases such as colds, nausea and diarrhea. Cinnamon was also known in ancient Egypt and used in perfume.
It was so highly appreciated that cinnamon could even be a worthy gift for kings and other highs. Cinnamon is mentioned in Exodus 30: 23-25. Moses is commanded to use both sweet cinnamon and cassia for the anointing oil of the tabernacle: “Take the finest spices: five hundred shekels of viscous myrrh, half as much fragrant cinnamon – two hundred and fifty shekels, – two hundred and fifty shekels of fragrant sweetness and five hundred shekel cassia, all according to the sanctuary weight of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil, and prepared from it sacred anointing oil, a fragrant mixture like a perfume maker. With this holy anointing oil you have to anoint the meeting tent, the ark with the covenant, the table and the lampstand with all its objects, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with the utensils and the washing basin and its foundation. “(Exodus 30: 23-28 NBV)
From 1580, the Portuguese had dominion over Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) and with it the monopoly on the cinnamon trade. At that time they traded an estimated 125 tons of cinnamon per year. The king of Kandy then called in the help of the Dutch. With this the cinnamon monopoly passed into Dutch hands. In 1765 Ceylon started to grow cinnamon on plantations for the first time. In 1796 the English conquered the island. The monopoly on the cinnamon trade came from that moment into English hands, until the Dutch succeeded in Indonesia to also plant cinnamon plantations there. Since then, Indonesia has exported about 8,000 tons of cinnamon per year.
Long before the Europeans took cinnamon from the Far East, they were familiar with this spice and also with cloves and nutmeg. Cinnamon was brought in via the Middle East and via the Hanseatic merchants. The familiarity with these spices in dry form is evident from the Hours of Philip of Cleves from about 1480
CINNAMON in PARFUMS
The bark is scraped into small pieces and laid to dry for 24 hours. The smell is removed from the (cinnamon) sticks by steam distillation. This perfume oil is most commonly used for perfumes and food.
You can actually use everything from the cinnamon tree to the smell. The oil of the leaves is obtained by steam distillation after drying. This oil is cheaper than the oil from the bark. It is used in the perfumery but you can find it more in soap and food. The kernels of the fruits contain cinnamon wax used in scented candles.
How does it smell?
Cinnamon sticks smell warm, full, slightly fruity, peppery and vanilla-like. The cinnamon leaves smell spicy, woody and a bit metallic.
A small selection of perfumes where cinnamon is one of the nuts.
1 million – Paco Rabanne
Poison – Dior
Amouage Lyric Woman – Amouage
La danza delle libellule – Nobile 1942
White Hinoki – Amouroud
Pompeii – Anima Mundi
Caldo Gourmand – Officina delle Essenze
Palindrome II – Santi Burgas (cinnamon tree leaves)
Used in tea, for cooking, as medicine and in perfumes …
What many people don’t know is that ginger is more than a root, ginger is a rhizome. I hear you think what is the difference? The rhizome is considered an underground stem, which means that there are leaves and buds on it. The rhizome is usually also a storage place, while the roots are only an anchor for the plant in the soil.
Originally ginger, or Zingiberene Officinalis, grew in Asia and was one of the first spices to arrive in Europe. Ginger belongs to the same plant family as turmeric and cardamom. In folk medicine ginger was used because of its ability to relieve inflammation, fever, colds, respiratory discomfort, nausea, menstrual complaints, upset stomach, arthritis and rheumatism.
Nowadays ginger (mainly) comes from China, from tropical Asia and Jamaica. Ginger distillation produces a peppery, resinous and spicy note that is used in many male perfumes because of its freshness or color so that it matches the citrus notes. The use of this oil is limited because of the citral, a known allergen molecule.
Another extraction technique that can be used is the ‘extraction with volatile solvents’. This method produces better and more interesting oils because the odor contains fewer terpenic notes. However, this method is a lot more expensive. Extraction with volatile solvents consists of dissolving the part of the plant in a solvent which is then evaporated. Developed in the 18th century, we use suitable solvents such as hexane and ethanol. The fragrant result is called a concrete or resinous substance.
Steam distillation is a technique in which water steam is used to feed the fragrant molecules of raw materials through a condenser, the result is an oil.
Did you know?!
..the name of ginger comes from the sanskrit shringavera, which means “look like the antlers of the stag”
..ginger oil also has the nickname ‘The oil of empowerment’
.. helps against hair loss