"Coriander", a Bengal cat. (This cat looks a bit like a civet cat, which produces musk--but isn't actually a cat. I didn't want to put a picture of a civet cat, as they are rather sad, what with getting their glandular secretions harvested for perfumes.)Inspired by T'Keid's blends of aromas for Kirk and Spock, in the comments on the post below (and what a great pile of comments!), I decided I want to make perfume. I found this friendly blogspot blog, How to Make Your Own Fragrance, which, among other tips, gives the basic, simple steps here: "How to Make Perfume."
The blogger also posts some favorite perfume recipes, such as this one, which seems sorta Pon-Farrish. T'Keid suggests cardamom for the top note, which would be perfect--this recipe calls for the somewhat similar coriander--the spice, not the cat.
Arabian Dusk
3 drops of coriander oil
1 drop of Frankincense oil
3 drops of Juniper oil
4 drops of Orange oil
Use 1 cup of distilled water and 5 teaspoons of vodka or other spirit.
(I looked at some other perfume-making sites, and they too use vodka as a substitute for perfumer's alcohol. Hmmm, but 1 cup of water is a lot--I guess this is more of an eau de cologne of a light spray.)
New perfume linkies, awesome!
ReplyDeleteDid you see this recipe?
Warrior:
Nutmeg - 2 drops
Litsea Cubeba - 1 drop (a Chinese evergreen)
Jasmine - 4 drops
Clary Sage - 10 drops
Sandalwood - 4 drops
Frankincense - 4 drops
Have you read Patrick Süskind's Perfume?
Hey! We must be online at the same time!
ReplyDeleteI used to work for a Catholic Church and loved the less sweet, more spicy incenses, like ones with frankincense in them.
No, I hadn't seen Warrior.
But nutmeg, yum! Another favorite that can be either sweet or savory. Hmm... I sense a sort of slashy pattern--the pleasures of things that are not simply one obvious thing.
The smell of sage, however, almost makes me gag, like the heavy acrid smell of lead--these smells seem to get stuck in my throat in a most unpleasant way.
It's hard to describe scent--at least for me--
the author of Perfume, which I haven't read it since it was first came out (in English), astounded me with his ability to talk about that hardest of senses to capture--smell. I should try it again.
I avoided the movie, which sounded bad.