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green herbs

Yesterday, I got my sweet Fennel essential oil, Foeniculum vulgare steam distilled seeds oil (the bitter Fennel is the essential oil from entire plants). So yummy! It is quite a tricky note to work with, though. It is green, very green indeed, with a strong anise like dry down, almost something woody about it in the dry down, and a lot of sweet flower powder in the middle. Think fennel, inflated, exaggerated. I want to try and see what happens with this stuff in soap. It is quite difficult to imagine how a particular natural scent develops in alkaline , soapy environment.  But I found some evidence that fennel is actually used in soap.

Don’t ask me why, but I somehow can see a green fennel, geranium etc. soap.

Anyhow: Actually, I wanted to mention here an interesting aspect in perfumery. It is this an aspect Vero (see www.veroprofumo.com) and me come back to quite regularly: Fragrant raw materials  that are from plants which also used in the kitchen, are special in perfumery. Think rosemary, thyme, pepper, vanilla, etc. It is like -because folks know the scents from their food- perfume lovers have a different access to these notes.

I feel the herbs are very special in this context, too. And so are fruits, and vegetables. Although I am not a big fan of vegetables in perfumes: cucumber, for instance….I prefer it in a glass, pickled.

Why is this (herbs in perfumery being special)?

First they are easily recognized. And we human beings like to be on known, solid ground. Thus, we identify these notes and feel at home because we know them.

Second they are presented in a different context. And we human beings are curious and like to explore new territory.

Thus, it may be these controversial effects that make these food notes interesting in perfumery, without always making a gourmand perfume, of course. Think rosemary and citrus that you find in a cologne. Not gourmand, but there is something to it….

Talking rosemary: 6 liters of the “Cologne du Maghreb” (mentioned the first time here) sit in the fridge, maturing. And I confessed to my design guru (whom I will meet later today) that I will give some of this juice away, during the advent calendar, but in the old design flacon, the simple thing, you remember? A difficult decision: But in the end I figured that the blue flacon without proper stickers would not be right. Thus, I fill a bit of this cologne in the old flacon, as gift for friends and family and a few draws.