Also: I love STYRAX! *was* amber/confused thread ;-)

[Guest guest]

Shea wrote:

> I also have that. I really like it, I've said this many times before, but the

scent really reminds me of hyacinth, maybe with a touch of cinnamon or cassia.

I use it in florals. I do detect a bit of rubbreryness, but it is very faint

and tends to dissapear quickly. I also find that it doesnt' seem to overpower,

in fact I think it's really subtle.

>

, I'll have to revisit it and try to catch the hyacinth - it may be

an element that can add a bit of reality to a hyacinth fantasy accord.

In the meantime, I'm going to paste a long post by Will of Eden

Botanicals. It's in our Files section under Amber oils:

*About Amber Oil*

By Will Lapaz, Eden Botanicals

As someone pointed out, on our website we say that there is no true

ESSENTIAL OIL of amber. If there was there would be a single plant

source with which to distill it. However, the 'so called' Amber

Essential Oil (also called Amber oil crude, Amber Oil Refined and Baltic

Amber Oil) comes from fossilized amber resin, which is some 60 million

year old resin from a species of extinct pine

(Pinus succinifera). The amber resin is typically called Baltic amber

(although it also

comes from other geographical regions) and is what we know of as jewelry

amber.

Is there any essential oil in a piece of 60 million year old fossilized

Baltic

amber? I'd have to say no, unless it has an extremely long self life...

Certainly not how we

think of an essential oil (and this is why I prefer calling this oil

Baltic Amber oil and

not essential oil). However, an oil is made from the dust and bits of

amber left over from the

jewelry trade. It is not distilled as we normally think of distilling.

It is put through a process

of destructive distillation, which " creates an oil where there was not

one originally " (quoted

from memory of something Tony Burfield wrote on the subject***).

I have 2 samples of " so called " Amber Essential Oil Crude and one of Amber

Essential Oil Refined, from a contact in Latvia (Baltic Sea), and from a

UK reseller who I

believe is out of business now. Both crude oils are very similar, and

both are very, very nasty

oils, with a very heavy solvent constituent to them. Which is not too

suprising as tree

resins contain all sorts of chemicals that are used in paints, solvents,

laquers, varnishes, etc.

(Gasoline can be made from Pine resin.) Anyway, the samples that I have

should not be used for

perfumery for sure. However, it is possible that the Crude oil that I

have is

actually a cheap solvent extraction from the amber and not truly

distilled by the destructive

process. The so called Amber Oil Refined that I have is an obvious

synthetic perfume blend

and it is not from Baltic amber at all. I have spent a lot of time

trying to track down

authentic Baltic Amber Oil, but I have given it up long ago and now

consider it a time consuming

and likely useless search.

Personally, I would be very cautious about purchasing any of these types of

amber essential oils, crude, refined or whatever from vendors who crop

up from time to

time on the internet or on eBay . Curiosity would be the best reason to

purchase these;

getting a useful oil to add to your perfumer's organ is probably not

going to happen.

Someone also mentioned that Baltic Amber Oil is super expensive. It was

not in

my experience. But, if someone was to make true Baltic amber oil from

good pieces

of Baltic amber and make it according to USP or BPC or an old

appothacary formula, it

likely would be quite expensive and would likely be nicer than anything

we can find on the

internet.

If you want the type of aroma that the Baltic Amber Oil gives (without the

solvent, petroleum type notes), I suggest Choya Loban. In fact Choya

Loban is a much

nicer oil, inexpensive and relatively easy to find and you can be fairly

sure of its purity

much more so than Baltic Amber Oil (no matter what is claimed about it).

The other option

for an Baltic Amber Oil substitute would be Cade Tar, but I prefer Choya

Loban.

However, if you are looking for natural sources for the type of aroma

that Amber

is known for, do not look for Baltic Amber Oil, rather look to:

Ambergris (the best),

various types of Labdanum (second best), Liquidambar essential oil

(known typically as Styrax in

the eo industry), and if you stretch it a little you could also include

Benzoin resin,

Benzoin resinoid and perhaps even Storax or Liquidambar resin or gum in

this list.

Beyond that, as someone pointed out, there are blends of various oils

which try to approximate

the scent that we " think of " as amber, and which typically tries to

imitate Ambergris

(sometimes with a Vanilla note added), but does not try to imitate

Baltic Amber. Some of these

blends are synthetic, some are natural and some are a combo.

Note: as far as perfumery is concerned Amber = Ambergris (and ambergris type

aromas such as Labdanum). As far as Jewerly is concerned Amber =

fossilized resin

(Baltic Amber). However, when you see perfumes listing Amber as a note,

they typically are

refering to Labdanum or synthetic Ambergris and most certainly not

Baltic Amber nor real

Ambergris.

Note 2: This is not to say that Baltic Amber Oil has not been used for

perfumery. The reports say that it has. And it adds a smokey, tar-like

(and unpleasant) aroma. Hence the suggestion to use Choya Loban or

perhaps Cade Tar if you are careful.

Note 3: Liquidambar (Styrax, aka Sweet Gum) essential oil (and

especially Styrax

Gum, which is another of those items that you can spend a lot of time

trying to track

down only to be severely disappointed) typically has a rather unpleasant

chemical solvent

aroma (similar to airplane glue). It is used to make various varnishes

and the like.

But, there are some very nice distillations of Styrax that can be found

that are quite nice for

use in perfumery.

The other interesting thing about Baltic Amber (and Baltic Amber Oil) is

that it

is a source for Succinic Acid which is used in the nuetracuetical and

pharmaceutical

industries. I actually, have had a good many pharmaceutical companies

ask me if I can supply

Baltic Amber Oil BPC (which I can't and which I do not want to). Also,

it is used in

Russia as a folk medicine for things like removing warts. Baltic amber

oil is also used for

taking care of fine wood musical instruments such as violins etc.

Here is a little more info from various sources:

" Baltic amber contains 3-8% of succinic acid, a scientifically examined

medical substance used in contemporary medicine. The highest content of

the acid is found in the amber cortex--the external layer of the stone.

Therefore, nuggets and amber goods (necklaces, bracelets and pendants)

made from non-ground or little ground raw material should be used for

theraputic

and bactericidal purposes. "

" In 1546 G. Agricola, a mineralist and a doctor, obtained succinic acid

using

dry distillation. The dry distillation (accomplished by heating amber in

a vacuum)

divides amber into acid, oil and rosin, all of which are exceptionally

valuable and very

useful. "

***Found the quote from Tony, and here it is:

" The crude essential oil is produced by destructive (dry) distillation

(during

which odorous materials are formed which were not present in the

botanical raw material) of

Amber at atmospheric pressure. Amber is one of the oldest (Tertiary

Period) and hardest

fossil resins, exuded presumably from Pinus succinifera, a fir. "

" Heated rather below 300°C, amber suffers decomposition, yielding an " oil of

amber " , and leaving a black residue which is known as " amber colophony " ,

or " amber pitch " ;

when dissolved in oil of turpentine or in linseed oil this forms " amber

varnish " or

" amber lac " . True amber yields on dry distillation succinic acid, the

proportion varying from

about 3 to 8%, and being greatest in the pale opaque or bony varieties.

The aromatic and

irritating fumes emitted by burning amber are mainly due to this acid.. "

" The crude oil of amber (Oleum Succini Crudum) is obtained by

destructive distillation of

amber as a by-product in the preparation of succinic acid from this

source (see Amber, below). It is of a syrupy consistence, dark-brown,

and of an unpleasant, empyreumatic, persistent odor. In order to make

rectified oil of amber (Oleum Succini Rectificatum), the U. S. P. (1870)

directs to mix in a glass retort, oil of amber, 1 pint; water, 6 pints,

and to distill until 4 pints of water have passed with the oil into the

receiver; then separate the oil from the water, and keep it in a

well-stopped bottle. According to Hager, the yield is from 65 to 70 per

cent of the crude oil.

Description.---The oil thus obtained is thin, colorless or pale-yellow,

but turns brown and

viscid if not carefully kept. It has an empyreumatic, balsamic, yet

disagreeable odor, and a

bitter and acrid taste. "

That's all for now!

Keep this in the files section to save me from writing this again,

although it is a fun exercise. If anyone has anything to add, feel free!

It is an interesting subject. And if anyone actually finds an authentic

Baltic Amber Oil Refined that has been made properly and for the purpose

of perfumery, please let me know...

Good luck everyone and Happy Blending!

Will Lapaz

Eden Botanicals

www.edenbotanicals.com

will@...

</post?postID=g4vDNocXwZSTr\

3wb-tokOrD7iHVPNclsHCqTLiFNGpo4hc8IgY9p4QXmt0l1aDrnBI-U-SvQwqvm_jzxork>

(note, please do not email me at the address, rather, if you want

me to

see your

email, use will@...

</post?postID=g4vDNocXwZSTr\

3wb-tokOrD7iHVPNclsHCqTLiFNGpo4hc8IgY9p4QXmt0l1aDrnBI-U-SvQwqvm_jzxork>

--

Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

1500+ member Natural Perfumery group -

/