Friday, July 11, 2008

Queen of the Night


At the last minute before heading out the door I chose to wear pure Jasmine sambac absolute as my perfume to the film screening in Hollywood. It seemed an appropriate way to honor the small little fragrant flowers that have been strewning themselves in the walkways around our home.

Whither dost thou hide from the magic of my flute-call
In what moonlight-tangled meshes of perfume, Where the clustering keovas guard the squirrel's slumber, Where the deep woods glimmer with the jasmine's bloom?
~ The Golden Threshold by Naidu

Jasmine sambac, the sibling of Jasmine grandiflorum, has a heady floral quality which moves into intensely green notes, somewhat animalic. Its origins began in eastern India and the southern Himalayas, finding their way to China. In fact some source China as the point of origin. The small, waxy florets are found in the fragrant gardens of royalty: sultans, emperors and kings both past and current.

Jasmine is a white floral note found in oriental perfumes classified as florientals. Synthetic Jasmine was perfected in the early nineteen hundreds and continues to be an important floral note in main stream perfume. The botanical perfumer utilizes the essence from the actual plant in a variety of forms, sourced from many parts of the world. Often referred to as sweet, floral, heavy, fruity and herbaceous. Jasmine sambac, however, has an added green note.

I adore this heavenly fragrance, much more so than the other available Jasmines. Most of my custom perfume clients opt for the traditional Jasmine note of the grandiflorum. The luscious green fairy of the sambac makes an appearance in the sweetest and most floral of our perfumes. She is also prominent in a series of signature floral accords in my perfumers palette.

In aromatherapy Jasmine is considered a euphoric with applications for treating depression, anxiety, sexual challenges and facilitating greater creativity. Within magical circles Jasmine is associated with the moon, the feminine and elemental water.

For promoting prophetic dreams:

  • Use a dab of a botanical perfume containing Jasmine or a dilution of the pure extract just before sleep.
  • Place a few of the little Jasmine sambac flowers on you nightstand.
  • Use a few drops of an essential oil synergy containing Jasmine in a warm bath.
  • Create a small herbal with dried Jasmine flowers.
I have used Jasmine sambac hydrosol at festivities for invoking higher states of consciousness and uniting us with our joy filled heart.

The photograph above is a closeup of our little Buddha in front of our front door with Jasmine sambac flowers in his hands, ©RoxanaVilla.

4 comments:

AromaX said...

Thank you, Roxana reminding of wonderful magical Jasmin - Queen of the Night from the Far East with a nice ability to awake sensuality and soften the emotional pains and bringing lights in a dark melancholy.

Inspired by your post I blended a Jasmine splash combining Jasmine and Sandalwood with healing power of Clary Sage and consoling Geranium. Put on Vanilla-Benzoin-Cistus base with a pinch of warming cinnamon-ginger spices and topped with Orange freshness. Well - I think I still better should practice with more simple blends ;-) It's nice, warm, sweet and euphoric, but not really in balance yet... well - let it settle down and ripe... time heals ;-)

Do you have suggestions for Jasmine synergistic blends? Or other tips on blending Jasmine?

Illuminated Perfume said...

AromaX, well, you certainly are well stocked with lovely aromatics in your perfume blending tool kit!
Vanilla+Benzoin+Cistus and Sandalwood as the base. Jasmine as the main heart note which also mingles into the base. Geranium and Clary Sage adding a floral and herbaceous quality to the heart. Cinnamon, Ginger and Orange as the opening welcome. It sounds like a terrific start, would love to experience this blend of yours. What intention did you hold as you blended it? This blend will need some time to marry and it is tricky for me to comment not knowing which Jasmine, Geranium and Orange you used...as well as what type of extractions they are. First off, allow the blend to sit as long as you can stand it...at least three days. Then inhale deeply and write down your impressions. If it needs balancing where does this manifest?
In the base, heart or top? Is it too sweet, too herbaceous? What direction would you like to move it in? It sounds like you are creating a floriental. Sometimes Benzoin and Geranium will produce a "candy" note, be mindful of this. More Sandalwood and Vanilla (assuming it is a pure Vanilla) can soften the candy quality.
Also, for the base you may want to consider an infusion or tincture of Vanilla or Tonka beans. Read more about infusing and tincturing by entering those words into the search on my blog.

Jasmine and Ylang Ylang work well together, you might want to experiment with some accords of those two. A really lovely, simple blend is Frankincense, Jasmine and Rose. This is not a true perfume, but, smells fantastic and contains wonderful aromatherapeutic properties!

Happy Blending, enjoy the journey!!

AromaX said...

Dear Roxana,
Thank you for your answer. Well, the intention... I think it was a kind of obsession with the childish curiosity - I mix it with this and put some of this one and that one would give some warmth and this and that... I think one of the difficult aspect in perfumery for me is that you have to make small steps - take time to smell and learn the ingredients, make a mix of not more than 2 first, take time to smell the mix and only after that think if you'd like to add anything and take time again to smell (experience) the result. Let it ripe and smell again ;-) Take time... take time...

Frankisence? Not the one I'd think of mixing with Jasmine (because of its "cool" note)... But I defenitely give it a try... Thank you.

Illuminated Perfume said...

Yes indeed, perfume creation takes time and much awareness.
There are many varieties of Frankincense, some cooler than others. The aged versions are lovely as well as the tinctured tears.