The recipes posted over the past week were as a gesture of gratitude and in the spirit of sparking your creative juices. The intention is that these recipes will facilitate you to create wonder filled, handmade gifts from the botanical realm for the upcoming holidays. Consider that by giving gifts of nature you are supporting our beautiful blue planet. If you prefer to purchase handmade, botanical products please visit our website on December 3rd when our online store opens.
The history of solid perfumes begins in Egypt 1400 years before the birth of Christ. During that period the Egyptian people wore cones on their heads made of fat and plant matter. As the day began to heat, the fat would slowly melt, diffusing the aroma. These cones were called Scented Cones and/or Ungents. Much later, beginning in the middle ages small boxes were used to store aromatics and whiff when unsavory scents of the plague or other illnesses pervaded.
In the eighteenth century the large perfume house began creating "Solid Perfume Keepsakes" Estee Lauder continues the tradition, launching a new solid perfume each year outside of America.
SOLID PERFUME
Ingredients:
5 mls carrier oil
1/2 tspn grated beeswax
20 drops total essence
Generally Jojoba is the preferred carrier oil used for natural perfumes, however feel free to experiment with others such as Marula or your own infused oils. Just make sure to use an oil that can withstand a little heat and has good longevity.
Directions:
Measure out your carrier oil by pouring it into a small beaker or glass bottle or container. Add twenty drops total essence to the oil. Set aside. Take your grated beeswax and add to a small heatproof pan. Ideally made of porceline. Small French sauce pans, with the little pouring lip, work well. Over very low heat, gently melt the beeswax , remove from the heat and stir in your essence+oil mix. Pour this combination into the final container for your solid perfume. Make sure to leave uncovered and undisturbed so that the perfume may settle properly. Ten minutes should do the trick.
For more in depth information on how to create solid perfumes, including alternatives to beeswax and how to formulate essences stay tuned. In 2008 I will be doing regular workshops and classes.
SUPPLIERS
Jojoba Oil Company
Essential Oils:
Floracopeia
Eden
Sunrose
Barks, Resins & Seeds:
Scents of the Earth
Images: Old Engravings on Parchment ©Roxana Villa
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