s

SmellyBlog

Osmanthus Conversation with Perfumer & Candlemaker Nikki Sherritt

Tea Party of Love by Ayala Moriel
Tea Party of Love, a photo by Ayala Moriel on Flickr.
In the second conversation in our Osmanthus Series, I invited Nikki Sherritt to join the conversation. Candlemaker for Gabriel's Aunt where she creates naturally perfumed soy wax candles; perfumer in her newly launched Rebel & Mercury natural perfumes line - and an all-around wonderful lady with whom I had the pleasure to work for many years. We collaborated on several candles for under my brand, hosted events together, and participated at the 1st Artisan Fragrance Salon in San Francisco in July 2012. We initially met when Nikki drove up to Vancouver for a brief day for a private lesson and consultation way back when. We immediately "clicked" and I was so impressed with her candles that just had to commission her to handcraft a collection of them for me. Since the very beginning of our interaction and working together, we both felt that we have similar aesthetics and a similar passionate attitude about our work, being almost overly enthusiastic about it - and being quite proud about our self-taught knowledge in our areas of expertise.

In everything that Nikki does, there is a sense of free-spirit, innovation, and an unpretentious commitment to purity, independence and quality. This conversation will let you in to Nikki's experience of working with osmanthus in general, and her creative process behind her new perfume, Osmanthus Red and her other osmanthus prominent perfume, Cerise en Cocoa for her perfume line, Rebel & Mercury.

Ayala Moriel/SmellyBlog: How would you describe the scent of osmanthus?

Nikki Sherritt (Rebel & Mercury/Gabriel's Aunt): Mostly, for me it is like Violet meets Blackberry jam. I get this slightly powdery, sugary sweetness that is just too good to not use.

Ayala: Time and again I'm surprised at the varied responses to osmanthus. Although we seem to all find fruity notes there - they are all quite different. So far we had apricot, peach, cherry and plum - and now also blackberry!

Nikki: I am so surprised at how time and time again I get a powdery note from it. I love reading other perfumer's or perfumistas descriptions of notes or perfumes. We all get different nuances!

Ayala: Have you ever smelled the fresh flowers?

Nikki: Sadly, no, just the dried flowers. I have had my fair share of Osmanthus Tea too. I have always loved this delicate tea and how it just has hints of the absolute. Adding some raw honey to that tea is one of my favorite treats.

Ayala: You are fortunate! It took me eons to find osmanthus tea in Vancouver - let alone served in restaurants. Shaktea is the only tea lounge that serves it plain. And for years I was searching for it in traditional Chinese tea shops - but without the proper Chinese name for it, it was pretty futile… It wasn't until a friend of mine who speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin gave me a caddy of dried flowers that I was able to enjoy it in its pure form.

Nikki: Every time we go out for Vietnamese or Pho here in Seattle, it is the house tea served (very lucky). Although, they love to put lots of sugar in it. I thought that the absolute would be more like Rhododendron in scent from drinking the tea, but it was so much more! 

Ayala: Do you have any scent memories associated with osmanthus? Or memories that are triggered by this note? 

Nikki: For me, Osmanthus is a more recent discovery (the absolute anyway). I have had the tea many times since I moved to Seattle 7 years ago (it is prevalent in the Vietnamese restaurants here) and always had a bit of a fascination with it. When I finally got my hands on my first absolute, I knew that I had to create a perfume that would feature it.

Ayala: Same for me - it's a relatively new experience - a note I would have had no "relationship" with if it wasn't for my perfumery work and exposure to it. I was on a big hunt for florals early on in my learning stages to become a perfumer. Osmanthus was one of those elusive, exotic names that I had no idea what to expect before smelling it. The first time I smelled it was in a dilution in a tea shop, of all places (they had quite an impressive collection of floral absolutes in their "aromatherapy" collection - way back in the early 2000's when aromatherapy was very hip). It was very faint, as it was diluted in jojoba oil, and I was under impressed. Fortunately, however - my first purchase of it was from Eden Botanicals (years ago) and was a good quality one (though not nearly as good as the one they carry now). 

Nikki: It's funny how so many of us have just (fairly) recently stumbled across this or found out it's true potential. I, like you, knew I wanted this fruity floral note added to my library. Little did I know I would become a bit obsessed! I have also had the pleasure of using Eden's absolute of Osmanthus (the one I use in Osmanthus Red) and it is truly gorgeous. 

Ayala: What were the main challenges for you when incorporating this note into your perfumes?

Nikki: I knew that it was a very dominant note with a distinctive scent so I wanted to feature it without making it an "Osmanthus" perfume or soliflore type. I loved that mixes with things like Rose and other florals, it added such a gorgeous, deep berry/powdery aspect. My goal was to use it to create an idea: like the cherry cordial note of Cerise en Cocoa.

Ayala: Have you noticed anything unusual about the behaviour of osmanthus in a blend?

Nikki: For me, Osmanthus goes very, almost cough-syrupy, on me plus the drier side comes out towards the end. Of course, depending on what you blend it with, it can do one of the other more. 

Ayala: How do you evaluate a new raw material like this? Do you wear it on your skin in dilution first without any other notes mixed in? Or just use scent strips? Contrary to the classic way of studying raw materials, I find that I learn the most out of blending them intuitively with other materials. It's not very systematic (and not a good example for my students) but it's how I work the best and come up with the best ideas.

Nikki: Ayala, I don't know if I picked that technique up from you via osmosis, but that is how I have always done things. Only when I get a new aromatic do I put it on a scent strip or my skin. After that, I know the character of it and what it might bring to the table paired with something else. Again, I sort of visualize combinations so I don't stop to evaluate one note time and time again. 

Ayala: I am pretty sure you had that technique before you met me - I smelled it in the very first perfumes and candles you showed me when we first met. You have a knack for pairing together very strong-willed notes. In Osmanthus Red, there are both tagetes (marigold and osmanthus - none an easy note to work with on their own; and definitely not together. How did you come up with this combination? Can you lead us through your train of thoughts while you blend and design your scents? 

Nikki: I have noticed that sometimes I have a color palette in my head when I got to blend something new. With Osmanthus Red, I kept seeing rich, oranges, reds, ambery/golden types of colors in my head. I kept reaching for things that either reminded me of those colors because of the color of their flowers, or just made me feel that way. Marigold was a way to add some sweet, herbal richness to the blend. Something different and that added a honeyed sweetness without making it a sweet perfume.

Ayala: Do you ever wake up with the feeling of "I don't know what to wear" or "I don't have that in my perfume closet" and just make it? That's how I come up with most of my perfumes!

Nikki: With many of my blends, I wake up with the idea or just get inspired by a new essence and know what I want to do to feature that note. Some are stories I want to tell, some are just a way to show off my favorite essences.

Ayala: It's interesting that you saw red and golden colours with osmanthus. For me osmanthus was initially more green and tea like; and it wasn't till I was deep in the making of Kinmokusei, that the golds crept in - with the wild orange. It really made me think of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", and I would have called it that way if there was only enough room on the label…I find the colour association very powerful and helpful when composing. And it's not surprising - colours and emotions are very strongly linked together! 

Nikki: I love that you wanted to name a perfume that! I have found myself getting ready to go somewhere and thinking "I want to smell like like this". Then, these notes will pop in my head and I will immediately go to my perfume table and put things together. I am constantly thinking of the perfect perfume for me and that is also how so many of mine start (like you). I guess that is what makes them your own, but then they take on a whole new life!

Ayala: Your osmanthus perfume is themed around a colour. Where did you get the inspiration? Do you "see" notes in colours? How did you interpret the colour into the formula? How do you "paint" with scent?

Nikki: I touched on this above a little, but Osmanthus Red was an extension of how I use/get inspired by colors when reaching for essences. This blend had started out as a Ginger/Frankincense blend, but it was calling out for some jammy notes and then, with the addition of more and various types of Ginger and Cedarwood, it was clear it was going to be a slightly spicy robust osmanthus blend. I tried to figure out a name for a long time, then realized that sense of color is what I wanted to convey, so Osmanthus Red was it!

Ayala: Fascinating turn of events!

Nikki: This perfume took many turns! Yes, it amazes me how a perfume can start with one idea and move into something so different at the end. Love that!!

Ayala: Have you noticed a great deal of different between osmanthus essences from different sources? Do you have a favourite - and why? 

Nikki: I have noticed some slight variations. I have 2 that I use. The more powdery/violet/jammy one is the one I use in Cerise en Cocoa and I have another rich, jasmine-y/jammy one with slight licorice notes that I use for Osmanthus Red. They both are the same distillation, but from different suppliers. Just subtle differences. I don't prefer one over the other. They both are lovely. I had the chance to smell someone's tincture of osmanthus and it was gorgeous. That is my next goal, to get my hands on that. :)

Ayala: Osmanthus tincture would be a brilliant idea! I have a feeling it will lend itself beautifully for an alcohol infusion. I think the powdery one is perhaps more high on the ionones - and more subtle and difficult to work with, in my humble opinion. Did you find one easier to work with over the other?

Nikki: Ah! There are so many perfumers who create such beautiful tinctures; an area I am getting into more and more. I would love to have this as a tincture! The 2 I have were equally as easy with which to work. They just had subtle differences. I have finally reached a point where I want a many varieties of an essence as possible. I am sure every perfumer gets to that point, which is why it can be difficult for any of us to make money! :)

Ayala: Thank you so much for your time and your insightful answers! 

Nikki: Ayala, thank you for doing this!!! I love this idea of a virtual conversation!!!!!!

Tune in to SmellyBlog in a few days to read my reviews of Osmanthus Red and Cerise en Cocoa, which I sadly left behind on my trip to San Francisco's 2nd Annual Artisan Fragrance Salon. Fortunately, I have packed some dried osmanthus flowers and I'll be thinking of Nikki every time I brew this tea. 
 

Osmanthus Oolong by Providence Perfume Co.

The notion of tea usually creates an expectation of something muted, subtle, abstract and subdued. Osmanthus Oolong by Providence Perfume Company has taken me all by surprise: instead of cup of steaming tea, I got a roaring animal, purring and demanding my full attention. Almost as surprising as getting up close to a daffodil and discovering that it's full of carnal energy.

Osmanthus Oolong begins with a burst of the exotic and unfamiliar - which must be from the aglaia flowers (which I have never smelled in my life). This perfume renders an otherwise Chinese botanicals theme with an intricate East Indian richness: dirty-animalic, sensuous, and honeyed blossoms dripping fruity nectar.

There is a vibrant citrusy blood orange in the opening; fruity yet heady red champaca, and jam-like davana, and an undercurrent of leathery-indolic nuances that remind me of hyraceum (African Stone) and naughty jasmines. But what’s most outstanding about this perfume is that the osmanthus, an essence that I find to be extremely introvert and shy - really radiates all its beautiful qualities here: fruity oubturst of fuzzy dried peach and juicy apricot, a succession of tiny fragrant blossoms cascading from a tree, and an underlining animalic leather - all steeped into a strong, sweet tea.

As it turns out, there are several tea tinctures and essences in the making of Osmanthus Oolong - and each adds depth and a unique quality the echoes and complements the osmanthus: Black tea tincture for astringent leatheriness, green tea absolute for its hint of apricot and ionones, and rooibos absolute for the full-bodied, honey-like and fruity sweetness.

Top notes: Bergamot, Aglaia
Heart notes: Osmanthus, Jasmine, Apricot, Peach
Base notes: Black tea, Green tea, Rooibos

Osmanthus Conversation with Perfumer Charna Ethier

What you're about to read is the first in a series of several interviews or conversations with 3 perfumers about the wonders of osmanthus and their experience working with this beautiful and rare raw material. I hope that you will enjoy the insight into other perfumers' work with the same special material, and if you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comments below and and converse with these talented perfumers over SmellyBlog, and the first "guest" is Charna Ethier from Providence Perfume Co, a natural perfumer from Providence, Rhode Island.


Ayala Moriel/SmellyBlog:
Thank you for participating in my osmanthus series on SmellyBlog!

Charna Ethier/Providence Perfume Co.: Thank you for allowing me to participate. I'm excited to be a part of your osmanthus series!

Ayala: How would you describe the scent of osmanthus?

Charna: I would describe the scent of osmanthus as fruity, leathery, slightly smokey, sweet, floral and narcotic.  Osmanthus doesn't smell like any other essence and is distinct and unique.

Ayala: Interesting that you say plum! I never really thought of osmanthus this way before. Femme smells like osmanthus to me, yet it is not listed as a note anywhere, while plum is.

Charna: Femme does smell like osmanthus! 

Ayala: Have you ever smelled the fresh flowers?

Charna: Sadly, I've never had the chance to smell the real flowers.

Ayala: You owe it to yourself! A trip to the south, perhaps? :-)

Charna: I once had a confusing conversation with a student over the phone about the fresh flowers.  She lived in Georgia and she kept asking me about tincturing "tea olive."  She wanted to know how to create a tea olive tincture and told me that tea olive grew wild everywhere in the South.  I was confused and told her I wasn't sure what tea olive was, but I was pretty sure it didn't grow wild in my cold climate.  She kept describing the flowers to me in detail, and the aroma and still I had no idea what flower she was talking about.  She called me again a week later and explained she discovered that tea olive was what we chilly "Yankees" called osmanthus.  She has a great sense of humour.

Ayala: Confusing indeed! For me, growing up in the Middle East - when talking about "olives" I rarely think of their flowers, and the association is more “savoury” than “sweet”.  So the synonym “sweet olive” sounds a bit out of place. 
Do you have any scent memories associated with the scent of osmanthus? Or memories that are triggered by this note?

Charna: For some reason, the aroma of osmanthus often reminds me of plum wine, ume -which in turn reminds me of an old boyfriend who used to buy me plum wine.  He was much too old for me, and I think he though all young women in their 20's liked to drink sweet things.

Ayala: Mmm, ume… I love Japanese plum wine, but then I probably have an 8-year old taste in alcoholic beverages!… I truly adore ume - their scent is what inspired my Hanami perfume even more than sakura (cherry blossoms). Have you ever had the Japanese sour plum condiments? They are so peculiar tasting!


What were the main challenges for you when incorporating this note into your perfumes?

Charna: I find osmanthus tricky to work with.  It's an essence that doesn't like to play well with others, it asserts itself and likes to play the starring role.  I made a conscious decision to let osmanthus be the star of my perfume Osmanthus Oolong and built the fragrance around osmanthus.

Ayala: To me, osmanthus had the opposite challenge: it seemed to disappear the more I put of it. But then, my composition relied heavily on osmanthus absolute being the only flower there. The others were added in only minuscule amounts, so it remained very muted. Projection does not seem to be a strong point - and it could also be something to do with the ionones playing tricks on our olfactory bulbs.

But you managed - in what seems effortlessly - to turn osmanthus into a star!
"Osmanthus" and "Oolong" - two of my favourite teas! Not surprisingly, I've also fallen hard for your creation! What was your inspiration? Is there a story to be told about Osmanthus Oolong?  



Charna: Thank you Ayala!  Osmanthus Oolong was one of my original fragrances, and it was a concept I had been thinking about for a long time.  At night, as I was falling asleep I remember piecing parts of the formula together in my head for months.  Imagining how the yuzu might freshen the top notes, determining if an amber base would push the fragrance too far to the sweet side, thinking of how the astringency of the black tea may balance the amber.  I'm pleased that you like it.  I've found over the years that Osmanthus Oolong is very polarizing fragrance.  People seem to love it or . . . not (smile.)


Ayala: You now not only answered my question, but also made me feel just a tiny bit more normal - not being the only one who does perfume problem solving while falling asleep… The solution sometimes just comes to you this way more at ease, like a meditation.

Your osmanthus perfume is tea themed, yet the result I found to be very animalic, and with a surprising lasting power. I find that osmanthus to be a very challenging raw material in that aspect: it is difficult to make it long lasting; and increasing the concentration strangely diminishes its presence. How did you overcome this technical challenge? And what other challenges did you notice when working with osmanthus absolute?

Charna: I think the animalic aroma stems from the indole in the jasmine blending with the leathery note in the osmanthus.  As I mentioned before, I find osmanthus challenging to work with.  I had hoped by incorporating the lemony aglaia, the sharp astringent black and green teas and bergamot I could balance the sweet, sometimes cloying nature osmanthus can possess.  What I guess I'm saying is there needs to be a lot of balance when working with osmanthus!

Ayala: You have achieved this balance so well. The red rooibos tea truly brings out the fruity aspect; yet it is not too sweet. And most importantly - it projects very well for such a delicate tea-inspired perfume.

Charna: I feel that when blending with osmanthus, one must decide if they wish to highlight the flower's floral note, it's leather note, or it's fruity note.  One of the three elements as they are so distinct.

Ayala: Excellent point! Containing one's excitement are a great challenge to the perfumer, which can easy lead to lack of direction. Having a focus is key, because the natural raw materials are so complex, our job is often like a photographer's attempt to soften the background and channel our attention to the photograph's subject.

Charna: Regarding the longevity of Osmanthus Oolong . . . thank you for noticing!  I take great pride in striving to create a longer lasting natural perfume.  One of the methods I utilized with Osmanthus Oolong tincturing dried apricots and peaches in the base alcohol.  The alcohol becomes imbued with the fruity aroma, a perfect foil to highlight the peach-like aroma osmanthus possesses.  In addition the fruit tinctured alcohol contains natural sugars from the fruit which act as a humectant slowing the evaporation rate of the perfume off the skin.

Ayala: That's fascinating about the fruit sugars - I had no idea! I worked with natural fruit extracts (designed for food, just like vanilla extract or almond essence) found their stickiness to be a disadvantage. It's both inspiring and encouraging to smell such results, so I will give it a try.

Have you noticed a great deal of different between osmanthus essences from different sources? Do you have a favourite - and why? 
 



Charna: This is an interesting question.  Normally, I find vast differences in essences from different sources.  I must admit when sourcing osmanthus absolute, the differences were more subtle, shades of grey if you will.  One was thinner, less sweet.  One was smokier.  Maybe because osmathus is such a distinct aroma I detected more subtle differences.  I recently purchased osmanthus from Eden Botanicals and really liked the quality.  I found it interesting that the osmanthus from Eden smelled smokier and darker in the bottle than it does on the skin.  The smokey note disappeared very quickly, and the sweet, floral quality shone.  I enjoyed it.

Ayala: Yes, the osmanthus from Eden is exceptional, and even surpasses the one they used to carry a few years back. Osmanthus is not widely grown so we're not privileged enough to have several sources as with other florals (rose, jasmine, etc.). I'm ashamed to admit that I've never smelled aglaia flowers. Can you describe their scent?

Charna: I LOVE aglaia.  I only wish their fresh, lemony floral aroma were stronger.  It's very difficult to make aglaia a prevalent note in a perfume, but I found the aglaia and jasmine lightened the osmanthus in the heart notes of Osmanthus Oolong.

Ayala: Now I'm even more intrigued!
Which types of tea essences did you use in Osmanthus Oolong?

Charna: I used a handcrafted tincture of black tea (hence the dark color of the perfume), green tea absolute and rooibos (red) tea absolute.  The fruity plum notes in the rooibos accentuated the other fruit notes in the perfume.

Ayala: Wonderful choices, and the tea-like quality really comes across - although in a rather bold and daring way. Thank you so much for creating such an outstanding osmanthus perfume, and for sharing your creative process and thoughts!

Charna: Thank you for allowing me to participate, Ayala!

Now, proceed to read my impressions/review of Providence Perfume Co's Osmanthus Oolong! 

Osmanthus Conversation with Perfumer Charna Ethier

What you're about to read is the first in a series of several interviews or conversations with 3 perfumers about the wonders of osmanthus and their experience working with this beautiful and rare raw material. I hope that you will enjoy the insight into other perfumers' work with the same special material, and if you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comments below and and converse with these talented perfumers over SmellyBlog, and the first "guest" is Charna Ethier from Providence Perfume Co, a natural perfumer from Providence, Rhode Island.


Ayala Moriel/SmellyBlog:
Thank you for participating in my osmanthus series on SmellyBlog!

Charna Ethier/Providence Perfume Co.: Thank you for allowing me to participate. I'm excited to be a part of your osmanthus series!

Ayala: How would you describe the scent of osmanthus?

Charna: I would describe the scent of osmanthus as fruity, leathery, slightly smokey, sweet, floral and narcotic.  Osmanthus doesn't smell like any other essence and is distinct and unique.

Ayala: Interesting that you say plum! I never really thought of osmanthus this way before. Femme smells like osmanthus to me, yet it is not listed as a note anywhere, while plum is.

Charna: Femme does smell like osmanthus! 

Ayala: Have you ever smelled the fresh flowers?

Charna: Sadly, I've never had the chance to smell the real flowers.

Ayala: You owe it to yourself! A trip to the south, perhaps? :-)

Charna: I once had a confusing conversation with a student over the phone about the fresh flowers.  She lived in Georgia and she kept asking me about tincturing "tea olive."  She wanted to know how to create a tea olive tincture and told me that tea olive grew wild everywhere in the South.  I was confused and told her I wasn't sure what tea olive was, but I was pretty sure it didn't grow wild in my cold climate.  She kept describing the flowers to me in detail, and the aroma and still I had no idea what flower she was talking about.  She called me again a week later and explained she discovered that tea olive was what we chilly "Yankees" called osmanthus.  She has a great sense of humour.

Ayala: Confusing indeed! For me, growing up in the Middle East - when talking about "olives" I rarely think of their flowers, and the association is more “savoury” than “sweet”.  So the synonym “sweet olive” sounds a bit out of place. 
Do you have any scent memories associated with the scent of osmanthus? Or memories that are triggered by this note?

Charna: For some reason, the aroma of osmanthus often reminds me of plum wine, ume -which in turn reminds me of an old boyfriend who used to buy me plum wine.  He was much too old for me, and I think he though all young women in their 20's liked to drink sweet things.

Ayala: Mmm, ume… I love Japanese plum wine, but then I probably have an 8-year old taste in alcoholic beverages!… I truly adore ume - their scent is what inspired my Hanami perfume even more than sakura (cherry blossoms). Have you ever had the Japanese sour plum condiments? They are so peculiar tasting!


What were the main challenges for you when incorporating this note into your perfumes?

Charna: I find osmanthus tricky to work with.  It's an essence that doesn't like to play well with others, it asserts itself and likes to play the starring role.  I made a conscious decision to let osmanthus be the star of my perfume Osmanthus Oolong and built the fragrance around osmanthus.

Ayala: To me, osmanthus had the opposite challenge: it seemed to disappear the more I put of it. But then, my composition relied heavily on osmanthus absolute being the only flower there. The others were added in only minuscule amounts, so it remained very muted. Projection does not seem to be a strong point - and it could also be something to do with the ionones playing tricks on our olfactory bulbs.

But you managed - in what seems effortlessly - to turn osmanthus into a star!
"Osmanthus" and "Oolong" - two of my favourite teas! Not surprisingly, I've also fallen hard for your creation! What was your inspiration? Is there a story to be told about Osmanthus Oolong?  



Charna: Thank you Ayala!  Osmanthus Oolong was one of my original fragrances, and it was a concept I had been thinking about for a long time.  At night, as I was falling asleep I remember piecing parts of the formula together in my head for months.  Imagining how the yuzu might freshen the top notes, determining if an amber base would push the fragrance too far to the sweet side, thinking of how the astringency of the black tea may balance the amber.  I'm pleased that you like it.  I've found over the years that Osmanthus Oolong is very polarizing fragrance.  People seem to love it or . . . not (smile.)


Ayala: You now not only answered my question, but also made me feel just a tiny bit more normal - not being the only one who does perfume problem solving while falling asleep… The solution sometimes just comes to you this way more at ease, like a meditation.

Your osmanthus perfume is tea themed, yet the result I found to be very animalic, and with a surprising lasting power. I find that osmanthus to be a very challenging raw material in that aspect: it is difficult to make it long lasting; and increasing the concentration strangely diminishes its presence. How did you overcome this technical challenge? And what other challenges did you notice when working with osmanthus absolute?

Charna: I think the animalic aroma stems from the indole in the jasmine blending with the leathery note in the osmanthus.  As I mentioned before, I find osmanthus challenging to work with.  I had hoped by incorporating the lemony aglaia, the sharp astringent black and green teas and bergamot I could balance the sweet, sometimes cloying nature osmanthus can possess.  What I guess I'm saying is there needs to be a lot of balance when working with osmanthus!

Ayala: You have achieved this balance so well. The red rooibos tea truly brings out the fruity aspect; yet it is not too sweet. And most importantly - it projects very well for such a delicate tea-inspired perfume.

Charna: I feel that when blending with osmanthus, one must decide if they wish to highlight the flower's floral note, it's leather note, or it's fruity note.  One of the three elements as they are so distinct.

Ayala: Excellent point! Containing one's excitement are a great challenge to the perfumer, which can easy lead to lack of direction. Having a focus is key, because the natural raw materials are so complex, our job is often like a photographer's attempt to soften the background and channel our attention to the photograph's subject.

Charna: Regarding the longevity of Osmanthus Oolong . . . thank you for noticing!  I take great pride in striving to create a longer lasting natural perfume.  One of the methods I utilized with Osmanthus Oolong tincturing dried apricots and peaches in the base alcohol.  The alcohol becomes imbued with the fruity aroma, a perfect foil to highlight the peach-like aroma osmanthus possesses.  In addition the fruit tinctured alcohol contains natural sugars from the fruit which act as a humectant slowing the evaporation rate of the perfume off the skin.

Ayala: That's fascinating about the fruit sugars - I had no idea! I worked with natural fruit extracts (designed for food, just like vanilla extract or almond essence) found their stickiness to be a disadvantage. It's both inspiring and encouraging to smell such results, so I will give it a try.

Have you noticed a great deal of different between osmanthus essences from different sources? Do you have a favourite - and why? 
 



Charna: This is an interesting question.  Normally, I find vast differences in essences from different sources.  I must admit when sourcing osmanthus absolute, the differences were more subtle, shades of grey if you will.  One was thinner, less sweet.  One was smokier.  Maybe because osmathus is such a distinct aroma I detected more subtle differences.  I recently purchased osmanthus from Eden Botanicals and really liked the quality.  I found it interesting that the osmanthus from Eden smelled smokier and darker in the bottle than it does on the skin.  The smokey note disappeared very quickly, and the sweet, floral quality shone.  I enjoyed it.

Ayala: Yes, the osmanthus from Eden is exceptional, and even surpasses the one they used to carry a few years back. Osmanthus is not widely grown so we're not privileged enough to have several sources as with other florals (rose, jasmine, etc.). I'm ashamed to admit that I've never smelled aglaia flowers. Can you describe their scent?

Charna: I LOVE aglaia.  I only wish their fresh, lemony floral aroma were stronger.  It's very difficult to make aglaia a prevalent note in a perfume, but I found the aglaia and jasmine lightened the osmanthus in the heart notes of Osmanthus Oolong.

Ayala: Now I'm even more intrigued!
Which types of tea essences did you use in Osmanthus Oolong?

Charna: I used a handcrafted tincture of black tea (hence the dark color of the perfume), green tea absolute and rooibos (red) tea absolute.  The fruity plum notes in the rooibos accentuated the other fruit notes in the perfume.

Ayala: Wonderful choices, and the tea-like quality really comes across - although in a rather bold and daring way. Thank you so much for creating such an outstanding osmanthus perfume, and for sharing your creative process and thoughts!

Charna: Thank you for allowing me to participate, Ayala!

Now, proceed to read my impressions/review of Providence Perfume Co's Osmanthus Oolong! 

Osmanthus Conversations

Osmanthus from Eden Botanicals

I'm pleased and excited to begin a new series on SmellyBlog, dedicated to one of my favourite notes: osmanthus. And for the first time - I will be hosting other perfumers who will share their thoughts, impressions and creative process working with this very special raw material.

The idea came to me after visiting Eden Botanicals last summer with my fried perfumer Lisa Fong. We both felt that this osmanthus was so exceptional it called for some special attention. Perhaps a little perfumers conversation on SmellyBlog?

We exchanged some osmanthus goodies - the dry buds, teas mixed with the dry buds, osmanthus oolong and such, and before I  even knew it - September came around, and we met again at the LA Artisan Fragrance Salon and Lisa has already created a new perfume surrounding osmanthus. I was clearly behind on my osmanthus series project - in hindsight perhaps a good thing. Because meanwhile I virtually met another talented and gracious natural perfumer, Charna Ethier, and fell in love with her Osmanthus Oolong. About a month later - Nikki Sherritt launched her Osmanthus Red at her Blackbird event (part of the Northwest Perfumers Circuit). It was clearly time for some action on the osmanthus front!

How can I describe osmanthus to you? 

Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans), sweet olive or tea olive (as it is known in the Southern United States) is a flowering evergreen shrub or small tree from the olive and lilac family, native to warm temperate Asia. It is cultivated as a decorative plant in gardens. In China, the dried flowers are used to infuse both green tea and black tea to create a fine tea called guì huāchá. It is also used in Chinese cuisine to flavour other specialty foods such as jam, cakes, dumplings, soups and a specialty liquor.

It is widely cultivated in Japan, where is it called kinmokusei, and where its incredibly humble, tiny clusters of golden-orange flowers permeate the air at the end of October, releasing a scent in the air that truly cannot be replicated. Marlen Harrison, who lived in Japan for a while, was the first to tell me of this elusive scent in real life, and how he spent hours searching for its source - so perfumey that at first he thought it was a laundry dryer sheet scent until he looked up and saw the osmanthus trees and their tiny, inconspicuous flowers.

And indeed, fresh osmanthus has been largely imitated by popular shampoo brand Herbal Essence and its smell-alikes; and even some laundry detergents and dryer sheets; and only later on in Serge Lutens' Nuit de Cellophane (by which point the scent sadly lost some of its prestige). Somehow, the ethreal quality of fresh osmanthus flowers got poorly interpreted and its lush, rich beauty watered-down in the many inspid aquatic florals that took over the 90's, alongside other "Asian" themes such as water lily and bamboo.

The flowers are solvent-extracted to produce a green, viscous liquid with an unusual floral note with a rich and dense aroma: fruity, leathery and green all at once and  reminiscent of leather, apricots, green tea and coumarin. It is sweet, mysterious and exotic. It's fruity intensity is more pronounced in higher quality grades, while poorer quality might present a hint of rancid-oil facet.

Osmanthus is a heart note that is used as the main theme or as an accessory note to add an exotic and unusual dimension to a perfume. It works very well in both rich florals and green florals, orientals, fresh fruity florals, leather and chypre compositions and can make a great floral note in a masculine scent, although it is sadly underused in this regard.

Its beauty is particularly revealed when accompanied with ionone-dominated and tea-like notes (i.e.: green tea, violet leaf, linden blossom, cassie) and fruity floral notes such as jasmine, magnolia, rose and orange blossom.  It's main challenge, however, is that this delicate and complex note is often cluttered with too many other dominant notes that tend to conceal it; and the other big technical challenge is that it is a little shy and tends to disappear the more you add of it. This could be in part due to the fickle character of the ionones in it.

Osmanthus flowers are minuscule, and the yield is low - a classic recipe for prohibitive costs. Therefore it is not surprising that it is not a common note to find - especially not in its natural form. You'll find very few perfumes that are a true ode to osmanthus, and even they are often watered down versions of the glorious original. More often, osmanthus will come up in perfumes that are minimalist, as if to attract the potential markets in Asia (Osmanthe Yunnan and Ormonde Jayne's Osmanthus for example, where it is light, ethereal and evoking green tea and cologne); while in others it is incredibly powdery, fruity-sweet and girly (Keiko Mecheri's and The Different Company's rendition). Only rarely will a perfumer explore its darker, leathery sides, as Ineke did in Evenings Edged in Gold, where the ionone and apricot of osmanthus is paired with leathery saffron. And in even rarer cases there is an original take on osmanthus: the bitter, herbaceous rose of 1000 de Patou; and the insanely too-good-to-be-true dessert of Un Crime Exotique. And then, of course, there are the creations of the perfumers that will be part of this little osmanthus series. It will be really interesting to read their own descriptions and insights into this less-known perfume note.
Back to the top