Historic perfume terms and ingredient names
Part the first.

Getting the scent out of the organic material.

Some of the chemical compounds in the organic material can be destroyed by the heat of steam distillation and so it is instead extracted by the use of a solvent. The commercial chemicals usually used are derived from petrochemicals and have low toxicity or ethyl alcohol. Other parts of the organic matter are also removed, most notably oil,wax and pigments. what is left is usually called the CONCRETE

The ethyl alcohol is also used a second time to remove more of the unneeded material and what is left is called the ABSOLUTE

Distillation is a very common technique to remove the active scent compounds from most organic material.Steam or dry distillation may be used.Distilled products, whether through steam or dry distillation are known either as ESSENTIAL OILS or OTTOS/ATTARs

Water condensed from the steam process of distillation still contails a trace amount of the fragrant material and is correctly called a HYDROSOL. Examples of this are the obvious ones like Rose water, Lavender water and Orange Blossom water.

Only organic material high in oils is extracted by Expression. The citrus family are an example of this along with others. This was the process most commonly used before the spread of distillation.

Enfleurage is the last method used to extract the scent compounds from organic matter. It is a two stage process for compounds that would be destroyed by heat. The material is mixed with wax or fat or a combination of both. Next the mixture is 'washed' with alcohol to extract the volatile oils. This is hardly used in later times as it is a longer and costlier process.

NOTE:Confusingly some preparations use the term 'water' but actually contain alcohol- Toilet Water. To tell the difference look at the ingredients and see if it contains alcohol. If it doesn't then it is a true plant water, if it does, then it is an Eau de Toilette.

Grapics Fairy is amazing

This wonderful background to the blog is from The Grapics Fairy, you can find her here:
http://www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com
She has an amazing array of vintage and antique images and clipart for FREE, yes you heard it, FREE!
Anyone into victorian/steampunk/vintage/shabby chic will be spoilt for choice.


On another note, more information on creating perfumes coming up.