Glossary
Glossary of resins and aromatic terms
Short, precise definitions of the words used across Benjuí: resins, balsams, oleoresins, absolutes, resinoids, fixatives and more.
- Absolute
- A highly concentrated aromatic extract obtained by washing a concrete or resinoid with ethanol, then evaporating the alcohol. Benzoin absolute is the form most perfumers use.
- Amber (accord)
- Not a material but a perfumery construction, usually built from labdanum, benzoin and vanilla (sometimes styrax or tolu). Warm, sweet, resinous. Unrelated to fossil amber.
- Ambergris
- A waxy secretion of the sperm whale, aged at sea. Marine, animalic, salty. Often confused with amber; today mostly replaced by synthetics such as Ambrox.
- Bakhoor
- Arabian incense: wood chips or a paste of oud, resins, musk and oils, heated on charcoal or an electric burner.
- Balsam
- A resin that contains benzoic or cinnamic acid (or their esters) and is naturally soft or semi-liquid. Benzoin, styrax, tolu and Peru balsam are true balsams.
- Benzoic acid
- The main acid in Siam benzoin (roughly 10–20 %). Crystalline, faintly sweet, a mild preservative. Responsible for part of benzoin's "clean" sweetness. → atlas
- Benzoin
- A balsamic resin from Styrax trees, mainly Styrax tonkinensis (Siam benzoin, Laos) and Styrax benzoin (Sumatra benzoin, Indonesia). Sweet, vanillic, slightly powdery. → atlas
- Benzyl benzoate
- An ester found in Peru balsam, tolu and Sumatra benzoin. Faint, balsamic, an excellent fixative and a common allergen labelled in EU cosmetics. → atlas
- Cinnamic acid
- The characteristic acid of Sumatra benzoin, styrax and the balsams of tolu and Peru. Gives a warmer, spicier, more "storax" tone than benzoic acid. → atlas
- Copal
- A group of young tree resins (Bursera, Protium, Hymenaea and others) used as incense in Mesoamerica and elsewhere. Bright, citrusy-piney when burned. → atlas
- Fixative
- A material that slows the evaporation of a perfume and holds the composition together. Benzoin, labdanum, styrax and musk are classic natural fixatives.
- Frankincense (olibanum)
- Gum resin of Boswellia trees (Oman, Somalia, Ethiopia, India). Lemony, resinous, faintly peppery. Burns cleanly on charcoal. → atlas
- Friar's Balsam
- Compound benzoin tincture: benzoin plus storax, tolu and aloes in alcohol. Used as a skin protectant and once as a steam inhalant.
- Gum resin
- A resin that also contains water-soluble gum, so it partly dissolves in water and burns with a lighter, brighter smoke. Frankincense and myrrh are gum resins.
- IFRA
- International Fragrance Association; publishes usage standards that restrict some benzoin, styrax and balsam materials because of sensitization.
- Labdanum
- A sticky resin from Cistus (rock rose) shrubs of the Mediterranean. Leathery, ambery, warm. The backbone of amber accords. → atlas
- Lubān jāwī
- Arabic for "Javanese frankincense", the origin of the words benjuí, benzoin and benjamin.
- Makko
- Powdered bark of Machilus thunbergii, a Japanese incense base that burns evenly and binds resin powders into cones and sticks.
- Myrrh
- Gum resin of Commiphora trees. Bitter, medicinal, warm; slower and heavier on the burner than frankincense. → atlas
- Oleoresin
- A resin still rich in its essential oil, so it is soft, sticky and strongly scented. Elemi and galbanum are oleoresins.
- Opoponax
- Sweet myrrh, from Commiphora guidottii. Softer and more balsamic than common myrrh; a classic partner for benzoin. → atlas
- Papier d'Arménie
- French booklets of paper impregnated with benzoin tincture since 1885. Torn, folded and burned to scent and "clean" a room. → atlas
- Resin
- A solid or semi-solid substance exuded by plants, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, that burns with an aromatic smoke.
- Resinoid
- An extract obtained by washing a raw resin with a solvent (often benzyl benzoate, ethanol or hexane). Thicker and less refined than an absolute.
- Sandarac
- A pale, brittle resin from Tetraclinis articulata (North Africa). Historically a varnish resin; burns with a light, resinous, slightly smoky scent. → atlas
- Siam benzoin
- Benzoin from Styrax tonkinensis, mostly Laos. Pale tears, vanillic and clean, high in benzoic acid. The grade preferred in fine perfumery. → atlas
- Storax / styrax
- Balsam of Liquidambar orientalis (Asia Minor) or L. styraciflua (Americas). Leathery, spicy, slightly floral. Not to be confused with the benzoin tree genus Styrax. → atlas
- Sumatra benzoin
- Benzoin from Styrax benzoin and S. paralleloneurus, Indonesia. Darker blocks, more cinnamic, spicier and rougher than Siam. Bulk grade for incense and pharmacy. → atlas
- Tears
- Drop-shaped lumps of resin that solidified where they seeped out of the bark. The most prized form of benzoin, frankincense and myrrh.
- Tincture
- A solution of a material in ethanol, usually 10–20 %. Benzoin tincture is used in medicine and as a simple home perfumery base.
- Vanillin
- The main aroma molecule of vanilla, present at a few percent in benzoin resin. The reason benzoin reads as sweet and vanilla-like. → atlas