Resins in Perfumery: Base Notes, Fixatives and How Perfumers Use Them
Why resins sit at the bottom of the perfume pyramid, how they are extracted into resinoids and absolutes, what each one contributes, and how to start working with them.
How perfumers use resins as fixatives and amber accords, and which fragrances lean on benzoin.
Why resins sit at the bottom of the perfume pyramid, how they are extracted into resinoids and absolutes, what each one contributes, and how to start working with them.
The classic amber base is three materials in changing proportions. A practical guide to blending it, with starting ratios, what each ingredient does, and how to darken, sweeten or dry it.
Benzoin is in the base of hundreds of fragrances, from the first orientals to modern gourmands. A guide to how it appears, which classic and contemporary perfumes lean on it, and what to smell for.
The three ways benzoin reaches a perfume bottle. How each is made, how it smells, what it costs, and when a perfumer, an incense maker or a hobbyist should choose one over the others.
A simple, skin-safe solid perfume made from beeswax, a carrier oil and a benzoin tincture reduced to a resinous concentrate, with optional essential oils. Method, ratios and safety.
The warm, sweet, resinous family once called oriental and now ambery. Its history from Shalimar onward, its structure, its sub-families, and why benzoin is in nearly all of it.