It started when I was little as a tendency to mix plants and other organic substances together with the goal of producing a magic potion. As I grew up I masked this interest in the more adult guise of the culinary arts. Then I found a few books about perfuming that pulled me in. One author especially (Mandy Aftel) captured what's most interesting about plant oils. There's a chemical reaction that occurs when you get a whiff of real jasmine oil or aged patchouli. Really there is. This reaction bypasses the logical brain - before you can rationalize what has happened, your body has already reacted. Your nasal passages are the only place on your body where the environment comes into direct contact with the central nervous system and through one of the most primitive (dare I say 'reptilian') parts of our brain.
Science can explain only some of it but we know that certain scents trigger a physical reaction in the smeller. A 2007 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience identified a chemical in male sweat that when smelled alters hormone levels in women. Now if this inspires you to create Love Potion 2,009,842,918,342, you could run around collecting drops of male sweat. You could also use aromatic plant oils that are known to produce similar reactions. In addition to love potions, other oils will wake you up, calm you down, get the mail moving and even ease a headache (my personal favorite). What's more, it's legal!
Strangely, I find it almost as much fun to write and read about natural perfumery and essential oils as it is to blend them. There is a colorful history of perfumers who have gone before - when natural perfume was the only perfume. Shortly after my certification course, I took it upon myself to create a reference site. I also sell some of the things I make on this site, which I feel I should mention in the spirit of full disclosure. But the reference portion is separate and provides a handy way of querying essential oils based upon their unique therapeutic and perfuming properties in an attempt to find the one oil or oils you are looking for.
First I created a searchable database of oils. The pages allow users to search for an oil based upon the actions it produces (sedative, stimulant, digestant, germicidal, etc.), based upon common uses (stress, sore throat, etc.) and based upon contraindications (is it OK with a heart condition, insomnia, etc?).
A separate section is dedicated to perfumers, allowing them to search for top, middle or base notes that blend well with a particular oil. The perfumer-specific area is the part of the site that is so far the least developed as I haven't yet added all of the combinations I intend to add. Further, there are many oils that aren't yet included. However, I think what I've got is likely to be helpful to more than just myself. Each oil results page is documented with links or references to all of the sources I've cited while compiling the information. Finally there's a quick-reference page that allows users to select from a single drop-down list any oil they're interested in learning more about. Selection of an oil from the list will take you immediately to a page with lots of info about that oil.
In short, the reference site is well documented, easy to use and free. All I ask is that those who use it post feedback, questions and suggestions for enhancements here - in this blog.
What I'm really hoping is that while my hobby is strange within my immediate circle, this blog and site will pull together a community of individuals who also share this fascination. I look forward to swapping recipes, raw material ideas and general enthusiasm for working in this medium.
Posts
