The waiter came in and began watering the sawdust.The most wonderful flowers, tulips, lilies and roses, sprang up, and made a garden in the cafe. “Don’t you see them?” I said to him. “Mais non, monsieur, il n’y a rien.” - Oscar Wilde
I've been collecting a lot of unusual essential oils recently and it occurred to me that whilst everyone is going to see notes like "rose, jasmine, nutmeg" and have a good idea of what a perfume will smell like, not everyone is going to be quite so sure when they see "sweet gale, zanthoxylum, styrax." So I've decided to start doing a regular blog to chat about these more uncommon scents and what you can expect from them. And since I'm road testing a wormwood perfume today, that seemed the perfect oil to start with!
Although, actually, you're probably already familiar with artemisia absinthium - it's an ornamental plant used in absinthe and a few other spirits like bitters and vermouth. Absinthe, of course, was the darling drink of the 18th century Parisian arts scene, reputed to be dangerously addictive due to one of the chemical compounds in the plant, thujone. This wicked reputation lead to the drink being banned in America and parts of Europe. During the temperance movement, one critic claimed that:
Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country.
Since then it's been proved that the so-called psychoactive properties of absinthe were greatly exaggerated, but it's fair to say absinthe has retained its mystique.
But back to the essential oil. For me, there's definitely some truth to the idea of this being addictive. The smell is so unusual - clear, bold, with hints of aniseed and fennel - I can't help sniffing it over and over. Although it's primarily herbaceous, there's just something very...dessert-like about it to my nose, a certain syrupy quality that tempers the bitterness. It really is utterly unique among my herbal essential oils, and is surprisingly versatile despite it's strong, distinct scent. Generally speaking, herbaceous/medicinal oils go well with other herbaceous oils, as well as earthy, woodsy notes. Wormwood definitely loves its fellow herbs and can play well with certain florals. Wormwood with beeswax and woodsy notes? A dream. I haven't tried it with chocolate yet, but I'm pretty sure it would create the most amazing gourmand experience (maybe that's because wormwood was once believed to be an appetite stimulant?).
So what can you expect from a perfume with wormwood notes? Well, I'll start by saying that I only use a minimum of wormwood in the perfumes I've made with it so far. Despite the fact that the dangers of thujone were overstated, it is true that prolonged inhalation of wormwood oil can cause headaches and nobody wants that from a perfume oil. So if you want a real "absinthe" perfume that truly captures the licorice-like fragrance of the drink, I'd actually advise trying one of my absinthe fragrance oil blends. But in The Expert Dreamer, you'll find the smidge of wormwood gives a tangy, musty note to the incense and floral notes of the perfume, and when Merricat becomes available, you'll see the combination of wormwood and tea rose turns a regular floral into something much darker and more intriguing. This is the magic of wormwood: you don't need a lot of it. Certain oils just work best when they're invisible - lending depth and edge to other notes, rather than standing out on their own.
Although, actually, you're probably already familiar with artemisia absinthium - it's an ornamental plant used in absinthe and a few other spirits like bitters and vermouth. Absinthe, of course, was the darling drink of the 18th century Parisian arts scene, reputed to be dangerously addictive due to one of the chemical compounds in the plant, thujone. This wicked reputation lead to the drink being banned in America and parts of Europe. During the temperance movement, one critic claimed that:
Absinthe makes you crazy and criminal, provokes epilepsy and tuberculosis, and has killed thousands of French people. It makes a ferocious beast of man, a martyr of woman, and a degenerate of the infant, it disorganizes and ruins the family and menaces the future of the country.Since then it's been proved that the so-called psychoactive properties of absinthe were greatly exaggerated, but it's fair to say absinthe has retained its mystique.
But back to the essential oil. For me, there's definitely some truth to the idea of this being addictive. The smell is so unusual - clear, bold, with hints of aniseed and fennel - I can't help sniffing it over and over. Although it's primarily herbaceous, there's just something very...dessert-like about it to my nose, a certain syrupy quality that tempers the bitterness. It really is utterly unique among my herbal essential oils, and is surprisingly versatile despite it's strong, distinct scent. Generally speaking, herbaceous/medicinal oils go well with other herbaceous oils, as well as earthy, woodsy notes. Wormwood definitely loves its fellow herbs and can play well with certain florals. Wormwood with beeswax and woodsy notes? A dream. I haven't tried it with chocolate yet, but I'm pretty sure it would create the most amazing gourmand experience (maybe that's because wormwood was once believed to be an appetite stimulant?).
So what can you expect from a perfume with wormwood notes? Well, I'll start by saying that I only use a minimum of wormwood in the perfumes I've made with it so far. Despite the fact that the dangers of thujone were overstated, it is true that prolonged inhalation of wormwood oil can cause headaches and nobody wants that from a perfume oil. So if you want a real "absinthe" perfume that truly captures the licorice-like fragrance of the drink, I'd actually advise trying one of my absinthe fragrance oil blends. But in The Expert Dreamer, you'll find the smidge of wormwood gives a tangy, musty note to the incense and floral notes of the perfume, and when Merricat becomes available, you'll see the combination of wormwood and tea rose turns a regular floral into something much darker and more intriguing. This is the magic of wormwood: you don't need a lot of it. Certain oils just work best when they're invisible - lending depth and edge to other notes, rather than standing out on their own.
