"...you don't smell the smoke, you only see the temptation of a perfume."

Laura Gentile, Seraphic Addiction

So we've talked a bit about Shy Saliana and my plans for that little side project. I thought now it might be fun to talk a bit about some of the new things I'm trying out as part of Shy Saliana's inception, and one of those things is chypres and accords! This is actually something I started working on last summer, and it's been a great learning curve. Since I'm already using my chypres in some of my (yet-to-be released) blends, it makes sense to start there.

So what's a chypre, you may be asking? Technically speaking, it's French for "Cyprus." As far as perfume-lovers are concerned, it's a category of scent (think "floral," "oriental," "fresh," etc...). It probably began life somewhere in the Middle Ages, with Cypriots and their "Cipria powder" - a scented face powder that gained popularity in the 17th Century when it was used for powdering wigs. And what makes a chypre a chypre as we know it? There are varying accounts as to how the classic chypre scent came together, but it's generally agreed that the basic accord is a blend of bergamot, oakmoss, and labdanum (or rock rose), all common products in and around the Mediterrean. Working together, these three notes create a distinctive, earthy perfume with just a hint of powdery, citrus freshness. These three main notes can also be enhanced with others to create different sub-categories of chypre.

In 1919, Guerlain introduced Mitsouko, which took the classic chypre notes and added delicate peach, jasmine and May rose to give a fruity, floral twist to the scent. Other floral chypres blended florals like lily of the valley and tuberose to smooth out the mustiness of the classic notes. Guerlain's 2009 scent, Idylle, is a good example of this, using Bulgarian rose, lily of the valley, lilac, freesia, and peony to create a "mist of flowers" over the earthy chypre background.

Add in notes of "green" florals like hyacinth, and you get a green chypre. Vetiver, patchouli, and pine create woody chypres. We also get aldehydic, leather, and animalistic chypres (although it terms of my own creations, I've stayed away from these categories).

So you can see there's a lot of variation, but the basic accord always comes back to bergamot, oakmoss, and labdanum. So when I decided I was going to have a crack at my own chypres, that's where I started.

Generally speaking, when I work with oakmoss and labdanum, I'm using absolutes that have already been diluted down in jojoba oil to make them easier to work with. But I figured if I was going to do this, I should really do this and invested in oakmoss and labdanum absolute. Alright. Let me tell you about oakmoss absolute. It's really thick, almost a solid.
And let me tell you about labdanum absolute. It's even thicker. You can quite safely hold bottles of this stuff upside down over your head, and not a drop will touch your precious locks, I assure you.

So obviously the first challenge I faced was getting my materials into a workable state. This was about the point where I questioned my dedication to the cause. But, several hours of experimentation with home-made bain-maries later, I had both absolutes in a slightly more liquid state. (Bergamot essential oil poses no such problems. Let's all take a moment to appreciate bergamot oil).

And then comes the next problem: these absolutes won't dissolve in carrier oils. So how are you supposed to keep them liquid and usable?

The answer: dipropylene glycol, a chemical compound with solvent properties that make it great for use in perfuming. So here's your basic formula for DIY chypres:

Bergamot essential oil
Oakmoss absolute
Labdanum absolute
Dipropylene glycol
A water-bath
A kitchen that you're prepared to have covered in oil
The patience of a saint

You can get more complex if you're also working with aroma chemicals, but I don't want to worry about methyl salicylate or ambrene 50 (I can barely spell them), so I stuck to as simple and natural a formula as I could find.

So that's a brief overview of what a chypre is and what my interpretation is...Next week I'll get into a bit more detail about the blends I've created and how I'm using them!

(Cross-posted to Shy Saliana)