Animal Essences

Only Supplier of Ambergris & Hyraceum Tinctures located in Canada

Ambergris

Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus

Where does Ambergris come from?

Ambergris is ethically beach-harvested, being found washed up on the beach or floating on the ocean. It is sometimes called flotsam (natural debris that floats on the ocean) and it is lighter than water. The colour is gray (gris), black, and tan, and it is very lightweight, a fact that surprized me. It is a substance that is created by a sperm whale likely due to an irritation within. It is released and floats upon the ocean for eons being washed and cured by sea, salt, time, and wind. It is commercially quite expensive and just a couple of grams will cost about a hundred dollars.

I use Ambergris to add the Water element to my perfumes.

Weights and Measures

I weighed out 5 grams of the Ambergris stone and set it aside. I used a blue bottle and filled it with 95 grams of perfumers’ alcohol. This gave me an end-product at a 5% dilution rate. This product is not edible.

The Process

I used a clean (and dedicated for this use) coffee-bean grinder and ground the stone to a powder. The aroma was divine and very unexpected. I thought it may smell rank and overly-animalic but it was sweet and delicate, though very tenacious and long-lasting. This powder was carefully over-turned onto a wax paper and then gently sent through a funnel and into the bottle of alcohol. All the items used in the process were swirled and washed with 5 ml of alcohol and even that was saved in a dropper bottle.

Maturation

The aging process required is 6-12 months. My precious bottle of Ambergris Tincture was labeled and placed in the top cupboard to mature. It has been maturing since May 2007 and I'm ready to sell it.

What does it do for perfumes?

Ambergris acts as a fixative adding brilliance and lift to a perfume formulation. It has been suggested to me to use a couple of drops in an ounce to get the desired effect.

I've saved a small piece so I can continue to enjoy the sweet aroma as well as use it as an educational tool to show my students. It is wrapped in cotton and stored in a wooden unvarnished box, kept in a cool and dark place.

10 ml bottle of tinctured Ambergris $85.00 plus shipping and handling to your location in Canada or the US. Please inquire via email with your full address. I include a mini pipette for your convenience.

Hyraceum/African Stone













Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis

Where does it come from?
It is created in and excreted by the Rock Hyrax who lives in Africa; the African Stone is used as a traditional medicine for the people in that country. Over millennia, it has been fossilized.

The Process
I received 12 grams of raw hyraceum. It didn’t look like much in the bag but it has created a wonderful product, and I wanted to let you know how that was accomplished.

I used waxed paper on the counter so it is easy to collect any ambient powder. Then I measured this chuck on the scale to ensure proper dilution ratio.

I ground the stone to a medium fine powder and dumped onto the waxed paper then funneled it into a measuring cup.

I measured out 188 g of perfumer's alcohol, into which I put the powder. It immediately went a lovely red/brown colour with the typical elephant patty/wild grassy aroma… very earthy and animalic. This gave me an end-product at a 6% dilution rate. This product is not edible.

It’s only used in perfumery. It adds an animalic zing and zest to perfume that is wonderful. It has been said to have an aroma somewhere between civet and castoreum, neither of which I will use due to the cruelty to the animal. This product has long since been separated from the animal that created it and has been rendered pure over the eons and in the alcohol.

I left this tincture to mature in a cool dark cupboard. Each day, I shake it for a minute or two so the alcohol has an opportunity to touch each grain of hyraceum and ensure that all the qualities of it are precipitated into the alcohol. This product has been aging since May 2007. A few drops in your perfume formula will fix and ground the scent.

I use Hyraceum Tincture to add the Earth element to my perfume creations.

10 ml bottle of tinctured Hyraceum $30.00 plus shipping and handling to your location in Canada or the US. Please inquire via email with your full address. I include a mini pipette for your convenience.


Honeybee Comb Tincture








Honeybees Apis Mellifera

In a few months, I will be offering 10 ml bottles of this product, which adds the Air element to my perfumes.

The element of Fire comes from the Sun, which cures these animal essences and renders them purified.

The Four Elements in a perfume

Water - cohesion - or balance in a perfume


Earth - solidity - or character in a perfume


Air - expansion - or diffusion in a perfume



Fire - heat - or tenacity in a perfume














http://www.scentofnature.net/
LynAyre@telus.net