Tag Archives: enfleurage

Hyacinth Enfleurage Pomade

New in the shop, enfleurage pomade made with Hyacinth flowers, using the cold extraction method. This process was definately a labour of love. I spent two months diligently recharging hyacinth flower on to a layer of organic shea butter. Each flower exhales its scent which gets absorbed in to the fat. The scent is delicate and true. The character notes are floral, green and buttery. Works well as a delicate solid perfume.

What is enfleurage?
Enfleurage is a beautiful ancient technique of extracting fragrance from delicate flowers. The botanical is placed on to a layer of fat that absorbs the scent of the fresh breathing flower. The flowers are replaced every day for an extensive period of time, until the scent is captured. The base that absorbs the flower scented molecules is called a ‘pomade’.
This method was devised in 18th century France using animal fat, and then the fat was further distilled with alcohol.
However, I stop at the ‘pomade’ stage, so NO alcohol is used, and the fat I use is organic and 100% plant based. Pomade was also historically made in ancient Egypt and the Near East, using the same technique of applying flowers to a base of fat.

My enfleurage pomade is mindfully made in very small batches, when the botanical is in season (the Hyacinth are grown in my garden). It really is labour intensive, but also a labour of love. The scent is subtle and true.

Dianthus Enfleurage Pomade

enfleurage pomade

My summer adventure with enfleurage has continued and I’m so please to offer this beautiful Dianthus carnation flower enfleurage pomade to my shop. Made from fresh flowers laid on to a bed of shea butter and jojoba wax and recharged regularly until the scent has transfixed itself on the fat. The result is a subtle scent of the flower. It works beautifully as a single note, soliflore perfume.

My enfleurage pomade is mindfully made in very small batches, when the botanical is in season. It really is labour intensive, but also a labour of love. The scent is subtle and true, like laying on a fresh bed of flowers.

Enfleurage Pomade

rose enfluerage

This is simplified version of ‘enfleurage’ a beautiful age old technique of extracting essential oil from delicate flowers. Historically this method originated in 18th century France, by perfumers who were looking at different ways to capture the scent of flowers. Similar methods of extracting scent from fat and oils were also popular in antiquity, in ancient Egypt and the Near East.

Certain delicate flowers such as roses, tuberose, orange blossom, violets, lilacs and jasmine continue to release perfume after picking.  Fat has excellent absorption properties, therefore when they come in to contact with a fragrant flower, they readily absorbs the perfume that is released. Traditionally, the fat used in enfleurage comes from animals, and later this is combined with alcohol to further distill the fragrance. I am going to omit the alcohol process, and use coconut oil instead of animal fat. The fat containing the flower scent and oils is called an ‘enfleurage pomade’ this is what I will be making.

You will need:

2 glass dishes, one to fit on top of the other.

Fat – enough to cover about 2cm of one of the glass dishes. I’ve use coconut oil here.

Fragrant flowers – enough to lay on top of the fat.

The process:

+ Gently melt the coconut oil in a pot, but do not heat up. Pour the fat in to the glass dish and let it cool. Once cooled, score the fat in to a diamond pattern to help the fragrance of the flower absorb the fat.

+ Before adding the flower on to the fat, remove any foliage or stems from the flower. Place the flower face down on to the fat, making sure you cover it entirely with the floral matter. Gently press down. Place the second glass dish, or a cover on top. You can seal with tape or cling film to make sure it is completely covered, but I just like to place a cover or lid on top.

+ Leave in a cool dark place for 24 to 48 hours, depending on the type of bloom.  Now remove the old blooms and recharge with fresh ones. Repeat this process ideally, a minimum of 6 to 7 times and up to 30 times. The scent is stronger the more times you repeat this process.

+ You now have an elegant enfleurage pomade!

+ You can whip the scented ‘pomade’ up and put in to glass jars and use as required. Makes a wonderful balm for the skin and hair, or use as a base for making other beautifully scented products.