Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Jasmine Infused Oil


Pictured: Jasmine Infused Oil


A week or so ago I bought a jasmine sambac plant.  Right now it has mostly buds and only a couple flowers, so hopefully in a few days more buds will open and bloom.  Jasmine is one of my favorite scents.  There is nothing like the scent of jasmine; many people have never smelled the real thing.  Most of the jasmine scents on the market are synthetic since a single ounce of real jasmine absolute or the co2 extract is really expensive: anywhere from $150-300 wholesale, so most companies don’t use the absolutes. I use three jasmine absolutes (from different species) and two jasmine waxes in perfumery and natural skin care.  I have also tried the co2 extract as well as the organic extract (which is made similar to the absolute but made with benign and organic solvents). True jasmine is sensual, deep, sweet, and honeyed.  The plant I have smells similar to its absolute, a bit less intense but still heady. Its scent is pure heaven! :)

A few days ago I started making jasmine infused oil, which is similar to making other herbal infused oils (just made with fresh flowers instead of dried, and it will require multiple infusions).  My plant is medium sized, so far only two flowers have opened, and it has just a handful of buds, so I imagine it is going to take me a while to make the infused oil.  I placed the first of the flowers in a few ounces of carrier oil (I used fractionated coconut oil for its long shelf life but any oil can be used).  I’ll be doing each infusion for shorter amounts of time (just a few days each time, since this is using fresh plant parts, and I am doing multiple infusions—whenever the flowers bloom).   I used a jar for now (easier to strain or pick out the spent flowers) but will place the final product in a bottle later.  This will probably take me several weeks to months to complete, so a bit longer than the typical infused oil, but I am sure it will be well worth the wait!

I can’t wait until it is done so I can compare the scent of jasmine infused oil with (diluted) jasmine sambac absolute and jasmine sambac wax.  I’ve had jasmine plants in the past but I have never made a jasmine infused oil before, so I am excited to see how it turns out!  Definitely will be using the final product in perfumery or skin care!  

No comments: