MATERIALS: FRANKINCENSE AND A GIVEAWAY

From elemi, the obvious place to go is frankincense. I wrote a post on frankincense back in 2010 when I started this blog, but it wouldn’t hurt to do an update. Frankincense, also known as olibanum, is another resin that comes from trees in the family Buseraceae, in this case Boswellia. The resins used in incense and perfumery come from several different species, each with its own aroma profile, and each species yielding a slightly different scent depending on origin. Boswellia is native throughout arid landscapes in India, North Africa, and the Arabian Gulf regions. 

The trees themselves are, to me, very attractive, typically with gnarled trunks covered with smooth bark that peels as the tree grows, and sparse, lacy leaves. Boswellia trees are deciduous, losing their leaves during times of stress, typically during the dry season. Resin is obtained by making shallow cuts in the bark of the tree and harvesting the dried resin. Oil is obtained by distillation, although the raw resin can also be tinctured.

I am growing seedlings of several different Boswellia species: dioscoridis, neglecta, and carteri. Given my propensity to under-water or just forget to water, they seem to do well in my hands. The carteri is the largest one, and has kept its leaves this summer. The other two have lost theirs because they’re small and in a very hot, dry location. They’ve done this before, so I know they’ll perk up and grow when summer is over.

Frankincense is one of those materials that I’m worried about. Although it’s listed as “not threatened”, the trees can only produce so much, and it’s likely that their habitat is diminishing due to the same sort of reckless human activities that are destroying nature everywhere. Boswellia seedlings are eaten by domestic animals, trees are burned by fire, they are cut down to clear land or to use for firewood or lumber and, of course, over-harvesting of resin weakens trees. I keep my stash of resin and oil against the day when these things may no longer be available, or when the price has risen because supply cannot keep up with demand.

Boswellia is a traditional Ayurvedic medicine reputed to have strong anti-inflammatory properties as well as anti-microbial, anti-fungal and insect-repellant properties, yet another example of trees producing compounds that help keep them healthy and infection-free.

The species that produces the “lightest” and greenest oil is B serrata, which grows in India. This oil is closer to the citrusy-green scent of elemi than the others, and very much in the direction of pine needles. The primary constituent is alpha-pinene (over 70%!), with small amounts of limonene, verbenol, pinocarveol, myrcene, borneol, para-cymene, and other trace molecules. I used Boswellia serrata oil in Gujarat along with B carteri to provide a light incense note to go with the smoke element of the scent.

Boswellia carteri is the most common species used for the production of resin and oil. The scent is very different from that of B serrata, much richer and more resinous. Alpha pinene makes up less than half of B carteri oil, the main constituents being diterpenes whose long chemical names you really don’t want to see, although if you’re really curious you can view them here, and octyl actetate, which has a distinctive fruity smell. I have used Boswellia carteri oil in a number of my perfumes, most notably the Devil Scent series, where it was used to give a vague impression of burning incense. I also use it, along with natural sandalwood oil, in my Body Balm.

This is getting long, so the post on the different types of Boswellia will probably be continued next week.

Leave a comment about what type of frankincense you like, or what frankincense-containing perfume(s) you like and be entered in a drawing to win a 5-ml travel spray of the Devil Scent of your choice plus some extras.

[All images are from Wikimedia]  

FRANKINCENSE

Frankincense, also known as olibanum, is among the most wonderful of all natural perfume materials. I love it on its own, and as the basis of the “incense” note, but it’s also extremely versatile in combining with all kinds of other scents. Frankincense is the resin of a type of shrubby tree belonging to the genus Boswellia, which grows under harsh desert conditions, mainly on the Arabian Peninsula, in North Africa, and in India. The resin is collected by making cuts in the bark of the trees, allowing the sap to leak out and harden, forming frankincense “tears”. For incense, the tears are burned as is, or powdered and mixed with other things. The powdered resin can also be used to make a tincture. The resin is distilled to produce its essential oil.

Frankincense is probably familiar to some as “church incense”, which traditionally was Boswellia sacra or papyrifera, sometimes mixed with other aromatic substances such as myrrh and spices. There are many different species and varieties of Boswellia, all of which smell a little different, but all of which have a deliciously aromatic resiny scent.

How to describe frankincense? It’s like trying to describe the scent of a rose. It is what it is, and once you smell it there’s no mistaking it. Just as nature provides uncountable variations on the rose theme, there are variations on frankincense. I’ve been sampling a number of different types of Boswellia, and thought it would be interesting to write down some observations about each one.

Boswellia carteri: This comes from Somalia and Ethiopia. It’s the prototypical frankincense scent, rich and complex, with citrusy, resiny notes, the typical spicy, fruity, “incense” heart, and a bit of almost animalic woody scent, the funkiness of which goes away after a little while. B carteri is one of my favorite all-purpose frankincense varieties.

Boswellia sacra: The one that I have comes from the Dhofar Valley in Oman, and is similar to carteri, with all of the fruity, woody, incense-y notes, but a bit sharper, with more wood and spice notes. It’s a wonderful oil that I’m saving for something special.

Boswellia freereana: The one that I have is from Somalia, and has much more of a citrusy, pine-needle scent and less of the deep, woody, incense-y base. It’s sort of a “frankincense lite”. The woody note is more cedar-like than the other types.

Boswellia serrata: From India, it’s similar to freereana in that it’s a somewhat lighter scent. It doesn’t have the pine-needle note, but it is citrusy, with a characteristic sweetish woody scent of its own that’s hard to describe, but is very much like “church incense” with a tiny touch of vanilla.

Boswellia neglecta: From Kenya, this is a fairly heavy hitter, in the same league as sacra and carteri, but with slightly less of the funky-woody note. It’s a wonderful incense scent.

Boswellia papyrifera: I could have sworn I had this one, but all I can find is the resin tears, not the oil. My recollection is that it’s similar to sacra and carteri. I’ll search again and update in due course.

One of the interesting things about frankincense essential oil is that it gets better with age. I have a small amount of generic frankincense essential oil that’s at least 15 years old, and it’s the best I’ve ever smelled. I doubt that any of the oils that I currently have will make it that long, but if they do, they will make some amazing perfumes.

CHOYA LOBAN - SMOKE OF MY DREAMS

One of the high priorities on my to-make list is a scent that in some way re-creates the odors that I experienced years ago in India. It’s an intimidating task because there are an uncountable number of them, and there’s a serious risk of combining so many incompatible things that the mixture becomes a complete mess. One of the key notes that I have envisioned for this scent is a smoky one, something reminiscent of the burning cow-dung that is (or at least used to be) hanging in the air everywhere, all the time. I know this sounds awful and disgusting, but burning cow dung is actually a pleasant, campfire-like scent. After all, it’s just semi-digested grass briquettes and it smells a lot better than American barbecue charcoal. I considered a lot of different things including cade and birch tar, but when I got a bottle of choya loban I knew I had found the holy grail of smoke scents, at least for the purpose of this formulation. It may prove to be useful in making “burning incense” notes, too.

Choya loban is a thick, almost black liquid distilled from the Indian species of frankincense, Boswellia serrata, which has a lighter and more citrus-like scent than any of the African species. From what I’ve read, the distillation of B serrata resin “tears” (the dried sap exuded by the trees) is done in clay jars, so that the result smells smoky, earthy, and just a little resinous. Perfect. Today I mixed up an experimental base using choya loban, sandalwood, and a few other things. It wasn’t perfect (what is, the first time around?) but it turned out better than I expected, and I almost like it too much to combine it with other things. I’m sure I’ll change my mind after I get used to smelling it, though.

I can see that the Indian scent is going to be an ongoing project for a while, along with the orchid scent, Osafume.