HERB - Perfume sticks and more

[Mike and Pat Luco]

I'm sorry for not having responded to some of these questions earlier.  I have
been auto-archiving these messages for the past few months.  I have been in
hermit mode.  I suppose some of these questions have to do with Christmas gifts
and such, so my advice may be a little late for some of you, but I would still
like to share some of my experiences.

On making solid perfume sticks...  I have been using essential oils for making
candles to sell at a weekend trade mart over the last year.  Lavender and
Patchouli seem to be the best sellers.  I use about a tablespoon (15 ml) of oil
to a kilogram of paraffin wax.  The scent is strong and has a good scent throw
characteristic.  For solid perfume I would probably use solid coconut wax/oil.
This wax/oil melts at body temperature and is absorbed into the skin.  To make
a small sample of a few ounces of wax use just a couple of drops of essential
oil.  The EO should mix well with the wax and be incorporated easily.
Experimentation is needed of course.  Melt the wax and add the EO and stir then
pour into your container and let cool.  Never go stronger that 10% of EO to
anything applied to skin as the EO could irritate sensitive skin.

For Christmas gifts this year I made some Burbon/Vanilla extract.  I used good
quality bourbon whisky and some bourbon vanilla beans.  Each 250 ml bottle was
poured 3/4 full of whisky then vanilla oleoresin was added along with 4 vanilla
beans and topped off with  a simple syrup solution.  I hope my recipe turns
out.  I gave it to relatives to try ( I said to wait until April for it to
age.)  We'll see.

Henri

> Does anyone have any recipies, medieval or otherwise, for making solid
> perfume sticks?
>
> Also, I'm interested in period recipies for perfumes, if anyone happens to
> have any...
>
> Melandra

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