• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
info@olentium.com | +356 79048338
  • 0Shopping Cart
  • Home
  • Shop
    • Fragrance
    • Spa Skincare
  • About
    • About us
    • Eco-luxe ethos
    • FAQs
  • Journal
  • Contact
  • Menu Menu

Perfume Oils & Balms: Seductive Scented Skincare

Natural Skincare
Perfume oils, balms and solid perfumes

How is it possible today to be an aficionado of perfume oils and balms, those most ancient of scent carriers, when we have aisles of spritz and spray, sillage-trailing fragrances that seem far more glamorous than smearing on an unguent? The answer lies in my question: the fact that solid perfumes are such an ancient way to impart fragrance is their enduring appeal.

Alcohol gives lift and sillage, and no one is going to give it up in a hurry. I love all citrus top notes and, of course, alcohol is the perfect medium to deliver those with enticing, sparkling effect. Top notes can be more muted in heavier scented perfume oils and balms. These need different crafting, with emphasis placed on heart and base notes. This is however both part of their beauty and allure as their scent can linger long.

Perfume Balms & Oils’ Scent Secrets

I love too the way perfume balms and oils hug close to the skin; a kind of secret liaison between unguent and wearer. An illicit moment, a sensual pleasure as the balm glides on decollete’, pulse points and nape of neck.

As natural perfumer and pioneer Mandy Aftel says in her book ‘Fragrant, the Secret Life of Scent‘, “A solid perfume is magic: an olfactory, visual and tactile pleasure all at once’.

Balms are are for intimate moments when you don’t need scent to hang in the air. But they are more than that. Their secret powers lie also in the oils, butters and waxes used to create them. While the scent they are laced with seduces our senses and caresses us, the carrier mediums sucour our skin.

For the Love of Lipids

This is the part of perfume balm and scented oil creation I truly find fascinating. My choice of carrier is immense, spanning millennia-worth knowledge of unguents. I can choose from absolutes created using the age-old technique of enfleurage or discover a panoply of cold-pressed seed and kernal oils. Alternatively, I can opt for CO2 extracts; a method of extraction which can protect botanical properties without resorting to excess heat that can damage their structure.

The perfume balm is a form of scent close to my heart – literally. I trained in natural and organic skincare and fell in love with the richness and rewards of lipids. There are host of reasons to use unadulterated natural oils, butters and waxes, but chief among them is the good they can do our skin.

There are those that are rich in Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), and others that have natural, inbuilt UVA protective elements, and others that work on hyperpigmentation, and others still that deliver antioxidants and a great many fabulous emollient properties.

From humble grapeseed and sunflower oils which are great sources of skin-loving Vitamin E to ancient gain oils like Amaranth, which is rich in the antioxidant and moisturising lipid squalane, or safflower, which has been found in Egyptian tombs, including that of Tutankhamen, lipids are skincare’s silent heroes.

To create a balm then, is to create not just a way to deliver scent, but a perfect pot of skincare salve; and one that can be formulated precisely to deliver specific skincare benefits drawing on both carrier oils and essential oil properties.

History repeating itself

Ancient lipids used the the Egyptians, traded by the Phoenicians and prized by the ancient Greeks and Romans, all would have passed by and through the Mediterranean islands I call home.

Malta lies at the near centre of the Mediterranean, right on strategic trading routes. Malta’s first documented inhabitants were the Phoenicians who discovered its vast natural ‘Grand Harbour’, using it as a settlement, trading port and safe haven. The Egyptians paid high prices for various resins and oils from what it now modern-day Lebanon, the homelands of the ancient Phoenicians, who were wily traders.

There is something both exciting and comforting in using raw perfumery ingredients that would have traveled the Mediterranean millennia ago. They are materials man has come to understand well; our tolerance of them documented down the ages. That said, research today is looking ever more at the beneficiary aspects of these ancient lipids as we try to reverse engineer potions of the past and revive ancient wisdoms in order to find more scientific rationale for applying them today using modern phytotherapeutic methods.

Precious seed oils and sensuous scents in the form of perfume balms and parfums solides are what truly anchors us to the past. It’s this connection to perfumery past that gives us our lifeblood and perfumes of the present.

 

12 March 2018
https://olentium.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Perfume-balms.jpg 965 1920 Liz Grech https://olentium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/logo-olentium.svg Liz Grech2018-03-12 10:51:422022-03-13 18:20:43Perfume Oils & Balms: Seductive Scented Skincare

Recent Posts

  • Mediterranean Sea Salt in Spa Skincare
  • The Benefits of Botanical Oils in Skincare
  • Borage Seed Oil Benefits in Skincare
  • Natural vs Sustainable Perfumes – which are better?
  • Citrus notes in fragrances

Categories

  • Buy & Wear Perfume
  • Fashion
  • Natural Skincare
  • Perfume Industry
  • Perfume Notes
  • Perfume Resources
  • Perfumes
  • Travel & Perfume

@Olentium

Green is the new black! Olentium Le Parfum swaps i Green is the new black! Olentium Le Parfum swaps its black label for green to mark the arrival of its sibling for spring. 
Green Label Le Parfum is the alcohol-free version of our signature fragrance. It comes as a light, dry sprayable oil that's kind on the skin, long lasting and packs some scent strength. 
I am so excited to share news of green label as it can ship worldwide without restrictions. Hello Australia and NZ, finally!  It will soon be on the site with a nice launch offer.
Soulful Saturday.... Just moodboarding some inspo Soulful Saturday....
Just moodboarding some inspo for packaging our new perfume 'Suede'. Sand the perfect neutral hue to suggest the softness and soul of this floral-leather perfume for spring. Suede EDP arrives soon.
Spring is definitely in the air in the Mediterrane Spring is definitely in the air in the Mediterranean. 
With jasmine sambac already budding up in my courtyard, Olentium's thoughts turn to white florals. Never far from fashion in perfumery, white floral notes are a mainstay of fragrance with every perfume house at some time making forays into their narcotic voluptousness. 
Another Olentium perfume will debut this spring - a heady hitter with four of the great white florals - jasmine sambac, tuberose, jasmine grandiflorum and gardenia.
Our blog post via bio link celebrates white notes and some of the classic fragrances to find them in.
Suede, our new fragrance for spring 23. A soft lea Suede, our new fragrance for spring 23. A soft leather-floral scent that leaves the impression of a caress.
Perfume profile: saffron, berries, blush peony, rose, suede, musk, tobacco, leather. 
95% natural origin composition. 
Don't miss its launch later this spring. Sign up via bio link for news and 10% off your first purchase.
Olentium Ritual & Restore Face Oil - doing what it Olentium Ritual & Restore Face Oil - doing what it says on the bottle, and does best: that home spa luxe feeling in drops of golden goodness for skin.
Can you guess our first spa line product arriving Can you guess our first spa line product arriving this spring? Hint: it's for a whole body and mind refresh and rewind. A shower ritual that takes you places.
Our Latin name Olentium loosely means ‘of scent, odor or smell’ and we look to ancient Mediterranean perfuming, bathing and anointing rituals for inspiration.
Using Olentium body cleanser is to enjoy a sense of Mediterranean wellness wherever you live.
A top down on our new Ritual & Restore Face Oil th A top down on our new Ritual & Restore Face Oil that is arriving in March. A formula with 12 Mediterranean-inspired botanical oils that are fast absorbing and leave the skin with a satin feel. Nourishing and matte, so ideal for both day or night use. 
Enriched with antioxidant vitamins E and C, aloe extracts and olive-derived squalane, this oil has a lot going on in every drop. A little goes a long way.
The sea that surrounds us on the home island base The sea that surrounds us on the home island base is our inspiration and a source too of our ingredients.
But, it has been a wild February in the central Mediterranean; one of the wettest February months on record so far. And the island is storm battered and bruised. A lesson in never taking nature for granted and to respect it. The sea most certainly is a lifelong teacher.

Olentium’s perfumes and skincare are designed for self indulgence, sensuality and self-care. We create niche fragrances and luxurious, spa-style botanical bodycare from our base on a Mediterranean island

QUICK LINKS

  • Home
  • About
  • SHOP
  • SHIPPING & RETURNS
  • Contact

Join us for 10% off your first order.
Be first to hear about our luxury spa skincare launching spring ’23.

Thanks for subscribing to our newsletter!

Copyright ©2020-23 Olentium · info@olentium.com
Terms & Conditions · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer
VAT: MT1366-5908 · Phone: +356 79048338 · 14, SGW 1541, Malta (EU)

Neroli Oil, the Queen of Perfumery & SkincareNeroli perfumePerfumery as artThe Art of the Matter: Is Perfumery Art?
Scroll to top
Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimise our website and our service.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}