Costus Root Essential Oil (2 Years Aged)

Adam Michael has this to say “Applied on strip, the opening aroma of costus root essential oil consists of soft pastel woods, think feminine style spice free Indian sandalwoods, mellowed Siam wood, and a touch of Himalayan cedar and resinous elemi.

Following on with wonderfully rich jammy floral powdered tonalities that are reminiscent of the artisan Italian 22% Orris resinoid we used to carry. An aromatic that impressed everyone who had the good fortune to encounter it. I also get notes within this jammy segment that remind me of the dry down of our top of the line masterpiece Ionone alpha natural isolate – which provides the most superior take on Ionone alpha – and small drops of which can fill a room with the scent of summertime freshly picked berries very easily for days on end – without any cloying aspects found in the synthetic offerings. The berry notes are also here as are tonalities comparable to smelling sunflower essential oil.

At the same time underneath all the noise, I find animalic drivers that remind me of rectified castoreum, ppm cade e.o and shorea robusta resin (sal tree).  And as Arctander suggested, wet dog nuances do come into detection, initially very prominently within the first 20 minutes, before slowly easing off in intensity and then becoming that note that flitters in and out of detection for the remainder of the aroma’s duration. Breaking this wet dog profile down, my brain finds for hundreds of a second, the smell of indoor swimming pools, wet towels and that of freshly distilled – meaty esq – Buddha wood e.o. These animalic odours are not for the faint hearted yes, but keep this in mind, if you always want several hours of longevity from a natural, then animalic drivers are your best friend.

For the rooty character, I feel it is comparable to a mash-up of periploca (Chinese Silk vine), with some angelica and rhatany roots.

This costus essential oil has been produced via hydro distillation of the roots in 2021 (2 years aged) amber orange brown in colour and of a pourable viscosity. Highly recommend and for what costus e.o is, this is perfect benchmark of excellence 10/10 material.

Arctander has this to say “In surprisingly small concentrations, Costus Oil will induce warm, woody and “natural” notes to a perfume; however, this is limited to certain perfume types, e.g. Oriental bases, chypres, violet bases, certain floral fragrances, etc, and many types of the “modern-aldehydic” theme. Overdoses of costus oil may easily produce obnoxious effects, and the power of this oil is often under-estimated.

Similar in effect to angelica root oil, Costus Oil has the peculiar ability of producing diffusive power and intriguing top notes, and at the same time it works effectively as a fixative of unusual tenacity.”

Botanical Name: Saussurea lappa

Origin: India

Alcohol Soluble: Yes

Oil Soluble: Yes 

Wholesale weights (all prices excluding vat): 50G = 700 Euros.