Oakmoss Absolute Signature 20%

Adam Michael has this to say “This is a tough one for me to write about. I cannot write about oakmoss without thinking about IFRA compliant offerings and then find myself imagining the world of perfumery ingredients in the next 100 years, so the year 2121. A world overrun with heavily stripped back naturals, countless more synthetic options all brought to us by the monopolistic inspired companies within Grasse and Switzerland who without question are even more vertically integrated with the faceless yet now more powerful IFRA, and of whom have our best interests at heart ladies and gentlemen.

True creative expression now all but lost, a big brother world in full swing, perfumes smelling more like the last, and ironically lots of us suffering with respiratory ailments and skin disorders. Raw materials and the world of perfume, completely Macdonald-ised and as interesting as buying the tasteless tomatoes and scent free flowers from your local supermarket today.

Now back in the present (22.06.21), my two longstanding oakmoss absolute sources no more, I admit I had just about resigned myself to defeat. However, due to pure good fortune and like some divine intervention I found myself having a conversation with one of our people about an entirely different topic, and weirdly as that conversation progressed, it became apparent that this chap is producing oakmoss absolute, exactly as it should be produced and so 1000% not compliant with IFRA (woo-hoo). Considering the importance of this material it really feels like a blessing from above.
This means we still can offer oakmoss absolute as it should be, as it should smell, nothing tweaked, just a proper bottle of oakmoss absolute. And the icing on the cake here and the reason this oakmoss gets its own listing, is because this is a better end-product aromatically wise and longevity wise when compared with my two previous longstanding suppliers.

This artisan produced aromatic is as you would expect, full of mossy, woodland floor, dried hay, salted seaweed and damp cold outdoors tonalities throughout. The dry-down is intense moss, salted ocean waters, with age old Tuscan leather jacket aspects and something faintly trace animalic. Smelling this material reminds me of a cold wind swept outdoors, chopped wood logs from our own woodland that I have forgot to bring into the woodshed, now soaked by the autumn rain, and invaded by cold damp spongy mosses and the aroma of fallen leaves decaying all around me.

Very masculine orientated material, a classic base note, produced via petroleum ether, completely liquid, perfectly alcohol and oil soluble, and of an olive green to brown colour. This is old school product, no short cuts, no IFRA nonsense, and a TRUE Oakmoss absolute.

As for uses, oakmoss blends and adds value to a wide spectrum of perfume compositions. The centre piece of course of a true chypre and fougere creation and a material used in some of the world’s most historically famous perfumes. Lends itself especially well within marine, moss, agrestic and forest floor creations. Properly dosed this TRUE oakmoss absolute adds wonder to herbaceous accords as it marries so well with aromatics such as lavender, thymes, clary sages and so on. General rule with oakmoss absolute is dose small as this material is not only a great fixative but one where its own presence grows within the composition.

Final thoughts, a strong case can be made for TRUE oakmoss absolute being one of the most important natural perfumery ingredients and yet in its untampered form, it is about to go extinct like the dodo bird due to the power makers at IFRA. Slowly such powers are deleting pieces of history and denying our future generations the pleasure of TRUE naturals. Look now for example at the low M.E rose absolutes that are becoming the norm and offered by the well-polished Grasse based corporates. These rose absolute offerings are some of the most vile natural rose aromatics we have ever experienced, mediocre at best and totally drained of all their beauty, nothing joyous or luxurious about them, just an underwhelming aroma profile throughout, only remotely evoking the scent of a rose and doing a terrible job even at that. Is this the future for naturals.

Now, aware this does make for a depressing read, I want to make it clear that for as long as I can, I will do everything in my power to offer only the best, true materials, allowing our customers to access the unsurpassable beauty that only outstanding true natural aromatic materials can and do offer.”

Botanical Name: Evernia prunastri

Origin: The lichens which produce this absolute are found on oak trees, mostly around the Mediterranean. Produced in Europe.

Alcohol Soluble: Yes 

Oil Soluble: Yes