From Esprit de la Nature

A series of Neri-koh style incenses, that capture the fragrant breath of flowers in precious woods

Enfleurage:  A process of extracting fragrance for incense or perfume using resins, fats or woods to absorb the exhalations of flowers.

I’ve been enfleuraging flowers into resins and woods for at least a decade.  Having never had a formal class on the enfleurage process, I've always taught myself, making it an exciting adventure.  I have had some epic failures but also some beautiful results.  It is one of the greatest joys of my life to work so closely with the flowers. Not only to observe which flowers give the best results for my work but to spend time among such beauty, really getting to know intimately their fragrant breath, feeling its psycho-active effects and letting the flowers reveal themselves the way a person’s spirit does over shared moments. 

 

Lilies

 

Some flowers, like Lilies, give up their breath effortlessly to the enfleurage and have a presence so visceral, so fleshy, sensual and powerful, that I swear they will start moving under the moonlight and dance with me.  Others, like Night-Blooming Tobacco, need recharge after recharge before their perfume finally settles into the material.  Tobacco flowers hang like limp crumbled crepe paper during the day. At dusk they unfold, like living origamis breathing out a narcotic, floral drumming that fills the garden, calling in every pollinator on the territory. Hawkmoths the size of hummingbirds arrive with wings beating so fast and thrumming so loudly they seem to be heartbeats made visible. 

 

 

  

Tobacco Flowers

 

Of all the materials I work with, quality Agarwood and Sandalwood are my favorites in which to enfleurage.  First and foremost, because they absorb the flowers’ breath better than any other botanicals.  Second, because fine Agarwood and Sandalwood are themselves gently psychoactive and have so many aromatic facets that carry the aromatic seeker on a continuing incense journey, long after the flower’s fragrance has slipped away, these precious woods extend the experience from hours into days.

 

Night Blooming Jasmine

 

I start enfleuraging during the cool days of spring using Narcissus and Lilac flowers.  I gather blossoms in the early morning after the dew has dried off the flowers’ petals.  I have hundreds of fragrant Narcissus planted in my forest gardens.  I have planted the Narcissus bulbs beneath the runners of Sweetgrass.  As the spring winds, shake the world awake.  The sweetgrass sends up small flags of seeds on long stems that quiver over the star-rimmed, golden eyes of the narcissus flowers.  Their fresh fragrances blend in the breeze, creating a living perfume, the essence of spring.  Planting lilacs has long been a tradition in the far north, where hardy, fragrant flowering trees are rare.  Taking the time to smell the powdery, pastel, sweetness of Lilac flowers in the air is almost as much of a nostalgic ritual in here in Quebec as Cherry Blossom time in Japan.  I only have one, small Lilac tree planted, the moose seemingly loving them as much as me.   So, in the villages near the forest, I have come to know where every lilac bush lives and when it blooms.  By harvesting the different varieties in succession, the Lilac season for enfleurage, can last almost two months.  I have asked many people living around me if I could harvest a few Lilac panicles from their yard.  In an affirmation of human generosity, no one has ever refused me.

 

     

Lilac and Narcissus

 

 

As the days become warmer, I move on to working under the cool, starry nights of summer.  Enflueraging and harvesting at night in the dark, my sense of smell is heightened. The world becomes filled with fireflies, strange noises and moon shadows.  A time of enchantment and of facing fear.  The night blooming flowers are mainly pollinated moths. So, they start to increase their fragrance around crepuscule when the moths shake their furry wings and begin to look for some night life.  The Night Blooming Tobaccos start to exhale as soon as the sky starts to color. But, the Giroflee wait until darkness has fully descended.   Once a flower is picked, its fragrance starts to change.  One of my night-time enfleurage methods involves carrying jars with a thin layer of absorbing material into the garden, bringing the enfleurage jars directly to the flowers rather than picking the blooms.  I call this method “Living Enfleurage”.  I carefully bend the stems of night flowers into the jars which allows the flowers to release their scent naturally into the jars. In not removing the flowers from the plants, Living Enfleurage is the best way to capture the true to life scent of flowers.  Picking the flowers, but keeping them whole, I do traditional enfleurage with Lilies.  Picked Lilies loose only their most ethereal top notes.  The sensual heart of their fragrance can last for days.  I place the flowers, sometimes three or four at a time, in large casseroles directly on the receiving material.  Once the blossoms begin to soften and fall apart, as they start to die, I place the petals around my outdoor altar.  Even while dying, the Lilies continue to perfume the air.  A message about strong spirits leaving beautiful traces that perfume the world even as they fade away.

 

In the Garden

 

I am extremely fortunate to have generous supporters of this project who have gifted to me rare woods in which to enfleurage.  My greatest supporter is Agarwood connoisseur, Jessica Pompei.  She is endlessly curious, always seeking new woods to experience.  She searches the world to feed her nose and once she has come to know them, she often passes the remaining wood on to me.  Without Jess, her I would have never discovered that agarwood is such an exquisite enfleurage material   Here at Mermade, always bighearted, Katlyn shares with me the top Mysore grades of sandalwood.  JK Delap of Rising Phoenix Perfumery has generously offered Agarwood from India, totally new to my nose with gourmand notes that seem to last forever.  These incense lovers’ gifts have allowed me to pair flowers with agarwoods, like matching wines with food, to create intriguing aromatic combinations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contains:

1 Lily

1 Lilac

 

Blossomwoods 2025

Lily (Lilium spp) Blossomwood wrapped in gold foil

Lilies are known for their intoxicating, erotic fragrance.  This Blossomwood captures a sensuous and strong Lily fragrance, which is complemented and extended by the floral and sensuous nature of White Kinam AAA agarwood and the luscious, creamy aroma of Grade A Mysore Sandalwood.  As the Neri-koh warms, and the agarwood and sandalwood start to be present, the blend becomes even more delicious.  Combined with the natural psychoactive properties of agarwood and sandalwood, I find smelling this Lily Blossomwood Neri-koh has a narcotic effect.  I have to put the heater aside, after ten minutes, in order to enjoy the floating world.  Start this Blossomwood 150º and raise the temperature gradually.

Ingredients: Whole Lily flowers laid onto Kinam White AAA Bead Waste from Kangiiten (Cinnamonic, Cool, Sweet) and whole Lily flowers onto Grade A Mysore Sandalwood, New Zealand A++++ Ambergris tincture, bound with Organic Honey (50% Agarwood/50% Sandalwood)

 

Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) Blossomwood wrapped in purple and silver foil

 

The fragrance of Lilac is notoriously difficult to capture.  A very sweet, subtle yet pure Lilac fragrance floats on the top of this Nerikoh.  Lilac enfleurages can develop a medicinal note that is caused by a change in the flowers’ chemistry as they fade.  I’m delighted that this one does not have this note. I recommend listening to Lilac Blossomwood in the Kodo Cup style of using incense.  Start this Blossomwood at 150º and raise the temperature gradually.  The Kinam really starts to shine at around 180 º.

Ingredients:  Whole Lilac flowers laid onto Kinam White AAA Bead Waste from Kangiiten (Cinnamonic, Cool, Sweet), Grade A Mysore Sandalwood, ten years old aged Orris root, New Zealand A++++ Ambergris tincture, Muskrat Musk tincture bound with Organic Honey (65% Agarwood, 20% Sandalwood, 15% Aged Orris root)

 

Narcissus (Narcissus poeticus) Blossomwood wrapped in green foil

A lovely, strong, genuine Narcissus fragrance combined with two Agarwoods that compliment the flower’s cool, slightly spicy aspects.  Start at 150º and raise the temperature gradually.    

Ingredients:  Whole Narcissus flowers laid onto Prachin Crassna Agarwood 2022 from Rising Phoenix (Resinous, Floral Woody) and Kinam White AAA Bead Waste from Kangiiten (Cinnamonic, Cool, Sweet), New Zealand A++++ Ambergris, tincture bound with Organic Honey (40% Prachin Crassna Agarwood 2022, 60% Kinam White AAA Bead Waste from Kangiiten)

 

 

 

Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) Blossomwood wrapped in blue and silver foil

 

In the night air, Star Jasmine has a dense, strongly euphoric scent that I think about as it floating among the stars or laying on an opium pillow. The lighter sweet, fresh, green aspects of this Johor Agarwood paired very well with the flower’s aroma.  The darker, slightly smoky, spicy aspects of the Agarwood continued the narcotic-like journey.  Start this Blossomwood at 100 º and raise the temperature gradually    

Ingredients: Whole Star Jasmine flowers laid onto Johor Aquilaria malaccensis Double Super grade from the Sabily Collection (Slightly Smokey, Cinnamon, Spicy, Sweet, Fresh, Green), New Zealand A++++ Ambergris, tincture bound with Organic Honey

 

Giroflee (Matthiola longipetala) Blossomwood wrapped in purple foil

 

 

Giroflee’s aroma never ceases to amaze me. For such a tiny blossom, her breath could fill an amphitheatre; marzipan and chocolate wrapped in a soft halo of rose.  Giroflee is notoriously difficult to fix in an enfleurage, so I plant two successions each season to extend the extraction window. This Hmarkhawlien agarwood makes an excellent pairing as it shares her gourmand character, offering chocolate-and-toffee notes that mirror her sweetness. The wood is only faintly aromatic at lower temperatures, but it blooms magnificently when heated high. I suggest beginning at around 130° to savor Giroflee’s perfume, then slowly increasing the heat toward 300°.

Ingredients: Giroflee flowers still on the stem placed into a jar with 2022 Hmarkhawlien AAA Triple Super Agarwood sourced out of a 100-year-old tree from Rising Phoenix Perfumery (Chocolatey, Nougat'y, richly Resinous Caramel and Toffee), New Zealand A++++ Ambergris tincture, bound with Organic Honey

 

Night Blooming Tobacco (Nicotiana alata) Blossomwood wrapped in gold and green or blue foil (depending on the agarwood)

 

This year I experimented with two agarwood variations using Night Blooming Tobacco to see if they would differ in how the woods held her fragrance.  There didn’t.  Night Blooming tobacco already carries quite a bit of an agarwood vibe as the base of her living breath.  The flower’s fragrance tends to merge with and sink into agarwood, adding floral sweetness at lower temperatures.  Listen carefully at 100° as the fresh scents of the Tobacco flowers float in and out, riding gently on a wave of Ambergris. Slowly bring the temperature up to 300°.

Ingredients:

Variation #1 (Wrapped in gold and green Foil) Night Blooming Tobacco flowers still on the stem placed into a jar with Green Kinam AAA Agarwood from Yuzi Oud (Classic Kinam vibe with a crisp, cool, resinous, herbaceous notes), New Zealand A++++ Ambergris tincture, bound with Organic Honey

Variation #2 (Wrapped in blue foil) Night Blooming Tobacco flowers still on the stem placed into a jar with Hmarkhawlien AAA Triple Super Agarwood sourced out of a 100 year old tree from Rising Phoenix Perfumery (Chocolatey, Nougat'y, richly Resinous Caramel and Toffee), New Zealand A++++ Ambergris tincture, bound with Organic Honey