Liquidambar (Styrax)

I put this on my skin and immediately thought.. What is that I know... Gardenia. Gardenia. When gardenia isn't possible to get in an EO. So I'm putting it on this morning, and my mom asks, in the other rooms: What is that you're wearing? What? It smells like gardenia It really smells gardenia. So, there. It does smell like gardenia.

Review by Linda 11/20/2017

This material is very animal character .. extremely powerful fixative of perfumes, (48 or more hours in skin 30% alcohol solution) has a final note to dry saliva, unconsciously has sexual appeal to our primitive animal smell, someone who oilio After a few days he told me that he was orrible, after that he wanted to stay smelling him forever ... he was stuck to him (lol).

Review by Juan Manuel 11/2/2017

I've been an amateur natural perfumer for over 30 years. I've had other styrax oils before but this one is a little different, in a surprisingly delightful way. The initial note is very similar to other styrax oils I've worked with but on drydown this one reveals an anamalic note that I've never encountered in the others. It's a bit akin to human funk, almost fecal. Don't be put off by that word as it's a concept in basenotes of some of the finest French perfumes. That is why materials such as civet, castoreum and musk were used in perfumes. This oil also lasts longer than any other styrax that I've ever worked with making it a good fixative. It can be sweetened a bit with vanilla to balance the animalic quality very nicely. A good oil well worth investigating, at the very least.

Review by torotar 9/30/2017

This styrax is quite different than what i've received from other sources. It took a little getting used to, as it is thicker, and I'm relatively new to working with more "advanced" oils/fragrances. It seems like this is a truer styrax than the others I've tried, as it seems much more complex: it is sweet, with (what I think I've identified as.. and please correct me if necessary) a coumarin-esque note, in addition to the vanilla, burnt sugar, and spice (cinnamon? allspice?) that I expected. This sticky, complex resin has helped me to identify different notes in all types of oils. Thank you Eden for helping me on my olfactory quests!

Review by John 1/11/2016

This is styrax as it's supposed to be. It's a complex, unusual and intriguing scent comprising several elements blended naturally in such a way as to make it hard to pull them out. It is sweet - but not sweet as in sugar; sweet as in resinously sweet. It is lightly resinous. And, when you dilute it and let it settle a little bit (days/weeks), it reveals some very naughty - and yet strangely attractive - facets of itself. You could say that it smells, then (though not entirely), of the intimate area of a woman who is expressing arousal through scent, mixed with a bit of the scent of her hind quarters, and a hint of something else equally uncouth in the background. This may sound unpleasant, but it is surprisingly attractive in a primal and feral sort of way at the right concentration. I have found that styrax is useful for two things (at very low concentrations; I typically use 1%): it makes an excellent natural fixative, and it is also noticeably aphrodisiac! These two uses, however, require exquisite care to get the amount right, and you must use it in combination with the right components otherwise to achieve the noticeably aphrodisiac effect. If you have not smelled styrax, this is something you will find fascinating to discover. Highly recommended. I suggest mixing with oil instead of ethanol.

Review by Shannon 10/20/2015