The Filipino Series From EOA & More

I cannot effectively express how the anticipation of this time of year never jives with reality. Kids are out of school, so no schedule, but they're also home -- most everyone is home now -- and restless. I encourage everyone to be as creative and/or lazy as they want so long as they clean up after themselves, and leave me alone to write during school breaks -- it is, after all, my time off too. But noooooo, can't just stay in their own lane and do them while I attempt to do the same. Yes, honey, your wasabi sculpture looks okay, just don't touch your face. Ah, yes, your three-eyed, orange-haired crayon drawing of me looks fantastic, now go and draw your grandpa with pointy horns. Or, my favorite, pointing out the obvious by entering the room and saying, "It's raining," when it is, indeed, raining, and then expecting, for about the 7th time in the day, a conversation about rain. Acknowledge, divert, acknowledge, divert. What's happened is that I haven't gotten much writing done for the courses or articles or whatever's in the chute, but I have made some very small and significant strides, mostly in the research department. Between all of this hustle, I receive goodies from near and far -- a wee, handpainted bird ornament, a trunk full of empty, unused perfume bottles, some delicious-smelling enfleurage pomades from masters of the craft, freshly roasted coffee beans from a small, nearly local roaster, and some unexpected and new perfumery materials. And that brings me to the gist of this post -- EOA's new Filipino materials series. 

Ylang-ylang eo, Cananga odorata, Philippines -- one is direct from the farm distillation, the other is an artisan distillation, and both are stunning. The direct from the farm version is intense. It presents as a very fresh, loud, fruity, and unmessy heady floral. It is so sweet! There is something about it that reminds me of the quality goods from White Lotus Aromatics from years and years ago. I am not a huge fan of ylang-ylang, especially the distillations that smell like unused Pampers diapers, but I have grown to at least like ylang-ylang, and this one is very likable. I don't get the diaper thing at all. There is a sweet, medicinal, candy-like quality to it that brings to mind something like cherry cough syrup. When I say it's sweet, I'm in no way exaggerating. The longevity is pretty spectacular as well, a couple of hours of that intensity and then it fades little by little. 

Takeaways from Ylang-Ylang Farm Direct -- Super sweet, candy-like, heady floral, intense, extensive longevity. UPDATE: It is day two on a scent strip, and this ylang-ylang is still pumping it out there. 

Now for the Artisan distilled ylang-ylang. The intensity isn't there like it is with the farm direct, but something else is. It is ylang-ylang, but ylang-ylang with friends in tow, like impossible florals, lovely powdery sweet, spring florals, hints of hyacinth and jonquil, and summer florals like tuberose. It's also somewhat green as well, and peppery. It is precious, delicate, narcotically floral, and would be the go-to ylang-ylang to boost a spring floral perfume where too much ylang-ylang would ruin the batch. It is the least ylang-ylangy ylang-ylang I've ever smelled, which is why it is my favorite of the two. The longevity on this one is equally impressive, but it seems to intensify ever so slightly over time and presents muted orange oil notes as well. It's an odd bird. A lovely, beautiful, impressive odd bird.

Takeaways from Ylang-Ylang Artisan Distilled -- Spring bulb florals, powdery sweet, green and peppery, narcotic, orange peel. UPDATE: This ylang-ylang is still hanging around on day two on a scent strip -- it's giving off icy vibes. 

I'm not sure if the differences between the two are more about terroir or extraction methods, either way, they are both high-quality, top-drawer goods. 

Dalandan, Citrus aurantium, Phillipines -- Dalandan oil is a beautiful and intense sour orange scent. It is powdery, somewhat petitgrain-like, not so rindy, and has more juice. It isn't a super tart like lemon, or candyish like lime, nor is it musty and sweet like orange. It's a bit closer to yuzu, though. Wild. It smells like orange with a bit of an attitude. There are some fleeting peek-a-boo neroli notes in it as well. There is something else about it I like that goes with that 'wild' descriptor, but I can't put my finger on it. The word that flashes in my mind when I'm smelling it is 'fire'. It's weird, and I really, really like it! 

Takeaways from Dalandan -- A beast of an orange, sour-juicy, floral, firey.

Calamansi, Citrofortunella microcarpa, Philippines -- Calamansi is airy, powdery, fresh-squeezed juice and citrus soda. It smells very lemon-lime rindy, but different. There is very little sweetness in this scent, it's all the high sour, bitter notes along with something indescribably spicy in it. I want to say the spice note is like pink pepper, but it's not quite that. Nuances of pink pepper maybe. There's also a bit of a breath-catching harshness to it. It smells blue, like chamomile oil-blue. Whoa! That's it! It's got some tansy/German chamomile tones to it. Weird! I like it!

Fun fact: Dalandan & Calamansi together make a fabulous fire ant killer, in case you have that problem. 

One more, but this time from Indonesia. Fingerroot, Boesenbergia pandurata -- Since it's related to ginger root, I was half expecting a ginger-like note, you know? But that isn't this. Fingerroot smells ancient, like it was once used as an offering to gods and royalty. There really isn't anything like it that I have smelled before, but it does have some distinguishably fine resin-like qualities, maybe a light touch of oud, and a wash of long pepper. It mostly, to my nose, smells of damp earth, spices, and mysteries. Way down deep, it is sweet. I cannot wait to play with this in compositions. I see a lot of promise here. 

None of these, as far as I can tell, are listed on EOA's Etsy shop just yet. It's a work in progress. I recommend if you want to broaden your olfactory horizons, to at least pick up samples of these oils, dilute them to 10% and start working with them. 

There are a few more in the queue from this Filipino Series, but I just haven't gotten to them yet. After doing this for too long, I tend to get a bit drunk on the scents and need an olfactory break.