Galbanum Essential Oil is steam distilled from the Resin of a flowering plant that is indigenous to Iran (Persian). Galbanum resin has been widely used as incense and in perfumery since ancient times. It is referenced in the Old Testament:
Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Take fragrant spices - gum resin, onycha and galbanum - and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer.' - Exodus 30:34-35 (NIV)
Fresh and juicy green fragrances have become a significant perfume trend. From a supporting role, the green note has become a star following the great public demand of naturalness and freshness. There are a great number of green materials, so it is impossible to mention all of them, however, we will try to look into the most popular. Let's start from the beginning.
Galbanum Oil Perfumes and scents
Group: GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Odor profile: An intense and persistent bitter green fragrance, fresh, woody, tenacious
It is occasionally used in the making of modern perfume, and is the ingredient which gives the distinctive smell to the fragrances "Must" by Cartier, "Vent Vert" by Balmain, "Chanel No. 19", "Vol De Nuit" by Guerlain, as well as Silver Mountain Water by Creed, the esteemed scent of James Gandolfini used during the filming of the sixth season of The Sopranos. The debut of galbanum in fine modern perfumery is generally thought to be the origin of the "Green" family of scents, exemplified by the scent "Vent Vert" first launched by Balmain in 1945. Galbanum absolute is a brown viscous liquid which will easily resinify over time even with minimal exposure to air obtained by solvent-extraction from the gum oleo-resin of the plant. Its odour profile is described as ambery-green, sweet, balsamic, resinous with hints of freshness, "similar to how galbanum oil would smell when mixed with labdanum". It acts as a base note in perfume compositions - one of a handful of green base notes of natural origin. Because it is perceived as simultaneously 'green' and sweet, it finds a more specific role to create a special effect in 'Chypre green', 'floral green', 'Chypre coniferous', 'Woody Fougères' and 'Aquatic Fougères'.
Perhaps, Pierre Balmain 'Vent Vert' is the most famous green fragrance of the XX century. This "Green Wind" created by Germaine Celler has been relaunched many times, and it is rightfully considered a superstar in modern perfumery. Its dominant bitter green note is created from an overdose of galbanum essential oil. Before synthetics, it had been one of the few green materials available to perfumers at the time. Two years later, Miss Dior was launched, with galbanum, in a more modest amount, infused into its chypre accord.
Chanel №19 is another textbook example of a galbanum fragrance, in which it is placed in a floral-woody environment.
Galbanum's story continued in the 60s when allyl amyl glycolate was synthesized. It has a penetrating green odor with a characteristic galbanum nuance. It also has a cool metallic facet and an expressed fruity character, reminiscent of pineapple.
Very often, the smell of allyl amyl glycolate is compared with the specific smell of tinned pineapple. This is a rather accurate description. The material has been known to perfumers for more than 70 years, but it got real recognition when Davidoff Cool Water was launched (about 3% of the substance).
Later, a lot of materials with a similar odor profile were synthesized: galbascone, cyclogalbanate, pharaone, spirogalbanone, and other compounds commonly containing a 1-substitute pent-4-en-1-one fragment; we already reviewed them in my article Pineapple Water for Marilyn Monroe: New from A Lab On Fire.
When instrumental methods allowed to break down the chemical composition of galbanum, it turned out that undecatrienes (specifically (3E,5Z)-undeca-1,3,5-triene, which Firmenich branded as Galbanolene Super), as well as 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine aka Galbazine, are responsible for its green scent.
(Some of the contents are taken from the fragrantica website)
merhaba - Kolay gelsin