Magnolia Craziness

Brooklyn Perfume Company’s Magnolia Perfume

I had been searching around for a new smell to play with when Kate (my consultant) noticed the smell of the magnolia tree next door.

Magnolia has a peculiar aroma, floral, but with an underlying sense of something decaying. This last smell is so particular to magnolia that my greatest efforts have been to replicate it. The floral part seemed manageable, but that smelly part a bit harder to match.

This led to a dilemma. I have two sources for magnolia absolute. Both are good, but only one has that particular nuance I so crave. The unfortunate part is that the one with the aroma I want is $22 a milliliter. In other words, a teaspoon would cost $110. 

Now, I know my tendency is to buy only the best (and, usually, most expensive), but at these prices I’d have to make it so expensive. Brooklyn Perfume Company is not known enough to sell $300 perfumes.

So, I’ve decided to use half and half. The combination works perfectly because one magnolia fills in where the other leaves off.

I constructed a typical floral perfume—a kind of setting as for a stone in a ring—and set the magnolia on top.  Amazingly, it all seemed to work out.

To get a sense of what other people are doing, I obtained a sample of Frederic Malle’s Eau de Magnolia. My immediate impressions are that mine is greener (which I love) and that Malle has included something to replicate that special gentle funk. Whatever this dark element, it doesn’t quite work. It holds back what could be a too-sweet floral, but it doesn’t completely do the job of finishing the smell of magnolia.

His is a lot smoother than mine which leads me to think of some minor changes such as using a special musk (helvetolide), something that seems to coat everything with a layer of satin.

Keep your eyes out; I have a feeling this is going to be coming out soon.