Infusing Roses & Davana

This technique of Infusing flowers is from an old book. It is very straightforward- the only thing it takes a bit of patience & time-say about 4-5 weeks.
If you have the Roses for it, you should definitely find the time!

I start with about 40-50 blooms of fragrant Roses, washed and drained, as early in the morning as possible. Rosa centifolia is the commonest available in India- of that, the lighter pink variety which is more fragrant is the one I chose.

I lay them in a metal platter of oil - virgin coconut- blooms facing down, and pour enough oil to wet the petals and a thin layer of oil over the surface.

Cover with a thin sheet of cotton, place it in the sun for 2 weeks.  At daily temperatures of 103-106 degrees, its a cinch.

Changed the flowers by draining & filtering out the oil through 3 squares of cotton. Thought it'd be easier to pick them out, but the stalks were dried up and sting like thorns- yowtch..

 Redo from start. This time with only the petals & no stings.. At 1 week, it looks like this.

2-3 more weeks in the sun, this fragrant moss greenish oil is obtained. Success with a sweet smell.

This simply stunning yield of "Infused Rose Oil" is unlike anything I could compare with-
with marked floral undertones mixed with spicy-herbal ones, The coconutty tones do not detract from it, but make it more sensual (Think Monoi de Tiare not coconut).
It feels like a lighter fragrant oil,  less honey-like than the damask Absolutes & Otto, and varies from the Egyptian & Moroccan ones. For some reason I cannot put my finger on, it reminds me of Carnation absolute

For the longest time, I've wanted to trying my hand infusing Davana, described as the most gorgeous male fragrance ever.

I've used this rare, difficult to work with- essential oil to form the heart notes of one of my perfumes called Male Delicious, its fruityness further enhanced on a bed of benzoin and Rock Rose and forever fell in love with Davana.

Artemisia pallens which is described as a Heart note with a  Fruity (apricot) odour of hay and licorice.

Davana, I believe is in the same species as Wormwood & other fragrant plants of the Artemisia family but with its distinct smell. Tisserand lists it as non-toxic and very midly irritating.

The smell of Davana essential oil , I could say, is like a combination of Oakmoss & Honey absolutes.

The smell of this infusion, for now, is mossy & green. Updates will follow- it could very well be a disaster!