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Balsam

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post #1 of 6

2/26/07 at 2:35am

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Lalage
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What exactly is Balsam? I mean is it a specific oil called Balsam or are there certain oils/notes that could be classified as Balsamic?

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post #2 of 6

2/26/07 at 12:00pm

gala
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The latter, though there are at least 2 "balsamic" eo's that are named as such...balsam peru and balsam tolu. Some other balsamic scents I can think of are benzoin (also known as styrax) and copal.

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2/27/07 at 3:30am

supermarky
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and they kind of smell like a wood infused crême brulée

post #4 of 6

11/28/11 at 1:25am

sianjames
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Hi there
At Essentially Me, we classify a number of oils / absolutes as balsamic... our list is here if you're interested in browsing through. Each one also contains a description of the smell.

http://www.essentially-me.co.uk/extr...amic.php?cat=4

Best regards
Sian

post #5 of 6

11/28/11 at 7:03am

johngreenink
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Balsam is a kind of 'catch-all' word to describe natural resins that are thick, gummy, and or oily. So, in certain contexts, you could think of balsam as meaning 'botanical resin'. Probably the most famous historic balsam would be Balsam Poplars, better known as Balm of Gilead.

I was just sniffing some Balsam Peru (Myroxylon) at a natural chemists shop over the weekend. Balsam Peru is a very, very, VERY lovely scent that is something like vanilla mixed with woods, an extremely tiny note of camphor, and a bit green. It's been described as having a slightly olive scent, which I can detect when it has dried down a little.

post #6 of 6

11/29/11 at 4:36am