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Trying to identify a mysterious pot pourri ingredient!

post #1 of 5
10/26/12 at 3:48am
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Hi all,
Can anyone help me solve a mystery that has puzzled me for 24 years? Back in about 1988, I bought some potpourri from the gift shop in an Egyptology museum. In that potpourri, there were some flower petals, (some dark red and some purple), but besides the rosy floral scents, there was a fantastic aroma which I have never been able to identify. It was a sweet, peppery, spicy aroma. I have been trying hard to reproduce it, using various herbs, spices and essential oils. The best imitation I have been able to come up with is by crushing a cigar, and adding some drops of lavender oil and sweet orange oil. However, the resulting aroma was not as potent as the original, nor was it quite identical. The original aroma reminded me of curry and perhaps tobacco snuff. I tried curry tree leaves, but they were not even close (too lemony). Can anyone suggest what that mystery aroma could have been?

Thank you!

A
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post #2 of 5
10/26/12 at 6:53am
Immortelle/helichrysum smells like caramel, fenugreek, and spices. But I don't think it is used in potpourri.

cacio
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post #3 of 5
10/26/12 at 7:23am
No reason why Immortelle shouldn't be used in Pot Pourri although it is very expensive. The description certainly fits. Tabac Abs, or Hay Abs could also fit; again quite expensive.
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post #4 of 5
10/26/12 at 6:56pm
I don't know what kind of potpourri you purchased, but many are infused with synthetic fragrance oil blends rather than simply relying on the aromatic aspects of the actual potpourri ingredients. If that is the case, your search for actual potpourri ingredients that smell like your 1988 purchase will be fruitless. Perhaps you could try blending some crafting fragrance oils using your impressions as a guide and then using that oil to infuse scentless potpourri ingredients or to augment the smell of the ingredients you already have. I know saveonscents.com has a "curry" accord in its collection, so perhaps it would be worth picking up a selection of inexpensive accords and starting there. That particular webstore has a program whereby you can purchase .75ml vials of fragrance oil to test before purchasing larger quantities. I think you purchase in groups of 5 and it costs $3-$4 per group. It might be enough to give you a sense of whether you are headed in the right direction and to give you an inexpensive way of pursuing various avenues fairly quickly.
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post #5 of 5
10/27/12 at 2:26am
I assumed that the smell of the Pot Pourri had been added and was not just the smell of the solid components.
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