Beeswax

Group: Animal Sources

Beeswax
Beeswax
Beeswax


The note of beeswax is among the few natural "animalic" notes in perfumery that are totally cruelty-free, i.e. involving no harm to the animal from which they're derived. For this reason, beeswax absolute is among the most prized materials in the natural perfumery palette, where the absence of synthetics can be a problem. With its naturally fixative qualities, it aids the anchoring of more volatile notes.

Beeswax absolute (Apies Millifera) has been taken from the actual beehive without disruption to the lives of the bees for a long while. For perfumery, the wax is taken from hives that have been used for more than 5 years, therefore the material retains the scents of honey, propolis and the smell of the bees themselves, which makes beeswax a pheromone-rich essence with all that entails. 

Production:
 
The wax in the hive is collected carefully by hand and is then solvent extracted. The major countries producing beeswax absolute are Spain, France and Morocco where apiculture is ingrained in tradition, but California in the US is rapidly gaining momentum. The resulting essence is fully miscible in alcohol and dipropylene glycol, making it easy to work with. 
 
Odor profile/Perfumery Use:
 
The scent of beeswax absolute is a very pleasant, complex composite of both honeyed, sweet aspects (with floral facets) and of essences of a musky, intimate ambience reminiscent of sweet hay and cured tobacco. The essence of beeswax absolute is used in perfumery to render golden-ambery notes, and serves as a middle to base note. The honeyed aspect of the material with its background of hay serves as a good underpinning of lavender and rose and is great in juxtaposition with naturally bitter oakmoss.
 
Characteristics:
 
Beeswax absolute has comforting, spiritually balancing and lifting, solar properties when used in aromatherapeutic blends and recalls the joyful activity of bees.
 


Author: Elena Vosnaki is a historian & perfume writer from Greece and a Writer to Fragrantica. She is the founder and editor of Perfume Shrine, one of the most respected independent online publications on perfume containing fragrance reviews, industry interviews, essays on raw materials and perfume history, a winner in Fragrantica Blog Awards and a finalist in numerous blog awards contests. Her writing was recognised at the Fifi Awards for Editorial Excellence in 2009 and she has been contributing to publications around the world.
 

 

Perfumes and Colognes With Beeswax

perfume Tilleul D`Orsay Tilleul
1915 for women

perfume Chypre Rouge Serge Lutens Chypre Rouge
2006 for women and men

perfume Myrrhe Ardente Annick Goutal Myrrhe Ardente
2007 for women and men

perfume Avant Garde Lanvin Avant Garde
2011 for men

perfume L'Eau de Neroli Diptyque L'Eau de Neroli
2008 for women and men

perfume No5 Narciso Prada No5 Narciso
2007 for women and men

perfume Beeswax Demeter Fragrance Beeswax
2008 for women and men

perfume Orange Blossom Lush Orange Blossom
2010 for women

perfume Amber DSH Perfumes Amber
for women and men

perfume Monk Michael Storer Monk
2005 for men

perfume Isiris Shantara Isiris
2010 for women

perfume Vera Roxana Illuminated Perfume Vera
2007 for women and men

perfume The Bi-Polar Express Smell Bent The Bi-Polar Express
2010 for women and men

perfume Lucky Charm M. Micallef Lucky Charm
2010 for women

perfume B Marie Saint Pierre B
2010 for women

perfume Mur Slumberhouse Mur
2011 for women and men

perfume Smell of Weather Turning Lush Smell of Weather Turning
2011 for women and men

perfume Musk Nouveau Providence Perfume Musk Nouveau
2010 for women and men

perfume Citrine Olivier Durbano Citrine
2011 for women and men

perfume Copper Skies Kerosene Copper Skies
2012 for women and men

perfume Aleria Testa Maura Aleria
2008 for women and men

perfume Ames Soeurs Joya Ames Soeurs
2012 for women

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