What to do with musk grains?

Adam

Well-Known Member
#21
in my opinion raw/fresh musk has much more to offer then the dried one that most people use to sit in sandal. also sandal can not suck all the goodness out of it.
that's why I prefer raw musk to be tinctured in perfumers alcohol straigh, not letting any aroma molecules escape with drying. alcohol also can suck out much more goodness from it...
having said that... I am planing extracting musk absolute and also musk hydrosol distillation tomorrow :)))
 

Oudamberlove

Well-Known Member
#22
Hey Philip


The two Hindi oils that I was assessing for Mukhallats, were RK&Sons Double Super and Haflong Oud. I was giving them a good sniff examination to evaluate their purity and quality. If they don’t pass, then I won’t use them. I gave them a passing grade, even though their quality is just par at best. But in a blend, they should be okay. My guess is that the Double Super should pair well with animalics, and the Haflong with a sandalwood based blend. I am not a pro, so guessing is the best I can do:p:p
Did you want to macerate some musk in sandalwood also? Oud is strong and may eclipse some of the goodness of the musk, or at least do two macerations, one in sandalwood, one in oud.
 

Oudamberlove

Well-Known Member
#24
I went ahead and experimented.

The bottle contains mostly Malay Encens, with tons of musk, and some brown ambergris. Then a little more oud....Bois Mielleuse, Inderapura Encens, and Kejalasan.

The oil is so dark....that even being backlit with a strong flashlight.....the light barely shines through.

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Philip

Well-Known Member
#25
@Oudamberlove whoa, that's nifty! I love my Malay Encens on its own, but you've given me something to think about. hmmmm you might have to call me a copy cat.
@Ensar see, i'm not a pioneer :p but also, I've definitely seen vendors selling Oud/musk macerations.
 

Philip

Well-Known Member
#26
had a brain fart and forgot all about how I purchased a sample of ASO Yaqoot a month ago, which is a Malayasian/Musk combo. just swiped, and it's divine.
 

Philip

Well-Known Member
#28
Bump :D
Who has any experience with Moringa-Musk maceration? @Alkhadra @Oud Learner and anyone? @Oudamberlove
I am discouraged about what I read online about the shelf life of Moringa (few sources saying about 2 years before going rancid). This does not seem suitable for a loooong term maceration. Compounding my confusion is my previous understanding that Moringa (Ben) used to be the carrier oil of choice in Islamic traditions.
@Ensar Oud You stated in one of your write-ups that Musk is not meant to be a stand-alone scent - but that's precisely what I'm after. I would like to be able to swipe the scent of the AMAZING Tibetan grains I just received. 100% genuine this time. I don't want anything else in it :)
 
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Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#29
Bump :D
Who has any experience with Moringa-Musk maceration? @Alkhadra @Oud Learner and anyone? @Oudamberlove
I am discouraged about what I read online about the shelf life of Moringa (few sources saying about 2 years before going rancid). This does not seem suitable for a loooong term maceration. Compounding my confusion is my previous understanding that Moringa (Ben) used to be the carrier oil of choice in Islamic traditions.
@Ensar Oud You stated in one of your write-ups that Musk is not meant to be a stand-alone scent - but that's precisely what I'm after. I would like to be able to swipe the scent of the AMAZING Tibetan grains I just received. 100% genuine this time. I don't want anything else in it :)
Then ethanol’s your best bet.
 

Philip

Well-Known Member
#30
@Ensar Oud I see, thanks for that tid bit which I had not considered.
How long would you say it takes to burn off any alcohol top notes? Do you recommend a spray bottle for ethanol tincture? Or just simply dab?
 

Ensar Oud

Well-Known Member
#31
@Ensar Oud I see, thanks for that tid bit which I had not considered.
How long would you say it takes to burn off any alcohol top notes? Do you recommend a spray bottle for ethanol tincture? Or just simply dab?
You’ll always have some ethanol top notes, but it depends on the source how pungent they are. Drinkable varieties of ethanol will always have a smell, whereas perfumer’s alcohol will be lighter on the funk. Depending on the concentration, you may want to consider either a spray or a dabber bottle. Concentrations up to 30%, I’d do as a spray, anything over that as a dab on.
 

Philip

Well-Known Member
#32
You’ll always have some ethanol top notes, but it depends on the source how pungent they are. Drinkable varieties of ethanol will always have a smell, whereas perfumer’s alcohol will be lighter on the funk. Depending on the concentration, you may want to consider either a spray or a dabber bottle. Concentrations up to 30%, I’d do as a spray, anything over that as a dab on.
Thank you for this valuable information :cool:
 

Oudamberlove

Well-Known Member
#33
@Philip
I used perfumer’s alcohol with my ambergris, so I can swipe and enjoy the subtle aroma. The alcohol notes fly off rather quickly.

With Deer Musk, I enjoy smelling the raw grains the most, followed by maceration in sandalwood oil, and tinctures last but not least.

But in perfumery, I like it both ways:
Musk scent dominant perfumes, and perfumes where musk is used for it’s effect, not scent.
I wish to make a successful blend of the latter.
 

Philip

Well-Known Member
#34
The alcohol notes fly off rather quickly.
Great to hear. If I had to choose between the possibility of an oil going rancid on me versus some lingering alcohol notes, I'll take the latter (I think). Still in planning stage.
I may have to consult with you in due time about where to acquire quality perfumer's alcohol

With Deer Musk, I enjoy smelling the raw grains the most
I have been sniffing my grains non-stop despite this pesky cold I have that won't go away. It's intoxicating and beautiful. That's why I would like to bottle that pure, unadulterated grain scent to the best of my ability. I recognize I may be in the minority in doing this. I think Omar from Paradise of Oils has done it...

With my first successful purchase of authentic grains, I learned this week that I had been exposed to deer musk for 12 years while I was living in Arab states. Turns out that it's a scent I am very familiar with. I just had no idea at the time that I had been smelling deer musk all along. What a great revelation :) Olfactory journey #2 is beginning (first was Oud, now is Musk).

Musk scent dominant perfumes, and perfumes where musk is used for it’s effect, not scent.
I wish to make a successful blend of the latter
I reckon the latter may be the more difficult task of the twain

Hmmm... Musk macerated in oud oil... now that'd be a first!
Now I understand this. Not sure I would ever dump my grains in Oud again.
Good thing that I used cheap-ish Oud and fake grains (apparently) for that experiment. Learn from your mistakes.
 
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#36
@Arsalan
Have you gently heated your twr and musk infusion concoction? I know you very recently made it, but wondering if you have tried already or no.
Decided not to do any heating...just patience...i did increase the amount of grains to 0.3 in around 2.3 or so of TWR. Sitting in a dark place with an occasional shake.
In my opinion, when adding musk to any fragrant oil, the oil has to be good to begin with...that is why i decided to go with TWR, as it is already a favourite (also i have back up)...time will tell how it goes.
 

Oudamberlove

Well-Known Member
#37
Decided not to do any heating...just patience...i did increase the amount of grains to 0.3 in around 2.3 or so of TWR. Sitting in a dark place with an occasional shake.
In my opinion, when adding musk to any fragrant oil, the oil has to be good to begin with...that is why i decided to go with TWR, as it is already a favourite (also i have back up)...time will tell how it goes.
Back-up of TWR, yessssssssss!
Anyhooo, I’ve got musk melding away in 3 bottles of oud. The guinea pigs were Chamkeila, Assam Wilde, and Malay Encens. The results so far, do not elevate the oud, but are very interesting. The senses delight in such uncharted wonder. No regrets here.....and everytime I check back after more months of maceration, it’s always equally as interesting.
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#38
Decided not to do any heating...just patience...i did increase the amount of grains to 0.3 in around 2.3 or so of TWR. Sitting in a dark place with an occasional shake.
In my opinion, when adding musk to any fragrant oil, the oil has to be good to begin with...that is why i decided to go with TWR, as it is already a favourite (also i have back up)...time will tell how it goes.
I look forward to try. Hopefully you visit this spring and bring it along with you :)
 

Rasoul S

Well-Known Member
#39
Back-up of TWR, yessssssssss!
Anyhooo, I’ve got musk melding away in 3 bottles of oud. The guinea pigs were Chamkeila, Assam Wilde, and Malay Encens. The results so far, do not elevate the oud, but are very interesting. The senses delight in such uncharted wonder. No regrets here.....and everytime I check back after more months of maceration, it’s always equally as interesting.
I love to experiment one day. I like your choice of oils too. Esp Assam Wilde and Malay. Something about Malay makes most sense.

Did you heat the macerstion?
Any noticeable changes on top or drydown after aging? How old r ur maceration?
 

Oudamberlove

Well-Known Member
#40
I love to experiment one day. I like your choice of oils too. Esp Assam Wilde and Malay. Something about Malay makes most sense.

Did you heat the macerstion?
Any noticeable changes on top or drydown after aging? How old r ur maceration?
6 months so far, no heating. I’m not too keen on any changes of top or drydown, but one thing I’ll say is that the oud loses it’s “stand alone” glory, it joins the ranks of “blends”.