Clary Sage Absolute 20%

This absolute, of French origin, is extremely useful and very difficult to substitute with anything else (see also however the Essential Oil produced from the same plant).  This absolute is also the starting material from which Ambrofix is produced.  We are presenting the material here at 20% in MMB because in undiluted form it is a paste-like solid that is awkward to handle, but we also offer the undiluted product if you prefer.

Unlike the essential oil from Clary Sage, this absolute contains significant amounts of sclareol, which is an important ambery fixative, meaning this material is a much more effective fixative than the oil of the same name.  It is also distinctly more mossy in odour and very useful as a booster to the now-heavily-restricted Oakmoss absolute.

Arctander tells us that “Through the usual alcohol washing method, the concréte may be processed into an absolute. About 50% of the concrete is alcohol-soluble matter. Clary Sage Absolute is also green, solid or paste-like, and may separate crystals on prolonged storage under uneven temperature conditions. The crystals are presumably Sclareol, a solid, odorless, non-distillable terpene alcohol which contributes strongly to the fixative effect of the extracted products from clary sage.” 

He goes on to describe the uses of the oil: “Clary Sage Absolute is an extremely interesting perfume material … [it] is an excellent modifier, fixative and natural ‘body’ for colognes, lavender-fougéres, chypres, ambre bases, conifer fragrances, forest notes and even floral notes like muguet and jasmin. It blends well with ionones, methyl eugenol, cedarwood derivatives, nitromusks, labdanum products, citrus oils, lavender and lavandin, phenylethyl alcohol and numerous other common perfume materials”.