Rosemary Oil

Essential oil produced by steam distillation of the fresh leaves and flowers (not twigs) of Rosemarinus officinalis.  This oil is of Tunisian origin.

Arctander describes a quality Tunisian oil such as this: “Rosemary Oil is a pale yellow or almost colorless, mobile liquid of strong, fresh, woody-herbaceous, somewhat minty-forestlike odor. The ‘high’ fresh notes vanish quickly, yielding to a clean, woody-balsamic bodynote which tones out in a dry- herbaceous, but very pleasant and tenacious, bitter-sweet note.” He points out that many oils from other parts of the world are of inferior quality due to inclusion of woody twigs in the distillation or inferior distillation technique.

He goes on to say that: “Apart from a very high amount of monoterpenes, rosemary oil contains a significant amount of Borneol, a crystalline terpene alcohol, but this is also the main oxygenated component of the oil, Rosemary oil is, accordingly, not very soluble in diluted alcohol (below 80%), but it finds extensive use in perfumery for citrus colognes, lavender waters, fougeres, pine needle fragrances, Oriental perfumes (it blends excellently with olibanum and spice oils !), in room-deodorants, household sprays, insecticides, disinfectants, etc. As a low-boiling and fresh-smelling oil it has good effect as a masking agent, particularly for phenolic or tar-like odors. Rosemary oil blends well with lavandin, lavender, citronella oils, origanum or thyme, pine needle oils, coumarin, labdanum, olibanum, elemi, terpinyl propionate, isobornyl propionate, cedarwood oils and derivatives, methyl ionones, petitgrain oil, nitromusks, etc.”