Mimosa Absolute Pourable Oil

When I was first pronounced an aromatherapist after a long year of classes and grueling exams, I excitedly went on a search to buy florals essential oils. One of the few florals in my budget was Mimosa which was neither pourable or floral. I found this buttery hued oil to be harsh and overly green. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but had an idea that it might be a little powdery, a little floral. The absolute quickly lost my attention. It was a long round way to Mimosa for me but thanks to a competitive friend who would bounced back and forth to Australia when he could break away from Silicon Valley, I revisited the thick absolute. My friend makes chocolates and works with aromatics and naturally we would compare aromatic notes and compete with who had the most unique raw ingredients. I believe I lost when he brought Wattle Seed to the game, an edible seed of any of 120 Acacia species. The seeds smell and taste like coffee and hazelnuts and is somewhat of an Australian superfood. Wattle Seed brought me new culinary excitement (Wattle Seed Gelato with my Lusso Gelato maker, yes…) and finding my way back to Acacia|Mimosa Absolute. Mimosa is from the acacia decurrens or Silver Wattle as is known in Australia where it began its plant provenance. It was introduced to France in the first half of the nineteenth century. Ernesto Guenther noted in his 1954 publication, “The Essential Oils” (I highly recommend it be acquired by any means), that Mimosa bears no results with steam distillation and solvent extraction is the only means to extract the floral material. Hexane extraction was another reason I stayed away from absolutes in the early days, preferring not to add to the chemical load our bodies already face by virtue of living in our modern environment. It’s good to see an awareness around extraction processes because we are now able to obtain hexane free absolutes. As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing”.

Our Mimosa is a very nice absolute, possessing more of a honey floral, much like a young Meyer Lemon with a more pronounced Violet Leaf note rather than a green profile. Mimosa is a fresh treacle like consistency and is so much more workable than days of old. Mimosa Absolute is powdery and has been no secret to French perfumers. Mimosa is easy to work with and adds a softness and fixative effects to perfume compositions.

Suggested uses: In many floral blend as both fixative and to add a honey floral component to the composition. Can be added to skin cream bases to hydrate skin.