Champaca, Red Absolute Oil

It was hard waiting for our Red Champaca absolute to arrive at our fragrant little apothecary. I’ve never tried this glorious rarity before and I couldn’t wait to begin my ritual of smearing it on pulse points and third eye, to get its pulse, its floral life force. I believed Golden Champaca was as good as it gets in the Champaca family with it’s floral apricot notes and it is a Champaca I very much adore. Red Champaca, however, leaves me breathless. Apricot notes float to raspberries notes which float to deep romantic, poetry inspiring notes. I’m bathed in it as I write this, my thoughts more on memories of deep, breathless love felt in younger years, a time of life when it was enough just to be in love. The deep, red Mahogany oil drifts into notes of Carnation and fine grade tea, the kind of notes that one would want in a high perfumery perfume composition. Ionone and indole notes are predominant as well. A few drops of it in Neroli essential oil or Violet absolute would be so beyond exquisite, that it really would be the definition of high perfumery.

Indonesia and India have used the attar for hundreds of years in scared ceremonies where it is also known as the Joy Perfume Tree. Ayurveda finds many medicinal uses for the Magnolia as well. The bark as a bitter, tonic, astringent, antiperiodic. Root is purgative and the root-bark, emmenagogue and demulcent. Leaves act as anti-inflammatory agents, thus effective in treating swellings. The juice of the leaves along with honey is an antidote for colic pain in infants. The decoction of the leaves is effective for treating arthritis, angina and pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx, region behind the throat). For arthritis, crushed leaves are mixed with castor oil and applied on affected joints. Leaf juice is used to treat intestinal worms. The leaves are the richest source of ß-sitosterol an important plant sterol (subgroups of the steroids). Leaves are effective in treating intestinal worms. A paste of the leaves may be eaten or a decoction of the leaves may be ingested to get relief from fever. The flowers possess antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, and antimicrobial activities. A concoction of the flowers is used to treat nausea, fevers and dyspepsia. The flavonoids in the flowers make an excellent cure for rheumatism. A paste of the flowers is effective in treating rheumatism gout and vertigo. The buds of the flowers are used to treat diabetes and renal diseases. An extract of the flowers are rich in antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. An extract of the flowers hastens the healing of the wounds. Its no mystery why this is a much celebrated tree.

At the time of writing “Perfume and Flavor Chemicals Of Natural Origin” in 1959, Arctander predicted Red Champaca absolute would remain a rare and scarce perfume material through several generations and he wasn’t wrong.

Suggested use: Blends with Sandalwood essential oil, Violet absolute, Carnation absolute, and Rose Otto essential oil.