MIMOSA CONCRETE / ABSOLUTE
MIMOSA OIL
Natural ingredient for perfumery overview
The fragrant extracts of Mimosa (botanical origin Acacia Decurrens, an Australian plant imported in Europe at the beginning of 19th century) takes place in early spring and the entire production is often exhausted before the end of the year.
Concrete
The first extraction will be Mimosa concrete (fr: Concrète), produced from the flowers and twig ends by extraction with petroleum ether. Extractions are done almost exclusively in the south of France where trees grow more abundantly. Small quantities are processed in Italy.
Fact: The severe frost of January-February 1956 killed all mimosa trees in certain areas of southern France, and mimosa absolute was virtually unavailable for a year or two.
Mimosa Concrète is a hard, waxy, pale yellow or whitish-opaque material with a sweet-woody, fatty, deeply floral odor.
As such, mimosa concrète finds application in perfumery especially in soap perfumes where its exceptional fixative value accompanies its delicate, woody-floral, slightly green notes. For lilac, muguet, freshly cut hay, violet and similar floral and herbaceous-coumarin types, a small addition of mimosa concrète can work wonders. In amounts of 0.5% to 2.0% in a soap scent, this material can make the difference between a flat, common or nondescript scent and a radiant, natural, depth-rich and intriguingly interesting fragrance of unusual tenacity and stability in soap. (S. Arctander)
Absolute
Mimosa Absolute is prepared from concrète.
Absolute is a very viscous, amber or yellowish liquid, similar in appearance to fresh honey. Its odor is very rich, floral-woody, slightly green and resembles cassie absolute. It is sweeter and more natural as a flower, but less complex and spicy than cassie. (S. Arctander)
Mimosa absolute mixes well with ionones, methyl ionones, isoeugenol, cassion, heliotropin, anisyl alcohol and esters, alpha terpineol, phenylethyl alcohol, dimethyl benzyl carbinol, dimethyl phenylethyl carbinol, terpeneless lavandin oil, amyl salicylate, ylang-ylang oil or absolute, trimethyl undecyl aldehyde (traces), hydroxycitronellal, anisyl acetone, cinnamic alcohol or styrax products (styrene-free), linalool, bucinal (para-tertiary butyl alpha methyl hydrocinnamic aldehyde), methyl para-toluate, benzyl acetate, indole (traces for lilac), etc.
The absolute is used in numerous bases lilac, violet, muguet, high class new hay, colognes, ambers, etc. In fact, mimosa absolute generally acts to round out the "rough notes" of synthetics and "lift" the natural materials in a perfume composition. (S. Arctander)
SOURCES, INFORMATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Fulvio Ciccolo, 2021
Perfume and flavor chemicals, S. Arctander, Denmark 1969.
Photo by Kolya Korzh, Florencia Galan on Unsplash