Everlasting Absolute

#### Everlasting Absolute. Widely known in southern Europe as **"Immortelle"**, "**Everlasting**" or "**St.**** ****John's**** ****Herb**" is the small plant **Helichrysum Angustifolium**. The plant has attracted perfumers for quite some time. It should not be confused with "**St. John's Wort**" which is an entirely different plant (hypericum perforatum) of no use in perfumery and little use in cosmetic preparations. Many attempts have been made to produce an essential oil by steam distillation of the entire overground plant or of the flowers alone. All efforts have either failed or shown an extremely small yield. For those who have seen the plant, this cannot come as a surprise: it is hardly possible to visualize anything drier than the mature plant. It appears to be simply dehydrated or ovendried, but the flowers still keep their beautiful colors, hence the name—**Everlasting**. However, an essential oil is produced in Yugoslavia and France from various species of **Helichrysum**, particularly from **Helichrysum Orientale**, which is originated in Asia Minor and the neighboring Mediterranean countries and islands. The essential oil is listed in this work under **Helichrysum Oil. **It was not until extraction began to be practiced on a large scale in Grasse and other perfume centers that this flower became available for the perfumers in the form of concrètes and absolutes. **Concrète of Immortelle **is prepared from the flowers by extraction with benzene, gasoline or petroleum ether. The concrète is an olive-green (benzene-extracted) to dark brown, semi-solid mass of waxy consistency. Its odor is entirely different from that of the essential oil, although there are certain mutual features: it is intensely sweetherbaceous, coumarinic, honeylike, slightly woody- floral with a peculiar licorice-like undertone. The heavy and fruity sweetness is sometimes compared to that of blackcurrant preserve and to the odor of elderflowers. The concrète usually carries some odor of the solvent. **Absolute**** **of **Immortelle**** **is a semi-liquid oil or a very viscous liquid, olive-green to dark brown in color. The odor is as above described, but less waxy than the odor of the concrète, more refined- sweet and extremely tenacious. The yield of absolute from the concrète is very good, and this fact makes the material even more interesting from the economic aspect. As a peculiarity, it should be mentioned that **Absolute of Immortelle **usually contains significant amounts of tannin, a material rarely found in flower extracts. Tannin is liable to discolor in contact with iron and other metals which are present in trace amounts in many essential oils, etc. (e.g. copaiba, patchouli, vetiver). **Everlasting Absolute **is used in perfumery for its deep-sweet, honeylike, tobacco-like notes, and for its great fixative effect. Although it cannot possibly exert a true physical fixation at the normal use concentration (fractions of one percent in the perfume oil), the absolute has an extraordinary ability of rounding off and "bouquetting' a fragrance which may need life and naturalness. It blends well with coumarin, flouve, lavender, lavandin, sage clary, citrus oils, linalool, rose bases, phenylethyl alcohol, Peru balsam oil, clove bud oil, etc. Its effect in rose bases and heavy-floral Oriental fragrances can be quite unique and successful. It is used in certain fruit flavors and tobacco flavors. **Everlasting Absolute **is produced in France. Italy, Yugoslavia and Spain. The three former countries often extract two or more species of helichrysum, while Spain mainly extracts the **Helichrysum**** ****Stoechas**** **which gives a sharper, more fruity-rosy smelling absolute, probably due **to**** **the presence of nonyl acetate. The annual world production of Everlasting Absolute is about 100 to 150 kilos. See also **Helichrysum**** ****Kilimandjarum**** **and **Helichrysum**** ****Oil.**