Product Overview
The aroma of Atlas Cedarwood Absolute is sweet, balsamic, dry, woody, warm, and resinous with notes of apricot liqueur. It is unparalleled in its depth, more voluptuous than the essential oil, and destined to be a rare gem for use in natural perfumes as well as scented anointments. The woody aroma is one that perfumers often describe as ‘masculine’, although in fact it appeals to all genders. And because Cedarwood’s warm, embracing fragrance has a profoundly soulful quality, it is often found in more introspective, personal perfumes and in meditation blends. In dilution, the aroma is wonderful on its own, or as a superb fixative in floral perfume blends.
Revered for millennia, Atlas Cedarwood has been used for building ships, shrines, and bath houses, as well as in cosmetics, and perfumery; it is also considered to be one of the earliest incense materials [1] Impressive Cedrus atlantica forests once blanketed the high mountains of North Africa, but harvesting the timber has nearly brought the tree to its knees in countries like Algeria, where fires and unregulated cutting resulted in a steep decline in their population and range. We source from a supplier who procures wood shavings and sawdust from which this absolute is solvent extracted. More importantly, as a by-product of the strictly controlled logging industry, no trees are cut to produce it.[2] Ensuring the sustainability of vulnerable biological species is a very important aspect that we consider when sourcing our oils.
1 Davis, Patricia. Aromatherapy – An A-Z, 1988, pp. 71-2.
2 Industry communication.
3 Arctander, Steffen. Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, 1960, pp. 139-40.
4 Tisserand, Robert and Rodney Young. Essential Oil Safety, 2nd ed., 2014, p. 238.