What Sort Of Sandalwood Oil For Mask Grains? Any Particular Vendor ?

[Edward Muller]

Hey everyone
Recently I have got my curiosity raised about musk after trying Yaqoot from ASO.
Have read a lot of the threads here with loads of useful information.
If I understand correctly - I shouldn’t attempt to heat the (cleaned) musk grain sandalwood mixture and just let time do the job. Minimum of 6-12 months, and shake the mix regularly to help with the process. 30% -40% of musk in terms of ratio.
Mysore sandalwood should be used - but I would like to know, if there’s one from a particular vendor I should look for? Looking at RRP’s Etsy store, he has at least 2 Mysore on offer. Both are fairly young, but with two different labels. Resinous and Woody.
Obviously I am not going to make a large batch, just something small for personal experimental and exploration purposes.
Thanks in advance !

Ed

 

[Arsalan]

I too have been interested in this, however did not get around to actually getting musk grains. Instead ended up getting some already macerated.
However, based on all my reading on the forum, one highly recommended, including by @Rai Munir is IO’s Mysuru 2002. Also their 2014 Mysore, which is exceptional value for the money could be considered...
Another, more expensive but an excellent hydrodistilled (as opposed to steam distilled) option would be the sandal oils by @tyson...oils may be young, but the woods old...
But i am sure members with more experience like @Rai Munir & @Faheem will advise you as to what might be best.

 

[Edward Muller]

Great ! Thank you ! Will get something from IO

 

[Rai Munir]

@Edward Muller
The maceration can be heated. It is not something undesirable at all, especially when Oud is there. Though I avoid heating in all cases, especially if grains are macerated in Santal. A newbie gets hasty. So, if it really happens, heat the maceration for some days. Better use a mug warmer then.

I used five to seven different Santal oils in different macerations. The best Santal oil, in my view, is IO' Mysore Santal 2002. It doesn't mean other available oils are not good.

Tyson's Celestial Gold is exceptional for maceration, even better than Inkenyazi.

Shaking and stirring the bottle is recommended by everybody. Well, I found shaking the bottle twice or thrice a day is enough. The only thing that does matter is patience. One must stay calm after macerating grains in oil. Of course, the amount and quality of grains are important factors.

Respected Sir, one thing for sure, the maceration you will create on your own will be thousands times better than any other available on the market. The reason will be the amount of grains. Musk tincture can give just one per cent of Musk Santal maceration.

PS: Four months before I acquired IO's Mysore Santal 2014. I macerated Musk and Ambergris in this Santal. Well, you will love this maceration because Ambergris complements this Santal with particular woody citrus-y profile.

 

[Edward Muller]

@Edward Muller
The maceration can be heated. It is not something undesirable at all, especially when Oud is there. Though I avoid heating in all cases, especially if grains are macerated in Santal. A newbie gets hasty. So, if it really happens, heat the maceration for some days. Better use a mug warmer then.

I used five to seven different Santal oils in different macerations. The best Santal oil, in my view, is IO' Mysore Santal 2002. It doesn't mean other available oils are not good.

Tyson's Celestial Gold is exceptional for maceration, even better than Inkenyazi.

Shaking and stirring the bottle is recommended by everybody. Well, I found shaking the bottle twice or thrice a day is enough. The only thing that does matter is patience. One must stay calm after macerating grains in oil. Of course, the amount and quality of grains are important factors.

Respected Sir, one thing for sure, the maceration you will create on your own will be thousands times better than any other available on the market. The reason will be the amount of grains. Musk tincture can give just one per cent of Musk Santal maceration.

PS: Four months before I acquired IO's Mysore Santal 2014. I macerated Musk and Ambergris in this Santal. Well, you will love this maceration because Ambergris complements this Santal with particular woody citrus-y profile.

Thank you dear Rai for sharing your wisdom and experience. I will practice patience and not heat the maceration at all.
I have just acquired some Mysore Santal oil - and hopefully I can start the process as soon as all components have arrived (musk grains as well as Santal).
Am I correct to assume that it is better to macerate 1g of Santal oil (instead of 3g) as it will reduce “wastage” in case of undesirable outcome ?
Also I just needed one point for clarification - when it is 30% (which I suppose it is a safe number) - is it 30% of the full composition or is it 30% in relation to sandalwood? (does it mean 0.3g of grains in 0.7g of oil ? Or is it 0.3g of grains in 1g of oil?)

Finally (I apologize for all the questions) - just out of curiosity does it make a difference if i mix two different aged macerations of different grains vs macerating two types of grains in the same oil? I would imagine the outcome should be similar ?

Thank you for your patience and guidance !

 

[Edward Muller]

PS: Four months before I acquired IO's Mysore Santal 2014. I macerated Musk and Ambergris in this Santal. Well, you will love this maceration because Ambergris complements this Santal with particular woody citrus-y profile.

May I know what type of Ambergris? And is there any special treatment for the ambergris prior maceration? And any ratio suggestions ?

 

[Rai Munir]

Thank you dear Rai for sharing your wisdom and experience. I will practice patience and not heat the maceration at all.
I have just acquired some Mysore Santal oil - and hopefully I can start the process as soon as all components have arrived (musk grains as well as Santal).
Am I correct to assume that it is better to macerate 1g of Santal oil (instead of 3g) as it will reduce “wastage” in case of undesirable outcome ?
Also I just needed one point for clarification - when it is 30% (which I suppose it is a safe number) - is it 30% of the full composition or is it 30% in relation to sandalwood? (does it mean 0.3g of grains in 0.7g of oil ? Or is it 0.3g of grains in 1g of oil?)
Thank you for your patience and guidance !

You are always welcome, dear Edward. In fact respected members shared and share their experiences to me, and then what I learnt from my experiences as well, I posted that here. I always seek guidance from respected Faheem regarding Musk grains. He has vision in this connection. And technique is to be learnt from respected Al Shareef Oudh.

It is a wise decision to start from 1 ml. 0.3 g in 1 ml is a huge amount. It can be reduced, if you want to.

Finally (I apologize for all the questions) - just out of curiosity does it make a difference if i mix two different aged macerations of different grains vs macerating two types of grains in the same oil? I would imagine the outcome should be similar ?

Macerating different Musk grains in different Santal oils is what I love the most. And then blending different Musk macerations gives another divine twist to fragrance. But blending Musk maceration oil in some Santal again needs time to orchestrate.
The best result I have got from different Musk grains is by using only one Santal oil. If two Santal oils are to be mixed, both must be of the same quality. Suppose blending IO's Mysore 2002 and Mysore 2014 is initiated, the difference can be there for long. Two different trails can easily be sensed till end. But if IO's Mysore 2002 and Tyson's Mysore can be mixed, the result will be outstanding. This is my personal experience. Yet I must say different Musk grains in one Santal is the safest path.

You are very much right to think so that the difference must be there. Yes, a big big difference is there.

Dear Edward, it is not a kind of guidance. I just shared what time made me learn. These are musings of an amateur.

 

[Rai Munir]

May I know what type of Ambergris? And is there any special treatment for the ambergris prior maceration? And any ratio suggestions ?

I have the one whose aroma is animalic salty. No tinge of sweetness that I always find in white Ambergris. So far as the treatment prior to maceration goes, NONE, except making it powdery. Nothing else. But one thing I did. First, I macerated Ambergris in Santal, and heated it on the mug warmer. After a week I macerated Musk grains. Now bottles are in the cupboard. I shake the bottles after three days.

Below is the picture of Musk maceration in approximately 1 ml Santal. These are all in Tyson's Santal oils. Just one vial is in which I mixed Tyson and IO's Santals. I deliberately macerated less grains to see the magic of Tyson's Santal in Musk.

 

[Edward Muller]

You are always welcome, dear Edward. In fact respected members shared and share their experiences to me, and then what I learnt from my experiences as well, I posted that here. I always seek guidance from respected Faheem regarding Musk grains. He has vision in this connection. And technique is to be learnt from respected Al Shareef Oudh.

It is a wise decision to start from 1 ml. 0.3 g in 1 ml is a huge amount. It can be reduced, if you want to.

Macerating different Musk grains in different Santal is what I love the most. And then blending different Musk macerations give another divine twist to fragrance. But blending Musk maceration oil in some Santal again needs time to orchestrate.
The best result I have got from different Musk grains in only one Santal oil. If two Santal oils are to be mixed, both must be of the same quality. Suppose blending IO's Mysore 2002 and Mysore 2014 is initiated, the difference can be there for long. Two different trails can easily be sensed till end. But if IO's Mysore 2002 and Tyson's Mysore can be mixed, and the result will be outstanding. This is my personal experience. Yet I must say different Musk grains in one Santal is the safest path.

You are very much right to think so that the difference must be there. Yes, a big big difference is there.

Dear Edward, it is not a kind of guidance. I just shared what time made me learn. These are musings of an amateur.

Dear Rai, you are always so humble! These findings and knowledge of yours mean so much to someone who's just starting to experimenting with marceration! I think I would have gone down the heating route if it wasn't for reading your posts and musings! I think I will start with 1g of sandal, with 0.3g of musk grains (but subject to how much the 0.3g look about the liquid haha)- I figured if the scent is too strong, I could later add some more of the same sandal to dilute the ratio.

Great tips on the importance of the quality of the sandal when it comes to mixing two different macerations - I would have never expected that! I would have thought eventually the mix (in your example 2002 and 2014) the aroma would just become one with different nuances and make it even more complex - obviously not the case here !

Regarding ambergris - do you have a bench mark in terms of qty to put in 1g sandalwood oil?

Always a pleasure reading your replies!

 

[DubOudh]

Dear Rai, you are always so humble! These findings and knowledge of yours mean so much to someone who's just starting to experimenting with marceration! I think I would have gone down the heating route if it wasn't for reading your posts and musings! I think I will start with 1g of sandal, with 0.3g of musk grains (but subject to how much the 0.3g look about the liquid haha)- I figured if the scent is too strong, I could later add some more of the same sandal to dilute the ratio.

Great tips on the importance of the quality of the sandal when it comes to mixing two different macerations - I would have never expected that! I would have thought eventually the mix (in your example 2002 and 2014) the aroma would just become one with different nuances and make it even more complex - obviously not the case here !

Regarding ambergris - do you have a bench mark in terms of qty to put in 1g sandalwood oil?

Always a pleasure reading your replies!

I too am wondering of the same thing. Perhaps the ambergris amount is smaller then the musk amount?