Benzoin Tears

Benzoin

Benzoin is mainly harvested in Laos. Laos was once called the land of a million elephants. Laos has the scent of a virgin land. As the French writer Jean Ajalbert wrote in 1991, "Over there, time is all of a piece, like the seamless cloth that women wrap around their loins, like the loose scarf across their chest. It merges with space. It is nothing but sunshine, large and small moons, like a river without banks.”

One of the riches of Laos is benzoin. Each year, the country produces about 50 tons of it. It is found mainly in the north, in the province of Phôngsali, a mountainous region with immense forests. This is where the benzoin people live. Two thirds is exported to Europe.

 

A little history of benzoin

It was discovered scientifically in 1853 by Garcia de Orta. In ancient times, its aromatic scented wood was carried and burned in houses to purify the atmosphere, attract positive vibrations and ward off undesirable beings and creatures. Benzoin is used to make incense, whether in the churches of Russia or other Orthodox communities, in the Arabian Gulf countries, in India etc. This resin was burnt on coals. The tears of benzoin develop a very sweet fragrance, which is very popular in Buddhist temples where it is used like incense in Catholic churches. In short, benzoin was long considered a variety of incense or myrrh and a precious substance.

 

 

Benefits of benzoin

Benzoin is used in the composition of balms with healing and antiseptic properties. It perfumes Botot water, a mouthwash used by Louis XV.

Baume de la Ferté, created in 1830 by Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain, was initially designed for the cracks in the breasts of his wife who was breastfeeding. It is now recommended for the lips, as the mucous membrane of the lips is similar to that of the nipple. This balm is based on emollients and Bordeaux wine, which are very rich in tannins, thus healing, and in benzoin. It is now called: Superlips.

Benzoin also played a role in the treatment of lung diseases, used in fumigations and as an antiseptic. It cures cuts and skin irritations, also inflammation of the gums, combats rheumatism and blood poisoning.

It is the basis of the recipe for Papier d'Arménie, a secret recipe of benzoin and spices made in the Paris region. Its scent inspired an exclusive Guerlain perfume Bois d'Arménie.

 

Origin of benzoin

Benzoin is a balsamic resin. Also called gum or benzoin tear, it is secreted by the trunk of the styrax Tonkinensis, a member of the Styrae family. Benzoin is used to obtain benzoic acid.

 

There are different qualities of benzoin

• Laos benzoin, very high quality, has a vanilla note as well as a caramel note, without being too sweet, powdery and milky.
• Siamese benzoin is a variety much sought after by perfumers. It is very rare and therefore very expensive. It has a very present vanilla facet.
• There is also Sumatra benzoin, we find vanillin and cinnamic acid in the composition of benzoin.

Farmers start harvesting the trees at the age of 8 for Siam benzoin, compared to 25 years for Sumatra benzoin.

In perfumery, the gum is processed by extraction with volatile solvents to obtain benzoin absolute.

 

Harvesting benzoin

The resin is harvested by hand. The farmer climbs to the top of the tree with a makeshift ladder and, on the way down, he cuts into the bark of the trunk in several places to make the tree weep. This is why they are called benzoin tears. The voluntary incisions are made on the tree over a period of ten years. This exudation is white when liquid and turns yellow as it dries. When harvested, about 6 months later, it is already semi-solid. One tree yields 4 to 6 kg of resin or gum per year. The benzoin is then transported in jute bags to warehouses where it is processed like gold nuggets. Then it is cleaned and sorted (this job is done by women).

 

Olfactory description of benzoin

The benzoin note is very rich in facets: sweet vanilla, almond and roasted coffee, honeyed, floral (carnation), milky, liquorish, cocoa butter effect, slightly medicinal.

 

Perfumes containing a note of benzoin

Perfumes containing benzoin: Bois des Iles by Chanel, Habanita by Molinard, Opium by YSL, L'Eau by Diptyque, Serge Noire by Lutens, Terre by Hermès and many others.

It is also present in Shalimar, L'Heure Bleue, Lui, L'Instant by Guerlain, the latter was developed by me and Maurice Roucel, Bois d'Arménie was co-created with Annick Ménardo.

 

Sylvaine Delacourte perfumes

You can find a note of benzoin in Vanori from the Vanilla Collection and in Helicriss from the Musk Collection by Sylvaine Delacourte.

Discover Sylvaine Delacourte's brand with her Orange Blossom, Musk and Vanilla Collections. You can try them thanks to the Discovery Boxes (5 Eaux de Parfum x 2 ml) and rediscover these raw materials as you have never smelled them before.