Gardenia Solid Perfume A.K.A.: Gardenia Body Butter Constituents: Gardenia Essential Oil in Palm Oil Botanical Name: Gardenia jasminoides (Gardenia) Botanical Name: Elaeis guineensis (Palm Oil) Origin: South America Cultivation: Organic Method of Extraction: Enfleurage Gardenia Source: Flower Petals Palm Oil Source: Fruit of the oil palm Note: Osmically Balanced (contains Top, Middle & Base Notes) - can be worn alone as perfume Aroma: Rich, Heady, Sweet, Floral Gardenia Main Chemical Components: Benzyl acetate with phenyl acetate, linalol, linalyl acetate, terpineol, methyl anthranilate, et. al. Palm Kernel Main Chemical Components: glyceryl laurate (0.1%, myristate (0.1%), palmitate (44%), stearate (5%, oleate (39%), linoleate (10%), and linolenate (0.3%). Properties: Solid Perfume / Body Butter Online Shop: Gardenia Solid Perfume Note: Purchase made from Artisan Aromatics' Cart

Description and Uses: Our organic Gardenia Solid Perfume / Body Butter is very rare. In fact, we cannot find anyone else anywhere who sells it. This Gardenia Body Butter is created as the middle step of Enfleurage. Rub just a dab on wrist, behind ear or at nape of neck to experience the sensual aroma of pure organic Gardenias. The entire process of producing these solid perfumes (we have Tuberose body butter too) is done by hand using no heat and no chemical solvents. Pure local palm oil is used to absorb the aromatic oils from the flower petals and once the palm oil is completely saturated with the essence of the flower it becomes a "body butter" aka "solid perfume". To produce the essential oil, one would continue the process of Enfleurage by separating the Palm Oil from the Gardenia oil by mixing in cane sugar alcohol to which the essential oils migrate. The palm oil is removed. Then the alcohol is evaporated leaving only the Gardenia oil. The process is quite labor intensive and requires many pounds of flower petals per ml of oil but the results are astounding. If you close your eyes and sniff the aroma of the oil, it cannot be differentiated from the actual flower. For a more complete description of the process, go to our web page: Enfleurage Note: More information on our organic Gardenia oil is Continued Below. Order Essential Oils, Base Oils, Diffusers, etc.: Online Shop

Gardenia is one of the most precious oils in the world and known for its heavenly aroma and fragrance. During the extraction process, fresh, fully opened flowers are plucked from the Gardenia plant and carefully laid on trays covered with a layer of palm oil. The essential oils from the flower petals slowly migrate to the palm oil and the process is repeated until the palm oil is completely saturated with the oil of the Gardenia. Then the Gardenia oil is separated from the palm oil by alcohol which then evaporated leaving only the pure Gardenia oil, i.e., Gardenia Essential Oil.

Gardenia cannot be distilled like most essential oils due to the delicate nature of the flowers. Enfleurage was the traditional method of extraction used into the early 20th century but solvent extraction using hexane has virtually replaced enfleurage, except, of course, for our own Gardenia Essential Oil. Solvent extracted Gardenia, called an "absolute", is used extensively by the perfume industry but, again, not by us (no chemicals are used to extract the that we sell). Either method (enfleurage or solvent extraction) is time consuming and oil yields are quite small for the amount of materials used. Now, the most commonly found Gardenia used by the perfume industry is entirely synthetic and has no healing properties whatsoever. As a perfume, Gardenia is often enjoyed as a single-flower oil since the rich, warm, heady floral aroma produced from the flowers is considered osmically balanced (like Carnation and Lavender). which means that their floral compounds are perfectly balanced, containing a top, middle, and base note.

The Gardenia jasminoides species is the most common of these fragile plants and material from dried Gardenia flower petals is commonly used in Chinese herbal medicine. Its Chinese name is zhi zi. The traditional medicinal actions attributed to gardenia include calming irritability; cooling blood and clearing away heat (a yin/yang imbalance often characterized by deficient yin); reducing swelling; and moving stagnant blood that has congealed in one place, usually following trauma. Gardenia is considered to be very effective as a hemostatic agent, which means that it stops bleeding; and also effective in treating injuries to the muscles, joints, and tendons. Gardenia is commonly used in Chinese herbal formulas to treat infections, particularly bladder infections; abscesses; jaundice; and blood in the urine, sputum, or stool. Because of its perceived ability to ease agitation or irritability, it is also used in formulas to treat anxiety or insomnia. It is also helpful in correcting menopausal imbalances reflected in insomnia and depression, nervous tension, headache, and dizziness.

It is important to remember that Chinese herbal medicine is based upon individual prescriptions developed for each patient and their unique symptoms. Chinese herbs should not be taken, either individually or in formulas, unless a practitioner of Chinese herbal medicine is first consulted.

The United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service phytochemical and ethnobotanical database lists Gardenia jasminoides as having specific medicinal properties. This gardenia has been found to be helpful in the treatment of pain, nose bleeds, fever, and influenza; in healing wounds and reducing swelling; and in treating mastitis, hepatitis and the hematuria that accompanies bladder infection.

Parts of the above "More Info" was derived from an online article: Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, Apr 06, 2001 by Joan Schonbeck.

Safety Considerations:

• Do not take essential oils internally.
• Do not apply to eyes, sensitive areas or mucous membranes.
• Do not apply undiluted to skin (for directions on proper dilution refer to an aromatherapy text).
• The information on this website is not intended to diagnose or prescribe.
• Pregnant women, nursing mothers and children should not use essential oils without first consulting an appropriately trained healthcare practitioner.
• The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the FDA.