Black spruce absolute

Deep green needles, balsamic resin, damp wood. Less camphoraceous than the oil. A softly sweet base with hints of jammy fruit and leather.

The IFRA standard "Pinacea derivatives" (specification, 1994) applies to materials from the pine family: they should only be used with peroxide levels kept as low as practicable, for example by adding antioxidants at production.

α-Pinene, β-pinene and limonene, common in pine family materials, are on the EU fragrance allergen list. They must be labelled above 0.001 percent in leave-on or 0.01 percent in rinse-off products.

Oxidised terpenes can form sensitising products. Store dark, sealed and cool with minimal headspace.

Black spruce is a conifer of the North American boreal forest, ranging from Alaska across Canada to the Great Lakes. The steam-distilled needle oil already has its own page in the library. The absolute is the solvent-extracted form and is less common.

Extraction has two steps. Needles and twigs are extracted with a non-polar solvent to give a concrete. The concrete is washed with ethanol, chilled to remove waxes and freed of alcohol to give the absolute.

Compared with the oil, the absolute keeps more heavy matter: diterpenes, resin acids, pigments and residual waxes. Its odour is rounder, less camphoraceous and slower to evaporate.

The composition of black spruce oil is well studied: bornyl acetate, camphene and α-pinene lead. Data specific to the absolute are rarely published; the supplier's certificate of analysis is the reference.

In perfumery, black spruce absolute gives a dark conifer note for fougères, chypres and forest accords. It links well with labdanum, cedarwood and leather notes.

As a pine family material, the absolute falls under the IFRA peroxide specification. Storage conditions decide how stable a lot remains.