Harvesting and distilling organic ylang ylang in Madagascar. Video from Aura Cacia.
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Cool! This reminds me (sneaking in a question). Dying to find out which AG scent is ylang-prominent. I remember being in Bloomingdale’s a few years ago, and one of the SAs was spraying an AG on cards and handing them out. I dismissed it cause I already had a bottle of Guerlain’s Ylang & Vanille and didn’t want another ylang scent…but I no longer have the Y&V, and am craving ylang!!!! Help!!! I could have sworn it was in a purple bottle, but Mandragore smells nothing like ylang. Can’t for the life of me figure out what it was…and there aren’t any shops nearby that sell AG…
Also, are there any other non-AG ylang scents that might satisfy my crazing? Perhaps I should search around for another Y&V bottle…
Crazing!? Ha. That about sums it up.
Guessing Songes?
But adding that so far as I know, Songes was never in a purple bottle…
Have you tried the ELPC Amber Ylang Ylang?
Haven’t! Not a big amber fan. What’s it like?
I’m not the best one to ask… I do like amber, and I only sniffed it once in passing. It was just the first thing that came to mind. I did think it was nice, and meant to give it a skin test at some point, but haven’t gotten back to it yet.
AG Passion is also very high in ylang-ylang. Don’t know about the purple bottle, though.
I love these videos – thanks for posting them, Robin.
I love them too! And wish there were more high-quality raw materials videos, or that I could find them. Will keep looking…
Thanks for the continuing search, R. I just love this kind of thing — it’s embarrassing to realize, now that I’ve seen this great vid, that I’ve never actually seen a ylang ylang blossom in “real life” before. I love exploring terroir and culture, whether it’s to do with wine, food or fragrance, and the sustainability angle was an added treat.
For those asking about a good ylang ylang scent, Parfumerie Generale’s Ilang Ivohibe is very nice — also nice that Ivohibe refers to the region of central Madagascar where Pierre Guillaume has sourced the main ingredient. Perfect! I’m going to go spritz some on right now . . .
So, what are the men doing?
Watching this makes me think ylang oil should be much more expensive. ..
Beats me! But this is true in so many parts of the world…the flowers are harvested by the women.
Now there’s something to write about…
There are probably not too many women chopping down trees to harvest cedar and sandalwood oils.