Absolute
An absolute is a concentrated aromatic extract. Learn how it is made, how it differs from essential oil and concrete, and what the name tells you about scent.
Updated
An absolute is a concentrated aromatic material obtained by refining an extract, commonly a concrete, with alcohol. Much of the wax is separated out and the alcohol is removed, leaving a material used as an ingredient in perfume.
Rose and jasmine absolutes are familiar examples. An absolute and a distilled oil from the same plant can smell different because the processes select different mixtures of compounds. Neither method automatically produces the better scent.
“Absolute” describes a type of raw material, not the strength of a finished perfume. A perfume named Absolu or Absolute is not necessarily made entirely from absolutes; check what the maker means.
- Concrete
- A fragrant, waxy extract that can be processed further into an absolute.
- Alcohol washing
- A refining step used to separate aromatic material from much of the wax in the initial extract.
- Essential oil
- An aromatic material obtained by distillation or, for many citrus peel oils, expression.
- Consistency
- Absolutes can be liquid, thick or partly solid. Appearance alone does not identify their purity or quality.
- Finished perfume
- A formula in which an absolute may be one ingredient. A raw absolute is not automatically ready for direct skin use.