Thursday, July 05, 2012

Tonalide

I'm fascinated by Tonalide, and I've also had a couple glasses of wine, which as we all know, is the only way I can post anymore (this makes me like Courtney Love, right? Please tell me it makes me like Courtney Love! And on a related note, WOW! It's amazing how having to switch back and forth from the foreign keyboard you use at work and the American one you use at home [U!S!A! U!S!A!!!!!] will make you feel like a total RETARD!!!!!!]), so I'm posting. Umm, yeah.  So... Tonalide.  Does anyone else out there feel like it 'pushes up' a fragrance?  We all know I dabble, folks, and I prefer to dabble with pre-made scents, since it's both so hard to get perfumer's alcohol and commercial scents already have all the desirable additives.... Anyway, when I add Tonalide, it just seems to push up everything. It adds a sweet, fruity volume to everything.  And I mean VOLUME.  When I first used it, I noticed that it added a drydown very much like Downy fabric softener.  Now when I add it I realize that I can smell everything better, as if I'f turned up the volume on everything and added a fruity sweet thing underneath.  Does anyone else have this experience? If so/not, what do you find DOES 'turn up the volume' on stuff? I would hope that Cosmone would, as it's supposed to add 'cosmetic volume,' but who would know, since it's so expensive?? Velvione does not, but it adds a great, antiquated, face-powder feel. Exaltolide seems to just enhance things overall, but not really push them up. Galaxolide gives things a Tresor like feel. I can't figure out what Celestolide does. Ambrettolide seems to give a tartness, but I'm not sure what I would add it to. So what does Tonalide do? Does anyone out there find it does anything special?

5 comments:

MassimoV said...

Hi! I really like your blog! About Tonalide: I feel it more woody-dry, musty and ambrette seed-like! I think differences may dipend on suppliers... I quite like it. About Celestolide: it is similar to Tonalide to me, but with a cosmetic, oily, powdery and fresher facet. Less woody. I prefer it to Tonalide. I love Velvione! It is quite similar to musk ketone and as you said it has that 'antiquated' classical chypre shape. It is powdery and a bit fruity. Again on Tonalide, I used it for an animalic musk base. It is just beautiful, with its woody, earthy undertones. And about Ethylene Brassylate? What do you think?
Kindly,
Andrea from France

Ed said...

Thanks for your comment! :)

The more I tinker with Tonalide, the more dry I find it. I think the fruitiness I perceived in it must be the ambrette nuance. It's definitely dry and very 'laundry like' in a sense, but that has its place. I think it's rather versatile.

I have some Celestolide on order, since I'm intrigued by this idea of 'brightening' a fragrance, which I think you refer to as its fresher facet. I'm going to dilute it in alcohol this time and put it on my skin to see if I can perceive it better. Sometimes I think that repeated exposure to these kinds of aromachems makes them easier to perceive. I can to some degree smell Exaltolide and ambroxan at 100% now--before I couldn't.

I'm liking Velvione too, and I think it's supposed to have this exalting quality after all, so I'm experimenting more with it. I have a little blend of just musks that I spray on regularly--it's now got Cosmone, Velvione, Exaltolide, Habanolide, an ambrette replacer and possibly maybe a (whispered) nitro(!), but them it's just for my own use.

I think that Habanolide may still be my favorite, though, because of that great hot-ironed fabric feel.

Everyone likes ethylene brassylate, I think. I like it--it's nice, a bit floral I think. I'm not sure that I get the blackberry facet that people talk about.

I have some Cervolide on order if I can ever remember to go to the bank and make the transfer, and I really want to smell Traesolide. I wish I knew where I could find Romandolide.

And of course, there are other musks that I would like to experience: Serenolide, Nirvanolide, l-muscone. And Exaltone, which I think is related to something from the muskrat? Originally I thought it was the same as Exaltolide, but apparently it's not. Who knew?!

MassimoV said...

About ambroxan at 100%: me too, at first I could not really perceive it, now I've become rather sensitive to it at any dilution. About Okoumal: i can't smell it at all. But if I heat a drop on a flame I can perceive it very well! It's amazing. Which are your suppliers? I buy from de hekserij, tpa, perfumers world (although I don't really like their service) and lothar streeck. About the last one: I discovered it only 1 month ago and it seems they have a wide assortment of interesting materials (I bought Damascenone Total, that is surprisingly beautiful). Do you know if they have in stock other materials than those published on their website?

Ed said...

Hmmm. I used to have some Okoumal, and I think that I could smell it at 100%, but it just smelled like all the other woodambers that I had--Timberol, Karanal, etc. I couldn't tell the differences well.

Oddly, I can't smell raspberry ketone at 100%. Or very much in a blend. I have to try some of that again and dilute it. Can you smell it 100%?

My suppliers are pretty much the same as yours, except for Perfumer's World, who I've never ordered from. I've also ordered from Olfactik and Omicron in Germany. I discovered Lothar Streeck too about a month ago and actually made an order, but I STILL haven't been able to get to the bank to transfer the money. I hope they haven't canceled my order. I love that I can get Cervolide (which I've not smelled) and musk R1 (which I have) there. And, of course, Triplal, which is one of my favorite smells.

I think the Perfumer's Apprentice may have more than what's on the site, but I don't know about the others. I don't know any of them well enough.

You should email me! It's firstnamelastname at, and then gmail and dot com. I hope that was clear enough so you know the email but vague enough so robots don't pick it up. :P

Ed said...
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