Perfumery Basics: Diluting Benzoin Absolute - It's Pretty Easy!

A quick test demo on how to dilute benzoin absolute (rocks) to 50% in Ethyl (Ethanol) Alcohol, to see how long it really takes without using heat, and minimal stirring.
SPOILER ALERT: its pretty darn easy! :)
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BK SCENTS :)

[@laurenbray8314]

Please keep making these kinds of video's! There isn't much of this type of content out there and I really appreciate it as someone who's also learning diy perfumery.

[@bkscents7050]

The lack of this kind of content is exactly why I started this channel. I'm gonna keep it going for sure!!😎

[@backupnhhealing7140]

@@bkscents7050 thanks so much, keep the great job!

[@MohamedAhmed-gf2sy]

Your Channel is elite, you’ve inspired me to fully take up perfumery with the chemistry knowledge that I have. Your raw material video inspired me.

[@Mustafa-Aketi]

Thanks for useful information. Also appreciate for your other videos which are very educative for beginners.

[@NicoHeinrich]

This is such a cool money saver - thanks so much!

[@topnotesfragrance]

Great video as always! Im getting some benzoin and opponax soon so I'll document my experience!

[@amazonamazon4872]

Be mindful of opoponax, make sure it says absolute, if you buy it in raw form, it wont dilute because its an oleoresin, youll be left with a tincture and a gum like material afterward youll have to filter.

[@warriorsgreatness6182]

Appreciate your videos. Always educational, informational. Mucho Gracias

[@cognoscenti777]

Thank you! This definitely seems the best way to work with Benzoin for perfumery? I am a noob at perfume and just bought some thick syrupy Benzoin oil. My first 🤔🤨 instinct however, was to buy the resin chunks and dissolve them into my 200% perfumers alcohol 😅 which I should have done! The thick benzoin oil I have is not dissolving properly in my alcohol and leaving a sticky film on the walls of my mixing or glass bottles😮 I hope that dissolves eventually. I should've just gone with my initial idea to soak the resin rocks in the alc. 🙄 thank you for posting this and showing how easy it is to make an Absolute with Benzoin.

[@linapurba]

WOW!. Thank you. I should try that. My family grew benzoin and we sell raw benzoin all the time. I've been thinking to find out how I can extract or dilute it. Very interesting.

[@vinr1187]

Great again. We used to burn it as an incense. What do you think of the smell when used as a blend ??

[@Kalembastudioart]

Thank you for your videos and knowledge.

[@andrewh175]

I saw the Kris Angel magic show in Las Vegas and he couldn’t even do this trick :) But I sat next to Paul Stanley from Kiss actually, which was cool. I’ve never diluted benzoin but labdanum is a nightmare.

[@bkscents7050]

labdanum isnt so bad if ya heat it up prior...I just did it yesterday actually! :)

[@AidaShtino]

Thank you very much for this video. I wanted to ask you, apart from benzoin from other flowers that are not distilled, how can we build an absolute in the same way or not?

[@Prabhath_the_Dawn]

Could you please advise how I could blend benzoin essential oil (pure, its very resinous and thick to the point where it sticks to hand and very difficult to get rid off easily, unless we use ethyl alcohol to clean it) I love the aroma of benzoin styrax (from South East Asia) and I'm planning to make my own perfume with a blend with Indian frankincense (Boswillia Serata)

[@loganjohnson4257]

Hey BK! Me again haha. So I’m confused. I bought a bunch of dpg from creating perfume based off most good scents recommendations on a majority of raw materials. Some people I’ve asked say to use alcohol or tec( Idk what this is) instead. That they only use dpg for powders and now I’m really confused. How do I know what solvent to dilute what materials in?? Did I just buy a bunch of stuff I shouldn’t have? Also I think you have a video of diluting thicker materials that need heated but not sure which one it is. Any help muchos appreciatos

[@MissConnieFung]

Thank you for making the video. Much appreciated. Are there any different types of benzoin resin for perfume making? I noticed that the benzoin from different suppliers sell different benzoin resin in different colours, but the price points are similar from one another.

[@bkscents7050]

Well there are many types of benzoin.....sumatra, styrax, tonkenisis, siam.. ...they all have a slight difference on what part is extracted or where it comes from and it gets confusing. Raw benzoin rocks are actually multi colored from yellowish brown to orange. The most common is probably 'styrax tonkenisis' it someone is referring to regular ol' benzoin.

[@MissConnieFung]

@@bkscents7050 Thank you for getting back to me. So... Can I use the Vodka or Perfume alcohol to dissolve other type of resins as well (such as Frankincense, Myrrh, Peru Balsam or Tolu Balsam)? If so, what percentages of ethenal alcohol should I dilute them each?

[@bkscents7050]

Use perfume alcohol (ethanol/ethyl). If you are diluting pure absolutes, I'd dilute them to 50% so it's easier to draw with a pipette. Then make a separate solution down to 5 or 10% and use that as your "working/tinkering" solution for trial blending on your perfume batches.

[@chrolver]

Ehi BK your videos are really helpful. I have a question: could I do the same with frankincense resinoid?

[@bkscents7050]

Absolutely! All my resinoids and super thick, pasty materials i dilute down for easier application with a pipette

[@chrolver]

@@bkscents7050 thank you BK ❤️

[@msmiismail]

Hello. Would Benzoin dissolve in Isopropyl Alcohol? And would the smell of the alcohol over power the scent of the Benzoin? Or will it be more of the Benzoin scent?

[@cooking4beginners590]

Thanks BK for sharing this vedio. Is this benzoin that you used the same as benzoin resin (I believed they got it from Summtrah)? And can we use it in designing our perfumes ? Since in our countries we burn benzoin resin to give nice smell in the house

[@bkscents7050]

This benzoin is Styrax Tonkinesis, and yes....we can use this in perfumery and is very, very common.

[@Hardship-and-Succes]

Hi friend. Could i blend this with essential oils ? Will this holds up in my blend ?

[@cg8330]

good video from where i can buy benzoin in this form ?

[@thepoet8406]

I have Benzoin Oil, it's very very thick, how I can dilute it? how long do I need to heat it up and what is the percentage of Ethylene to use?

[@originalsupermommy]

Easy! I followed along, just waiting on my 10% solution to dissolve so I can finish up the 1%. Very cool vid!

[@bkscents7050]

Exciting isn't it! It will all disolve pretty quickly actually. Just give it a few swirls every 5 min

[@ShazebkhanALRA]

Thanks brother 👍

[@jimmatrix7244]

Can this solution be used as flux for soldering?

[@margiemurphy3216]

Where did you source the benzoine resin at that price?

[@jeanellstarr4949]

can you tell me how to make amber resin?

[@kingsolomon5278]

Can this be diffused ??

[@mrjohny2993]

How to get rid of color and get a transparent perfume ?

[@alemari3547]

Is it possible to dilute styrax resinoid in dpg ?

[@TheBuduig]

Isn't 50% dilution too strong at the end for the final juice? Or you did this ratios just for this example? What is normally the dilution ratio you use for final juice that you will use in the fragrance mix? And what ethanol % you use for dilution? Is it 96% or stronger? Thanks

[@bkscents7050]

I used 200 proof SD40B alcohol. 50% dilution was to just get the crystal rocks to liquify. You can further diluted this down to 10% if you find it too strong to use in your blends. When I use benzoin in a trial test fragrance formula, I usually use it at 5% dilution ratio....but I still keep a batch of it at 50% for larger volume fragrance blends.

[@TheBuduig]

@@bkscents7050 thanks

[@josedelgado8872]

@@bkscents7050 Hello! Can you please explain me the quantity of each components. The amount of stones and the amount of alcohol.

[@shathan007able]

@@josedelgado8872 5 grama of benzoin to 5 grams of perfumer alcohol

[@LauraIulianaJiga]

hi, can you recommend an ambergris equivalent- chemical as you are fan of :)? thanks a lot

[@bkscents7050]

There's so many....but as of lately I like combining Ambrox with tiny tiny amounts of a base called "Ambergris Essence" by Biolandes. Sometimes if I'm feeling crazy, I'll even add traces of Ambrinol 95 too. It depends if I'm going for a clean or really animalic ambergris accord.

[@leec1468]

Where u getting big bag of benzoin?

[@KevinSitumorang]

Hi, thank you for all the videos you uploaded, I'm just started my journey in perfumery. Can I ask a question? I've search everywhere but can't find a single answer. I have this benzoin material that is thick and sticky, when I dilute with alcohol, it doesn't dissolve. I've waited for days, but nothing change. Do you know how to dilute this? Thanks a lot, really appreciate if you can help it :) have a great day!

[@bkscents7050]

What kind of alcohol are you using? You should be using 190-200 proof. And sometimes it helps if you heat up the benzoin resin (while in a glass bottle) on a hot plate first to make it more mobile/liquid before diluting....it makes the process easier.

[@KevinSitumorang]

@@bkscents7050 thank you so much for answering me 🙏🏻 I'm using 96% alcohol. So can i put the benzoin while in glass bottle in a water that just boiled? And then mix it with alcohol?

[@KevinSitumorang]

Btw is there any link where u usually buy the alcohol? I want to know the specification, thanks

[@bkscents7050]

You don't even need to boil the bottle. The benzoin rocks will dissolve in the 96% alcohol just fine at room temperature

[@martinsteere6775]

I have Tonka bean absolute would this be the method I use to turn is into a liquid?

[@bkscents7050]

It sure is. Measure out on a scale 1 gram of the absolute, and put that in a beaker. Then add in 9 grams of ethyl alcohol to that......and BAM! You now have a working 10% solution of tonka abs

[@martinsteere6775]

@@bkscents7050 thank you so much I've been staring atcthe thing for 2 days lol.

[@MARTIN-hs2by]

You dilute absolutes in propilenglicol?

[@james555c]

Hey BK, I've been looking at getting some resins but I'm not entirely sure If the EO is better, what's your experience in quality?

[@bkscents7050]

And we talking about benzoin? Or just resins vs EO in general?

[@james555c]

@@bkscents7050 Both haha, I'm not an expert in distillation but I know that you lose heavier molecules when distilling, and for that reason, I'm just wondering if you can tell the difference between resins and the EO version. Hope that made sense

[@bkscents7050]

Ive never tried "distillation" yet. I just dilute Absolutes in ethyl alcohol. When it came to this Benzoin test in this video, I can certainly tell a difference between my end result, versus other retailers (Perfumers Apprentice, PSH, Pell Wall, etc) benzoin 50% products. But it isn't the difference in the way i dissolved/diluted it, the difference is in the lesser quality benzoin rocks I received. They were pretty cheap. My new benzoin dilution I made, while still is very usable...isn't as sweet as the retailers Benzoin 50% product. Mine has more of a mineral, dirtiness to it, but still very usable. But your question on "between resins and the EO versions", if you implying that resins being more purity/absolute, yes there is a big difference. Resins and absolutes are more pure, very strong/potent, most pure form you can get for perfumery. They almost always need to be diluted down in order to use them with a pipette. But with EOs, ..sometimes you cant even get a resin/absolute version of it. It really depends on the material.

[@james555c]

@@bkscents7050 Thanks a lot BK this is really helpful, I've been looking at benzoin, frankincense, and Elemi resins and it can get pretty overwhelming with all the variety I'm defiantly going to try this out now I think it's worth it especially the price difference

[@bkscents7050]

Robertet makes a really good frankincense called "boise de incense" and and elemi called "elemi heart". Both are EOs, affordable, and sold at perfumers apprentice and worth checking out and great to use for perfumery

[@mi-vy8xm]

is it 50% benzoin absolute and 100% ethanol?

[@dhperfumes3524]

Would you use the same technique to disolve Ethyl Maltal crystals? Or Ethyl Vanillin crystals?

[@bkscents7050]

Yeah, I dilute maltol or vanillin crystals with ethyl alcohol all the time....you just have to dilute it down to 10% to get it to be stable in alcohol. Anything higher and it will recrystallize in the bottle.

[@ModernBladesmith]

I crush mine and it takes like 2 hours no heat

[@NicoHeinrich]

Well, I tried it today and I have to say that the result is, if anything, a cheap natural fixative. Scentwise, the result is not even close to the Benzoin EO I own. This version is extremely sticky and has a very faint smell, compared to the EO. It seems that the steam distillation makes a huge difference, as it eliminates most of the sticky stuff and brings out the scent a lot more. What you have made in the video is a tincture at best. I also ordered Opoponax solids but I fear it will be the same with that ... :/

[@bkscents7050]

Interesting. Where did you get your benzoin rocks from? Mine came out exactly the same as the stuff i normally purchase from perfumers Apprentice: shop.perfumersapprentice.com/p-7732-benzoin-styrax-tonkinensis-50-alc.aspx

[@warhasfrankincense6898]

@@bkscents7050 oh.. you're using tonkinensis.. ok. i using Styrax Benzoin from Sumatra.

[@RFinkle2]

Styrax/benzoin have to be the most confusing substances to work with in perfumery, simply due to the interchangeable use of names. Confused, I had purchased what is often referred to as styrax but is actually liquidambar. I propose we use Latin names until we get common references sorted out

[@pangriboke4723]

hello friends what are the mixture to dissolve the benzoin thanks

[@bkscents7050]

In this video I used Ethyl Alcohol (200 proof), but Benzyl Benzoate is also another common material to dilute Benzoin in.

[@ad-wk2sc]

When you said 50%, do you mean the ratio? Benzoin : Alcohol is 1 : 1?

[@bkscents7050]

Correct....when used in weight

[@chrisbaritahn]

@@bkscents7050 so if we want it down to 10% the ratio between benzoin and alcohol become 1 : 9 ? or 1 : 10?

[@warhasfrankincense6898]

i have tried that way, but it will sticky as glue on your skin

[@altan3838]

thank yuo

[@oriehurst3568]

Can you do this with frankincense tears?

[@bkscents7050]

I haven't tried yet....but I don't see why not.

[@erich1394]

If my name were Ben, I'd definitely order Benzoin in Benzyl Benzoate

[@brucewayne375]

Where did you buy your benzoin from?

[@bkscents7050]

I got it from libertynatural.com They have a decent selection of oils and absolutes at very cheap prices 😀

[@brucewayne375]

BK Scents thanks!

[@Michelle-Eden]

Same as shellac flakes to varnish furniture.

[@bkscents7050]

:)

[@xoxUnD3R0aThxox]

hmm there are so many benzoins, so many different aromas and colors, what type of benzoin is this? are u sure it'ss benzoin?

[@bkscents7050]

This one was STYRAX TONKINESIS

[@vishal141280]

Supeebbbbbbbb🥰😍♥️🙏

[@jtbmetaldesigns]

This would be the exception not the rule. Most solids probably need to be diluted to 10% or less

[@fastrunlogistics3560]

Can i use benzoil oil?

[@bkscents7050]

What's that? You mean benzyl benzoate?

[@fastrunlogistics3560]

@@bkscents7050 isaw this in amazon and i was about to buy it,, Brand: NHR Organic Oils Wild Grown Benzoin (Styrax benzoin & Ricinus communis) (250ml) by NHR Organic Oils 

[@bkscents7050]

If it's on Amazon....I wouldn't buy it

[@fastrunlogistics3560]

@@bkscents7050 im not,, thanks

[@gunmuha]

Well i think it’s not raw benzoin, the one that you use should be benzoin resinoid instead of gum benzoin, which come from processed raw benzoin into benzoin resinoid

[@naveensahu1487]

Hello sir I am indian Please help me

[@linapurba]

To dilute benzoin absolute (rocks) to 50% in Ethyl (Ethanol) Alcohol. What does 50% mean here? I want to know how much Ethyl Alcohol to dilute 1 kg raw benzoin.

[@bkscents7050]

Thank means 1kg of raw benzoin would need 1kg of alcohol. That would make it 50/50

[@linapurba]

@@bkscents7050 Ooohh great. So that is the meaning of 50% here. I will try this. Thank you so much. I have around 3kg raw benzoin with me at the moment and we have even more in Sumatera (my family house). If shipping fee could be quite cheap I would send you 1kg for this valuable information.

[@bkscents7050]

Hahaha it's ok, I have plenty of benzoin here! But thank you!

[@linapurba]

@@bkscents7050 I am searching for ethyl alcohol. I found food grade 96% and 70%. Which one would work? Or perhaps non food grade?

[@bkscents7050]

The one you want is SDA-40B. Either the 190 or 200 proof

[@togihutapea7098]

Halo BK Scents, i am Togi from Indonesia, my Village is place of Benzoin tree, may be we can make discusion about that. Pless call me if u need raw material benzoin , thank you Sir

[@oinkoink644]

Thats a tincture, not an absolute