Vintage and Balsam
- A blend of aged patchouli and balsam fir. Two steam-distilled essential oils, blended together in Hawai'i.
- Vintage dark-aged patchouli and Canadian balsam fir. Its patchouli is an aged Indonesian leaf oil; its fir is a Canadian needle oil.
- Fresh fir over a warm patchouli. The fir gives a bright, fresh lift and the patchouli gives an earthy, balsamic depth that lasts.
- An oil we use ourselves. Like everything we sell, we use this blend too.
- Third-party tested. Every oil in the blend is tested by an outside lab, and sourced from small-batch producers.
- The same blend in every size. Pick the bottle that suits you on the Compare tab, and start small if the blend is new to you. Compare sizes.
Product specification
Our quality promise
Vintage and Balsam, aged patchouli met with balsam fir
6 benefits of Vintage and Balsam
A deep, earthy patchouli that lasts
The patchouli is the earthy, balsamic depth of Vintage and Balsam, the part that lasts on skin and in the air after the fir has lifted away. A vintage patchouli distilled from Pogostemon cablin leaves, it anchors the blend and holds the lighter fir in place. Patchouli has anchored perfumes for centuries and appears in incense.
The fresh opening from the fir
The fir gives Vintage and Balsam its bright, fresh, green opening, the needle oil of Abies balsamea from Canada. It is the most fragrant of the Christmas-tree firs, and its clean, sharp lift is what carries over the earthy patchouli underneath. In the blend it arrives first and then gives way to the wood.
Where the fir meets the patchouli
Where the fir and the patchouli meet, Vintage and Balsam turns warm and sweet, the fresh green and the earthy depth reading as one scent rather than two. The two are built to belong together, not set side by side. It reads as a scent you could wear, warm and woody.
A woody scent for the diffuser
In a diffuser, Vintage and Balsam fills a room with a warm, woody forest scent. It carries well without turning sharp, so it suits a workspace as much as a living room. The patchouli keeps the scent in the air long after a brighter oil would have faded.
An anchor for your own blends
For a blender, Vintage and Balsam works as an anchor, the patchouli holding lighter oils in place while adding a warm wood of its own. Patchouli is one of perfumery's long-standing fixatives, used where a citrus or a herb would otherwise fade fast. A little shifts the whole character of an accord.
For the patchouli connoisseur
Vintage and Balsam is one of the hard-to-find oils we keep for people who know patchouli, built on a vintage patchouli and a bright fir. It is part of our small Vintage Conifers line. If patchouli has struck you as too heavy or too sharp before, this one is worth knowing.
How to use
Diffuser
In the airAdd 3 to 5 drops of Vintage and Balsam to a water diffuser for a medium room, then a drop at a time until the scent sits right. Run it for 30 to 60 minutes, then give the room a break for the same time with some fresh air moving. The patchouli carries far, so a little goes a long way.
On the skin
TopicalDilute Vintage and Balsam to 1 to 3 percent before it goes on skin, which is about 12 drops in 30 ml of a carrier like jojoba for a 2 percent body oil. Keep to 6 drops in 30 ml on the face. Patch test on the inner forearm and wait a day before wider use. We do not use this blend neat, and it is not for internal use.
Storage
Keep it freshKeep Vintage and Balsam somewhere cool and dark, and use it while it is fresh. The balsam-fir part can oxidize over time, which is the fir's caution rather than the patchouli's, so a cool, dark shelf keeps the blend at its best. Close the cap tightly between uses.
Bath
In the waterStir 4 to 6 drops of Vintage and Balsam into a tablespoon of carrier oil, then add it to a full tub. Oil and water do not mix on their own, so the carrier is what lets the drops reach your skin diluted rather than neat. Swirl the water and step in.
Blends well with these 8 oils
3 recipes using this oil
Tap a recipe to see the full formula and method.
Method. Add the drops to your diffuser and run it for 30 to 60 minutes. The bergamot lifts the opening and the silver fir sharpens the green edge, so Vintage and Balsam settles underneath as the warm wood.
Method. Combine the drops with the jojoba in a small bottle and roll it between your palms to warm it. Smooth it over the shoulders and the back of the neck, where the wood stays close without carrying across a room. Keep it capped and use it within a few months.
Method. Stir the drops into the jojoba in a 10 ml roll-on bottle and cap it. The vetiver deepens the patchouli without taking over. Roll a little onto the wrists and let it settle before you dress.
Compare sizes and pick your value
Every size is the same oil. The larger the bottle, the lower the price per ml.
Frequently asked questions
7 answers drawn from the product specification and our own use of this oil.
