Definition
Cold enfleurage is a perfumery extraction process that captures the aromatic molecules of fragile flowers through prolonged contact with an odorless fat at ambient temperature. The fat, animal or vegetal, acts as a natural solvent. The technique stands in contrast to distillation and volatile solvent extraction, which would damage the most delicate molecules.
Origin and history
The technique was developed industrially in Grasse (France) from the late 18th century and became a specialty of the city through the 19th century (source: Delacourte). It was reserved for flowers that cannot withstand heat, mainly jasmine, tuberose and orange blossom.
Enfleurage was abandoned industrially in the 1930s as soon as volatile solvent extraction became reliable and far less costly (source: Premiere Peau). The process survives today in a few artisan workshops and in the curriculum of ISIPCA, as well as with natural perfumer Mandy Aftel in Berkeley.
Use in perfumery
Petals are placed by hand on glass chassis coated with purified fat, generally lard or beef tallow, and renewed every day for several weeks. The saturated fat becomes a floral pomade, which is then washed with alcohol to yield the absolute.
Yields explain the price of these raw materials in niche perfumery: one ton of jasmine flowers produces roughly 800 grams of pomade and then about 100 grams of absolute (source: Wit & West).
Sources
- Delacourte, Enfleurage, traditional cold and hot extraction technique (accessed 4 June 2026)
- Premiere Peau, Enfleurage, the near-extinct art of capturing scent (accessed 4 June 2026)
- Wit & West Perfumes, The Art of Enfleurage in Perfumery (accessed 4 June 2026)
- Aftelier Perfumes, Mandy Aftel and natural perfumery (accessed 4 June 2026)