Definition
In perfumery, an infusion is a cold extraction process: dry aromatic material is immersed in 95 percent ethanol, at ambient temperature, for two to six months. The solvent gradually captures the odor molecules, then the liquid is filtered to yield an alcohol infusion ready to use in composition. The process is associated with slow perfumery and with artisan natural perfumery (source: Scentspiracy).
Process and materials
The material to alcohol ratio varies with the density of the botanical and the target intensity. The vessel is agitated daily during the first weeks to help diffusion, then stored away from light. Resins such as benzoin, labdanum, frankincense and myrrh are ground before immersion and may dissolve only partially, which requires successive filtrations (source: Botanical Formulations). Dried leaves (tobacco, oakmoss), spices, vanilla and selected animalic materials infuse on the same principle.
Use in perfumery
Industrial perfumery rarely uses infusion: yield is low and the timeline does not fit serial production. The process stays central to artisan natural perfumers, where it captures the signature of resins, balsams and fragile materials that distillation alters or does not extract (source: Wit & West). Mandy Aftel in Berkeley and Bruno Acampora in Naples are associated with this practice.
Sources
- Scentspiracy, Tinctures in Perfumery: The Art of Vanilla Extraction (accessed 4 June 2026)
- Botanical Formulations, How to Make a Benzoin Tincture (accessed 4 June 2026)
- Wit & West Perfumes, What is Natural Perfume and How is it Different (accessed 4 June 2026)
- Perfume Chemicals, On tinctures and infusions (accessed 4 June 2026)
- Aftelier Perfumes, Mandy Aftel (accessed 4 June 2026)