Frankincense

Boswellia sacra

Responsibly gathered from wild  trees and distilled in Oman

Also called Olibanum oil

This is our highly sought-after, utterly delightful Omani Frankincense oil. It's beautiful, unmistakably Omani, with those sweet floral sparkles in their crackling pine-like forest. You'll smell the desert, the wadis, the thin and papery frankincense bark glowing in the sun, and the heart and desire of the tree herself. Inhaling this oil invites a direct and intense journey within. This oil is distilled with love, by us, in copper, in Oman, in the land of Frankincense.

Enfleurage frankincense (Boswellia sacra) oil is known for the sweet sparkling butterfly spice notes and hint of orange (never lemon.) Threading through this are the resinous piney and fresh crisp green textures. As you breathe in a lungful of our frankincense oil you can feel its expansive, grounding and liberating effervesince vibrating throughout your body. From your lungs through your bloodstream, and into your mind and mood, this oil, the heart of Dhofar, will calm, smooth, and center you. technically the same although some people dont believe this, so I'm making a note here.

Frankincense is the Genus Boswellia and it personifies in many species around the world: Boswellia sacra, from Oman, Boswellia carterii, which is Somali origin. Boswellia serrata,  from India, and then we have various Boswellia species from the African Horn and below: Ethiopia, Kenya, more Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, and beyond. The vast majority of frankincense oil comes from Oman, (sacra), Somalia (carterii and fraereana,) and India (serrata.) Not only do these trees give a lot of oil, but once the distillation is over, the spent residue contains heavy aromatic constituents known collectively as Boswellic Acids. We offer those separately. To my knowledge, most Boswellia species do not produce Boswellic acids--only the four mentioned above do.

At the risk of offending people, I will state that although all frankincense oils have their fans and enthusiasts, Omani and Somali are the two that smell most fabulous. So for essential oils. these are the two you are most likely to see. That's Sacra and Carterii, which are technically the same, although they do smell quite different. Somali is found more commonly, and there is often a characteristic lemon note--I don't pretend to be a Somali frankincense expert. I respect the oil, it's smells becautful and it's easier to find, but the Omani one is spectacular, delicate and nauanced, rich and emotive. We distill Omani frankincense here at our distillery--only Omani frankincense, and all of it from Dhofar, in southern Oman. I have been distilling frankincense here in Oman for many years and our Omani company is 10 years old as of 2021.

THE LOVE AND TOUCH OF GOD HOLY WOMAN---

the touch of woman
so sensual alluring
softer than cotton

the smell of her so
natural fragrant 
full of frankincense
 
and I love the love
of the love of a woman
God’s  Holy woman

1/5/19
Written words by James Edward Lee 2019

Frankincense
by Pragya Deb Burman

Sitting and gazing vacantly, 
Through the window in my room, 
A chilled air envelops me; 
I suddenly smell the musty heaviness 
Of an unknown doom, 
And light an incense stick to smoke away 
These unnerving fears, 
Which on my mind, so often play.

Fragrant twirls of Frankincense 
Rise dreamily, Intoxicating my senses, 
Its warm & musky embrace, 
Enticing and mesmerizing me- 
And I feel I could touch the heavens! 

The misty incense clouds the room, 
Does it also cloud my vision? 
I watch the disintegrating fumes... 
Dense puffs of smoke fading away into nothingness; 
The heady essence lingers on, for a while... 
Everything is so transitory, and tears replace smiles. 

My only prayer is to hold on to the divine fragrance, 
Of your lovely soul; 
Never fading, always growing, 
Spreading joy in my lonely world; 
Yes, you are my life's essence, 
You're my eternal frankincense. 

A little more scientific perhaps, lets go to Arctander:

First, lets remember his description is for Somali gum, as Oman was not yet open  for trade in 1960, and even though some people did trade frankincense, it was not a regularly traded raw material suitable for distillation in the commercial distilleries of the day.

Olibanum oil is a mobile liquid, pale yellow or pale amber greenish in color. It's odor is strongly diffusive, fresh-terpeney, almost green-lemon like or reminiscent of green, unripe apple peel but not terebinthinate. A certain pepperiness is mellowed with a rich, sweet-woody, balsamic undertone. depending on the method of distillation of the oil, the odor is more or less tenacious with an almost cistus-like, ambre-type, balsamic dryout note.

Olibanum is used in fine perfumery for the notes described above.It gives delightful effects in citrus colognes where it modifies the sweetness of bergamot and orange oils. A similiar effect is obtained in the rahter difficult "fresh" perfume notes such as verbena, citrus, etc, where the olibanum and citral form useful bases for further modifying work. Oilianum oil itself is a base for all the incense, frankincense, or olibanumtype perfumes and specialities, and an imporant ingredient in many Oriental bases, ambres, powder-type perfumes, floral perfumes, citrus colognes, spice blends, violet perfumes, "mens" fragrances, etc.

Battaglia writes at great length, discussing the spiritual and traditional uses of frankincense, as well as the history. Aromatherapy-wise, we can point to studies regarding strengthing the immune system, as a help for joint and rheumatic pain, in palliative care and for many psychological uses, also as a respiratory oil, and of course for skin care. I highly advise his book, the Complete Guide to Aromatherapy, pages 305-311. 

Nothing is added to our oil and hydrosols. No preservatives, no isolates, no “enhancers”, no alcohol. When you breathe in Enfleurage Frankincense oil, you are breathing in its soul. Purely.

Safety Warning

As with most essential oils, dilute before using on skin. Perform a patch test before use if essential oil sensitivity is suspected. Do not take essential oils internally. Do not use on children or pets. Seek advice from a trained aromatherapist before using on people with compromised immune systems. Keep away from eyes and mucus membranes.
Enfleurage makes no medical claims relating to any products, essential oils or otherwise, on our website or through social media. We are an essential oil company, not doctors, The FDA has not evaluated the statements on this website. We present our information in order to educate our customers on traditional and general uses of essential oils; in no way do we diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or condition.
You the customer are responsible for understanding the safe use of any and all of our products, including essential oils, and use them accordingly.