Amyris

Amyris balsamifera 

Farmed in West Indies, usually Hispaniola, and steam distilled from the wood of a small evergreen tree in the Rutaceae family, but which does not bear fruit

The wood is dense and packed with essential oils, so it burns hot and bright, and has traditionally been used as a torch by fishermen, which accounts for it's other name, torchwood.

That information not withstanding, amyris is supposed to make good furniture wood. Amyris is sometimes called "West Indies Sandalwood" but they are not the same. It can, however, be used as an aromatic helper for sandalwood.

The Mask and the Meniscus
A Poem By Xiaoyuan Yin

O flourishing container of vicissitudes, nonwettable
By years leaking away. When you dived underneath,
A train of glimmering fluffy bubbles rose
Beneath your wings. Silvery, jasmine-white

When you fortuitously surfaced.
Though the narrow corridor, torrential fate took lead.
The meniscus, a concave one,
Weighed upon by breezes and rays of light,
While Amyris balsamifera, convex, a critical moment
Before Cambrian Explosion took place.

‘Surface tension is the will to withstand time and tide.'
When its value greater than self-healing ability (The Resilience) within,
Our faces become masks.

Arctander says:

Amyris is a viscous liquid of pale to brownish yellow color. The odor is faintly woody, not dry. The scent is  slightly oily-sweet, balsamic, warm, sweet-woody, with vanilla and benzoin overtones. Sometimes there is a peppery topnote.   Amyris is soft and pleasant, with a friendly little rosy back-note. It's tenacious and lasting, but will lose the rich complexity fading into a woody balsamic note. It acts as a fixative and a reasonable addition to an aromatic base.

Main constituents are valerianol, elemol, gamma-eudesmol.

It blends well with lavandin, oakmoss, citronella, geranium, American cedar, atlas cedar, galbanum, elemi, frankincense, lavender and spruce. 

Safety Warning

As with most essential oils, dilute before using on skin. Perform a patch-test before use if essential oil sensitivity is known.

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.