Make your own Italian Saffron Perfume

The Abruzzi region of Italy produces some of the finest Saffron in the world.

When you buy it from an Italian producer, even with an online purchase, you will get the real quality. Full unbroken pistils of the flower. When I tinctured Italian Saffron, I noticed that the color of the tincture was not as strong as the one I got from a Saffron bought in Asia.

It is a widespread practice to doctor the pistils with carotene, the colorant that gives the typical saffron coloration to your rice when you prepare the “risotto”.
The carotene allows dealers to add other vegetal materials looking like broken pistils to the “more precious than gold” pistils. Customers are also more satisfied because a very little amount of the doctored saffron is enough to give the saffron color to foods and it is much cheaper than the real good one.

The link between the color and the perfume of saffron is remarkable because safranal which is responsible for the typical aroma of Saffron is a degradation product of the carotenoid zeaxanthin responsible for its color after it has degraded into picrocrocin which in its turn is responsible for its taste.

However Italian saffron is much better for perfumery, the fragrance made from these pistils will have less staining power which is an advantage, and a more beautiful and powerful scent.

The scent of Saffron in itself is very nice but it lacks staying power and body volume. This is where blending brings forth a marvel, infusing Saffron pistils with Sandalwood oil makes a fantastic perfume, fully saffron but full-bodied, warm, mystic, and luscious at the same time, and with a much longer staying power.