Prima Fleur Essential Oil: PEPPERMINT

Prima Fleur's Willamette Peppermint Essential Oil [No. 310] is from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, an organically grown leaf, wonderfully fruity, herbal and minty. It can be used for stomach ache with 1-drop of peppermint oil [Mentha x piperita] in a cup of water or tea. Or use it in your personal care products and blends. We also have white crystal peppermint [No. 231], and peppermint [No. 257] from the USA.

 

For information on our Premier Products and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to explore custom development with exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please contact sales@primafleur.com ~ or call (415) 455-0957.



Prima Fleur Essential Oil: VANILLA, TOTAL

Vanilla comes from Mexico but is grown extensively in the tropics, most noticeable in Madagascar. Our Vanilla, Total [no. 507] is food-grade cultivated CO2 from Madagascar. Use it in perfumes, luscious skin care, aromatherapy blends - wherever you want that sweet childhood scent, care and love. We also have the absolute.

 

Vanilla planifolia is the only orchid being grown as a domestic plant. The long, slender fruits ('beans' or 'pods') are harvested before they ripen, but the powerful vanilla flavor only develops after a several months of special curing. The beans are spread in the sun in the morning, then covered and kept enclosed during the night. After a while, the green beans turn brown and the glycosidically bound vanillin is slowly liberated. It is understandable why vanilla is so expensive. The small, black ‘pricks’ in the desert are the seeds, which shows that true vanilla has been used. White fluffs on the surface of the vanilla pods are pure crystallized vanillin (not mold or insecticide), and a sign of high quality. 

For information on our Premier Products and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to explore custom development with exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please contact sales@primafleur.com ~ or call (415) 455-0957.

Global View : Madagascar & Malawi, Africa

 Dateline 9 March 2011: “Thank you for your e-mail. We have not yet finished distilling the ylang-ylang oil. It's now 2.10 am here, near flowing small river and mountain. We are still waiting for the oil to be finished. I really enjoy distilling ylang-ylang oil here. Here is surrounded by exotic aroma. I will send you photo of the ylang water very soon.”  ~Prima Fleur supplier in Madagascar

“Both the Ylang Ylang and Geranium oils we sell come from countries that need so much support economically,” explains Marianne Griffeth, owner and lead chemist for Prima Fleur.

She continues, “The Ylang Ylang and one of our other Bourbon Geranium essential oils come from Madagascar. We have worked with the same family-owned Malagasy business for almost 20 years. We've been through some very tough times with political revolutions, hurricanes, and civil wars. We hosted the ambassador from Madagascar when he visited here. We purchased their entire production of their very first distillation of geranium about 18 years ago and have bought it every year since. 

Picking ylang ylang flowers in Madagascar

"Taking the oil" from the ylang ylang distillation

One of our Bourbon Geranium essential oils is from Malawi, Africa.  Malawi is one of the very poorest counties in Africa with a high incidence of HIV/AIDS. We work with people from Malawi who are trying to develop schools, energy plants, water-treatment plants, etc. Still in its early stages, the geranium project helps so many people. For holiday gifts last  year, we bought desks for an entire classroom at one of the schools and told our customers that was their gift! We are just about to receive their third distillation of beautiful, emerald-green, rose geranium oil. 

Rose geranium growing in Malawi Africa

Distilling rose geranium oil

We also get a very pretty geranium essential oil from Egypt. The prices have gone quite high there and it is currently difficult to get but we anticipate things leveling off soon. When they were in the middle of the peaceful civil uprising which led to the resignation of Mubarak, my supplier was in the middle of Tahrir square sending me video on his Blackberry. It was positively, wonderfully, thrilling! I told him, ‘Today, we are all Egyptians!’ After 9-11, many of my suppliers sent emails of sympathy, expressing their strong support and deep sadness for our loss. 

It is all these wonderful global business-to-business relationships that form tight bonds, especially when the trade is Fair Trade. If we are ever to have peace in the world, I am convinced the way that we honor each other in these relationships is one of the keys.” 

 

Prima Fleur Essential Oil: BIRCH

Birch oil is steam distilled from the birch bark - here in the United States. Our No. 105 essential oil is sweet, spicy and minty; it can be used as an anti- inflammatory and an astringent, as it contains salicylic acid. It treats muscle aches and pains, water retention, and is great for treating skin eruptions and pimples. 

For information on our Premier Products and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to explore custom development with exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please contact sales@primafleur.com ~ or call (415) 455-0957.

 

 

Prima Fleur Essential Oil: POPLAR BALSAM

Populus balsamifera ssp trichocarpa, is a somewhat perennial tree from Canada, whose balsam (a term used for various pleasantly scented plant products that are a oily or gummy oleoresin usually containing benzoic acid or cinnamic acid), flows spontaneously or by incision from this poplar tree. The Catholic Church often mixes balsams with olive oil as anointing oil. The poplar balsam is collected and solvent-extracted to make this alcohol soluble substance whose scent is woody, floral and spicy. 
 

Populus balsamifera; Populus candicans; Populus tacamahaca, Canada – wild-crafted and steam-distilled from buds and stems, the aroma is woody, spicy fruity and sweet and it blends with the azulene oils, helichrysum, and florals. This resin can be used in any product where you need an analgesic, antiinflammatory, antiseptic, antioxidant and antiallergic addition.

Prima Fleur's Poplar Balsam Absolute [No. 336] is wild-crafted from the resin. To create a spicy perfume, combine poplar balsam with: amyris 14 drops, honey 6 drops, all spice 2 drops, a heart of vanilla and benzoin drops, poplar balsam 5 drops, birch 2 drops, and 6 drops of labdanum or vetivert; dilute with a floral alcohol.

 

For information on our Premier Products and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to explore custom development with exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please contact sales@primafleur.com ~ or call (415) 455-0957.

Prima Fleur Essential Oil: KATRAFAY

Katrafay, a tree found across Madagascar is a common sight. The Katrafay bark extract helps improve the quality of the corneal layer and encourages the skin’s natural hydration, it holds the ability to keep your skin perfectly moisture balanced and hydrated in any climate, at any time. As part of our fair trade program, our Katrafay essential oil [Prima Fleur No. 252] is thereby preserving the biodiversity of the tropical forests.

For information on our Premier Products and pricing, please visit our website. For questions and to explore custom development with exquisite botanicals from our extensive library of raw materials, please contact sales@primafleur.com ~ or call (415) 455-0957.

 

Prima Fleur Carrier Oil: BORAGE