Used in perfumery and aromatherapy, absolutes are similar to essential oils.
They are concentrated, highly aromatic, oily mixtures extracted from plants.
First, plant material is extracted with a hydrocarbon solvent, such as hexane, to yield concrete.
Some raw materials are either too delicate or too inert to be steam-distilled and can only yield their aroma through solvent extraction.
Absolutes in demand include rose, jasmine, tuberose, jonquil, ylang-ylang, mimosa, boronia, lavender, lavandin, geranium, clary sage, violet, oakmoss, tonka bean.