Tuesday, August 26

The Quinolines (II)

In the world of delicate scents used by many perfumers at the beginning of 20th century (from the flower extracts, infusions to the delicate molecules like geraniol, phenylethyl alcohol, terpineol, ionone and even the spicy eugenols) the quinolines were a monster and not very inspiring in a company raw materials catalogue. Except maybe for Civettal (the synthetic civet as it was called then) they were sold in bases, mixed with other ingredients to facilitate their final use. Like many other molecules, they were sold by de Laire, the French industrial who produced on a large scale many of the patents of French scientists (but also the nitro musks, the ionones, the vanillin). The first classification of a new product determines how it will be used for a long time and only when a perfumer founds a new facet that can be exploited we can speak of a "small revolution".
The way a company describes a molecule is also an interesting subject to study. Some classic molecules are put in different families during the decades and the supplier. It shows how the perception of the same molecule evolved and how close it was related to its final use.
For quinolines this class was mossy and tobacco. They were not considered leather notes as we think of them today. We find them in bases like Mousse de Saxe, Mousse de Crête, Mousse de Chypre, many tobacco and even honey specialties (for the inferior isomers). Before 1930's they were not sold as single molecules and they were not listed in the catalogues of suppliers (exception the civet synth.). It's only in the late 30's that IBQ started to be used as a single molecule in warm compositions with fur notes. And then suddenly the big event of Bandit with its overdose (but also Visa).It seems also that in the same period IBQ & its family were no more the monopoly of de Laire (expiration of patent?) and in France Roure (or Roure-Bertrand & Dupont, the later being the "chemical division") produced them (the same Roure of Germaine Cellier and Jean Carles). After a few decades when Roure was bought by Givaudan many of those quinolines became a regular product in Givaudan catalogue, like the examples I gave in the first post, and available today. (but also for Symrise the "owner" of de Laire after the many acquisitions, that's why some classic bases are now sold by Symrise).
But let's go back to 1900. Some quinolines (like IBQ&Civettal) were prepared in Paris by the famous prof. George Darzens (I'm not sure about the date), known not only for his work in the aromatic field but also by his very close collaboration with the fragrance house Piver. Until WWI Piver was the house who launched the trends and it had exclusive access to the latest molecules prepared by prof. Darzens (and produced on a small scale), before they went into industrial production and were available to others. Armingeat, the perfumer of Piver loved the salycilates and quinolines (as said the perfumer M.Billot) and it is in his creations to find the very first perfumes using the quinolines. Unfortunately most of pre WWI Piver perfumes are not so easy to find (with a preserved juice inside) to confirm the exact use and amount of those molecules. The only 1907 perfume were an IBQ note is perceptible is Pompeia, a floral bouquet with a very distinctive MNA and olibanum note (but not as much as in Rêve d'or with its many reformulations).
Later we'll find them in Nuit de Noel, Tabac Blond, some of the Weil perfumes, maybe DemiJour, and many vetiver-mossy aldehydic perfumes before WWII or fur notes (with Minkone, Muscarome, Ambrarome).
It is also possible to be present in the drydown of some Ideal versions were the moss note is very delicate under the storm of rose and coumarine but it's hard to confirm without a GC (the quinoline is not the "theme" of those fragrances)
Today IBQ is sold mainly by Givaudan & IFF.
IBQ as described in the IFF Compendium: "Intense, earthy, rooty, nutty odor. Character resembles certain facets of oakmoss and vetivert and blends very well with them. Also ambery, woody, tobacco-like and leathery"
Pyralone from Givaudan
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