Description
We create our Wild Lilac Attar just once a year, using the wild lilacs that bloom on a secluded acre of a historic Civil War-era farm in upstate New York. These venerable blossoms are distinct from cultivated varieties and prized for their singular scent, which varies subtly each season with the year’s weather. Harvested by hand, the lilacs are transformed into pure lilac oil through the ancient method of enfleurage – a slow, heat-free process that captures the flower’s true essence without chemicals. The resulting oil is then infused into soft, small-batch Hawaiian sandalwood, creating a rare and exquisite attar, a lush, botanical floral that mirrors the complexity of the living bloom.
How To Use
Use a drop or two on the wrist, behind the ear, or on any pulse point.
Ingredients
Syringa Vulgaris (Lilac) Flower Oil*, Santalum Spicata Wood (Sandalwood) Oil* *Organic
Sizing + Info
Approximately 0.17 oz / 5 ml.
Store in a dry place away from heat and direct sunlight. As with any of our Slow Beauty, please spot test this oil for adverse reactions before use and discontinue use if irritation occurs. Please consult with a physician before using if pregnant or breastfeeding. We recommend using this product within a year of opening. Opened Slow Beauty products are final sale.
The Bottle
The fourth bottle in our series of micro batch seasonal perfumes in hand blown glass perfume bottles inspired by 19th century stone and ceramic snuff bottles. Each petite bottle is a distinctive work of art, hand blown by a master glass artisan in Illinois, and shipped using the ancient method of cork and wax sealing.
Shipping
$10 standard shipping, free shipping on orders of $150 or more
An attar is a traditional perfume made by distilling flowers, herbs, resins, or spices into a natural base oil – most often sandalwood. This slow, meticulous process dates back more than 5,000 years, with ancient roots in Egypt, India, and Persia. The word "attar" is derived from the Arabic word ‘itr’, meaning scent or perfume.
We create our Wild Lilac Attar just once a year, using the wild lilacs that bloom on a secluded acre of a historic Civil War-era farm in upstate New York.
Wild Lilac Attar is the fourth bottle in our 2025 series of micro batch seasonal perfumes in hand blown glass perfume bottles inspired by 19th century stone and ceramic snuff bottles.
Creating Wild Lilac Attar
Most absolutes today are extracted using chemical solvents, but with such harsh methods much of the flower’s delicate aromatic spectrum is lost. Lilac, with its soft, elusive nature and small, delicate petals doesn’t respond well to aggressive extraction and most perfumers have abandoned the effort to create real lilac oil.
Our Wild Lilac Attar is made using ancient, time-honored methods. Each day, for more than 30 days, two to three gallons of fresh, organic lilac blossoms are placed into an organic fat spread across glass chassis. As the flowers rest, they gently exhale their fragrance into the fat. Over the course of the process, we use eight to ten bushels of lilacs—each one contributing its own complexities to the final perfume.
Once the fat is richly infused with the lilac’s scent, it is carefully scraped from the glass and blended with a high-proof, organic, food-grade alcohol—similar in purity to vodka. This gentle alcohol separates the aromatic molecules from the fat through slow evaporation, leaving behind about 5 precious milliliters of highly concentrated lilac perfume oil.
This rare essence is then blended with small-batch Hawaiian sandalwood—a soft, creamy wood oil that supports and enhances the lilac’s floral complexity. The final attar captures the lush, graceful presence of living lilacs in full bloom, anchored by warm, exotic base notes that linger with the body’s natural chemistry.