Tuberose Wax.

Tuberose is the heady white flower of warm nights, and this is its quiet, solid shadow: a block of fragrant wax to shave, melt and turn into a perfume you carry in a tiny jar.

Floral waxes are nature's most solid aromatics. Making an absolute begins with a concrete, a solid or semisolid mass holding all the plant's waxes and aromatic compounds. The absolute is then washed out of the concrete with alcohol, leaving behind these solid, mildly fragrant aromatic waxes. Tuberose is our most exotic. It blends well with the other florals in our collection, with a touch of vanilla, patchouli or sandalwood, and with violet leaf to bring a touch of green.

How to use

• Solid perfume: melt the wax in a heatproof glass cup, add a little warmed oil until it is as soft as you like, and pour it into a lip balm jar. For more intensity, add a drop or two of the absolute or a complementary essential oil.
• Creams and lotions: melt it into the oil phase for a little thickness, body and scent.
• Cold process soap: it complements natural fragrance, tends to yield a slightly harder bar, and can add a hint of color.
• Measuring: pop the block out of its jar and shave a few curls with a potato peeler straight into your warming carrier oils.

A small block of night-garden perfume to keep among your blending supplies.