Our Immortelle oil does not come out of a machine. It comes from a simple, slow method, sun maceration: flowers, oil, sunshine and time. Here is how we make it, in Calvi.
The principle
To macerate is to leave a plant to steep in an oil, so that it slowly passes on its colour, scent and compounds. The result is called an oil macerate. In our case, the gentle warmth of the Corsican sun does the work, with no heating and no solvent.
Step 1: fresh flowers, on harvest day
It all starts in June, at flowering. The flowering stems are cut by hand with a sickle and laid on white tarps, before going to maceration.
Step 2: the jars in the sun
The flowers are immersed in grapeseed oil, in large glass jars, until they are fully covered. The jars then stay in the sun for several months, against the granite wall of the farm.
Over the weeks, the oil changes colour: it takes on the golden shade of the flowers. This is the sign that the plant is passing its compounds to the oil.
Step 3: cold pressing
At the end of the maceration, the flowers are cold-pressed in a stainless steel screw press. This collects all the oil left in the flowers, without heating it.
Step 4: enriching with essential oil
The macerate is then enriched with our own organic Immortelle essential oil, distilled on the farm. This gives our oil its distinctive scent, already measured: you have nothing to add. To find out how we distill, read Inside our still.
Why this method?
- It respects the flower: no high heat, no solvent.
- It is simple and traceable: flowers from our field, a vegetable oil, our essential oil.
- It takes time, on purpose: maceration cannot be rushed.
The result
A gentle, golden, ready-to-use oil that soothes and nourishes the skin: our Immortelle oil, in 15, 50 and 100 ml. Its ingredient list fits in three lines: grapeseed oil, Immortelle flower extract and Immortelle essential oil, the last two from organic farming.
To use it well: How to use Immortelle oil, day to day.
