All Things Lavender

It is Lavender season, many festivals in honor of this universally healing herb take place at this time of year. The word lavender comes from the Latin "Lavare" meaning to wash. The herb has a very rich presence in literature and is used widely in medicinal preparations, culinary delights and cosmetic preparations. The essential oil of lavender is derived from the distillation of the flowering tops of Lavandula officinalis, also referred to as Lavandula angustifolia/vera.

"I judge that the flowers of lavender quilted in a cappe and dayly worn are good for all diseases of the head that come of a cold cause and that they comfort the braine very well." Lavender and Turner (Herbal, 1545)

Here are some uses for lavender essential oil:

• Lavender essential oil has analgesic properties. Apply a cool compress the forehead to bring some relief from a headache. Place 5 drops of lavender essential oil into two cups of cool water. Place a wash cloth on the top of the water to soak up essential oil and water. Wring out and apply to forehead, avoiding the eyes. Re-apply as needed.
• Lavender essential oil has calmative and hypotensive properties. Place a drop of lavender essential oil on your pillow case to help you sleep at night or on a cotton ball during stress filled situations. Add 8 drops to warm bath water at night for a relaxation before bedtime.
• Lavender essential oil has anti-inflammatory properties. Apply to wounds either neat or with a cool compress.

The aroma of lavender essential oil is considered herbaceous, fruity and sweet depending on the variety and type of extraction. In many circles it is deemed "floral", which may or may not be present...again depends on the variety. More appropriate terminology could be an herbaceous floral character. For use in aromatherapy synergies it is considered the universal oil and used extensively in almost all types of dis-ease. Its chemistry is rich in the ester: linalyl acetate the alcohol: linalol and sesquiterpenes

The magickal properties of Lavender are derived from its association with the planet Mercury and elemental air. Use it when intending clarity of the mind. References also site lavender in connection with attracting prosperity, love and the elemental Faes due to its attractive scent.
Lavender is often utilized as an offering in Mid-Summer celebrations.

The main reoccurring theme we find associated with lavender in mind, body and spirit is PEACE. Peace of mind, peace from physical distress...peace, peace, peace.
.

There's a few things I've learned in life:
always throw salt over your left shoulder,
keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck,
and fall in love whenever you can.

Lavender and Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic )

In perfume lavender essential oil tends to be classified as a top to middle note. Where as the absolute is considered a base note. In perfume we find the lavender note used in Lavender Eau de Colognes and the category of fragrance deemed Fougere, meaning fern in French. Fougere perfumes feature the combination of oakmoss with lavender.

As a botanical and natural perfumer I use Lavender as a bridge note. It is not an essence I use regularly, unless it is for a specific perfume like Vera or a custom perfume. In aromatherapy synergies and blends I use it in almost every single preparation.

The Lavender Festival in Sequim, Washington - July 18, 19 & 20th, 2008

Lavender Recipes from California Lavender website

Recipe for Lavender Gelato

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Perfume Illuminated: Herbes de Provence

When I was a child my mother worked for a boutique in Beverly Hills. On occasion she would travel to Paris for some of her clients, if I was really lucky I went with her, if not she would always bring back wonderful treats. The treats ranged from perfume, cheese, maron glace and cooking herbs.

The cooking herbs were usually Bouquet Garni, which translates as "garnish bouquet" in French. The mix usually contains parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Depending on the region and different makers there may also be basil, burnet, chervil, rosemary, peppercorns, savory and tarragon in the blend.

My favorite herb mix from France is Herbes de Provence which is generally a combination of the following herbs: savory, fennel, basil, thyme, sage, marjoram, oregano and lavender blossoms. When I make it here at home I use: thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender and oregano. I sprinkle it on a chicken for roasting along with fresh garlic and butter. The blend works well for a variety of dishes including grilled vegetables and stews.

FRAGRANCE

The herbs used to make an Herbes de Provence culinary blend are also distilled as essential oils used in aromatherapy and natural perfume. I associate these mostly with aromatherapy because that was my gateway into the healing world of plant medicine. 

Lavender

There's a few things I've learned in life:
always throw salt over your left shoulder,
keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for good luck,
and fall in love whenever you can.
~ Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic )

The word lavender comes from the Latin "Lavare" meaning to wash. The herb has a very rich presence in literature and is used widely in medicinal preparations, culinary delights and cosmetic preparations. The essential oil of lavender is derived from the distillation of the flowering tops of Lavandula officinalis, also referred to as Lavandula angustifolia/vera.

The aroma of lavender essential oil is considered herbaceous, fruity and sweet depending on the variety and type of extraction. In many circles it is deemed "floral", which may or may not be present...again depends on the variety. More appropriate terminology could be an herbaceous floral character. For use in aromatherapy synergies it is considered the universal oil and used extensively in almost all types of dis-ease. Its chemistry is rich in the ester: linalyl acetate the alcohol: linalol and sesquiterpenes.

In perfume lavender essential oil tends to be classified as a top to middle note. Where as the absolute is considered a base note. In perfume we find the lavender note used in Lavender Eau de Colognes and the category of fragrance deemed Fougere, meaning fern in French. Fougere perfumes feature the combination of oakmoss with lavender.

As a botanical and natural perfumer I use Lavender as a bridge note. It is not an essence I use regularly, unless it is for a specific perfume like Vera or a custom perfume. In aromatherapy synergies and blends I use it in almost every single preparation.

Note: This information on Lavender has been gathered from another post here at the journal, if you would like to read more here is the link to satisfy your craving. 

Sage, here is the link to the Perfume Illuminated post on Sage.

Thyme

There are many different varieties of thyme used in aromatherapy and natural perfume. One of my all time favorites is Thyme geraniol, which has a geranium note. In aromatherapy we use thyme mostly in blends for One of my very first aromatherapy blends when I took the live hours class with Jade Shutes was a blend I made for Will Power. It included: Thyme, Elemi and Juniper. 

Basil

Known as Ocimum basilicum, this hardy and very popular herb is ruled by Mars. The annual produces fragrant leaves and flowers. There are many varieties of Basil essential oil and depending where it is grown will determine differing chemical constituents. Thus, you may have a Basil that is high in linalol or one that has more camphor or methyl chavicol or a combination. The aromatic profile tend to be sweet, herbaceous, spicy and fresh. In aromatherapy it works on several systems of the body, I tend to use it in headache blends as it is a great analgesic, stimulating and clearing to the mind.

Fennel

The fennel we use in aromatherapy is Foeniculum vulgare P. Mill var. dulce which also goes by the names Fenkel, Wild Fennel and Sweet Fennel.It was the Romans who gave fennel its name Foeniculum from the Latin word Foeniculum meaning hay.1 Fennel essential oil is distilled from the seeds and is most commonly used in blends for digestion, circulation and the endocrine system. One of the keywords associated with this oil is balance.

A few nights ago as I was drooling over pictures of the french country side on Pinterest my daughter asked if we had any Herbes de Provence. The synergy of the question with the visual imagery made me begin contemplating an Herbes de Provence perfume, which in turn inspired today's Perfume Illuminated contribution.

Thus, my perfume will focus mainly on lavender, thyme, sage with a bit of fennel, basil, oregano and savory. These are all middle notes. For the base I'm thinking woods, cistus, beeswax absolute and olive fruit or leaf. I'm thinking citrus for the top notes, probably citron. We will see where the journey takes us! I definitely don't want to repeat Vera (thus no oakmoss or very little) and I don't want to make something that is overly medicinal, although odd and different is okay. Let me know if there are any notes you suggest by leaving a comment here and I will send a sample off the first edition when I'm done if I choose a specific essence you have mentioned that is different from what I have already listed.

From the Silver Palette CookBook: "If fresh herbs are plentiful, use them in bouquets around the house; their dark green or gray leaves are beautiful with flowers. Make an edible centerpiece of such herbs as basil, dill and mint: wash fresh herbs, shake dry, and arrange with salad greens in a bowl of crushed ice."

FLAVOR: Beth Schreibman Gehring
Please continue reading about Herbes de Provence at the Windesphere Witch blog

Catch up on all the Perfume Illuminated posts at this link. 

1 Jade Shutes, Aromatherapy for Bodyworkers, Pearson/Prentice Hall, New Jersey, Chapter Thirteen, p.297

Top image found via Pinterest with no reference to the creator, other images by or digitally enhanced by Roxana Villa

Lavender and the media

Mis-information is currently being circulated by the big media conglomerates in regards to Lavender and the benefits of Essential Oils. It makes me think the the large pharmaceutical cartels, who own many media companies, have launched this attack.

Fortunately there is quite a lot of scientific evidence as to the validity of the therapeutic affects of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy.

An article in todays LA Times quotes a Charles Wysocki, from the Monell Chemical Senses Center, asserting that Essential Oils and Aromatherapy do not work through olfaction. Obviously the LA Times has not done there due diligence in researching this subject. Let's pull up some facts shall we:

1) The Pub Med, a service of the National Library of Medicine has plenty of documented studies validating Aromatherapy:

• Nurses working in intensive care were less stressed when they used lavender
• The scent of lavender lowers blood pressure in mice
• Lavender bath oil reduces stress and crying and enhances sleep in very young infants.
• Treatment with lavender aromatherapy in the post-anesthesia care unit reduces opioid requirements of morbidly obese patients undergoing laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.
• Relaxation effects of lavender aromatherapy improve coronary flow velocity reserve in healthy men evaluated by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography.
• Positive effects of aromatherapy massage on blood pressure and lipid profile in Korean climacteric women.
• Anxiolytic effects of lavender oil inhalation on open-field behaviour in rats. Shows lavender also sedating at higher doses.
• Positive effects of lavender aromatherapy acupressure on hemiplegic shoulder pain and motor power in stroke patients.
• Lavender relaxes women having electrocardiogram in Japan.
• Lavender calms agitated behavior in people with Alzheimer's.
• Lavender decreases the stress hormone cortisol.

This great information was brought to my attention by Harry Roth of Alchemy Works.

2) The following is from Dr. Kurt Schnaubelts website, The Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy, regarding recent misinformation regarding Lavender and young boys.

Aromatherapy Won't Make You Well, Study Shows.

This was the headline repeated ad nauseam by online health newsletters such as Science Daily, healthfinder.gov, eFlux media, healthy living news or yourtotalhealth and the like in the early days of March.

An interesting, multilayered phenomenon is at work. It starts with the publication of original research that appears to pertain to aromatherapy and seems to negate the convictions held dear by the aromatherapy community. In a second step the original research is transcribed with relentless simplification into popular internet prose by the fast writing scribes of the news resellers aka online newsletters. A typical example was the recent nonevent where an an infamous piece of pseudo science was amplified to an online pandemic by senseless repetition in newsletters and even the mainstream press. Someone had speculated that lavender in hair shampoos could cause the formation of excessive breast tissue in adolescent boys.

In the case that led to this headline in Science Daily three distinctly separate aspects need to be distinguished.

First, there is the original article, in this case entitled, in factual scientific manner, “Olfactory influences on mood and autonomic, endocrine and immune function”.

Secondly there is the popular rendition of this in Science Daily and other newsletters which read: “Aromatherapy May Make You Feel Good, But It Won't Make You Well, Study Shows”. Juxtaposition of the two headlines reveals the factual tenor of the original article, which steers clear of overstating any of its findings. It also reveals the screaming nature of the popular rewrite, desperate to garner some attention on the over saturated health-channels of the web.

Thirdly there are issues that can be raised about the purpose and meaning of a recent trend, in which studies like the one discussed here aggressively prove the lack of efficacy of natural remedies. In recent times a number of well financed and immaculately organized studies have reported that the efficacy of various important phyto pharmacons does not exceed that of placebo. Plant medicines demoted in this fashion include St Johnswort, Echinacea, Saw Palmetto and Black Cohosh and soon probably also Gingko. Publication of the negative results generally appear in high level medical journals and spawn endless repetitions in scientific journals as well as the mainstream press generating the impression that somehow all the inherited wisdom about plant medicine is a figment of the imagination, unfit to perform under scientific scrutiny. The aspect entirely omitted from this discussion is that the methodology of the studies is entirely unsuitable to demonstrate the efficacy of neither the whole therapeutic approach of phytotherapy (or for that matter aromatherapy) nor that of a selected plant extract.

These three different aspects merit separate responses.

• The original study

The original published text of the study, does exactly what it says, it determines whether or not participants exposed to the scent of lemon and lavender oils display any significant responses in terms of the parameters observed, i.e. alteration of the production of Interleukin 6 or Interleukin 10 or levels of salivary cortisol. These parameters were apparently chosen because they are considered to be the currency of immune status in current pharmacology. They do, however, not truly relate to suggestions the aromatherapy literature makes about these two oils. measuring these parameters somehow seems arbitrary!

• The Science Daily rewrite

The summary style reports on the study, such as the one in Science Daily are a different story. Clearly mining the original study for material that can be crafted into sensational statements, the report intentionally takes a big leap when it aggrandizes “olfactory influences” as equivalent to all of aromatherapy. The omission has to appear intentional as otherwise the study would not yield a loud enough conclusion. An excerpt from Science Daily:

“One of the most comprehensive investigations done to date on aromatherapy failed to show any improvement in either immune status, wound healing or pain control among people exposed to two often-touted scents.”
Again, this entire statement hinges on equating exposure to scent with aromatherapy. A condition the author of the piece almost certainly knows not to be true. If the author of the newsletter piece would apply only minimal critical thinking she or he would have to comment on this. Seriously, most people would apply a wound healing ointment to the wound, inhaling wound ointments appears extravagant......

Much could be said about the culture and shortcomings of this sort of internet prose. Suffice it to mention only one aspect that is common to the whole choir of cross parroting rags, there is not the slightest sign of willingness to inject even a moderate amount of critical thinking into the evaluation of such a study. The original science is treated as wholly sacrosanct, entirely removed and off limits to any kind of question by the merely mortal lay public. If cultural critics were to look for a perfect example of rampant scientism, here is one!

• Trend: Pharmacology sees plant medicine as ineffective

At the center of the third issue is the question what conventional pharmacology can and cannot recognize. It is clear that it has the tools to recognize specific effects and active ingredients, but it lacks the methods to recognize the health benefits of complex component mixtures with nonspecific effects. The de facto response of mainstream pharmacology to nonspecific effects is simply to declare these effects as non existent. (An example is the ability of lavender oil to sooth or even heal first and second degree burns, when applied topically. Everyone who has tried it knows lavender oil is highly effective under these circumstances. Pharmacology will tell you this is not so, since no mechanism or responsible active ingredient has yet been found!)

Following are some remarks to the issues involved:

What constitutes aromatherapy
What in fact constitutes aromatherapy has been hotly debated in the scientific literature. This debate started in ernest when the traditional use of essential oils, as described in aromatherapy classics such as Valnet’s “Practice of Aromatherapy” met with the opinion of some scientists that only effects mediated by the sense of smell should be summarized under the rubric aromatherapy. Consequently the question arose whether or not physiological effects resulting from trace amounts of essential oil absorbed into the blood stream during smelling (inhalation) are also to be considered aromatherapy. The discussion became rather involved and led to the introduction of the term aromachology by the industry driven Fragrance Foundation. Ultimately the slightly hysterical discourse was laid to rest by the commonsense observation of H. Wagner that since both pathways - olfaction and absorption - happen inseparably in normal life, the combined effect should be considered independent of semantics. It follows from many of the classic studies performed in the 1970ies - not the least those of H. Wagner - and of French style aromatherapy that essential oils can have many beneficial effects and can be applied in any number of ways. So for all practical purposes aromatherapy is the use of essential oils with the intent to heal, whereby the various means of application are not so much dictated by factual reasons, but rather various cultural orthodoxies depending on what jurisdiction one happens to be in, i.e. France or the UK!

Where Pharmacology does not tread:
The biological perspective There is currently a strong trend to qualify plant medicines as mere placebos, despite the fact that clinical studies and experience often have demonstrated therapeutic efficacy. The discrimination against plant medicines is, among other reasons, based in the difficulty to unambiguously determine the substances (active ingredients) responsible for a given effect. In addition there is generally an expectation, admitted or not, that a single active ingredient can be found, despite the fact that plant medicines almost always contain a complex mixture of secondary metabolites.

To this non-pharmacologist writer the study in question looks very “state of the art’” This is probably what contemporary drug testing is meant to look like. But while the authors clearly state that they investigate merely the influence of odor of lemon and lavender oil on physiological parameters the question remains, whether or not this is a bona fide approach to research potential health effects of those two oils or aromatherapy in general! Everyone who peruses the aromatherapy literature even in the most cursory way must realize that the term aromatherapy is historical and includes the delivery of essential oils in many different ways. However, most likely no-one ever claimed that sticking a tape with odorant between upper lip and nostril - as is the method in the study - is one of them. If one were truly interested in discovering potential health benefits of lemon oil, one could start with the recognition that liver detoxification enzymes have evolved as a response to non-nutritive plant components. See further down Phase I and II liver detoxification enzymes.

Physiological activity of lipophilic plant constituents, essential oils and secondary plant metabolites in general.

Today molecular and evolutionary biology have provided a new perspective to explain the efficacy of plant medicines by understanding the bioactivity of secondary plant metabolites.

Plants need and use secondary metabolites to defend against challenges, by which they are continuously surrounded, such as herbivores, bacteria, fungi, viruses and competing plants. Secondary metabolites are also employed by plants as semiochemicals attracting pollinating as well as seed dispersing animals. Secondary metabolites can act as UV protectants or provide other chemical responses to environmental challenges such as lack or abundance of minerals etc.! Most secondary metabolites are multi functional. Plants generally contain complex mixtures of secondary metabolites providing a diverse array of different types of bioactivity, forming a cocktail of active components with an extremely broad spectrum of physiological effects.

The structural diversity of secondary metabolites that has evolved is immense. Consequently there are secondary metabolites whose specific structure interacts selectively with a molecular target in an animal or micro organism, The advantage of such substances is that they have strong effects vis a vis the animal organism and are risk free for the plant, since corresponding molecular targets are not present in the plant.

Nonspecific Effects
Besides developing selective mono substances plants have most frequently resorted to developing multicomponent mixtures which attack cellular targets not on a specific site but rather in the fashion of a broadband agent. These mixtures of active components simultaneously attack centrally important target structures such as proteins and the cell membrane! Since these structures occur in all cells, animal, bacterial, fungal and even in viruses, essential oils are often effective against animal and microbial challenges!

Typical broad spectrum plant substances are mustard oils, Allicin, Iridoids, aldehydes, Quinones or sesquiterpene lactones, all substances which can form covalent chemical bonds with proteins, the most important building blocks of the cell. When these substances form bonds with proteins they disturb their spatial arrangement (conformation) and consequently their activity!

The formation of multiple non covalent bonds such as hydrogen or ionic bonds, for instance by phenolic or phenyl propanoid hydroxyl groups as in thymol or eugenol leads to a change in protein conformation and thus protein activity.

Of special importance for essential oil effects is the fact that protein structures are held together by the action of lipophilic areas in the center of the protein, stabilizing it’s overall structure. The insertion of lipophilic terpenes into the hydrophobic core of proteins will significantly alter the structure and hence activity of the protein.

An example: Phase I and II liver detoxification enzymes
What is today known as liver detoxification enzymes has evolved in mammals as a means to remove non nutritive plant components, such as essential oils, from the organism. As mammals radiate into new territories they often are required to feed on new, unknown plant species. While the digestive enzymes process nutritive plant components such as carbohydrates, fats and oils and proteins, so called non nutritive components like lipophilic essential oils are foreign to the metabolism and need to be eliminated. As consequence the Cytochrome P-450 or Phase I enzymes evolved to oxidize these foreign molecules (xenobiotics) as well as the Phase II enzymes to further process the oxidized intermediate and facilitate their removal. The resulting effects are among the most beneficial of essential oil use, all be it that much of those happen inadvertently. Whenever we use lemon oil, or also many other essential oils they induce detoxification enzymes. And since induction is highly dynamic more enzymes is induced as is needed for the removal of the responsible essential oil component and further elimination of toxins is incurred.

It is ironic that plants are the native substrates having triggered the evolution of this enzyme system, which also removes the vast majority of all synthetic drugs. In todays medical literature this very enzyme system is generally referred to as drug metabolizing (!) enzymes creating the impression that somehow the removal of the synthetic drug is a feature that comes with its purchase.

Olfaction
If one accepts the fact that the purpose and mechanism of effects mediated by olfaction have developed in the course of biological evolution, it follows that odorants, at least those from the biosphere, would have been subject to evolutionary mechanisms that pertain to events and outcomes for living organisms in a given biosphere, i.e. events of fight or flight, mating or similar real life occurrences. Instances where the semiotics of human olfaction are especially relevant include our sense of individuality, mother child bonding, bonding to family members and friends, sexuality, group bonding, memory of places and nutrition. These instances are familiar to practically everyone and are only recounted to illustrate that odorants from the biosphere do generate relevant responses in human beings, albeit they are sometimes hard to quantify.

There appear to be large unexplored areas of the much denied impact odor has in our lives. Given the divers cultural and genetic dispositions different individuals may have, it is imaginable that some odors may have significant impact on some individuals and negligible impact on others. This is where a wholistic approach, looking at the whole person rather than a symptom or a drug has its moment.

Reprinted with permission from the PIA website.

In closing, we have come to a point in our lives where media sources are now owned by large corporate conglomerates with their own interests at heart. Did you know:

CBS is owned by Viacom
ABC is owned by Disney
NBC is owned by GE

As Harry says, "Wishing you an informed Day!"

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Image above is a photogrpah taken of Lavender growing in Ojai at Rivendell Aromatics.

Lavender Fields Forever!

Lavandula vera, the botanical name for lavender, is in bloom in the garden. The honey bees are enchanted and thus the lavender gets pollinated and the circle of life continues in this woodland garden.

I'm honored to have my Vera natural perfume listed in a post over at the Blogdorg Goodman blog. This perfume was created for the Ojai Lavender Festival back in June 2007. In the article Jessica articulates some of the history of lavender and its entrance into the world of perfume.

Of all the fragrances listed Vera is the only vital nature perfume, what an honor! For now Vera can be found at the E-shop in all her manifestations...samples, solid, liquid vial, flacon and in the perfume locket.

Here are some testimonials I've started to gather. If you have one to share please e-mail it to me or leave it in the comments. Thank you to all my wonderous patrons, I love each of you!

"This perfume has redefined lavender for me. It has built it into a scent that is stunning in its complexity; that is both very natural and very feminine in a sophisticated way. This is one little luxury that I hope never to be without again."
~ Customer of Vera liquid flacon

"Lavender is one of my favorite flowers and scents, and this smells exactly like the real thing, not heavy or overpowering at all like those soap and bath products! Thank you so much!"
~ Customer of Vera solid perfume

"I love that you make perfumes I can wear without getting a rash. I love the heavenly scents and I'm thrilled with the extra solid samples you included! Thank you!"
~ Customer of Vera liquid perfume flacon

"Starts as a herbal-y lavender then dries down to soft resins. Exquisite."
~ Customer of Vera solid perfume

"Vera is one of my favorite scents of hers along with Cimbalom, Page 47 and Sierra. For me Vera is lovely to put on before falling asleep for deep restful slumber. The solid makes it perfect to carry for those times in the day where you need relief of the everyday stressors. Transporting you to a gentle summer evening watching as the sun attempts to kiss the moon with a glass of something good to drink (wine or tea for me)."
~ Angie

Absolutely beautiful perfumes. As well as smelling good, I love how each seems to be imbued with intention to me; Sierra is joyful, Q is grounding and Vera gives a feeling of clarity.
~ Grace

"Thanks, Roxana! It smells wonderful ~ as per the words of my fiancee. :)"
~ Fireman, Vera liquid for his girl

I LOVE the VERA it has a wonderfully complex scent,
and the "sun kissed skin" note is very sensual!
~ Customer of Vera solid perfume

"Lovely scents, especially Page 47 and Vera. Vera is definitely my favorite in this trio--it's intoxicating and subtle at the same time. It's one of those scents that I loved instantly, knowing it was new to my nose and yet feeling as though I recognized it somehow...dreamy. Everything was packaged beautifully from a wonderful seller who clearly uses high quality ingredients in her products :) Thanks very much. I look forward to trying more."
~ Customer of solid perfume sampler

"All three are beautiful and feminine. Page 47 is more of a sexy scent.
The Rosa is elegant. Vera connects me to Nature in my daily urban lifestyle. Thank you"
~ Customer of solid perfume sampler

"This is my favorite stuff in the whole world. "
~ Customer of Vera liquid falcon

"I am wearing this right now. Seeing how Vera is my favorite thing in the world,
of course I love it. Love, love, love it."
~ Customer of Vera solid perfume compact

"The depth of this fragrance is amazing. Lavender has a very open, honest fragrance,
but Vera is so much more. It is open and subtle at the same time. I love wearing it.
Thank you so much for creating this wonderful fragrance."

~ Customer of Vera liquid vial

Images ©Roxana Villa, Vera Illuminated ©Greg Spalenka

12th year Anniversary

I've been so swamped between the move to another house, the spa-cation and getting prepared for the Santa Fe Art Tour at the perfumery that I completely forgot about the 12th anniversary of launching Roxana Illuminated Perfume, ugh!

Back in February of 2007 I was contacted by Sandy Messori to be a presenter at the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival. As you can imagine I felt extremely honored considering some of the other speakers were luminaries in the aromatherapy community, like Suzanne Catty & Michael Scholes. Along with presenting I was offered a booth to sell my products.

At the time I had just started coming out of my shell as a "perfumer", even though I had already been teaching, creating my botanical perfumes and custom fragrances for clients. The invitation gave me the impetus to get my branding and a website together, which launched on the day of the event June 16, 2007. You can read a little bit about it here at the journal.

As a gift to you I am offering 25% off the round tins of Vera (pictured above). This lavender perfume was created specifically for the Ojai Lavender Festival to be a reflection of the landscape, it is complex yet simple with notes ranging from lavender, sage, sun-kissed skin, honey and resin. Use coupon code VERA at the illuminated perfume website, or come pick it up at the perfumery.

Here are a few testimonials I uncovered...

"This perfume has redefined lavender for me. It has built it into a scent that is stunning in its complexity; that is both very natural and very feminine in a sophisticated way. This is one little luxury that I hope never to be without again."

~ Customer of Vera liquid flacon

"Lavender is one of my favorite flowers and scents, and this smells exactly like the real thing, not heavy or overpowering at all like those soap and bath products! Thank you so much!"

~ Customer of Vera solid perfume

"I love that you make perfumes I can wear without getting a rash. I love the heavenly scents and I'm thrilled with the extra solid samples you included! Thank you!"

~ Customer of Vera liquid perfume flacon

"Starts as a herbal-y lavender then dries down to soft resins. Exquisite."

~ Customer of Vera solid perfume

"Absolutely beautiful perfumes. As well as smelling good, I love how each seems to be imbued with intention to me; Sierra is joyful, Q is grounding and Vera gives a feeling of clarity."

~ Grace

"Thanks, Roxana! It smells wonderful ~ as per the words of my fiancee. :)"

~ Fireman, Vera liquid for his girl

I LOVE the VERA it has a wonderfully complex scent,

and the "sun kissed skin" note is very sensual!

~ Customer of Vera solid perfume

"This is my favorite stuff in the whole world. "

~ Customer of Vera liquid falcon

"I am wearing this right now. Seeing how Vera is my favorite thing in the world, of course I love it. Love, love, love it."

~ Customer of Vera solid perfume compact

"The depth of this fragrance is amazing. Lavender has a very open, honest fragrance, but Vera is so much more. It is open and subtle at the same time. I love wearing it.

Thank you so much for creating this wonderful fragrance."

~ Customer of Vera liquid vial

Vera

I first experimented with an EDC, eau de Cologne, in November of 2005. I built the fragrance utilizing a tincture of bay leaves and a synergy combining bay laurel essential oil with spices and citrus. It was the first time I had ever added water to a combination of alcohol, essential oils and tinctured material. Referring back to my meticulous note taking I notice it took a few tries to get the whole darn thing working.
The secret lies in the drop by drop approach followed by filtration. The process definitely reminds one of how closely linked to alchemy perfume making is.

In December of 2007 I decided to attempt a more traditional EDC incorporating the classic herb and citrus combination. This is something I had been sketching and pondering for years. The first perfume I ever wore was an Argentine cologne which my mother and grandmother doused me in regularly. It was fabricated by my grandfathers company Quimica Estrella. My cologne experiment didn’t get very far due to other obligations. However three months later, in February 2008, I was contacted by Sandy Messori of Rivendell Aromatics to be the keynote speaker at the Ojai Lavender Festival. I decided to continue my EDC experiments with the intention of creating a fragrance devoted to Lavender specifically for the event. The EDC path took me to the creation of the botanical perfume Vera, named after true Lavender, Lavandula vera. In nomenclature the term "vera" has now been replaced by angustifolia or officinalis referring to the official plant used in medicinals.

Vera began as a traditional eau de Cologne combining citrus with lavender. The fragrance surpassed the simplicity of an EDC with the addition of several base notes and a fully developed heart. I decided to paint an authentic landscape of Ojai with this fragrance and thus tinctured both Lavender and Sage. Both herbals used in the tincture were grown in Ojai. I also utilized essential oils that were distilled in the region by locally grown plants. Upon studying the history of the area I weaved in notes associated with the first natives and the Chumash Indians. The addition of Orange Blossom in the heart was brought in for the orange groves that have become emblematic with the region.

Vera Botanical Perfume
Roxana at the 2007 Ojai Lavender Festival
Rivendell Aromatics
Ojai Lavender Festival
Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Image of Bayrum bottle at top and Lavender at bottom are old engravings I placed on parchment in Photoshop ©RoxanaVilla.

True

The word Vera is the Latin binomial for Lavender in the botanical language of plants. This linguistic terminology, made popular by Carl Linnaeus pictured at left, is a two part naming process called binary nomenclature. The system was designed to help identify all types of species in a more specific manner including Homo sapiens. For lavender the genus is Lavandula and the second, specific name or epithet is vera. In Latin the word vera means "true" referring to true Lavender.

The new and third edition of the liquid botanical perfume Vera is now ready to ship in the French flacon and smaller vials. The flacon version is sporting a new haute couture pouch. I'm still working on reformatting Vera as a solid perfume, although the little pouches are ready.

In a recent journal post, inspired by a question from the illustrious shoe artisan Wendy Holden I shared the details regarding Vera, which I have since amended with some additional information included below.

Vera Liquid Botanical Perfume
Fragrance family: HERBAL, FOUGERE
Ingredients include:
Wood, Resin, Bees Honeycomb, California Lavender and Sage, French Lavender, Bay, Citrus, a faux Ambergris accord I created and two of my own tinctures of Lavender and native California Sage.

The primary fragrance notes include:

Lavender, Orange blossom, Hay and Honey.

Vera Review at The Perfume Critic

Vera included in a Review at Scent Hive

I much prefer to acknowledge the YES instead of the NO's, however, to put your mind at ease, here are the NO's.

• No animal ingredients, nor do I test on animals.
  
• No isolates.
• No synthetic fragrances.
• No petrochemicals.
• No parabens.
• No phthalates.
• No artificial colors.

Vera is a botanical perfume extract is available in a French glass flacon containing 7 grams by weight of the liquid perfume, a glass vial containing 1 gram by weight and in sample packs.

A solid expression of Vera

The word Vera, meaning true, is the Latin binomial for lavender in the linguistic terminology of plants. This natural perfume expertly weaves several types of lavender with notes of white sage, fresh mown hay, orange blossom and a salty ocean breeze.


Vera liquid botanical perfume was first unveiled at the Ojai Lavender Festival in June 2007 when I was invited to be the keynote speaker. The introduction of the second perfume in the California series arrived on the same day that the formal website and blog were launched. It was a very exciting day as I finally stepped into the world of aromatics as a botanical perfume artist.

"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud
was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~ Anais Nin

The solid expression of Vera debuts with the full moon this Thursday, May 27th, almost three years since the liquid graced us with her illustrious bouquet. Luxurious and creamy the unguent contains the same accords and has a very similar aromatic profile which remains very true to the liquid.


The evocative fragrance is an ode to the herbaceous bouquet of lavender and sage from the Ojai Valley in Southern California. Regionally distilled herbs harmonize with a floral heart and infused oils from local flora. For the base I have used beeswax from my own consciously cared for bees and from the grower/distiller of the essences and plant infused raw materials contained within Vera. The painting of the fragrance thus is very wholistic and true to Ojai.

"We don’t have a language for the senses.
Feelings are images, sensations are like musical sounds."

~ Anais Nin

Fragrance family: HERBAL, FOUGERE
Notes: California & French Lavender, Sage, Bay, Citrus, Wood, Resin, Bees Honeycomb, Hay, Oakmoss and hand infused Lavender from an organic farm in Ojai. There are over forty pure essences in this complex lavender perfume.

As I sat down to draw the preliminary sketches for Vera I began with a traditional cologne formula from there I choose to weave in aspects of the Indigenous people of California. Known as the Chumash tribe they inhabited the coastal region of California between Malibu and San Luis Obispo. The Chumash lived in harmony with the land sustaining themselves primarily from the sea and the oaks. As I read this I choose to expand the narrative to include notes from the sea such as seaweed, choya (distilled sea shells) and wood.


Vera solid natural perfume arrives in an American made, antique finish metal compact contained in a purple haute couture crocheted pouch. I pour each solid perfume into a separate tin that fits inside the antique finished metal compact. This ensures lasting performance of this pure, natural, botanical perfume. This insures that the vintage gets better with age.

The crochet pouch and the enhancements on our box have all been created by hand. Solid mini samples are also available individually or in sample packs.

Celebrating Five Years

The third number in the Fibonacci sequence is also the number of how many years ago, as of today, the website and this journal were birthed. The magical digit is five, which is also the number of petals on a California rose.

On June 16th, 2007 the forth annual Ojai Lavender Festival took place under a canopy of native oaks in Libbey Park. It was bright and sunny, the website was finally ready and at 1pm that day I gave the keynote presentation at the festival. That was also the day I released Vera as a liquid perfume. For the presentation I described the similarities between creating visual and aromatic art, the history of fragrance and the construction of Vera.

In observance of this day I have a few festivities here for you which include some play and gifts for the next week.

The first part of the celebration will include a free sample of the not yet to be released Lavender Body Butter with any orders of $25 or over (not including tax or shipping). When placing your $25 order please let me know you would like the Lavender Body Butter sample.

The Lavender Body Butter is made with Organic Jojoba oil which I have infused in the California sun with calendula petals and lavender blossoms. Besides the Jojoba oil the base also includes Mango Butter and essential oils. This is one body butter of many soon to appear along with an entire new line based on my deep roots in aromatherapy.

For the second part of the festivities I will be giving away Vera perfume related gifts to four lucky winners. If you are one of the lucky winners you can choose from these prizes:
- 1 gram vial of Vera liquid
- A mini compact with a tin of Vera solid perfume
- Small glass jar of the new Lavender Body Butter

There are several ways to enter:

(1) Leave a comment of this blog post or my facebook page and tell me what your favorite "illuminated' perfume is and why, or which one you would most like to sample, ONE entry.

(2) Any purchase of $25 as of June 16th until the 26th, will receive ONE entry. If your purchase is for $50 that will count as TWO, if $75 that will count as THREE, etc.

(3) Review one of your favorite Illuminated Perfumes on Make Up Alley, BaseNotes, Fragrantica or another major perfume forum (THREE entries per each review). Reviews must be dated June 16, 2012 or there after. Please email me the link to confirm.

(4) Follow this journal, my tweets or the Roxana Illuminated Perfume facebook page or and you will receive ONE entry per each one. If you already are a follower please let me know.

(5) Tweet this celebration on Twitter with a link to to this post and you will receive ONE entry.

(6) Mention this celebration on your blog with a link to to this post and you will receive ONE entry. Please email me the link to confirm.

(7) Mention this celebration on Facebook with a link to to this post and you will receive ONE entry. Please email me the link to confirm: roxana

 

The fine print...

1. The deadline for entering is June 28, 2012, at 10 pm (PST).
2. Entries will be placed into a random drawing and announced on this blog, twitter and facebook.

Thank you for your support over the years! The next Ojai Valley Lavender Festival takes place on Sunday, June 23rd.

May Flowers: Lavender

On the twelth day of Maying my true love sent to me a: A sweet lavender bouquet. My monthly contribution is up at the Lillyella blog. I give instructions on how to make a simple Lavender wand using fresh plant material from my mothers garden.

Lavender wands are fun to make and offer the fresh, authentic aroma of lavender for your wardrobe, the bedroom or your car. I'm sure there's a bounty of other uses as well.

Images: Lavender postcard image ©RoxanaVilla using my own photo and painting with an antique postcard, couple image is from one of the antique postcard dated 1912.

The Ojai Lavender Festival

Delight your senses, Inspire the Soul!
As a Devotee of the Aromatic world I invite you to join us at The Ojai Lavender Festival this Saturday, June 16th
at Libbey Park in downtown Ojai beneath the canopy of Oaks. We will be celebrating all things Lavender, I can assure you the day will be a delight to the body, mind and spirit!

I am the keynote speaker and will have a booth with my perfumes and brand new jewelry with art pendants exquisitely crafted by a local artist. Stop by and say hi. Rivendell Aromatics has promised Lavender and Lemon Sorbet, yum!

The Ojai Lavender Festival: Celebrating all things Lavender Saturday, June 16th, 2007 10am - 6pm Location: Libbey Park in downtown Ojai, CA Speakers, Marketplacehttp://www.lavenderfestival.net/schedule.htm

Nine

Nine years ago I came out of my aromatic shell 🌱 and debuted the Roxana Illuminated Perfume line, website and blog with being a presenter at the Ojai Lavender Festival. In the photo below I am chatting with the aromatherapy legend Robert Tisserand. As you can see my beginnings were very humble.

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud 

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."

~ Anais Nin

It was my first step into what at the time was a very adversarial field of "Natural Perfume", which is why I used the quote above on my products. I was adamant about not including the historical animal ingredients that my peers were using, as well as synthetics or isolates. Nine years later I am still standing in my truth with supporting and promoting our connection to nature...and inspiring others to do the same.

On that blessed, grand day I released Vera, composed as a song to lavender and the regional farmers working with this healing herb. The handmade fragrance is an herbaceous bouquet of lavender and sage inspired by ingredients from the beautiful Ojai Valley in Southern California. The scent has been expertly woven with several types of lavender, notes of white sage, fresh mown hay, orange blossom and a salty ocean breeze. FYI, I am just about out of the current edition.

We are celebrating the ninth anniversary of Roxana Illuminated Perfume, the completion of my online course and the first day of the Summer with a 25% discount at my website on any orders over $50, enter the code "Lavender" upon checking out.

FYI, I'm sold out and close to be out of many fragrances including Vera, thus don't delay if you have a favorite.

Many thanks to each of you who have been part of this wonder filled adventure. You can read more about that day at the Ojai Lavender Festival at the second post I wrote here at this journal.

Anxiety

Yestarday I had a friend mention that she uses lavender for dealing with anxiety and that she wished she hadn't left her bottle of lavender essential oil at home because it was a stressful day. Gee, what a bummer I thought. Since this freind works in the Whizin Atrium where my perfumery is, I told her I had made a perfume using three lavenders from Ojai combined with three from France and that I would bring her over a little tub.

When I went back upstairs I prepared a little "Anxiety Relief "solid sample pack of three which included Vera (lavender & sage, master healers), Lyra (floral, feminine, soothing and relaxing) + Terrestre (earthy, grounding with some rose for the heart).

It seems that anxiety is quite a popular theme the last few weeks, at least here in the United States of Surrealism! Not only our many of us concerend about the future of "the land of the free" but many are having some sort of crisis financially, spiritually or an awakening bekoning them to live their life in a different manner.

The stress is likely to be compounded for those who don't spend much time in nature and or get their information from the corrupt media that is intent of fueling fear. Fueling fear was a manipulation tactic used during the Hitler regime as a means to control people. When people are in fear they are much easier to control.

An article I read last year in the National Institute of Health cited that anxiety disorders affect 18 percent of the adult population of the United States, or about 40 million people.

So, lets go over a few things that can facilitate some relief, beginning with dumping the news!

1. Breathing

When stress or fear enters our arena our breath will become shallow, shift to a rapid pace that feels like its going to jump out of our mouths or stop all together.

Awareness of our breath in those situations is the number one item to become conscious of. Number two is centering ourselves to harness our power and not only control the breath but also our emotional state. I see this as taming the AIR element that has gone awry. Breathing and out of control thoughts are like a tornado thrashing through our village. We want to command our inner cowboy/girl to lasso that tornado and use it later for something that will serve us, not destruction.

2. Daily Acts

Creating daily acts that nurture our spirit is critical. The most simple are getting in nature. If at all possible remove your shoes and walk or lie on the grass or the earth....or head to the ocean side.

3. Use authentic essential oils and essential oil rich products.

Fragrance oils ARE NOT essential oils! Essential oils come from plants, fragrance oils are derived from petroc-hemicals and or a combination of petro-chems and byproducts of other industries. I believe the current misconception between "fragrance oils" and "essential oils" might be from the usage of the term oil.

Many studies can scientifically validate essential oils, this one, indicates lavender reduces the human body’s stress response. While teaching aromatherapy to massage students in the 1990s I shared Hippocrates message, which I still do today "The way to health is to have a scented massage and an aromatic bath every day." That can be as simple as putting your feet in a bucket of warm water with a bit of salt and 8 drops of essential oil.

Here is another study that finds massage with lavender has the ability to lower blood pressure associated with stress.

4. Laughter

Spend time with people that make you laugh, if there aren't any around you then go out and find them! In easy way to do that is go to a Comedy Club, if that's not an option than find a copy of the Sunday comics. Don't bother with the rest of the newspaper, since that is basically fear based, depressing or makes us wish we made more money so we can buy more stuff we don't need.

5. Get lost in a good story that is uplifting and inspiring

My daughter and I have been watching The Crown on Netflix. Not only is this series really well written and beautiful but it always makes me feel good. There are lots of other great series out, in fact, loads of them. However, not many leave you feeling good. The other Netflix series I highly recommend is Chefs Table.

For more about stress relief check out this post here at the journal from December back in 2007!
More http://www.treehugger.com/health/8-natural-remedies-anxiety.html