Friday, September 19, 2008

Solve et coagula


I had discovered,
early in my researches,
that their doctrine was no mere
chemical fantasy,
but a philosophy they applied to the world, to the elements,
and to man himself. - W.B. Yeats

The last batch of the solid perfume samples from the Illuminated News giveaway will go out this morning along with orders. It's been a rather interesting week, definitely a little alchemical transformation going on.

The samples are of the fragrance created on August 16th with the temporary title Birthday Balm. Read about it here at are journal. It is the fastest perfume I have ever crafted. The twenty little samplers have gone off far and wide to all parts of the globe. A few more have been dispersed to friends and those that placed orders this week.

So...what do you think of it?

At the NYC Sniffapalooza Fall Ball I will be debuting solid perfumes as a new addition to the Roxana Illuminated Perfume family. Above is a picture of the current antiqued metal compacts I will be using with one of the handmade, crochet pouches.

Happy Mabon!
I'll be back in a few days with a post about the Fall Equinox
and some thoughts on a Mabon perfume.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

6 comments:

D.Alexander said...

Roxana, your "Birthday Balm" is exquisite. When I closed my eyes I was transported to a blossom and incense scented harem. I felt as though I had entered a hidden world of women-- where senuous secrets are revealed. It is delicate, potent, sexy-- irresistable. D. Alexander

Illuminated Perfume said...

D.,
Thank you for sharing your beautiful word smithing with us describing your feelings. Very evocative.

Illuminated Perfume said...

Anne e-mailed this to me privately and gave the A-okay to post it here. Thank you Anne.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Roxana:
Wow, it came so quickly! Thank you. I love it!
Reading the notes included, my response was, ooh, this will be spicy. Indeed, on first sniff it was, yet immediately it tumbled into sweet (the beeswax?), powdery, earthy, woody, autumnal, edible, womanly, sexy, subtle, cool. I found myself swathed in velvet and lace, frolicking between the sun shafts in the mossy forest with the fairy host.
That must have been some birthday, girl!
Thanks again for the interlude. Love and hugs and Mabon blessings,
Anne

and her second note:

What an amazing perfume. Amazing too how it smelled so completely different on Elizabeth. And yes, the solid perfume seems just right for this yin time of the year.
Anne

Anonymous said...

I am thrilled to win a sample of your Birthday Balm! With notes reminiscent of Vespertina I am also strangely reminded of my favorite oak lined khiking trails in Santa Barbara. It literally gives me comfort when I'm feeling a little stressed at work - a dab of this wonderful scent and I'm calmed, and reminded that I am more than my job. THank you for your generosity Roxana!

Adriane Giberson said...

Roxana.... what a wonderful, magical balm! It is a harvest of scents... sensuous but not overpowering... absolutely delightful! Can hardly wait for a liquid version of it. Thanks so much for your generosity, and for sharing your alchemical talents with the world! :)

Blessings...
Adriane

Anonymous said...

Hi Roxana,
Thank you so much for the sample of Birthday Balm. It is deliciously earthy and sensuous, grounding. For the first few minutes it is a perfect balance of indolic jasmine, orange and spices on top of the labdanum and patchouli base. I do wish it continued like this forever! I found the drydown to be a bit base-heavy and I wish those other notes stayed around longer. Overall I think it's a lovely fragrance and now I'm looking forward to sampling your others, esp. in the CA series. Also, I'm not usually a solid perfume person but I loved the consistency and level of fragrance in yours. And those compacts in the picture are gorgeous!