Uber-niche

During the visit of the Italian cousins last week I took them on a journey into the heart of über-niche perfume, botanical perfume that is. I started their "sensorium" with my palette of essences so that they could experience s few individual notes before migrating to the full fledged perfumes. They were so interested and asked such good questions that I brought them into the studio to show how a botanical perfume is built. It occurred to me that this is crucial in someone really understanding the time and costs of a pure, vital, botanical perfume. Thus, on Sunday when the buoyant and wise Beth Gehring came by I knew that some extensive time in the studio was imperative.


Beth is a beautiful, kindred soul that came my way via another beautiful soul Tom Pease. Both Tom and Beth are writers for the perfume blog Perfume Smellin' Things, aka PST. Sunday, while still buzzing from my Backward Beekeepers meeting, Beth arrived at my doorstep carrying a jar of the golden elixir, Honey, with her very warm and vibrant husband James at her side.


I knew that Beth and I shared a similar fabric in our spirit DNA from her writing and our conversations. The extent of the threads and weaves were a delight to discover. Read some of the perfume reviews by Beth by following this link to Perfume Smellin' Things. She also enchants us with her prose on a variety of other venues including one of her blogs dedicated to enjoying a wonderful life Stirring the Senses.


I could have easily spent at least a few more days with both Beth and James, but alas, they needed to head back down to La Jolla and will be traveling to their home in Ohio within the next day.


Having heard that Beth is an avid horse lover and rider I was very much looking forward to her perceptions of the Equus caballus accord. I began this accord initially as a base for a different perfume. I have grown so very fond of this accord on its own that I have decided to build it a bit further to develop into a stand alone fragrance. This Equine rich accord began with Amberi Attar from India. I've added several other notes that are reminiscent of the sensual pleasures of riding a horse.

To ride a horse is to ride the sky.
~Author Unknown

Images: At top "Blessings" ©Greg Spalenka, all photographs ©Roxana Villa and images at bottom "Fortuna" ©Greg Spalenka from The Eyes of the Unicorn" children's book. See more of Gregs work on his website: http://spalenka.com