Sir Leaf and Madame Berry

In the 90's when I began my aromatherapy long distance learning class, I created a simple Bay Rum cologne which I re-made at several different points as gifts for the men in my life. The formula was based on putting bay leaves, allspice and cloves into a high quality rum and then adding bay laurel essential oil. The more times I made it the more complex the formula became and the more I was able to discern how I wanted to continue to expand, deepen and refine the notes.

The original Bay Rum cologne was most likely created by an inventive soul who infused the fragrant bay leaves from the West Indies, known as Pimenta racemosa, into local rum. Another story says that the cologne was derived by the co-distillation of the leaves into rum. Regardless, what we know to be true are:

1. The cologne originates from the West Indies. 
2. Bay leaves, Pimenta racemosa, were added to rum
3. The pairing was popularized by sailors who then took it to other parts of the world.

A few years ago I started noticing that I had several bottles of the tincture in my studio and the fridge, so I put all of them together as a cologne. I first shared it at the National Association of Holistic Aromatherapy conference at Bastyr in Washington, but kept it more of a secret for those who knew about it.

Since we are now in the middle of packing the house to move I thought it was a good time to share with a bigger network. I decided on the name Sir Leaf and Madame Berry while I was editing the photos yesterday, the words just popped into my sphere and I liked it. The fragrance features tinctures and essential oils of bay leaves, woods and spices, with a bit of Jamaican rum. The scent contains the characteristic warm fragrance notes of a traditional Island Bay Rum. Here's a review from a client...

"I’ve mostly used synthetic colognes in the past, which for me, were ok. But putting on Roxana’s amazing Bay Rum fragrance is like wearing a piece of art. There is a warmth, soul and personality to it that could only come through in something that is crafted with the care and passion that Roxana puts into her products. I love to sail and Bay Rum evokes thoughts of exotic spice islands, warm breezes and the sea." ~ Jeff Burne

Although traditionally worn by sailors and then promoted for men, the aroma is very uni-sexy, especially for todays modern gender neutral paradigm. As with all my potions, this item has been handmade with essential oils and plant tinctures which have been documented to contain numerous wellness attributes promoting inner peace and improved circulation.

Sir Leaf and Madame Berry is part of a giveaway I have started today (Monday) and is also listed on website. FYI, this is a limited edition with no written formula to follow, so if you fall in love with it make sure to stock up.

At the moment the bottles are slight different but all the same basic size and style and there are no dedicated cards to go along with it, just the two generic ones.

Phase Two: GREEN

Now that the perfumery has been moved and set up at home, I am in phase two of our move which consists of sifting through and packing up of our lives with a clear intent of putting this very cute mid century modern house on the market.

Although I mostly feel excited about the fertile adventure ahead, going through all "my stuff" has been quite depleting physically, mentally and emotionally! Not only am I in awe of how much I have amassed in the last seventeen years but mostly in the last three years since having the perfume workspace outside of the house. The furniture is all in storage for the moment. The decor items, many from Estate sales, thrift stores, received as gifts or found on the street are being evaluated. I definitely don't need so much lab glass (!), thus that's being put aside for a garage sale.

The most astonishing collection of items is amber bottles filled with different volatile liquids from finished perfumes, chords, individual essential oils, experiments, etc. Thus, I have decided to start including items in orders. Each week, beginning on Monday, I will share what will be offered on facebook, instagram and here at the journal. If it is something you would like get it included free with an order or purchase larger sizes until it is sold out.

The theme for this Monday is GREEN and I will be offering:

• Spearmint and/or Cucumber/Lime hydrosol distilled late last Summer, both organic
• A perfume experiment I called Verde, read more on Verde further in the post.
• A BayRum cologne which includes essential oils along with tinctures of spices and herbs.

To receive the items above spend:

• $25 choose a one ounce bottle of a hydrosol. 
• $50 choose two bottles of hydrosols or a solid sample of Verde.
• $100 choose four bottles of hydrosol, a 1 gram vial of Verde or a 4 gram bottle of the BayRum.

For orders over $100, use the criteria above to create your list, make sure to leave your selection in the "Notes to Seller" area when checking out or e-mail me.

Be aware that I may add items spontaneously as I find them while packing. Once an item is sold out there is no more, unless I have the formula and can re-create it.

I will also post the hydrosols, Verde and the BayRum on the site to be ordered individually.

At the moment I have not found the formula for Verde, thus all I can share is that, to my nose, it is a primarily green scent with notes of sweet tobacco and flowers. Some of the individual essences I am able to discern are fir absolute, choya and a floral component coming from jasmine, ylang ylang, boronia or perhaps all three. However, I could be completely wrong and the floral fruity component might just be the way the fir absolute has melded over time with the other essences. More than likely the formula is in one of the binders that was already boxed up. I never released Verde because I felt it needed more complexity and also I hadn't created a story for the fragrance.

I have also started a fragrance along the same spontaneous way that Impromptu first came about, more on that shortly. Pictured above are a few of the bottles with aromatic liquids that have been poured into a larger bottle. So far ten different bottles have been poured out and into a perfume in the making which will, obviously, be a one of a kind.

Also, keep in mind that we are on a fast track to pack, fix up the house, stage it and sell. Since there are so many unknown factors with my workspace in flux over the next few months, please be patient and restock your favorite scents now.

Wednesday Muse: Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta

Todays muse is the absolutely stunning Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta, a glorious example of how exquisite type & image can dance together. Even more impressive is that the two parts were created approximately thirty years apart!

The gem of a book was begun in 1561 under rule of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I king of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia. Georg Bocksay, the secretary of the king, created the book in Vienna to demonstrate his inventiveness and technical superiority over other scribes.

Later, under the rule of Ferdinand's grandson, Emperor Rudolph II, Joris Hoefnagel was commissioned to illuminate Bocskay's book. "Hoefnagel added fruit, flowers, and insects to nearly every page, composing them so as to enhance the unity and balance of the page's design. It was one of the most unusual collaborations between scribe and painter in the history of manuscript illumination."1

The books mastery of composition between the beautifully scripted words and carefully placed painted imagery eloquently embodies the conjunction of two art forms uniting in a synergy that together form a whole so much more than the sum of its parts.

This treasure, along with a trip to Austria in August 2003, ultimately inspired me to pair the terms “illuminated” with “perfume” when forming the concepts for my botanical fragrance business. I still feel an inner swoon when I gaze upon the exquisiteness of these pages.

Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta
Joris Hoefnagel (Flemish / Hungarian, 1542 - 1600), and Georg Bocskay (Hungarian, died 1575)
Mira calligraphiae monumenta, fols. 1-129 written 1561 - 1562; illumination added about 1591 - 1596, Tempera colors, watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment and paper bound between pasteboard covered with red morocco
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles