Argentina vs Germany

Will it be my homeland of Argentina that takes the cup or Germany during this Sundays soccer match? Either way, it's bound to be a fun game and there's always the handsome Lionel Messi. 

Check out the latest post at CaFleurBon by the ever so witty Michelyn Camen where the new edition of Blossom is part of a giveaway related to the big match between Germany and Argentina this Sunday. While I represent the southern hemisphere with Blossom on the other side of the Atlantic and way up north is one of my soul sister perfumers Tanja of April Aromatics representing Germany.

Blossom EdC photo: Roxana Villa, Lionel Messi photo: SoccerKidz

Verde que te quiero verde

Wishing you all a very green Feast of Saint Patricks day! I'll be wearing Hedera helix as my green scent.

In Buenos Aires, where I was born, my fellow Argentine descendants of the Land of Éire will be celebrating in the pubs downtown. The Irish in my roots comes from my maternal grandmother who had the surname Gardiner.

Verde que te quiero verde.

Verde viento.Verdes ramas

El barco sobre la mar

y el caballo en la montaña

~ Federico García Lorca

The greenest note in the palette of the botanical perfumer is galbanum, available as an essential oil, C02 extract and an absolute. GreenWitch, Gracing the Dawn and Hedera helix perfumes all contain galbanum. It's a note that requires mindfulness because of its strong vital character.

Want more on green, check out this post from the Perfume Illuminated series.

Equus caballus

The most Equine, horse-like, fragrance note in my palette as a natural, botanical perfume artist is Amberi Attar. Other notes that impart an overall impression of horse are those found in the following groups: leather, agrestic, grassy, coumarin, balsamic and animalic. The perfume I am developing with Michelyn Camen based on my birthplace of Buenos Aires, has an Equine accord. I created the accord to weave in the hay notes of the Pampas and an important part of Argentina's rich history and culture. Originally when I began this perfume several years ago I was focused on incorporating the rich, earthy aspect of the Pampas. As I teamed up with Michelyn and thought about the concept being focused on Buenos Aires and A Tale of Two Cities I expanded the idea. The Equine accord extends the reach a bit more and incorporates the game of polo, which Argentina dominates as the World Champion since 1949. The history of polo stems from the same region as that of perfume. The excerpt below is from a the Argentina Polo website: (Originally published in polonews.com, from: The Vancouver Sun)

"The King of Games" Let other people play at other things. The King of Games is still the Game of Kings.

This verse, inscribed on a stone tablet beside a polo ground South of the fabled silk route from China to the West, sums up the ancient history of what is believed to be the oldest organized sport in the world.

The name for this accord is Equus caballus. The notes of this accord will appear predominantly in the base with the notes from the Fruit accord making an appearance more in the heart and top notes of the fragrance. Read more about the upcoming perfume with the theme of Buenos Aires here at these links:

The Tale of Two Cities Forbidden Fruit

Native of South America

"Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get. "

~ Forrest Gump

This morning I made a cheese and chocolate omelet for Eve and I. Sounds a little out there I know, but, I've been missing my morning pan de chocolates. Eve thought it sounded pretty darn weird, in that rolling eyes teenager way. No matter, after one taste she changed her opinion.

As we headed out the door to the carpool drop off location I realized I had somehow gotten chocolate all over my face. Then I remembered the photo pictured above, take by my grandfather. When my family first moved to California we lived in Van Nuys, Arcadia and then moved to our own home in Encino. On the back of the photo it says Van Nuys 1966, which would mean I was four years old at the time. Turns out that chocolate, like myself, are native to South America.

Yesterday Greg has an old friend over for a visit, Roger. Roger and Greg met as children in Arcadia. Turns out Roger attended the same elementary school as I did, Holly Avenue in Arcadia. He is my brothers age which means they were school mates. What a small world, a six degrees of separation, "Lost" moment.

I ended up flunking first grade because I didn't understand or speak english, however, I did win the all school illustrated book competition. Language is no barrier when it comes to the art spirit.

Speaking of the art spirit, I am working on a chocolate perfume.

Forbidden Fruit

In the kitchen the other day I remarked, "Something smells fruity." My teenage daughter rolled her eyes answering, "Mom, everything smells fruity to you lately!"

Well, not everything, although I have been picking out the fruit note in a number of items that normally I would not have. It's as if my olfactory antenna is tuned to that fruity note. Our local farmers markets and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program is abundant with fruit lately, amplified by the fact that I've been working on a fruity Chypre perfume.

As I develop other perfumes and accords I've become keenly aware of the note. Each time an essence crosses my olfactory terrain that has a semblance of fruit I add it to my expanding list. Some essences are obvious like those in the Citrus family and Osmanthus. I've got some Apple blossom concrete which is within the right family but has more agrestic qualities than fruit. Will see what transpires with the aroma when I dilute it in alcohol.

Why fruit? The addition of the fruit accord for this fragrance is at the request of Ms. Michelyn Camen. Read some of the back story about this fruity chypre by following this link.

The odors of this major fragrance family are of edible fruits such as apple, apricot, banana, berry, citrus, peach, pear, pineapple, and prune. For the botanical / natural perfumer we have plenty of aromatics are our disposal from the citrus subfamily and a few from the berry grouping. However, we rely on other materials which impart fruit notes, like Osmanthus for example. Osmanthus is an evergreen shrub/tree producing fragrant flowers native to China that is often referred to as The Jasmine of the Orient. Boronia and Champa are other exotic, rich floral notes that can be utilized for imparting fruit. Chamomile has a strong apple aromatic note while Ylang Ylang can sometimes convey the banana note. Absolutes from the conifer family contain fruit jam notes that will be part of this bouquet.

Essences which impart "wine" notes (referring to grapes), include Ambrette, Pomegranate, Davana and Cognac. The two later have the ability to impart fresh, fruity notes to the top of the composition when utilized with mindfulness. Sea Buckthorn is an extract from berries commonly used in aromatherapy that has sweet berry notes. I have not used it in a composition as of yet and am sensing it may work well in this accord.

With this fragrance I am also interested in essences with warm, honey notes like Genet, also referred to as Broom, Mimosa, Beeswax and Hay are possibilities. These will work well with conveying the Pampas, which plays an important aspect in my connection with Argentina. I'm just not sure if I will add them to the accord or the overall composition. We will see as this accord progresses and matures....just like fine wine.

Read part three of this segment here: Equus caballus.

Tale of Two Cities

This past summer, shortly after the review of Vera on the Perfume Critic website, the New York City based fragrance writer Michelyn Camen contacted me via e-mail. In our cyber exchange, I learned that we shared a plethora of shared interests including Argentine ancestry. The fertile connection has birthed a collaborative project on our beloved city Buenos Aires. With Michelyn's creative input I am formulating a Chypre perfume based on Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires.

I was born in Buenos Aires in 1962 just as my mother was hitting her prime with her fashion business. My family roots go back to Western Catholic Europe, mainly Northern Italy with a bit of Irish and Spanish. My father and mother choose to immigrate to the United States with my older brother and I in the mid sixties. Read more about this by following this link to a post on this journal. Michelyn's experience of Buenos Aires stems from her Jewish Argentine mother.

Thus, Michelyn and I come together to bring you the two aspects of Buenos Aires; the Paris of South America- a city of culture, literature, mate and the Tango and the dark side of Buenos Aires, one of death, military juntas and tragic repression.

The fruity Chypre perfume will reflect a tale of two cities, reflecting the dark and light of Buenos Aires and the perspectives of its two creators.

Chypre as a perfume family was made famous by Francois Coty with the launch of 'Le Chypre' in 1917. The perfume contrasted the citrus top note of Bergamot with the heavy, lichen base note of Oak Moss. Since then the classic formula has grown to have many sub-families including the fruity Chypre.

I am beginning this formulation by creating a fruity accord. All the citrus essences are being contemplated as well as those notes in the natural botanical perfume palette which convey a definitive fruit note such as Black Currant, Osmanthus and the Absolutes from the Conifer family. Italian Blood Orange and Bergamot will tie in nicely with my Italian heritage and that of so many who have immigrated to Argentina. Labdanum and Patchouli will manifest in the base note as well as both my Vegan-Ambergris accord and a Leather accord. For the middle east influences and the nod to all the Argentine Jews we are contemplating Oud, Damascus rose, Dates, Star anise and Cardamom. Mate, Tobacco and Cacao will also be featured somewhere in the composition.

Michelyn has asked that the fragrance contain a hint of blood and tears. Two resinous materials come to mind for this request, Dragons Blood and Frankincense. These will be added either in the form of tinctures from the resinous material or a Blood & Tears accord.

Back in October 2006 I modified a chypre perfume created for the pastoral Pampas. It is warm and earthy, depicting the agricultural land so vital to Argentina. Aspects of that formula will be woven into this fragrance, as my family has a ranch out on the Pampas.

If you are a regular follower of this journal then you are already aware that as of late I create my perfumes utilizing multiple accords which I have formulated in advance. During Andy's visit here in April he referred to the word "accord" as bases.

This perfume is a challenge for me because I am not a fan of the fruity category of fragrances. Thus, I will be stepping out into a new arena on many fronts. I intend to create something beautiful that is evocative of my home land.

Read part two to this segment here: Forbidden Fruit.

Michelyn Camen is a New York City based writer and is the former Editorial Director/Fragrance Editor for Beauty News NY and LA. Michelyn is our Senior Contributing Writer for Sniffapalooza Magazine, the New in Niche Columnist for Basenotes.net, and a contributor to national magazines.

Camen is a multi award winning marketing executive, a fragrance consultant and the Founder and President of BrandWidth Consulting Co., which specializes in brand development and positioning in niche and emerging markets.

Photo at top was take at La Recoleta in March 2005, ©Roxana Villa, photo of Michelyn Camen courtesy of the author and illustration of the question mark pen is by Greg Spalenka, www.spalenka.com.

+Q Perfume

I've been twice blessed with beautiful reviews in one week! The enchanting and lovely Simone over at +Q Perfume, meaning "mais-que" more than perfume, has done a little write up about Roxana Illuminated Perfume.

+Q Perfume

Here is how Simone transcribes "mais" (+) "que" (Q)

+Q Perfume means more than just perfume but it is also a game of words in portuguese: mais-que-perfeito a tense of verb in portuguese grammar. So it means that I give more than just perfume, because i talk about inspirations, perfumery, perfumer, books, scents, flavors, design and I interview people...

Once again, I am deeply humbled and grateful. It is especially delightful to receive accolades by a fellow South American. As a teen I had the opportunity to visit Rio de Janeiro with my mother. I adored the visit and the joyous nature of the people. Master Gregorio has been lucky enough to have gone on a visit to Brazil during carnival, which is also celebrated in Argentina. My experience of carnival in Argentina was getting pelted by water balloons in Mar del Plata. Very different from Brazil, where entire cities live for this celebration and are transformed by rhythmic beat.

Besos querida Simone!

Photo above ©RoxanaVilla, is of the Oak perfume Q, in honor of Simones blog with the letter Q in the title.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Lineage expanded

Yesterday, after posting the blog entry, my father sent me another photo from Leonildas birthday celebration. This one showcases all the “adult” attendees. Looks like it was a big party!

Also, in yesterdays post I wrote I would share the formula of the birthday solid perfume I set out to create. I think it was the quickest perfume I have ever orchestrated. I began with essences noted in the previous post, however, as I proceeded things shifted. Other essences spoke to me, some whispered, while others shouted.

The story unfolds with a small beaker filled with 11 grams of jojoba oil. Normally I use the unrefined jojoba, however, I am out of the lovely golden hued elixir, so the refined was used instead. To that I added my essences, I began with Labdanum. As I took all the different Labdanums and Jasmines out other essences beckoned. Recently I was given a small vial of Neroli, so a drop of that went in to compliment the Jasmine. When I had finished the composition I inhaled and applied some of the Jojoba blend on my skin. There was a wild, animalic note. Although I rather enjoyed the adventurous terrain the perfume had drifted to, it wasn’t quite the right fit for the day. So, I added Vanilla to smooth out the landscape a bit and a new Patchouli I have just received. I then reapplied and was contented, knowing that the aromatics would change even further once the beeswax was added.

The perfume is interesting and complex. When I took it out to share at the play, everyone responded to it quite enthusiastically. In fact, one of Eve’s friends stated, “OH! This is my favorite of all your perfumes!” For now we call it Birthday Balm:

11 grams of unrefined jojoba oil
2.2 grams of shaved beeswax
Approximately 44 drops total, not each, of the following essences:

Labdanum
Vanilla
Jasmine
Patchouli
Neroli
Orange
Peppercorn
Ginger

Normally I would have chosen to include some of my accords, but, since I knew I would be sharing the ingredients with you all, I decided to keep it simple. Perfume with a Vanilla base, Jasmine heart and citrus top notes are a good start for those starting out on their journey into the world of botanical perfume.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™
Photo above unknown photographer, photo of ceramic pot with shaved beeswax ©Roxana Villa.

Argentina

I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a metropolitan port city in South America. At the age of three, my parents moved us to the United States to pursue the American Dream. Unlike the musical or film Evita, the Peron reign created havoc for the country. Thus, many immigrated to other parts of the world and continue to do so. Beginning in 1880 Argentina became one of the most prosperous countries of the world. Buenos Aires, meaning "Fair Winds" was considered the gem of South America. The downfall occurred with the arrival of Juan Peron in 1946.

We immigrated to America through New York City and settled in Southern California. My mother began working at a shop in Beverly Hills crocheting and knitting for the stars. Remember that little bohemian hat Ali MacGraw made famous back in the 70's? My mom made those! The producer Robert Evans would come to the shop and order them for his wife at the time, Ali. My mother also created the sparkly dresses Charo would wear on the Merv Griffin Show and Las Vegas.

Meanwhile my father began working with computers and eventually moved on to a clerk at LAX with Aerolineas Argentinas, the Argentine Airlines. This was a great advantage due to terrific travel fares. We would return to Argentina regularly, usually two times a year and often for extended stays during December and the Summer. Since Argentina is below the equator in December we would celebrate Christmas in Mar del Plata, a beach community. During our summer it was winter in Argentina, which meant skiing in the Andes and lots of rain and thunderstorms in Buenos Aires.

Two natural perfumers have made perfumes associated with my homeland. Mandy Aftel of Aftelier created Tango and Ayala Moriel is working on Gaucho. I find it so interesting that they have chosen to work with these themes. I have been developing a series of perfumes related to Argentina ever sense I first began to study Aromatherapy, however, they have been put on the back burner. The protection of the Coastal Live Oak has taken precedence. I will forever remember opening up our suitcases in Buenos Aires and my cousin Gaby exclaiming "Oh, there's that America smell!" Of course I was always partial to the scent of Argentina that permeated our suitcases on our return trip to the States.

Travel to Argentina
Wikitravel: Argentina
Feminine Style: Ali Mac Graw