Goddess Rising

Here are a few photos from our event this past Saturday at the perfumery. The day before we had a heck of a storm which caused several power outages throughout the area, mudslides, trees down and even a crazy sink hole in Studio City! Since the weather report claimed the storm would be gone by Saturday we choose to move forward with the event.

The day before Greg created a chalk drawing on the board in the teaching space to infuse it with the imprint of Venus, in this case The Birth of Venus by Botticelli.

Gina from Blue Table Wine and Cheese Bar provided us with a cheese and fruit plate as well as apricot mango mimosas. We had intended guava mimosas but I couldn't find any guava juice at my local markets so we went for the yellow fruits which was delicious, thanks to Gina!

Our local intuitive Draza Jansky provided free readings for the attendees, here she is in my lab with Trina Watson.

I opened the "presentation" portion of our day by having all of us drink a absolutely glorious jasmine sambac hydrosol that was distilled with water from a waterfall in Hawaii. Draza shared a bit about her work as a life coach and her meditation system, she also provided us with a collective reading.

The jasmine sambac elixir I shared at the event is for sale, I will be listing it on the site shortly, if you want to come and have a sample of it misted on your face please send me a note to schedule a sacred moment at the perfumery.

Donna brought several racks of her comfy yet elegant clothes for sale. During her presentation she explained how she creates her clothing from fabric to finish in downtown Los Angeles. I wear Donna's clothing everyday and refer to them as my DonnaYums because they feel like a second skin.

Next up was Monika, one of my students who I am so very proud of! Monika has recently launched her completely botanical/organic/ handmade personalized skin care line, Mala Apothecary, using the same details as me when it comes to creating and sourcing her materials. Her products are custom designed specifically for you after a quick phone call or filling out her an online questionaire.

At the end of our day Donna, Monika and I posed like the Venus behind us, as you can see Donna was instructing Monika and I on how to be demure and strike the pose correctly.

Due to the crazy weather and power outages we are contemplating doing the event again in March. If this is something that interests you please let me know by leaving a comment or sending me a note.

Iredi-scent

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness."
~ John Keats

Terra on Mercury Day

It's Wednesday, which is ruled by the planet Mercury, and I've got my contribution to the Aromatic Journey series up at the Lillyella blog. This month I share a simple, yet effective DIY clay mask, enjoy!

Elemental Earth at the Lillyella Blog

Photo by Roxana Villa

The Bar

Self Magazine, a publication I use to do illustrations for in the eighties, did a fun interview with Rebecca Mader. Rebecca is one of the Losties playing the part of Charlotte Lewis, a nod to CS Lewis and perhaps Lewis Carroll.

Rebecca mentions a workout method she swears by called Bar Method. She states the it is a combination of pilates and ballet, sounds intriguing and up my alley. The website explains that Bar method "integrates the fat burning format of interval training, the muscle shaping technique of isometrics, the elongating principles of dance conditioning, and the science of physical therapy to create a revolutionary new workout that quickly and safely reshapes your entire body."



Hey, I'm there....although I can imagine the first few classes will be brutal and followed by aromatherapy salt baths.

Let's see, what's a good natural perfume for Rebecca from my line? I suggest something with a little zing and sparkle like the floriental spice Aurora liquid and the solid version for workouts.

In the Flow

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
~ Albert Einstein

I ponder this quote by Einstein on a daily basis. It became clear to me as a child that if I wanted things to change then it would be best for me to create the motion toward change. This concept can be applied to all aspects of our lives and when done is quite fertile, although sometimes uncomfortable.

During a presentation at the San Diego Comic Con a few years back by Deepak Chopra and Grant Morrison. Grant spoke of the caterpillar as the perfect symbol for what is currently transpiring on the planet. How all the consuming we have done has converted us into big, fat sleepy caterpillars. For those of us interested in evolving it is now the time to make our cocoons and change into something new.

With that concept in mind, I finally did something that I've been pondering for years but never quite had the "guts" to do it. I cut off my long locks! I know this sounds so silly and vain, especially given all the catastrophe on the planet. However, I do have a bit of silly and vain in my DNA, whether I like it or not. Thus, best to embrace who I am.


In keeping authentic to who I am and where I find myself in this moment I decided to embrace the silvery locks that have begun manifest on my head. In almost every culture around the world women tend to run away from who they are and attempt to look like something they are not. Sometimes the illusion is well done and in other cases it is quite silly. I am thinking particularly about the mother character in the 1985 film by Terry Gilliam, Brazil. It is quite sad that the media has convinced society that women need to look a certain way, I find it rather repulsive that the force of media is so strong.



For the last few months I have been looking through magazines to find examples of women who have embraced their wisdom filled locks. To my regret I couldn't find it anyway. I have friends who have boldly stepped into embracing their authenticity and those are my role models along with the style maven Jennifer Butler.

Thus, I choose to cut off the long locks that have been part of my style pattern that is nearing a decade of life on this planet. There have only been a few instances where I went for the short look, priarily in high school and when I was pregnant with my daughter Eve.

Here are a few more photos of my new "do"as I embracing who I am even more fully and encourage others to do the same. In the photo my earrings were custom made for me by Lori of HeartworksbyLori who also puts together the solid perfume lockets and necklaces I sell in my E-shop.

"He who rejects change is the architect of decay.
The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery."
~Harold Wilson

Images:
Opening painting titled Commutio ©Greg Spalenka, available as a print or a postcard. Photos by of me by my daughter Eve Neuhart.

Beauty in Greece

I came across this while blog hopping, my favorite piece of music ever, since I saw the film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. I remember the film as being a bit disturbing, but, the music...ah, exquisite! The musician and composer is Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Sublime in Nature

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever 

~ John Keats

 In the future, each new botanical perfume launch will have a beautiful display and grand feast. Ideally François Vatel would orchestrate the event and each of you would receive an invite.



Last night I introduced my daughter Eve to one of my favorite films, Vatel. I knew she would appreciate it because, like mother, she adores all things sublime in nature. This film is a bouquet of grace and exquisite harmony. True the story is not to the level of the direction, cinematography, art direction, music, acting and costumes. In the case of this film the story is just good enough for the visuals to carry you to the end. Vatel is a sensual banquet of eye candy with the appeal of the current shabby chic, vintage, French style currently in fashion.

Know that I intend for my perfumed art works to bring you this heightened level of pleasure to the senses through all aspects of the business. From actual organic matter, to divine liquid or creamy unguent and every little detail.

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row
Someone bless these seeds I sow
Someone warm them from below
'Til the rain comes tumbling down

~ from The Garden Song

Images: Top: from the Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta, Middle: movie still from Vatel and scene from the film.

Being Human

“Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” ~ Anthony Robbins

It feels like I've finally reached a little plateau with the creation of my perfume packaging. Whew, what a long, winding, dynamic path this has been. I know the plateau is only a little respite from this dynamic realm. In either case, it feels good to take a breather and look back on the process...without the pitfalls along the path.

When I made the decision to put my perfumes on the market I began first with a color and design palette. From there I had a logo designed. During that process it occurred to me that checking into trademark of my company name would be a good idea, that's when Illuminated Perfume became Roxana Illuminated Perfume. Next I found a graphic designer and web coder to create the website. The website creation took what seemed like a millennium...and is to my distaste an ongoing process.

During a plane flight I had an idea to assign a color from the palette to each fragrance. At first I wasn't sure how I would utilize that idea, but, I liked the concept. I had my handy dandy award winning in-house artist create the illuminations for each fragrance.

The next item was the bottle. Unfortunately my bottle supplier did not have small quantities of my ideal, so I settled for the more generic Chanel-like bottle, for now. My mother use to create these lovely little gemstone pouches for my daughter and her girlfriends. Thus, I asked my mother to create a similar type pouch for my bottles. This is where the color palette came in handy. The collaboration of the pouch design with my mom has been terrific. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to implement Greg's visual artwork and my mothers beautiful handwork into the creation of the brand.

With perfumes, logo, website, illustrations and pouches in tow I thought I was set. Until someone mentioned the box didn't fit the quality of the perfumes. Thus, for the last month we've been perfecting the box which includes a sticker on the top and a handmade silk pillow in the interior. Once again, I thought I was done. No, what about some enclosed information for the buyer of the perfume. Okay, so the latest, hot off the press, is a small, accordion folded paper with some information and imagery.

Thus, today I stand on this little plateau, looking over all the work that has gone into this first phase and I feel like I can take a breath. The local fires have subsided a bit, thus the deep inhale doesn't include too much of a smoke note.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Images: Photo top and bottom of the new boxes with stickers, pouches and accordion mini brochure.

God is in the details

“God is in the details.”
~ Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

There are so many minute particles to be contemplated and fine tuned when one has their own business. It is truly a staggering labor of love. The latest task on our desk is the enrichments of the little boxes which hold our solid and liquid perfumes. We have decided to enhance the little boxes with a lining and little pillows. The task involves many detailed steps to get to the end product.

“The true secret of happiness
lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”
~ William Morris

I am having considerable help by my uber talented mum, who makes the lovely crocheted bags for our perfumes. She has also been helping out with the inside details of the boxes.

“Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details,
worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour”
~ Henry David Thoreau

It's in all these fine details that I see how my history in the arts, specifically the book arts, begins to serve well. Having highly skilled, creative individuals adding their skill set is also an enormous asset.

Thus, I am off to yoga this morning in gratitude for all the little elves who are assisting in creating more beauty to the world.

“Every man's life ends the same way.
It is only the details of how he lived
and how he died that distinguish one man from another.”
~ Ernest Hemingway

Roxana Illuminated Perfume™

Beauty and Bread

'Everyone needs beauty as well as bread.' ~ John Muir

I am back to the Getty today and must say very excited to be going. I've started the day with a chocolate croissant and e-mailing with some divine ladies in my realm. Friendship, chocolate, beauty...what could be more grand?
The lovely pain au chocolat is from a local organic bakery called The Baker. It is everything one would want on a chill infused windy morning. Greg would term them "snuggly" as well as "a non food item". I learned this morning that these chocolate filled wonders were created by the Viennese not the French. The proper name for them is actually a Viennoiserie. According to Wikipedia they are also referred to as chocolatines in South-West France and Quebec. The term croissant is really not appropriate since they are not crescent shaped like the typical croissant. My most vivid memories of these delicious pastries was when I was about thirteen years old at a Club Med in Tahiti. Every morning, during that vacation, I would walk over to the palm covered eating area for my morning chocolate croissant before heading out to water ski. I was a rather independent, adventurous child and really enjoyed that particular trip.
Back to reality, the temperature has dropped again here in Lala land. Since Friday, we'd been having really beauty filled, warm days...typically Californian. Somehow I'd forgotten that we were still in winter. However, today that cold snap is back in the air and I've returned to the multiple layers of silk and wool. Ah, a trip to Tahiti would be most welcome right about now. Oh well, the Getty and the Oak tree filled Santa Monica Mountains will do just fine.

Petit Pain au Chocolat Recipe
Club Med
The JP Getty Museum

Image of Viennoisserie above is by Luc Viatour, http://www.lucnix.be/main.php, via Wikipedia.