Spring Fever

Thursday was Greg's birthday. Since he is so busy finishing up his retrospective book and working on illustrating a Comic and a Tarot deck, spending the time celebrating was not on his agenda. Thus instead he conceded to a birthday lunch somewhat locally.

The delicious uber-healthy lunch was followed by a bit of spontaneity. It all began with observing that the structure that the restaurant was in would be a great location for a perfume studio, thus we began exploring which led us to a gelato store which led to a bit of antiquing.

A short, local lunch turned into a fun adventure that I am yearning for more of, I think I have a case of Spring fever.

50 Years on Planet Earth!

Last Thursday we celebrated my birthday, fifty years on planet Earth! Festivities started the evening prior with a pot of deliciously fragrant Stargazer lilies from the Gregster. How I adore the scent of these lilies! When Greg brought them in I was waerning earthy scents like Terrestre and Q, upon inhaling the heavy, sweet florals eminating from the blossoms I craved something similar. I immediately when to the studio and found some Lyra to annoint myself with. Lyra is a sweet, floral, amber fragrance that, to my nose, has a similar fragrance vibe to the Stargazer lily.

On Thursday I spent the early part of the day working in the studio, then at noon Ben came by and the four of us headed to the Getty to meet up with friends Michal, Beth and their daughter Mary. Oh, but before that, look at the cute little card Eve made me at right.

 I was keen to see two shows at the Getty: Gustav Klimt: The Magic of Line and Herb Ritts: LA Style. Both were absolutely amazing and highly recommend them, the Herb Ritts show has been extended. We also spent quite a bit of time wondering about in the garden, take in its beauty and seeking out honey bees.

The zinnias in the garden were in their full glory and a multitude of colors. Every time I stroll this glorious garden I am on the lookout to see what plants the bees are most interested in. As usual they were all over the blue borage blossoms and fuschia echinacea flowers. I witnessed an interesting circular pattern that a few of the girls made while working a few of the flower heads. I'd never seen them work in a circle before, it was mesmerizing.

Here is a montage of photos taken by Eve. The fellow with the colored baseball cap is husband #1, Ben, Eve's father. That's me above with the light brown colored hat. Aren't those ombre shaded flowers spectacular!?!

After the Getty we swung by my mothers home in Encino, she had made fresh ricotta gnocchi with tomato sauce, yum! Later that evening we played geeky games (my favorite) and Eve and I made this delicious Lemon cake. What a grand day, I feel so blessed. xoxo

In the past I've created a Birthday perfume to celebrate the day, Cimbalom was the first, followed by Page 47. This year I've jotted down some ideas and will share soon. My plate over runneth with a multitude of projects at the moment, including getting things ready to launch the Jasmine perfume from last year.

Sun Sign Leo

On July 23rd the sun moved into the sign of Leo until August 22nd.  Within the twelve signs in the zodiac all the personality types are represented. Leo the lion tends to be creative, spontaneous, dominate, ambitious, courageous...among many other traits. Our nearest star, the Sun at the center of the universe and life giver, rules Leo.

If you have a Leo in your life and are considering a gift of natural perfume, To Bee feels very appropriate. Sweet and warm like honey, firey like the sun and inspired by the courageous honey bee who uses the sun as her gps. An added benefit is that color harmony for this fragrance is gold.

I was born during this sun cycle, however I have a Pisces moon and lots of planets in the 4th house, which offsets some of the Leo characteristics. It has become a bit of a yearly tradition for me to create a celebratory perfume in August. This year I will launch a new Jasmine perfume (formerly known Jasmine Noir) to add to Cimbalom and Page 47 that are part of this set.

There are many projects in the works at the moment and I haven't quite decided what will get launched when. Some of this depends on Mr. Illuminator who is creating a few images. For now I will focus on finishing the To Bee Lookbook and labels for a new product line which Impromptu is part of. Ah, and keep in mind the Birthday Coupon, a once a year discount which can be used at any time of the year toward a compact or flacon.

Moon Garden

The last of the trial edition of the temporarily titled Jasmine Noir is now gone. All that is left here is the written formula and a few drops to ponder as I move onto her next phase.

Thanks to readers of this blog and loyal customers a name has been chosen which helped inform the color harmony. Once a hue has been chosen for a fragrance I then need to find the wax and pouch thread. This aspect can be pretty frustrating, luckily with this fragrance it came together fairly quickly.


Since I am working on the Sherlock Holmes perfume, a solid version of Gracing the Dawn, a secret fragrance, new product lines and this jasmine perfume all at the same time I can't say exactly when I will release it.

Here is the original post about this botanical, natural jasmine fragrance.

Images ©RoxanaVilla

Magical Mystery Tour

Nineteen years ago, what seemed miraculous to me but a daily event on planet earth occurred in Culver City, California. Eve, my daughter was born. It was 6am, although my water broke at midnight labor didn't begin until around 4am. She was born consciously on a small cot at a birth center.

The journey has been fantastical and akin to a magical mystery tour. If blogs had existed back then I would have shared how I raised a child holistically, without vaccines, antibiotics and basically against the societal standards.

To celebrate many activities are planned over the weekend begining with a trek out to Santa Anita to the Arboretum.

Happy Birthday to my dear sweet Eve.


Photos of Eve ©RoxanaVilla

Topless

"Return often and take me at night, when the lips and skin remember."
~ A snippet from a poem by Constantine P. Cavafy

The third jasmine perfume in the Birthday series remained in a dark, cool hideaway completely topless for quite a long time. I rather liked her that way, but she wasn't quite whole and certainly not a proper perfume without a top.

After pondering the formula and looking for interconnections within the chemical structure I settled on Black Pepper, Gingergass, Bergamot and Myrtle for the top. The result is a bright, sparkling opening which slowly spirals into darker rich body notes. In the final dry down the aroma is very warm and balsamic, similar to the ending of Lyra. Be aware that these scent impressions are based on my olive complexion skin, on you it may be very different.

As stated in a prior post this fragrance is based on an old formula created in 1997 with Jasmine, Patchouli, Spikenard, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Nutmeg, Blood Orange, Mandarin and Gingergrass. I began by first combining the Jasmine, Patchouli, Spikenard, Vanilla, Sandalwood and Nutmeg. Then I added Wheat and Cocoa absolute along with darker woods and resins. At this point I adored it but was extremely disappointed when Maestro Gregorio commented that it reminded him of a medicine from when he was young. I thought wtf (?) I'm not getting that at all!

Then a whole dialogue started in my brain about following my nose and heart or paying some attention to the tastes and smell associations of others. As the solo flying, uber niche perfume artist I pretty much follow my own taste and whims of fancy. However, I am an odd bird and do not perceive fragrance as others.

Thus, I continued adding essences with a bit of attention to balancing the medicinal note that may have been from the Spikenard. I also added Galbanum to pair with the green of the Jasmine sambac as well as a tad of Basil, Tarragon and Mate. In total there are 24 completely botanical essences composited together in a base of organic grape alcohol and a tincture of Ambrette seeds from India.

This is a bit of a Noir Jasmine on a bed of velvet and hay. Rather purposely I avoided adding elements that would make the fragrance similar to Page 47 or Cimbalom. I'm not sure what her color harmony is of yet, or the name which she will be known by. For now she will go by the alias Jasmine Noir. Once you have draped her on your skin I would love a few suggestions for what to call her, if you sense a particular hue for her and imagery for the illumination which Greg will create. Leave your ideas here at this post or e-mail me privately. If I choose the name you have donated then I will send you a special gift of the honey pot or 1 gram vial of the re-vamped edition will be yours.

Please note this is the first edition of the trail version and I only have a limited amount available as a liquid. Find them here, once my camera arrives I'll take some photos.

Image: Psyche Opening the Golden Box by John William Waterhouse

You say it's your birthday It's my birthday too, yeah!

On this day back in the early sixties, I was born in the capital of Argentina, the port city of Buenos Aires. It was a Monday, Marilyn Monroe had died of a supposed overdose a week prior and on that day Ringo Starr stepped in as drummer for the Beatles.

As I've done twice in past years a celebratory perfume is in the works, following the same path as Cimbalom (originally titled BB, for Birthday Balm) and Page 47. Since the jasmine sambac is blooming and happens to be in both prior fragrances I thought I'd follow suit and use an old formula which was never fully developed.

Back on August 16, 1997 I helped organize and attended a class facilitated by John Steele. We made two blends that day, one was an aromatherapy relaxing blend while the other a perfume oil. For the perfume John had us choose our essences from his stash to create a class floral blend with aphrodisiac and relaxing properties. Keep in mind this was an "aromatherapy" workshop.

I chose to work with Jasmine, Patchouli, Spikenard, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Nutmeg, Blood Orange, Mandarin and Gingergrass. The resulting blend was very pretty, however, I have been wanting to re-work it for years. Thus, fourteen years later today, I am back at the drawing board with these same raw materials and a much bigger palette to widen the scoop.


As a gift from me to you I will share a few samples of this first formula. To enter the giveaway please leave a comment telling me what main essences you would like to see included in this new fragrance or which you would choose for a celebratory birthday perfume. If you have any suggestions for a name please chime in, thank you!

Oh...and please remember you have a once a year birthday discount here.

Turn the Page

"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket"

~ Chinese proverb

For the last two years, in August when my date of birth rolls around I create a fragrance. It began with Cimbalom with a few hours of time for myself in a quite house. Last year I created Page 47 just after returning from a two week adventure in the Amazon. Who knows what I will do this year, it's a mystery, until that day.

Page 47 natural perfume has been re-orchestrated and available once more in the solid perfume format. Her color harmony is a vintage white...like the page out of an old book. Which book?


The botanical composition begins with finely woven details of fresh ginger, cilantro and mouth watering blood orange. In rhythmic flow the fragrance unfurls a rich, nectarous jasmine bouquet laced with underpinnings of golden amber.

Landscaped with memories of summers spent in Malibu and Catalina Island this aromatic portrait evokes the aroma of verdant flowers on a hot sandy beach with a whisper of sea air.

The solid perfume has been created by my own hand, utilizing a complex base accord I have prepared. The main notes are: Vintage Mysore Sandalwood, Seaweed, Labdanum, Jasmine, Ylang Ylang & Cilantro, Ginger and Blood Orange. The fragrance of Page 47 shares a similar experience as Lyra.

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Page 47 solid natural perfume comes in an American made, antique finish metal compact contained in a alabaster hand crocheted pouch. I pour each solid perfume into a separate tin that fits inside with the antique finished metal compact. This ensures lasting performance of this pure, natural, botanical perfume. The vintage gets better with age.

The name Page 47 is layered with two meanings, for now I will leave that as a mystery for you to uncover.

Happy Birthday!

"A birthday is just the first day 
of another 365-day journey around the sun. 
 Enjoy the trip." 
~ Author Unknown

The birthday coupon, also known as the "Once a Year Discount" no longer exists. I am working on other specials and discounts to make up for the disappearance of this one.

"Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened."
~Jennifer Yane

"Because time itself is like a spiral, something special happens on your birthday each year:
The same energy that God invested in you at birth is present once again."
~Menachem Mendel Schneerson

All photos and montages ©RoxanaVilla

Page 47

"You are an alchemist, make gold of that!"
~ Shakespeare

A new series of fragrances has been birthed. As you may recall, last year in August I had a few hours to myself and decided to create a bespoke solid perfume. I gathered my favorite essences and quickly formulated a scent. Eventually I released the perfume which has now grown to be my most popular fragrance, Cimbalom.

This year, I took the pilgrimage to the land of Olfactory delights to produce another imaginative sensual Odyssey to christen my new birth year.

I began by sniffing several vials of perfumes and accords I had created over the years . One perfume in particular struck my fancy. I found the original formula noted in a journal and began building the new fragrance. The formula includes three heavenly accords, Jasmine, Frangipani (Plumeria blossoms), Ylang Ylang, an old Vintage of Mysore Sandalwood and a few varieties of Orange for the top notes. There are at least 16 botanical ingredients in this perfume, I need to count each essence in each accord to reveal the exact total.

Since I am a lover of creamy unguents, this was formulated as a solid perfume. One solid compact was made with thirteen samples to share. I have begun selling and dispersing the thirteen solids and look forward to hearing your thoughts.

At an event at our home I shared the perfume and asked the friends and family gathered what they thought would be a good name. The perfume went around the room with everyone enjoying the fragrance and pondering a name. Finally someone said "How about Chapter 47?" This answered triggered my daughter to yell out, "No, it should be Page 47!!!"

Page 47 works for a variety of reasons, those in the know will be able to figure out the primary one. However, there is another aspect to it which is why my daughter felt "Page 47" was ideal. For now I will leave that as a mystery for you to uncover. I love mysteries don't you?

The subsequent edition will change slightly as I enhance the formula. I already have some ideas of my own, but, await your insights to add to the pot.


The colors associated with Page 47 are an old, dusty white and burnished gold. Page 47 is a sweet, fresh floral perfume with notes of incense. Of all our fragrances it shares a similar aromatic experience as Lyra, but, a bit more fresh with Lyra being more warm.

Once the formula is set I will have the fragrance available in both the natural solid and liquid botanical perfume format. Until then, I await your feedback!

All photos by Roxana Villa

Taste of Ecuador

Sunday afternoon we celebrated my birthday by inviting a few family members and friends over to our little house in the woods. To my delight Green Power Girl came by, what a treat, I just LOVE her! She didn't bring her Solar Scepter though. (Darn!)

We decided to do a "Taste of Ecuador" type meal and also showed our photos from the trip while sharing a few stories.

The menu consisted of Banana Chips, Pan de Yuca, Corn Empanadas and Ecuadorian Fruit Smoothies for the appetizers. A main course of Green Banana Empanadas with Tomato Tree Fruit Salsa, Locro Soup, Green Salad and Shrimp Salad. Mostly handmade.

For dessert Marilyn made a Chocolate Cake and a Plum Torte, Green Power Girl brought some delicious goodies from Wholefoods with Vanilla Ice Cream on the side. Lots of Chocolate because of Ecuador AND I am a chocoholic!

The Green Empanadas came out especially good, in fact they were probably the favorite food item of the day! We used this recipe although we modified it just a bit. I made a Tomato Tree Fruit Salsa to go with them. The Tree Tomato Fruit came from Venice, Green Power Girl and her friend brought them over. Since they were frozen I ran the plastic package under hot water to defrost them quickly. Then I followed this recipe, although again, I modified it. This time the modification came by adding some Mango and a little sugar.


For the Locro Soup I adjusted the original recipe I posted on this blog with tips from my Ecuadorian friend Maria. One of the special ingredients is Achitote, also called Annatto. We purchased the Achitote at our local Vallarte Supermarket. We were a bit disappointed that the market only featured mainly Mexican fruits and veggies.


These napkins started out as Mexican fabric that was given to us by Marilyn. Eve and I sewed about one inch from the edge and then carefully frayed them. They were perfect the the theme of the day.


We served Pan de Yuca as an appetizer. These are might good! We purchased the Yuca root flour at the Vallarta market. From what I read Yuca root also goes by the term Tapioca flour which is sold at regular markets. If you know if indeed Yuca root flour and Tapioca flour is the same thing please leave a comment here on the blog. I'd love to know if this is actual true. This was the only recipe I didn't modify.


The fruit smoothies were made from a variety of tropical fruit, some Ecuadorian but not all. We cut pineapple slices and put them on each class. Just like we were served in the restaurant of the Hotel Quito...well almost.


Between the main course and dessert we debuted a 25 minute slide show of all our photos from the recent Ecuador trip. During the slides we told a few stories and provided a bit of an educational aspect. To see some of the pictures from the show follow this link to the posts I've done so far here at this journal.

I forgot to mention, it was Reverend Ricki's birthday too. His name starts with "R" like me AND he was born the same year on the same day. Thus, we had a double R celebration.

After the birthday cake celebration I got out my newest botanical perfume creation. This is following a sequence from last year when I created Cimbalom, titled Birthday Balm initially.
The Birthday Balm perfume for this years christening is titled Page 47. It is a sweet, floral fragrance similar to Lyra, but a bit more fresh. The title Page 47 came when I asked "What shall we call this perfume?" Someone mentioned the name Chapter 47, which prompted Eve to chime in with "NO, it should be Page 47!!" We like that name for a variety of reasons. Those in the know will understand the layers of significance this title has. More on this perfume soon.


THANK YOU's
Thank you to My who contributed photos #2 through #5 . Thank you to Marilyn for the delicious cakes, Green Power Girl and her buddy for the Ecuadorian fruits from the Central American Market in Venice, Martha for the Corn Empanadas. Special thanks to the amazing helpers in the kitchen Peleg, My, Eve and Greg. Thanks to all the family and friends who came to the festivities and those who sent lovely birthday blessings. A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ricki as well as my other Leonine sisters in New York, Leah and Lucy.

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.

Lineage

My dad e-mailed me the above photo this morning. It was taken in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 12, 1962. My great grandmother, Leonilda, is surrounded by all her great grandchildren, on her 90th birthday. She holds a little two months old infant in her delicate arms. That little infant is me, supposedly the earliest photo that exists of Roxana on Spaceship Planet Earth.

We are off this morning to go watch my daughter Eve perform in "The Taming of the Shrew" at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum. She has been part of the High School Summer Repertoire and has her first performance today. Afterward we are off to lunch en masse to begin the celebratory day.

I haven't been writing much here at the blog. This morning I realized it is because I am in the thick of the second Artist's Way journey, The Vein of Gold. I write every morning in my journal as well as do a variety of other assigned tasks. All of it combined with the regular workload and new and exciting projects compete for blog time.

What story threads shall I weave together to create a perfume to honor the day? I will begin with something warm and golden for the Leo Sun, Vanilla and Labdanum will work. A little Jasmine sambac because I ADORE it so much and works with the Piscean elements and the feminine. On the top I'll use some pink peppercorn, wild orange and a little fresh ginger. Off to put this botanical perfume together as a solid. I'll give you all the formula once it has been manifested.

Thank you Dad for sending me the picture with your birthday wishes today!