A Dozen Roses

 

Today we journey to the heart center with the flower governed by Venus along with six other bloggers. Please follow the links at the end of this post to travel to the other participants in this blogging feast centered around our 12 favorite rose-themed scents and/or products.

Since I don't use other products besides those that I make and am very particular about rose flavored food I have listed my twelve very favorite essences to use in creating whole, botanical fragrances, body products and edibles:

1. Rose otto and absolute, Rosa damascena, from Turkey and Bulgaria

2. Rose centifolia, "Rose de mai", otto and absolute from France

3. Ruh Gulab, a Rosa damascena essential oil, from India

4. Traditional rose attar, hydrodistillation of the rose flowers into sandalwood, from India

5. Rose bourbonica absolute, also called Rose Edward, from India

6. Rose leaf absolute from South Africa

7. Monsoon Rose Attar, Rosa damascena crop that comes just at the end of the monsoon rains in Uttar Pradesh, India hydrodistilled with sandalwood.

8. Rose and Vetiver co-distillation from India

9. Roses sur Fleur a co-distilling of rose geranium leaves with petals of Damascus roses

10. Rose water for colognes, cosmetics, drinking and culinary delights

11. Rose petals and hips for face and body scrubs, teas and other gourmet treats

12. A Rose Accord/Chord created using some of the items previously listed including citronella, geranium, neroli, sandalwood, benzoin and guaicwood.

We tend to view the rose as a flower not an herb, but in 2012 the rose was designated by the International Herb Association (IHA) as the official herb of the year. In India and parts of the Middle East it is an important culinary plant used for flavoring via rose water and petals. Here in the west the trend toward rose ice cream, jam, cakes and cookies has finally caught on and can be found in most of the bigger cities.

If you are like me and prefer your rose flavors true, consider growing your own roses for culinary pleasures. The best varieties are the heirloom roses since they have both strong scent and healthy immune systems. The later is important because they are low maintenance and require no chemical fertilizers, etc. 

Check out the book How to Eat a Rose for old rose varieties with fragrance. Find out more at longcreekherbs.com

Here is the list of my fellow conspirators of the heart with their inspired prose on Rose:

All I Am A Redhead
Katie Puckrik Smells
The Non Blonde
Perfume Shrine
Scent Hive 
SmellyBlog

IMAGES: Eve holding a bouquet of roses and California wild rose flower on antique postcards, both by Roxana Villa

Best of 2010

Round and round we go, spinning through the Universe on planet blue while breathing in deep. The end of the year is upon us and I am here to share some of the highlights of the year scented, unscented and within other realms of beauty and art. This entry is one segment of a collective blogging circle organized by Trish of Scent Hive, please see the links at the end of this post to travel onward to the other participants.


Before embarking on our journey much gratitude goes out to all those who supported my work. I am deeply touched and humbled by the fabulous write ups, sweet notes and inspiring messages. Merci beaucoup!

"There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom. If one could but recall his vision by some sort of sign. It was in this hope that the arts were invented. Sign-posts on the way to what may be. Sign-posts toward greater knowledge." ~ Robert Henri

The most significant sign post marking the pilgrimage through 2010 for me was the arrival of the honey bees in May. What a fascinating adventure they have taken me on and continue to do so. These little winged alchemists grace me with an even deeper understanding of the circle of life.

"Even the smallest being can change the course of the future."
Modified from a Galadriel quote

My favorite gadget this year is the Nikon digital camera belonging to Eve. One day soon I'll have my own, for now she has been very generous in sharing.


The best plant and aroma in my native garden also happens be my favorite essential oil this year. Sage. I started using sage essential oil early in the year when a rather intense respiratory challenge entered the scene. For some reason I reached for the sage instead of eucalyptus and I haven't looked back. Meanwhile in the garden all the different native varieties are doing really well with little water, no fertilizer and planted in clay soil amongst abundant gopher activity. The fragrance is pure heaven and the honey bees adore the flowers. Now if I could just get the neighbors to stop using stinky dryer sheets that pollute the natural aromas of the native landscape, sheesh!

The best perfume adventure was a visit with Julie Elliot at her In Fiore shop in San Francisco. Julie was an early mentor as I began placing all the pieces together to launch my line. She has impeccable taste, is the most grounded and ethical person in the natural perfume community, and offers a skin care line that I lust for.


Intending 2011 is filled with the sweet aroma of love, beauty, joy and prosperity for each of you. I'll post shortly what I intend to manifest in this upcoming New Year.

Other blogs participating in the "Best of 2010" organized by Trish of Scent Hive, Screibman's Live, Portland Fragrance Examiner, All I Am a Redhead, CaFleureBon, The Non-Blonde, Smelly Blog, I Smell Therefore I Am, EauMG, DSH Notebook, A Rose Beyond the Thames, Persolaise and Sorcery of Scent.

Holiday Gift Guide 2010

The gift giving season has arrived along with the Autumn winds and cooler temperatures. In the spirit of the season Trish at Scent Hive has gathered together some of her favorite bloggers (links below) to offer a few recommendations of heart warming gift ideas.

Most people will most likely head to the mall or perhaps a favorite street with lots of boutiques for their shopping. It is certainly what I use to do. These days however I am interested in breaking free of supporting the big conglomerates and focusing on small indie business and handmade as much as possible.

The list I have compiled is from items I desire for myself and those I would love to gift to others.

For the Fashionista

Anna-Marie of MinxShop in Pittsburg designs clothes that are interesting and unique, but also comfortable and wearable on a day to day basis. They are artfully created with attention to detail, expertly crafted as well as photographed.

Another favorite is TreeHouse28 owned by Alix McCauley a mother of two located in California. I have been lusting for something from her shop on Etsy ever since I discovered them in September 2008. The clothes look as if I could easily wear them here in the studio and then dash over to a yoga class looking chic.

For Him

I just ordered the most amazing handmade soaps from the Rocky Top Soap Shop in Maine. There is so much to adore with these, particularly the nature loving spirit of the creator Tony. I plan to give them to a few of the guys in my life...as well as ladies. These mindfully handcrafted soaps will also make excellent stocking stuffers!

Another item I just ordered, which has yet to arrive, is incense from Alchemy Works. I am very particular about incense, not only because I want something that is truly made with plant materials but I also want to support artistry. This incense is the best! I love the aroma, the way it burns and the magical aspects which Harry uses to make them. The website is a treasure trove of fabulous details which you can easily get lost in for hours. For those who love magic, wizardry these are for you! Perfect for your upcoming Harry Potter film release party!

For the Gourmet

Normally I head over to William Sonoma, Dean and Deluca or Sur La Table to find gifts for the gourmet. This year however I have found a bounty of artisanal products at the local farmers market. Supporting your local farmers is another conscious choice that is quite fun and rewarding. We patronize ours once a week to get our veggies, fruits, honey, chicken, fish, bread and...if our income has been good, flowers!

I have found some wonderous hand pressed, local virgin olive oil flavored with blood orange peels as well as incredible vinegars, one was a fig and vanilla infusion!

Other fabulous gifts for the gourmet are specialty baked goods like these from Whimsy and Spice in Brooklyn. Picture above are Earl Grey sandwich cookies which have been flavored with Earl Grey tea. The small indie shop was founded in 2008 by the husband and wife team of Mark Sopchak and Jenna Park. They have a fabulous blog called Sweet Fine Day where you can get to know them and appreciate the fact that you are supporting a sweet family.

For the Gardner

How about some hose clothes! These hose covers are made of strong water-friendly fabrics with a textured grip. For those who have high aesthetics and don't like the look of those old garden hoses this is a great alternative! Made in California by Dirt Couture.

Intending this list has inspired you to forage into the realm of handmade, local and artisanal. For more ideas and suggestions, specifically related to scent, please follow the links below to the others participating in the Holiday Gift Guide 2010 blogging event.

Scent Hive

All I Am - A Redhead

Perfume Shrine

Indie Perfumes

I'll post a gift guide for Roxana Illuminated Perfume in the next few weeks.

Images: Gift box, Rocky Top Soap and Corn Yellow cuff photos by Roxana Villa all other photos please refer to individual shop owners.

Perspective

One of the primary exercises in art school is doing a drawing using perspective. Generally we learn one point perspective usually based on the geometrical horizon. The exercise is then followed with creating an image with two, three or more points.


Today I offer you an intersection of five point perspective on the natural perfume Gracing the Dawn. Instead of my single perspective on the notes, sillage and evolution of the perfume, here are three other points of view for you to savor:

Beth at The Cleveland Examiner
Donna at Perfume Smelling Things
Trish at Scent Hive
Lucy at Indie Perfumes
and
Elena at Perfume Shrine


Gracing the Dawn, more so than any of my other creations, has a very tangled and twisted her story. Originally she was a draft of notes called The Three Graces created for Heather Ettlingers Perfume in a Poem Project. Over time, with the birth of many other accords and perfumes, the formula morphed and shifted. The original illumination for the fragrance by my husband Greg Spalenka changed as well, becoming his iconic image at the 2010 San Diego Comic Convention where the perfume was debuted.


GreenWitch and Gracing the Dawn, as representatives of the two classical chypre perfumes in my collection, share similar notes and accords from the Animalia kingdom. GreenWitch leaning more into the realm of the Protoctista family and Gracing the Dawn in the Plantae arena. I call both of these "natural" perfumes because they contain ingredients from the animal kingdom.

While visiting Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel and Barneys in NYC last week I was very distraught to hear the sales people refer to many non natural perfumes as natural. When I politely told them that so and so brand was not a natural they argued with me and explained that the creator(s) of the fragrances told them they were natural. I decided to drop it, even though I know for a fact that the fragrances are not natural. Even worse is the fact that the term organic is applied to synthetic perfume. I must be living in an alternate universe where linguistic terminology and integrity exist on the same plane. Thankfully most of the perfume bloggers are well educated.

Beth, who was sampling perfumes with me at the Henri Bendel department store, commented that the word has obviously become "fashionable". The L'Artisan rep shared a scent strip of a fragrance with us featuring apple mentioning all their perfumes were natural. Hello? Not only is it plain as day that the perfume had synthetic aroma molecules but also there is NO apple essential oil. Only apple blossom concrete which is difficult to obtain.


The orchestration of ingredients in Gracing the Dawn shares a few similar essences and four accords which are also in GreenWitch. The four accords have all been crafted by my own hands using essentials oils, absolutes and C02 extracts. In total there are twenty other pure, plant essences including a plethora of flower: rose, jasmine, tuberose, ylang ylang, boronia and nightqueen. I choose to use whole essences in my perfumes, primarily from the botanical world, no isolates what-so-ever.

The base alcohol is organic grape and grain from Oregon with a tincture if infused violet flowers from my mothers garden. There is only a limited amount of the tincture, however, I will be making more in the early Spring as the little violets once more grace us with their delicious aroma.



Samples of the first edition including the violet tincture are available by weight in .25 and 1 gram, the full flacon size features the light purple crochet pouch. I choose purple as the Gracing the Dawns color harmony because when my daughter and husband first experienced the perfume they both murmured "purple".



Images:
1. Perspective engraving from the 17th century mathematics work by Marolois
2. Detail of The School of Athens (full image) by Raffaello Santi, 1509, showing Euclid
3. Gracing the Dawn ©Greg Spalenka. Postcards and posters of the illumination are available at Gregs E-shop, if you ask nicely he might be willing to print up a big banner for you like the one at Comic Con, which sold. I was rather looking forward to displaying it in my studio.
4. Roxana Illuminated Perfume display from Comic Con 2010 ©Evangeline Neuhart.
5. Detail of Gracing the Dawn Gracing the Dawn ©Greg Spalenka
6. 1 gram bottle of Gracing the Dawn Natural Perfume.
7. Violet photo ©Roxana Villa.

The Spell

Aligned in the firelight energetics of this Autumn season a group of bloggers has joined their brooms together casting a wide circle of enchantment. It was my friend and writer Beth Shreibman Gehring who alerted me to this event and what a perfect fit it was for me. The circle is centered around the book and or film Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Please visit the portal site Practical Magic Blog Party and follow the links to each of the participating blogs.

I have not read the book Practical Magic, but must say I am very intrigued. The film came my way years back and didn't really leave an indelible mark until seeing it again a few weeks ago. A tinge of knowing floated into my mind as I watched the first scene, images of the The Burning Times series with Loreena McKinnets song came flooding back into my consciousness. I felt tears well up and remembered my mother telling me as a little girl how some members of our family were called "Brujas" because of our psychic abilities.

As I continued to watch the film next I became completely enamored with the Victorian house and vintage neo-Victorian garb of the two aunts. Then I saw the Owens sister Book of Shadows that had been passed on from one generation of witches to another.


A Book of Shadows, also called a Grimoire, is a collection of rituals and formulas. I realized that the pages of perfume formulas and this blog, especially posts like this one about creating a prosperity accord, is in a way a type of Grimoire. As I pondered more I realized I wanted to create a Grimoire reflecting my work as a botanical perfume artist. From what I read Grimoires really should be done as much as possible by hand. I decided to enroll the art work of my husband Greg, since it embodies the exact feel of the Owens book that I love so much. The challenge here lies in that Greg isn't so much interested in making original artwork anymore. Thus, not quite sure how this idea will evolve, the original may end up being more of an assemblage. I'm still orchestrating how to set up the book and delving deep to access threads of my herstory as a bookbinder and letterpress printer to bring all my crafts together.


In the meantime, here is one of the images from his Vespertina book/CD and the opening page to a Tarot book proposal my husband put together in 1995 for a book publisher in Japan. The publisher in Japan never picked up the project, nor did my husband produce it. Instead it sits here in the dark, quiet corners of the studio for me to admire and drool over it. However, Vespertina was published and will soon appear as a graphic novel. Vespertina will surely have a Grimoire.


Images: Illuminaire by Greg Spalenka, Practical Magic Grimoire from the film, Spalenka Tarot Book by Greg Spalenka.

Scents of the Mediterranean

Sun day greetings with a combined blogging fest celebrating the "Scents of the Mediterranean the World Over." This event has been organized by Ines of All I am - a redhead and Elena of Perfume Shrine. Links to all the participating blogs are located at the end of this post. Hearty gratitude to both Iris and Elena for inviting me.


The Mediterranean refers to the inland sea by the same name which connects to the Atlantic Ocean. The land masses surrounding the sea are Anatolia (Turkey), Europe, North Africa, and the Levant.


When I think of scents from the Mediterranean my first thought is culinary herbals such as Thyme, Oregano, Basil, Chamomile, Sage, Bay Laurel, Rosemary and Lavender. As I continue to ponder a bit the horizon expands to include the fresh smells of the ocean and gourmand notes wafting from outdoor cafes.


Southern California, where I dwell, shares similar climatic conditions to the Mediterranean. This eco-system is termed the chaparral biome. The dominant characteristics are a warm temperatures, a long dry summer with the rainfall season occurring in the fall. This specific system is found along the west coast of the US and South America, the Cape of South Africa, the western tip of Australia and the coastal regions of the Mediterranean.1 In some areas of the world the chaparral biome is also referred to as the Mediterranean scrubland or sclerophyll forest. Some of the common plants found in this biome are oak, pine, eucalyptus and acacia. This is the reason so many Mediterranean plants thrive in southern California, so well that they are crowding out our own native plants. A good example is the eucalyptus from Australia.


This photo above by Rebecca Plotnick, a fellow etsy artist, looks out over the sea in Italy. The photo could have easily been taken from Malibu hills or a lookout point at the Getty Villa. The main difference in is the depth of history one finds in the Mediterranean, perfectly depicted in the architecture.

If I were to draft up a Mediterranean perfume sketch I begin with the idea of creating the fragrance as a liquid perfume in a base of Organic grape alcohol, since the area is known for fine wine. The predominant unifying scent for all four land regions bordering the Mediterranean are those of the sea. I also like the idea of orchestrating this as a Chypre, since this fragrance family is connected to the region.

From the paint box of the natural botanical perfume artist that raw material is seaweed absolute with a touch of oakmoss and a bit of choya (distilled sea shells.) To this base I add some labdanum, not only because it works well with those thus far selected but also because this deep resinous aromatic is native to the region. I also add cyprus wood, Cupressus sempervirens, from Crete or Spain. For the middle notes I choose rose and orange blossom as the two main florals in the accord of the heart, which while blending I invoke Aphrodite. For the top notes I add Bergamot from Italy to complete our Chypre orchestration, lemon verbena for little extra zing, a bit of a culinary herbal note like thyme and some middle eastern spice for an exotic twist. Once the initial sketch is finished I will analyze the different scents together and research more materials to weave in. I'd very much like to use a bit of my olive leaf absolute...or perhaps some of the absolutes that come from Europe like genet (broom), beeswax, helichrysum or black current. Then again, I might fall in love with one of these ingredient and start over again.

Bonkers About Perfume
I Smell Therefore I Am
Notes From the Ledge
Olfactarama
Eider Down Press
The Non Blonde
Waft By Carol
The Hortus Conclusus
A Rose Beyond the Thames
Ayala Smelly Blog
Katie Puckrik Smells
Sonoma Scent Studio

Scent Hive
Under the Cupola

Perfume Shrine

All I am - a redhead

Amalfi Coast opening photo by Rebecca Plotnick
Cafe photo by Rebecca Plotnick
Landscape photos by Ben Neuhart
Positano photo by Rebecca Plotnick

BEE up: My turn

“To be or not to be isn't the question. The question is how to prolong being.”

~ Tom Robbins

Aligned with inspired artists from all over the world today's post is one of a whole. Begun on June 24th, arm and arm with the Holistic Beekeeping post on the Etsy Storque, a Blog it Forward: BEE up was birthed. My esteemed Etsy Artisan Gallery Team members are celebrating the honey bee by bee-ing part of this chain of posts. The festivities also include handmade marvels and Etsy treasuries.

Round and round we go, the earth spinning in the middle of the universe, while we humans attempt to learn the mysteries of life. Generation after generation, comes and goes and yet it seems that very little wisdom from the plant kingdom is honored. One such example is that of the plight of the little European honeybee.

I just read recently in the UK Telegraph that in 1910, Britain had a million bee hives; today that figure is 250,000. In 100 years while, the human population explodes, we have a loss of 75% of our main pollinators. I'm sure this is good news to big corporations like Monsanto who want to control the worlds food supply. In the meantime, a few conscious humans are choosing to affect the pattern. Like Galadrial states in Lord of the Rings "Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."


Like many of my Artisan Gallery team mates I too created a special item for this event, albeit I've run into a little snag in having it ready for today. I'm working on an edition of prints based on the bee image I did back in August for the Bee Here Now blogging event.

The bee image began first as an acrylic painting on gessoed board done in the same process as my illustration work. Once the painting was finished I scanned it and began to add layers in photoshop. The new image was recreated from scratch beginning with the original scanned image. This time, conscious that these would be high resolution prints, the image was created much larger. I also changed the parchment paper layer and Victorian embellishments.

The challenge with having it ready today is that our Epson printer has decided it does not like to print on the real fine Arches water color paper I purchased for this project. Since today is a national holiday, heading out to buy some high grade Epson paper is regrettably not an option. Sigh...thus we will have to wait until Tuesday for the edition of prints.

In the meantime I invite you to enjoy the sweet nectar my fellow teamies have crafted for you from their own hands. Yesterdays Blog it Forward Bee Up was by Estella on her Star of the East blog, tomorrows will be by fellow compatriot Irene of Aroluna posting from her blog.

Images
The opening collaged image began with an antique type case and three wood characters, from there I added some of my team mates items:
1. Tiny honey bee necklace in silver by Lulu Bug Jewelry in Santa Rosa, California
2. 2 Bees tiny tray stoneware pottery by One Clay Bead in Ashville, North Carolina
3. Baby Hare Polliner Soft Sculpture by Dragon House of Yuen in Edinburgh, Scotland
4. Madeira Citrine Sterling Hammered Earrings by Stein-Schmuck Design in Basel, Switzerland
5. Old Art Engraving of Antique Entomology by Slinkymalinkicat Latvia
6. Handmade Fabric Wasp/Bee Brooch by Blue Terracotta in Lyon, France
7. Your Childs Artwork Brooch by Betsy Bensen in Portland, Oregon
8. Honey Bee Ring by KathiRoussel in Buffalo, New York

Many thanks to the Artisan Gallery Team for their support, I am humbled by their contributions and generous spirits.

Blog it Forward: BEE up

Thursday is ruled by Jupiter, the largest of the planets in our Solar System and named after the Roman god. In esoteric terms the influence of Jupiter corresponds to all things royal and abundant.

Bestowed to you is a bountiful display of affection for the honey bee with members of the Global Etsy Artisans Gallery team. A Blog it Forward: BEE up beginning with the Artisan Gallery Blog, bee sure to visit each of the participating blogs, delicious, honey laden treats await.

June 24: Artisan Gallery Team
June 25: Sewn Natural
June26: Sarah John Afana
June 27: Knot Original via the Artisan Gallery Team
June 28: Blue Terracotta
June 29: Kathi Roussel
June 30: Jealousy Design
July 1: Markhed Design
July 2: Dragon House of Yuen
July 3: Star of the East
July 4: Illuminated Perfume
July 5: Aroluna
July 6: Furious Dreams
July 7: Masaoms
July 8: Two Knit
July 9: Decorate the Diva

Blog it Forward:Bee up Image ©RoxanaVilla

May Flowers: A Rose Tribute

On this last day of May the heartfelt and warm Dennice Mankarious bids us adieu with a bouquet of roses in her Tribute to the Rose.

Thank you to all of the participants who contributed with words, images and creativity as well to all those who dropped in to visit, leave comments and smell the roses.

Image: The Soul of the Rose by William Waterhouse

May Flowers

Here in the Santa Monica Mountains where Topanga Days is in it's third day, we have a visitor from New York. Leah, from Asking Leah, reminisces and shares the bounty of NYC in the Spring.

Image: Lesbia and her Sparrow by Sir Edward John Poynter

The month is slowly winding it's way toward June as the weather inches toward more light and warmth. For today's contribution to May Flowers we have a post from Lynn at LillyBonBon in Minnesota who shares with us how to make a Vintage Lace Poppies Scarf.

Image: The Four Seasons (Summer) by Alejandro de Riquer

May Flowers: Pink Rhododendrons

It's the Flower Full Moon and Trish of Scent Hive has a reminder for us all with her May Flower contribution Pink Rhododendrons.

Image: Antique postcard from my families collection dated circa 1900, Argentina with an old botanical engraving.

May Flowers: Honey Bees

Gathered together under the light of a Full Flower Moon a circle of bloggers has come together to share their stories and impressions on May Flowers and the release of Vera solid natural perfume. At the bottom of this post please follow the links to each of the participating blogs, although some may be posting late due to a variety of conflicting events.

{Honey Bees}

Friday, May 14th, while I was working on the Nasturtiums post for Perfume Illuminated a gift from Aphrodite flew into our lives.


The gift was a swarm of winged alchemists, honey bees, which arrived at our compost bin looking for a home. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you may recall last August upon finding my bee guru, Kirk Anderson, I intended to eventually start a hive. To my hearts delight a group of very sweet, friendly honey bees came to us, thus adding a bee bonnet to my ever expanding hat rack.


Expert bee mentor John Lyons came to help us transfer the bees from the compost bin to a temporary nuc box. Read and see pictures of that event here. Regrettably that swarm choose to depart, but left me a bit of beeswax for my new solid perfumes. Meanwhile a fellow member of my Backwards Beekeeping group said I could have her "bird house" bees if I came to get them. The "bird house" bees are now cheerfully residing in a periwinkle bee hive while we quickly learn the art of beekeeping.

The book The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall states "The bee is sacred to the goddess Venus and, according to mystics, it is one of several life forms of life which came to earth from the planet Venus millions of years ago."1 The Greek Goddess of beauty Aphrodite is also associated with the planet Venus which governs Friday, the day the bees arrived.


Sometimes May flowers bring us more than just floral bouquets. Under the luminous light of this Flower Full Moon I have prepared three intoxicating golden elixirs from the sweet aroma of flowers. The new set of perfumes entices us into an “illuminated state of floral consciousness”, as Tom Robbins so eloquently states in Jitterbug Perfume.

Aligned with the arrival of the bees this new trio takes a step further into authenticity by incorporating beeswax from my own bees and Rivendell Aromatics in Ojai. I introduce to you Vera, Rosa and Page 47, each with it's own unique imprint of flowers.

Vera is rich with blooms of lavender and white sage while Rosa drips of sweet rose blossoms saturated in wood and oud. Page 47 returns with a heart of jasmine laced with underpinnings of amber evoking flowers on a hot sandy beach.

He who with health would live at ease,
Should cultivate both fruit and bees;
Much labor though the first demands,
The second's for more feeble hands.
~ Quote from The Beekeepers Textbook, King, N. H. , King, Homer A.

Please visit the following blogs in the next few days for impressions of Vera solid perfume:

Tom at Perfume Posse VERA GIVEAWAY!

Portland Examiner

The Windsphere Witch

Indie Perfumes

References:
[1] Manly P. Hall (1988) The Secret Teachings of All Ages, The Philosophical Research Society.

Images: HoneyComb and Sage Photos ©Roxana Villa, Bees on Postcard, Beekeeper and Rose image are collages created by Roxana with old engravings.