Smell like an Egyptian

Exploring the Olfactive History of Ancient Egyptian Culture
with Dora Goldsmith

The olfactory landscape of ancient Egypt is like no other, revealing aspects of a culture where no boundaries existed with perfume, medicine & food. By examining the written sources left by the ancient Egyptians, we are able to dive deep into various aspects of this olfactory rich civilization.

 

AWE & WONDER

In these fascinating series of classes, we will embark on a practical and mystical journey into the very heart of a civilization based on scent.

Egyptologist Dora Goldsmith will decipher texts for us as we study Egypt through multiple dynasties, exploring a panorama of scents and rituals from sacred temples, personal gardens and the afterlife.

 

 

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A wonderful sensorial journey through ancient Egypt

"If you are interested in the history of the ancient Egyptians, alchemy, aromatherapy, herbalism and science, or are just curious, then this experiential course is a must! Egyptologist Dora Goldsmith takes you on a sensory journey of everyday life in ancient Egypt where you will not only enhance your knowledge of the rituals and ceremonies of this historically significant time, but also experience the unique scents associated with it. I would highly recommend buying the scent kits to accompany the course modules, which Dora has meticulously researched and prepared, as they will enhance your learning. It was only through making the perfumes myself that I truly appreciated this magnificent civilisation."

~ Paula M on May 10, 2021

 

 

 

Read more & grab your spot

HERE

 

 

The SCENTS of EGYPT WORKSHOP SERIES is a comprehensive certificate program, taking place over seven weeks via LIVE* Zoom sessions with Egyptologist Dora Goldsmith.

Each class in this workshop series offers three hours, including live instruction with handouts and a dedicated hour for Q&A.

Aromatherapy practitioners receive: 3 NAHA CE credits per class.

Join us for individual classes or the entire series

Kyphi

Unguent Cones

Temple Smells

Garden Scents

Scents of Lovemaking

Scents of Mummification & the Afterlife

Hknw, Meaning JOY

BONUS Class: June 6th, 2021: Smellscapes

 

 

 

Still not sure is this is for you?

Join us for this FREE* class on

June 6th, 2021

SMELLSCAPES

In this two-hour lecture, we will go on a smellwalk in an ancient Egyptian city to uncover hidden realities unexperienced and unimagined.

The tour invites us to reorient our senses, so that visualization becomes passive and olfaction becomes active. Through focusing on the sense of smell we gain a new perspective on the ancient Egyptians’ interaction with their environment.

*Use coupon code: smellwalk06

 

 

OUR INSTRUCTOR: DORA GOLDSMITH

Dora Goldsmith is an Egyptologist whose research focuses on the sense of smell in ancient Egypt. Based on the written sources, Dora investigates the ancient Egyptians' perception of the world through the sense of smell and recreates their smellscape. Her published works include the concept of stench in ancient Egypt (2019), the scents of mummification (2019) and the smellscape of ancient Egyptian cities (2020).

Dora gives lectures and workshops around the world accompanied by her scent reconstructions, where the long-lost world of the ancient Egyptians comes back to life through your nose. Two of her scent reconstructions, the Mendesian and the scent of mummification, have been exhibited in museums around the world.

 

 

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Ancient Egypt Lives Again!

"If you've ever wanted to gain deep insight into the rich and complex culture of dynastic Egypt, this series of courses led by the brilliant, trail-blazing scholar, Dora Goldsmith, is an absolute must. Through seven, perfectly organized classes, the layered, and intertwining concepts surrounding scent in life, and in death, are fully explored. The creation and use of perfumes, incense, as well as flowers and food, are all illuminated via images, and beautiful ancient Egyptian texts. You also have the option of buying scent kits which are specialized for each class. (I ordered the Unguent and Aphrodisiac kits and I love them!) Do not miss this amazing opportunity!"

~ Kevin on April 25, 2021

The Birth of Venus

Round and round we go, here we find ourselves at another day of Veneralia, the feast of Venus, although the masses use the modern name Easter with celebrations that include chocolate bunnies and church.

As you know, I tend to like to delve deeper and look at source material, like where exactly did this ritual come from? After all, Spring existed here on planet Earth long before the arrival of the individual named Jesus.

April by the Romans was considered the month of Venus, just after March, attributed to the war God Mars. In Greece the name for Venus, the Goddess of Love and Fertility, was Aphrodite (Aphro meaning seafoam, and dite, bright.) Journeying further back we have Astarte from Phoenicia, a deity that may have been worshipped as far back as 1000BC and the potential source material for Venus, Aphrodite and imagery associated with Mary. 1

We already know that the Goddess culture existed long before the patriarchal Gods took over sacred sites where names were changed or great cathedrals built. It's possible that with the melting polar caps, particularly in Antartica, more clues into ancient time will likely be revealed shortly.

Opening image: The Birth of Venus by Alexandre Cabanel via wikipedia

The Book of Dust

Back in late 2006 or so I had a very simple website that I had put together myself using my newly acquired color palette. The intention of the website was to start an online presence and have some visibility for when I attended my first Sniffapalooza event in February 2007.

The spark of creating "perfume" came when I attended a class with John Steele in Malibu. At the time I was mainly making aromatherapy blends and a few products like herbal salves and salt scrubs. Most of my clients included friends and students of the aromatherapy classes at the Massage School of Santa Monica.

The first perfumes I began constructing were basically aromatherapy blends called "perfumes", as I studied the craft they became much more complex and required a different way of thinking and working with the essences. My very first perfumes were: Q (originally called Quercus), Lyra, Aurora and Sierra. Vespertina arrived in the Summer of 2007 for the San Diego Comic Con followed by Vera introduced at the Ojai Lavender Festival in June 2008.

Todays post is about Lyra, whose story began as a custom perfume for my daughter Eve. This morning Eve sent me this note from The New York Times Instagram page about Phillip Pullman and a continuation to the trilogy His Dark Materials.

"After 17 years, Lyra is back. Lyra Silvertongue, Lyra Belacqua, but really just Lyra: she’s one of those characters in literature — Pip, Emma, Lolita — who’s on first-name terms with her public. After nearly 2 decades, the author of the trilogy “His Dark Materials” is continuing her story. “La Belle Sauvage,” the first volume of Philip Pullman’s next trilogy, “The Book of Dust,” will be published on October 19. The period before publication is a skittish time, particularly when readers’ expectations have had so long to ferment. When @nytmag’s Sophie Elmhirst visited Pullman at his home in September, he said he wasn’t exactly nervous, “but I just don’t know what the reaction will be.” The British author has written 35 books, but Lyra stands out among his protagonists. Over the 3 books — “Northern Lights” (“The Golden Compass” in the U.S.), “The Subtle Knife” and “The Amber Spyglass” — she embarks on a multiverse-crossing quest that becomes a battle against the dark forces of a totalitarian religious government. For a man whose novels are restless, Pullman leads a relatively static life. Every day from roughly 10 until 1, he sits at his desk at home in Oxford and produces 3 pages, longhand. He has written 3 pages a day ever since he started writing. Habit, he’s fond of saying, has written far more books than talent."

Eve and I absolutely adored the trilogy The Golden Compass and are thrilled that Mr. Pullman is continuing the story of Lyra. In fact, I'm going to get the audio versions of the first book and start the series once more.

Greg was a concept designer on the film version, although they ended up cutting most of his work when the producers choose to alter the story. One of my favorite characters in the book was Lee Scoresby, the Texan aëronaut with his dæmon named Hester. Sam Elliot did such a fine job of interpreting Lee in the film.

I'm happy to share that I have ample amounts of Lyra in all three formats here with me. I've slowly been adding perfumes to the website, Lyra is on the top of the list now that this recent development with the story has presented itself.

Read more about Lyra here at the journal.

Photo of Phillip Pullman by Nadav Kander for The New York Times
Classical painting: Music by Thomas Ralph Spence
Perfume photos ©RoxanaVilla

Alchemy Panel Discussion, Distill your Own Hydrosols & Hydrosol Encounter

As part of the Alchemy & Medicine of the Soul workshop we have three other happenings taking place all within the Santa Monica Mountain area. Please note there is limited space available for some of these events, be mindful to grab your seat while they are available!

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Alchemy Panel Discussion

with Cathy Skipper, Dr. Florian Birkmayer, John Steele and Roxana Villa

April 20th, Thursday evening

The word alchemy is often associated with essential oils due to the transformation of physical matter through the process of distillation. Historical origins of alchemy point back in time suggesting that Hermes Trismegistus, which in Egypt was called Thoth was the father of the art.

Learn more about the different points of view on alchemy and its relationship to essential oils, aromatherapy, botanical perfume, psychology and altered states in this unique panel discussion.

Free to attend with RSVP

Location: Canoga Ave., Woodland Hills, CA

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Distill Your Own Hydrosols

with Cathy Skipper and Dr. Florian Birkmayer
April 21st, Friday 3pm-6pm

The process of obtaining the essence of a plant through the process of distillation goes back in History to the early alchemists in Egypt. In this afternoon workshop we will distill native plants personally selected and harvested with Cathy and Florian.

The word hydrosol, ‘hydro’ water and ‘sol’ solution means water solution and refers to the fact that a hydrosol is water that contains plant molecules and is produced alongside essential oil in the process of steam distillation, it is sometimes referred to as flower water.

With a small, portable, inexpensive, copper still, Hydrosols are easy to make, much safer and easier to use than essential oils and have great potential for use both in physical ailments and when working on a subtle, emotional level.

Mankind has distilled plants in order to extract their aromatic core for thousands of years and there is evidence that all the major civilizations used this form of extraction.

Making one’s own hydrosols and being a part of the process from the harvesting to the final product is not only easy with a small home still but also extremely revealing. The plant seems to open up on another level allowing us to come into contact with its healing vibration with ease and clarity, thus deepening our knowledge and intuitive information about it. There is a time for everything and although there are herbalists that have been distilling and using hydrosols regularly for years, I believe that now is the time to integrate their use into regular practice, they do not replace other forms of plant preparation but add a precious element to the medicinal plant tool box.

The one-day introduction to Hydrosols will include:

• Practical distillations
• Learning what constituents a hydrosol
• How to use hydrosols

DATE and TIME: Friday, April 21st in Topanga Canyon, CA from 3pm - 6pm

LOCATION: Details provided upon registration.

Please arrive unscented. Be mindful of laundry, cosmetic and bath & beauty products on this special day. We need to keep our palettes clear and free of odorants and be respectful of the flora and fauna we will be working with.
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Hydrosol Encounter

with Cathy Skipper and Dr. Florian Birkmayer

April 24th, Monday evening 7pm - 9pm, Blue Table, Agoura Hills, CA

As part of the Alchemy & Medicine of the Soul weekend workshop we are offering an evening encounter with hydrosols, led by Cathy Skipper & Dr Florian Birkmayer MD.

During the distillation process plant matter gently imprints the water with its molecular trace particles resulting in an aromatic water that is useful in skin care, therapeutic applications, refreshing sprays and in cooking. Although these "waters of life" are part of daily life in our recent past, hydrosols are one of the lost arts that is now circling back and finding a home as a new form of aromatherapy. The waters that result from distillation have been described as “the soul of the plant”, able to transmit non-verbal messages, bypassing the thinking mind

In this informal gathering at Blue Table in Agoura Hills, we will explore the transformative subtle frequencies of several hydro distilled elixirs. Our focus will be the emotional and spiritual "properties found in the barely detectable aromatic trace molecules which exist in concentrations of parts per billion, bringing the worlds of matter and spirit."

"Drinking exotic plant hydrosols such as Jasmine Sambac, Blue Lotus, Golden Champa and Frankincense is an immersive experience which is exquisite, both in smell and taste. These plant teachers invite us to participate in a subtle, yet often euphoric, aromatic conversation with the natural wisdom of botanical intelligence."

Join us in this profound inquiry into the relationship between smell and higher consciousness — and feel it spark into your own work. Celebrate the extra-ordinary in the moment as you feel yourself elevated by botanical intelligence.

DATE & TIME: Monday, April 24, 2017, 7pm-9pm

LOCATION: Blue Table at  Whizin Market Hall, 28914 Roadside Dr, unit #219, Agoura Hills, CA 91301, find a map here.

Please arrive unscented. Be mindful of laundry, cosmetic and bath & beauty products on this special day. We need to keep our palettes clear and free of odorants.

“With an increased floral consciousness, 

humans will begin to make full use of their ‘light brain’ 

and make more refined and sophisticated use of their ‘smell brain.’ 

The two are portentously linked. 

In fact, they overlap to such an extent that they may be considered inseparable.”

~ Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume 

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FEES

The panel discussion is free and open to everyone who RSVP's in advance. If you are registered for the Alchemy & Medicine of the Soul workshop the class on distillation is included in your tuition. If you would like to attend the Hydrosol Encounter, the fee is $40 which covers all the expenses, including the very special and unique hydrosols we will be sipping.

Happy Green!

Wishing you all a super fine green day from the Santa Monica Mountains! Our neighbor told us this joke today: "What is Irish sunscreen?" Answer is at the bottom of this post.

While my aunt was here visiting from Buenos Aires in the Autumn she brought a portion of the genealogy on my maternal side of the “Gardiner / Meagher O Maher” clan. Although I knew I was part Irish I didn't know exactly where it came from.

Michael Gardiner and Anne Meagher O’ Maher arrived to Argentina in 1854 from Liverpool. Michael and Anne had four children: Patrick, Daniel, James and Anne while in Ireland. Anne was born in Westmeath in 1834.

Anne marries Francisco Perez in La Merced de Buenos Aires, Argentina, they have four children: Francisco, Ana, Honoria and Josefa. Their son Francisco Perez-Gardiner (born Feb. 25, 1882) marries Rosa Groppo (born Dec. 29, 1889) on October 22, 1910.

Notice who the postcard is addressed to, I have a collection of her postcards at the perfumery and have used them quite a bit in my photographs, which you probably noticed.

Francisco and Rosa have seven children: Amelia, Ana, Dora, Francisco, Carlos, Elsa and Jorge.

Their daughter Ana (my grandmother) marries Victor Giusti (my grandfather). Ana and Victor have four children: Martha (my mother), Alfredo, Ali and the baby girl who died while a toddler.

Perfume to illuminate today is the floral, foresty green notes of Hedera helix.

The answer to the joke: "A pub"

Opening image: Photograph of Gwen by Greg Spalenka.

Movie Monday: Outlander

The uber popular book Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon is due out this week translated into new mini series by the Starz network. Although Outlander had been mentioned to me in passing at the San Francisco Artisan Fragrance Salon by Sarah Horowitz, the novel didn't get firmly planted into my consciousness until mentioned to me by Beth Schreibman Gehring. Madame Gehring and I share a passion for scent, herbs cooking and things more pagan in nature. If you are a old time reader of this journal you may recall the Perfume Illuminated posts that we collaborated on which has gone out to influence many regular series on other perfume blogs.

Outlander is one eight books that was first released in 1991 as a historical fiction love story that steps into the realm of sci-fi fantasy. I started listening to the book on tape, thanks to Audible, on our drive down to the San Diego Comic Con. Since then I've become obsessed listening whenever I get a chance. Five of the cast members and the author Diana Gabaldon were part of a panel at Comic Con. Here's the trailer for the series along with the presentation.

When I first started listening to the story I immediately thought of John Carter of Mars because of what transpires with the main character, albeit not quite as fantastical as the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. As the story unraveled I became extremely curious as to why the book had not crossed my path in the nineties! After all, I was devouring such stories as the Medicine Woman series by Lynn Andrews and the Marion Zimmer Bradley books The Mists of Avalon.

Beth has asked me to create an Outlander inspired fragrance, which I am thrilled to orchestrate. At this point I have so many ideas I feel a bit overwhelmed. I'm sure that once I am done with the book I'll have a bit more clarity as what direction to go in....or not, which is fine to, since creativity is very chaotic.

The first episode of the series is available for free to watch now at the Starz site here. The season premiere will officially take place on Saturday, August 9th. Beth has created a fanpage of Facebook titled Outlander Love Affair.

Movie Monday: Monuments Men

Greg and I decided to escape from the studio recently and go see a film. The only two options that we considered were the romantic A Winters Tale or The Monuments Men, we settled on the latter. Our decision was based on previews we'd seen and the cast, who can resist George Clooney, especially when its something he's part of besides the cast and paired with other greats like John Goodman, Bill Murray, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban and Matt Damon. There was also the fact that this was a film about art.

The Monuments Men is based on a true story about a group of 350 or so men and women– museum directors, curators, art scholars and educators, artists, architects, and archivists, from thirteen nations who volunteered for service to save the art culture of Europe during World War II. As Hitler was attempting to conquer the western world, his armies were methodically pillaging the finest art in Europe, from Michelangelo and Da Vinci to Van Eycks and Vermeers. Hitlers end goal as to put these masterpieces into his own museum in Linz, Austria called the Führermuseum.

Robert M. Edsel was inspired to write the book which this film is based on while in Florence, Italy. As he was crossing the Ponte Vecchio bridge he wondered why this bridge he was walking across was not destroyed by the Nazis. The curious thought led him to interview seventeen of the original Monuments Officers, including Rose Valland, a french spy played by Cate Blanchett in the film.

The movie focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon as they move throughout Europe attempting to rescue art masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their owners. The script is not perfect and the film has not received the best reviews but go see it anyway! The production was well done and is simply a fascinating look at this part of WWII history.

Greg and I were so fascinated by the history that we delved deeper and watched the excellent documentary, The Rape of Europa. This film gets into the details of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and the Second World War. Mind blowing and heart wrenching. It is viewable on Netflix.

Although I had heard that Hitler had been a frustrated artist I did not know that he was contemporary of Egon Schiele but was not accepted to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts because his paintings were judged unsatisfactory. Painting below is by Adolf Hitler.

After watching both films it occurred to me that the modern day Hitler is companies like Monsanto who are methodically pillaging our land in hopes of complete world domination of the food supply.

Getty Center Garden, July 2013

The Getty Center is one of my favorite places here in LA, as I have mentioned over and over and over here at the journal. I feel completely renewed and rejuvenated when I visit this spectacular space. We headed over there in the afternoon, after the post office drop, with Eve and her boyfriend Walker who was in town visiting.

Eve and Walker (above) went off to the Van Gogh show. Greg and I made our way to the Illuminated Manuscript area and from their split up, I headed to the garden, while Greg went to the Overdrive: LA Constructs the Future show. While making my way back toward the buildings from the garden Greg called me to insist  go check out the Overdrive show, which I am so glad I did and highly recommend. Unfortunately the guard told me that I wasn't allowed to take pictures in that part of the museum. Sad face. The only thing I wasn't too thrilled with about the show is that they left out how the LA street car conspiracy.

No surprise there, after all, the Getty is built on oil and the oil companies were the ones that had a vested interest in the street cars being replaced by individual automobiles.

Anyway, but I digress, back to nature, beauty and inspiration. I love how the museum has a list of all the plants in their garden posted on the website and that honey bees seem perfectly welcome there. We had very little time at the Getty and thus I wasn't able to take in all the splendor the Museum had to offer. Another trip is most definitely a must.

All photos ©Roxana, except for the black and white of the Pacific Electric Red cars, that one comes from Wikipedia.

Downton Abbey

My new favorite television show has been Downton Abbey, indeed, another British program. The series takes place on a fictional estate located in Yorkshire England. The first season occurs at the end of the La Belle Époque from April 1912 to July 1914.

Since the ladies in the program have bottles of perfume on their dressing tables I started to wonder what fragrances were popular at the time, here's what I found:

Bouquet de Napoleon a floral Eau de Cologne, for Rallet by Ernest Beaux
L'Heure Bleue a powdery floral with hints of wood, spice and citrus created by Jacques Guerlain
Quelques Fleurs for Houbigant by Robert Bienaimé
Muguet a Lily of the Valley fragrance for Coty by François Coty
Narcisse Noir for Caron created by Ernest Daltroff

During this time frame in the world of fragrance synthetic compounds had entered the perfumers palette at the turn of the century, thus the perfumes of the time were a combination of naturals, animal ingredients and the newly arrived modern synthetic molecules.

I decided to assign an Illuminated Perfume for each of the Crawley women. Please let me know if you have different ideas.


Lady Mary Crawley, the eldest daughter of Lord Grantham’s is clever, good looking and although passionate comes across quite cold. Her grace, drama and composure led to me to Vespertina, an elegant floral fragrance with a mysterious, dark side.

Lady Edith Crawley, Lord Grantham’s second daughter and middle child. Smart, responsible but lacking in self esteem. I choose Aurora for Lady Edith, a pretty floral with a bit of spice.

Lady Sybil Crawley, the youngest daughter of Lord Grantham. She is compassionate, strong, and concerned about social justice. The bravest and most idealistic member of the family, with an artistic flair for dressing.

For Lady Sybil I'm choosing Q because of it's association with an environmental cause. Back then it would have been very unique for a young lady to wear a scent such as Q since it is somewhat androgynous. It wears beautifully on women as a warm, woody oriental and perfect for someone who is feminine, assertive and socially conscious.

Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, imperious, aristocratic head of the family who (almost) always gets her way. Though bossy and arrogant, adaptable and exceptionally loyal to the people she loves. Gracing the Dawn is perfect for this countess, not only because it is a classy chypre but it has a tincture violets!


Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, wife to Robert Crawley and mother of Mary, Edith and Sybil was born in Cincinnati. Cora is sweet, quite sensible and devoted to what is best for her family. Since she is very feminine and pretty I am choosing Lyra for her.

Isobel Crawley comes from the professional middle class and embodies an entirely different set of values than those of the current Downton Abbey inhabitants. She is educated and compassionate, appears strong and outspoken. For Isobel I am choosing Page47, a woody floral amber that is like a warm embrace.

If you haven't started watching it, you must! The first season is on Netflix. Take the Downton Abbey Quiz and find out which character is most like you, or vice versa. My quiz result was Lady Sybil Crawley.

Eau de Blossom

Spring is now trending across the United States with the spectacle of blossoming trees, particularly fruit trees. Within time, after visits from the several local pollinators including honey bees, the little flowers will dry and the fruit will reveal itself.


My ode to Spring, Blossom Eau de Cologne, is back in stock. The fresh, sunny fragrance combines the tang of citrus balanced with herbs and flowers. Completely botanical and organic, the heavenly scent is perfect for an uplifting, sensory break. Crafted by my own hands here in my studio, with intention, the base is west coast organic grape spirits and grain alcohol. There are also a tincture from the rosemary plant on our hillside that my little honey bees adore. The synergy was formulated from early cologne recipes when vital plant material was the fashion.


Read more about Blossom by following this link here at the journal. At the moment Blossom is available as a small mini spritzer and in a 1 ounce Amber bottle.

Happy, Happy!

Happy 4th of July and cheers to Freedom!

This image above was sent to us by our cousin Rex in San Francisco. Curious about it, I noticed the word Shorpo on the bottom corner and discovered a historic photo archive.

Stars and Stripes: 1915
Washington, D.C., circa 1915. "Birth of the American flag."

Here are a few others.


Fourth of July, 1887
"This family photo was taken on July 4th, 1887. My grandfather is seated on the floor at front left. That's his helpful dog next to him holding a hammer in its mouth. He was twenty years old in 1887, but he was already a contractor and this was his crew. The building they were constructing was the AT&SF train station at San Dimas, California."

This one below is my favorite:


An Old-Fashioned Fourth
"July 4, 1922. Takoma Park neighborhood of Maryland and the District of Columbia. National Photo Company."

The scent of the 4th of July for me is the beach, firecrackers, hot dogs & pie, and a good time. On further pondering what is the aroma of freedom? Perhaps an essential oil, or synergy, that makes YOU feel free. I'm thinking something that opens up the lungs and gets one breathing deeply, like frankincense, the conifers, eucalyptus and rosemary.