After listening to a very magical story about the relationship between the Amanita muscaria mushroom, reindeer and Santa Claus by Paul Stamets I decided to make a Mushroom perfume.
In plant fragrance making we use a mushroom absolute, sometimes referred to as Cepes (Boletus Edulis), that provides a wonderful earthy, base note. This is one of my personal favorite materials to work with, a tiny amount adds depth and a mossy, dirty, vegetative quality to chords and perfumes.
The absolute is obtained by the solvent extraction of the Boletus edulis, a mushroom which is most often found growing under conifers, like the Amanita muscaria.
I have started working on a perfume which features Boletus edulis extract but also weaves in some of the magical aspects of the Amanita muscaria for the main story.
I highly recommend watch the Paul Stamets video below
When the perfume formerly debuts I will donate a portion of the profits to Fantastic Fungi
Thank you in advance for your participation and sharing the love & magic!!
Authentic botanical perfume provides individuals with a path to return to the scent realm. Large amounts of people have given up on fragrance because synthetics permeate the marketplace from laundry detergent, dryer sheets to face creams. Gosh companies are even offering business cards with synthetic fragrance.
Individuals who have courageously ventured into authentic botanical perfumer are so grateful to finally have discovered an alternative to the chemical haze of so many fragrances, even those labeled as "natural". Don't even get me started on the greenwashing of terminology such as natural.
Since individuals with a heightened awareness of health and scent are my ideal customers I'm on a constant quest as how to build bridges to them. I've noticed that the word "perfume" implies something other than what my ideal customer is searching for, thus I often wonder if I need an altogether new word, or set of words.
Somehow the right people find me, or I find them and then a sweet intersection occurs benefitting both artist and consumer. Here's a sweet testimonial from a convert, with a little editing...
"Roxana not only has her perfume down to a beautiful art form, but her business is a lovely and impressive science. What rich, well thought out packaging...even for tiny little samples! Colour-coded cards for samples are included with descriptions of scent type, so you won't wonder which sample is which. The handwritten note is a thoughtful personal touch. :) And if lush packaging doesn't convince you to try, then there is Roxana's luxuriously-blended scents. Mysterious Vespertina smelled best on my skin, but my husband and I liked Aumbre just as well as it smells like the bakery we run at the end of the day: honey-sweet with vanilla hanging as a reminder in the air. For someone like me with severe chemical sensitivities, it was fabulous to wear a beautiful scent again without being ill. Thank you, Roxana!"
After many nudges, I am finally launching the Art of Botanical Perfume online course! As an introduction we are doing a webinar next week followed by a launch scheduled for Spring. We are offering two different times and will be offering some discounts and goodies for those who sign up early.
If you are new to my work check out this video about me and this presentation from the aromatherapy conference at Bastyr with my specific thoughts on learning botanical perfume.
The course is set up as an introduction, focusing on the basics and the "art" of botanical perfume. For those looking for super technical skills and a more left brain approach than this may not be for you, although your inner artist will sure appreciate it.
I had set this post to automatically publish and see now that it never happened. I apologize for the delay.
For the Blossoms of Summer event last month on a very balmy evening we debuted the two new illuminations by Greg within a little video projected onto fabric just outside my workshop. Here are a few photos of the evening highlights and the video for those of you who were not able to attend the launch party.
Mellifera and Fleurish exist in all three formats: solid, Eau de Parfum (EdP) and parfum extract. I'm rather loving the Fleurish EdP, is become a daily obsession. At the launch, I observed to see if there was one that was more popular than the other, what I discovered is that people liked both of them equally. There were the "Mellifera" peeps and the "Fleurish" peeps, no cross over, it was either one or the other for the most part.
The fabulous savory delights were provided by Gina of Blue Table with mead supplied by Golden Coast Mead. Our dear friend Fritz was the musical director which filled the atrium quite nicely. At 10:00 pm attendees grabbed drums, rattles and shakers to join in a drum circle.
Urban bee keeping in Los Angeles was finally legalized which makes the timing of the debut of Mellifera rather auspicious.
Rarely does an event invitation arrive in my inbox where I feel compelled to attend, such was the case when I received an invite to attend a private screening of The Nose: Searching for Blamage. I immediately RSVP'd YES for Greg, Eve and I without a second thought, it was pure instinct.
Thus last Friday evening, instead of heading to Whizin for the monthly Street Art Live event, we set off in the opposite direction to Raleigh Studios for the private screening of The Nose: Searching for Blamage in Hollywood.
Upon arriving we were instructed to "wait" at the on lot cafe/bar amongst a crowd of well dressed professionals in expensive suits strongly scented in woody-type fragrances. Later that evening, it occurred to me that some of the suits probably worked at the Barneys perfume counter and other similar locations.
I spotted the "nose" of the hour immediately by the large magenta colored dahlia on his white jacket and the festive hat. His name is Alessandro Gaultieri, an Italian born niche perfumer who after creating fragrances for a few giants in the fashion industry (Fendi, Versace, Helmut Lang, Diesel, to name a few) choose to launch Nasomatto, his own brand.
I knew nothing of this, or his perfumes, except for what I had seen in the trailer of the film we were about to see.
Gualtieri exudes charismatic Italian charm with a very healthy ego and perhaps a bit of genius. One of my friends, who had come along with us, referred to him as an Alpha Male. He currently lives in the Netherlands, where he has a beautiful studio saturated with natural light. The film we were patiently waiting to see, by director Paul Rigter, documents the making of a perfume titled Blamage.
Mr. Rigter followed Alessandro as he reluctantly set out to design the tenth and final fragrance for Gualtieri's Nasomatto Perfume House.
The film begins with a plaster cast blindfold over Alessandro's eyes and nose, excluding his nostrils. He is led to his organ to select four ingredients that begin his quest for the creation of Blamage. I'd never heard of the four ingredients he randomly selected and assume they are all synthetic by the name and also by the fact that all the bottles were clear. Essential oils are usually colored, and stored in dark glass because they are light sensitive.
The name Blamage is loosely translated as mistake or disgrace. In the opening of the film Alessandro speaks about how some famous perfumes, such as Poison by Dior were accidents in a lab from the addition of too much of an ingredient.
My husband Greg calls this a "happy accident" and relies on them quite a bit. Once the blindfold is removed Alessandro sees what he has chosen and remarks “Cazzo!” which translates as a vulgar version of penis. Later we learn that he is quite irreverent and appears to rather enjoy heavy indolic odors of the human body.
Alessandro is a walking, complex contradiction – he is beautiful with piercing sky blue eyes, extremely creative, warm and magnetic juxtaposed by his shadow side. Like many perfumers, he holds a fascination for the darker or cheeky aspects of human aromas and our bodily fluids. Somewhere online I read that his spokesperson, probably Rita, said:
"In the body the parts that smell more, that is where the soul is more present, but now our society says this smell must not be present because the soul must not be present." This sentiment was echoed by Gaultieri, who chimed in with "I'm sick of all this hygiene shit"
Sure Alessandro, I get where you are coming from, particularly as an artist and a perfumer. However, if you smelled of shit at the film screening I most likely would not had wanted to hold your hands and gaze into your hypnotically, enchanting eyes.
Mr. Rigter traveled with Alessandro to Delhi in India, the Esxence perfume show in Milan and the middle east. The caption for the film reads:
"Witness the adventurous quest for a new perfume, called Blamage, by rebel perfumer Alessandro Gualtieri aka The Nose. He wants to design this fragrance by abandoning all the common rules for designing perfumes. For inspiration he travels around the world, but the farther he goes, the more he seems to disrupt not only his environment but also himself. Will Blamage turn out to become the perfect mistake?"
I had incorrectly interpreted that the quest was a search for raw ingredients, probably a projection on my part. Since his fragrances are most likely synthetic, the use of pure sandalwood oil from India, or the newer distillations coming out of Hawaii and New Caledonia would be impossible for a fragrance house selling such large volume of perfume under strict IFRA regulations. Thus, his search throughout the film is for inspiration not actual ingredients that would go into the fragrance. I am speculating at what raw materials he uses because he refuses to disclose information regarding notes and/or ingredients.
In one scene, while Alessandro walks through the crowded, dusty streets of Delhi he encounters a store with perfume knockoffs, one of them is his popular fragrance Black Afgano. His reaction to testing the knockoff with the vendor in site, is absolutely priceless.
Paul Rigter, the film maker behind the lens of the 52 minute documentary, both wrote and directed the piece which was stopped before the final version of Blamage was finished. Mr. Rigter perfectly captures all the qualities that make Alessandro so unique: magnetic, lovable, quite fun, retrospective. He is a pleasure to watch throughout the film, despite his somewhat vulgar characteristics.
Within the screening room, a fragrant handkerchief was draped over the top of each velvety seat. We picked ours up and inhaled, I immediately picked up notes of citrus and herb, as I tuned into them more deeply, I began to think perhaps neroli and something that reminded me of celery.
After the screening, when Alessandro came back into the room, he told the crowd that he had a game for us and shared that behind everyones head there was a handkerchief, which had been sprayed with a perfume, except one. The exception contained Blamage and the person who could discover which handkerchief has Blamage will receive a bottle as a gift. The young gal seated behind us was the lucky winner of the bottle.
I asked what was on all the other handkerchiefs, mentioning that I perceived notes of neroli and celery, Alessandro replied that people shouldn't get hung up of perfume notes and ingredients, that when we look at a painting we don't ask what the materials are, we experience the piece. Indeed, I can see where he is coming from, however mentioning a few notes AFTER asking about how the perfume makes one feel or what notes one is picking up would engage us in the story a bit more.
I left the event with no idea what fragrance was on the handkerchief. I was convinced that it must be another version of Blamage because Eve, Greg and I...as well as my purse and house reek of an indolic, smoky sandalwood which I thought for sure was how Blamage would smell. Saskia, the organizer of the event, informed me that Bergamask, from Gualtieri's new House, Otro Parisi, was on the handkerchiefs that were not scented with Blamage.
Ah-hah, no wonder Alesandro didn't want to talk about it, but also how intriguing that the event contained the last perfume for one House and the first perfume for a new one. Bergamask has a very a sharp citrus note on the handkerchief but the dry down is what makes it super interesting to me, it's almost narcotic due to those heavy, rich, dark and burning incense notes.
In 2014, with the completion of Nasomatto, Alessandro revealed his creation of Orto Parisi. The name of the perfume house is inspired by 'orto' which means garden combined with the last name of his grandfather 'Vincenzo Parisi'. According to Alessandro "We don't talk about the notes but in all of them there are two main animal notes. This is not to cover our smells but to put another layer on."
His booth at the Excense show in Milan showcased a furry, defecating hairy creature. The five fragrances debuted in that line were: Bergamask, Viride, Brutus, Stercus and Boccanera, all of them were presented on a compressed bed of horse manure.
Here is the trailer that is on YouTube, there is a much better one on Vimeo where you can also watch the film on demand.
"I begin to make something but at a certain point, it starts making choices by itself. It is the process that interests and guides me. I like the feeling of loosing control and I’m not the one making the choices. My involvement is to create something that is alive and will be able to say new things. I want my perfumes to have an intelligence of their own, not just be slaves to my meaning."
~ Alessandro Gualtieri
There's been lots of wonderful perks to my new workspace, one of them being all the interesting people that come into the space and turning them on, or not, to the botanical way of perfume. At times it can get a little odd, like when one woman said to me "I love my toxins!" but, even then it makes for a heck of a story.
Occasionally I'll get a "perfumista" in the shop, this has been occurring more often lately. These are people who adore perfume, know some of the history, particularly the legendary houses with gravitas like Guerlain, Chanel, Patou, Caron and Coty. In fact, if you asked a group of perfumistas to list the five or ten most legendary houses there would probably be a pretty interesting debate. Angela over at the Now Smell This blog has written a fun piece titled "Becoming a Perfumista" for those of you who would like to delve deeper on what constitutes a perfumista.
I find perfumistas absolutely fascinating to speak with because of their extensive knowledge. If you want to hang with perfumistas get yourself to a Sniffapalooza event in NYC or hang at any of the numerous perfume blogs.
As I mentioned, recently I have had a few perfumistas come into the shop. One couple immediately endeared themselves to me when they brought out a sample of Mitsouko as a gift. Mitsouko is basically like the Mona Lisa of modern perfume. The fragrance was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1919, it is a classic chypre released on the heels of the original perfume in this category titled Chypre de Coty from 1917. A basic chypre perfume contains bergamot in the top notes with florals, usually jasmine, in the heart and oakmoss in the base. Mitsouko follows the blue print with additional notes of orris, vanilla, peach, rose, lilac, cinnamon and black pepper.
I'm fascinated by the fragrance because it is quite elegant with herbal nuances and doesn't scream "synthetic", civet or musks at me. Due to the ridiculous restrictions from the fragrance regulation board the perfumes has had several reformulations over the years. Luckily the latest one, from 2013, honors the beauty of the original and is said to be quite close in scent and evolution.
On a second visit to the perfumery my new perfumista friends brought a bottle of the parfum extrait and Eau de Parfum of Jicky, Pois de Senteur de Chez Moi by Caron, and others. I'm so enjoying this grand adventure into a modern perfume history made possible by perfumistas that know much more about these fragrances than I do.
Recently I was asked a question based on this one "What is the difference between perfume, parfum extrait and an Eau de Parfum?" I thought I'd address it here at the journal so that in the future I can send peeps to this source.
Perfume is a generic word, the origin comes from the Latin, per “through” and fumus “smoke”, thus “through smoke”. This verbage most likely alludes to the use of gums and resins as incense or herbs strewn over fires to impart a pleasant aroma.
ALCOHOL
Most perfumes are a combination of a base material, like alcohol for example, and fragrance. The alcohol in beverages and perfume is ethanol also called ethyl alcohol. There are many types of ethanol alcohol with a proof varying from 90 to 200. Alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and spirits begin as raw plant matter (grains, fruits, etc.) that get fermented or distilled. For example if we ferment barley we get beer, where as if we distill barley we get scotch.
Main stream perfume uses "denatured alcohol" as their delivery system of choice. The term "de-natured" means that the alcohol has had several chemical additives such as: methanol, pyridine and methyl violet to make it unfit for drinking.1 This type of alcohol is considered toxic and in my opinion shouldn't even be applied to the skin.
Most natural and botanical perfumers who are creating their own perfumes, not lab created, are using a high proof, pure ethanol. Although one should never make assumptions, after all "natural" can mean many things these days.
FRAGRANCE
The fragrance portion in perfume is what will determine whether it is a perfum, eau de parfum, cologne, toilet water etc. These terms have to due with concentration of fragrance to base material. Unfortunately many "crafters" entering the perfume industry are using the term cologne to mean a mens parfum extrait which has added a new level of confusion to the consumer.
Historically a "Parfum extrait" is from 15% to 30% or more of fragrance to alcohol. All other percentages under 15% are classified as Eau de Parfum, Toilet Waters and Colognes. The reason an extrait will be more expensive than the other formats is because the final product contains a higher percentage of fragrance. A perfume extrait is usually dabbed on, often sold in stopper bottles or flacons. Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilet are pump spray type fragrances that are meant to be atomized onto the skin. Toilet waters, colognes and other formats such as Eau fraiche and splash cologne are yet more terms used to describe lighter versions than a Parfum extrait. In traditional and conventional perfumery water is added to the alcohol and fragrance equation, the amount of H20 varies.
Generally the lighter the concentration the weaker the potency of the fragrance. However, this is not always true...particularly with the fragrances I create. I've been having many of customers inform me that the Eau de Parfums seem to perform better in terms of longevity than the Parfum extraits and the solids. I believe the reason is because when aromatic molecules get sprayed into the air and land, the diffusion of the molecules is over a larger surface and thus evaporate differently. Specifically creating better silage (scent trail).
Fragrances in a cream-like base and oil perfumes will, in general, follow the Parfum extrait model of 15 to 30% or more concentration. In some instances people apply an essential oil full strength (100%) to the skin, so you can see how these are only a general guidelines.
The world just keeps getting more and more strange, not in a good way in my opinion. I was going to use the word surreal, but I like surrealism, even the word strange may not be appropriate. What has my panties in such a bunch? The lack of truth in perfume but also in other sectors like food which has quite a bit of cross over.
This morning in my inbox was an e-mail from the Organic Consumers Association about the latest theatrics happening with large "organic" corporate poultry farms who want to be allowed to give their chickens more synthetic methionine. Regrettably the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) agreed, despite petitions. "The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) submitted testimony against the Livestock Committee’s petition, along with more than 17,000 signatures on a petition calling on the NOSB to phase out the use of synthetic methionine and honor the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA) requirement of year round legitimate outdoor access."1 Disgusting! Anyway, this incident combined with more and more perfumers throwing around words like "natural" and pretending they actually make the perfumes that have their name on them and they promote has me in a bad mood.
You may recall that back in 2012 I attended a perfumers breakfast meeting where I learned that all main stream perfume, including many uber niche and niche perfumers, don't actually make their perfumes but hire a lab to do so. Here's a paragraph from that post.
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We were educated that all perfumes in the main stream are created by an individual who works at a fragrance house. A company, celebrity or artist comes to a fragrance house with an idea where the staff perfumer begins the process of transforming the idea into a perfume.
Rather quickly many of us in the audience realized that this system would not work for those of us who prefer to construct and formulate are own perfumes. We were told that it was cost prohibitive to create a true natural perfume and that we should consider broadening our palette to achieve a wider reach. Yosh shared how she struggled with the idea of someone else manufacturing/producing her perfumes and letting go of specific ingredients like a beloved Vetiver from Haiti.
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This fact that most main stream niche perfumers use a lab was a huge reveal to me, I had no idea but can see how this would be lucrative. It actually occurs a lot more than you would imagine. The challenge for me is that I don't like that this little kernel of information is kept secret AND that these labs will label some ingredients as "natural" that have nothing to do with nature.
Here's the tie in with the labeling of "organic" poultry that allows a certain amount of synthetics because "the corporation" asked for it. This particular issue is of authenticity is huge to me. I just read somewhere that "millennials", those born somewhere between 1980 and 2000, prefer transparency. If this is true than perhaps this new generation will assist in pulling back the curtain on some of these theatrics reminiscent of this scene from the original Wizard of Oz movie.
Two Impromptu reviews in one day! The first that I became aware of is over at Perfume Smellin' Things, written by Beth with all her fabulous story telling skills. Here's one of my favorite parts:
"This sounds silly perhaps, but I know that almost anyone like me with an unrestrained adoration of the art of perfumery and its alchemy should know exactly what I mean when I say this.
I love Impromptu even more without clothes. When I'm sunbathing and my skin is warmed, the scent completely blossoms. I love to stretch out as naked as possible on my sunny upper deck like a lazy desert cat and revel in Impromptu's sweet woodsy fire. I suppose that if I have have to appear dressed while I'm wearing it I'll break out the sexy Ralph Lauren maxi dress that I bought for it (Yes I buy clothes for perfumes not the other way around!) ... a swirling, sexy sheath of cat print with leather ties. I'll add a chunky gold necklace, some carved bone earrings and dance the night away because I've certainly got a lot to celebrate!"
The second review is over at EauMG by Victoria who deconstructs each variation of the scent with a wonderful comparison to the time of day.
Time to take a moment to savor the sweet, leathery balsamic notes of Impromptu and breath deep. Here's the link on the website with all the variations of Impromptu>
Sunday evening HoneyLove is having their annual "Yellow Tie Event" to raise awareness about our important little pollinator while inspiring and educating new urban beekeepers! The late afternoon early evening affair will feature Yellow Carpet photos, great food, fun drinks, local honey tasting, and a special musical performance.
I am donating an oval compact filled with Mellifera solid perfume for the silent auction. The fragrance began as a sketch at last years Wax symposium. The word Mellifera is the part of the latin name for the European honey bee and translates as honey bearing. If you are curious about the smell come seek me out at the event and ask for a sniff. Mellifera has not yet been released, expect it to appear in the next few weeks.
Look forward to seeing you at the Yellow Tie event!
My sense of smell has been uber strong today for some reason, meanwhile I received a note from a customer who is having a challenging time perceiving the scent of the solid samples she ordered. The two samples she ordered were GreenWitch and Figure 1: Noir, which most people consider on the stronger end of my scents.
Needless to say, the customer and I are both perplexed. In her note she says she gets barely any scent and wonders if there is something wrong with her. In my note back I explained how our current terrain is bombarded with synthetic fragrance chemicals, created from petroleum, which can be very strong and sticky compared to true botanicals.
Then I gave her a few pointers to heighten the sense of smell:
"A: Begin removing as many synthetic aroma chems from your life as much as possible. This takes a bit of work, but, in the end highly worth it. I speak from experience!
B: At the same time start drinking more water, less coffee and including raw fruits and vegetables into the diet. This helps to alkalize the body, which in term enhances our ability to smell.
We are all individual beings with different ways of experiencing the world, some of us are more visual, some more auditory etc. Since authentic botanical perfume is not something readily available in our everyday experience adjustments to perceive scent on a deeper level may be required. For example, after going to art school I began to SEE the world in a whole new way.
So, even if you take baby steps you can get there. I suggest putting the samples in a cool dark (unscented) space for a week or so and then smelling them again, ideally after a unscented shower. It may take a little time and also may require being out in nature where there are less man made smells."
Here I am on the other end of the spectrum, with super hero smelling ability, wanting to run to the hills like Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in Patrick Süskind's novel Perfume
Images: Ben Whishaw as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in the film version of Perfume.
I've been spending my evenings making large amounts of the synergies for all the perfumes, in both solid and liquid form. Page 47 liquid and Eau de Parfum will be arriving shortly as well as Vespertina and Chiaroscuro liquid.
As I was meticulously making my way through the fragrances I noticed that the solid synergies for Hedera helix and Gracing the Dawn were running low. Thus I got out the formulas for both the liquid and solid varieties of each one with the intention to start building them. To my dismay, there are a few ingredients that have become challenging to obtain. What is left in both those perfumes is located at the website. Find them by putting Hedera helix and or Gracing the Dawn into the search bar at the top right.
Figure 5: Bois and Figure 8: Coeur de Jasmin will debut shortly. I am awaiting wax for Bois, in the meantime I am happy to make round tins, mini compact tins and compacts for those who make the request via e-mail or through the website.
I have also been slowly adding Valentine related items to the shops, more on that soon.
In the eighties when I moved to New York City one year out of college I worked as a freelance illustrator. Among my first jobs was a series of illustrations for Money Magazines Mutual Fund Issue. The great thing about that entry point job for the Time Life conglomerate was I was able to work for variety of other magazines within the corporation and start meeting several art directors.
One art director along that pathway was Sandra DiPasqua who eventually ended up at Connoisseur Magazine in the late eighties. I was called in to contribute an illustration to the monthly fragrance column which turned into a regular gig. At the time I had no inkling what-so-ever that eventually I would find myself working in the field of perfume.
Life is so crazy and interesting when you get to survive it for over half a century! My astrology chart has a dualistic element to it, which may account for each artistic venture I get into has two forms to it. For example, as an illustrator my color work was paintings but my black and white work, like these images done for Connoisseur, were scratch board. In fragrance I make liquid and solid perfumes.
I came across all these old tear sheets while looking for a postcard to share with a visitor. It occurred to me that you might find them interesting. I was also curious about the articles, so I took them to bed one night and read through them all.
Unfortunately no pearls of wisdom were gained from the articles, other than there sure is a lot of misinformation about perfume ingredients! I know, no big surprise, as this is still happening today. The fragrant components referred to in the article made it sound like the big perfume houses and trendy fragrances of the 80s were using essential oils, the writer sometimes even alluded to historical uses. (Sigh) Anyway, it sure was an interesting journey into the past.
I have quite a lot of these images, although not sure if I still have all the originals. I'm going to check and see if I have enough to print up a little book and perhaps a calendar for 2015.
The four grammers, as in four grams by weight of pure fume extrait, are inching their way into the shop and getting gobbled up. Clearly I'm going to be doubling my formulas. Next step for these little rectangulars will be to find better packaging than the pillow boxes. Also, I'm pondering how to make them look different from every other niche perfumer thats using them.
More arriving soon, if there is something you want in this size please contact me either via e-mail (roxana at illuminatedperfume.com) or the Etsy convo tool.
At 10am on Friday morning I arrived at the "Cabinet of Curiosity" style gallery of Clare Graham to assist with the set up of the FRAGments show the following morning. I was greeted by the smiling, bright eyed face of the artist who let me in through the back alley entrance. The splendor of the space was a bit like walking into an imaginarium, the only thing missing was Dr. Parnassus.
In complete silence and solitude I wondered about the large space in awe, gleefully snapping photos like a bee to a flower. Every nook and cranny had something interesting to gaze upon which usually led one on a new journey of discovery, deeper into the rabbit hole.
I chose to place the product display on a glass cabinet which housed a collection of animal skulls. The cranial bones seemed like an auspicious spot for the debut of the Figure 1: Noir EdP.
Maggie Mahboubian, the curator of the show and nose of Parfums Lalun, constructed wooden units for a uniform display of each participants work. In order to soften my unit a bit and bring it in line with my branding I draped a piece of silk velvet over the top.
The event opened at 11am on Saturday to a nice crowd reminiscent of the SF Artisan Fragrance Salon one year ago. First on the agenda was a moderated discussion with perfumers led by Saskia Wilson-Brown of The Institute of Art and Olfaction. The perfumers in attendance lined up at the front of the space and began fielding questions from Saskia and audience members.
One of the questions was why is the West Coast a mecca for uber-niche perfumery. Several different points of views were shared siting distinguishing characteristic in the way the perfumery business is conducted between the West and East coast due to the proximity to Europe.
Another factor in the West coast equation, which occurred to me after the event, is the vibrant aromatherapy community occurring from Seattle to Los Angeles in the mid nineties. This vibrant group of aromatic pioneers, including John Steele, Jeanne Rose, Kurt Schnaubelt, Victoria Edwards, Michael Scholes and Jade Shutes, laid the fertile fabric of the current natural perfume community. Most important being Jeanne Rose who founded the National Association of Aromatherapy and orchestrated The World of Aromatherapy Conference of 1996. Concurrent with this conference was the release of the book by the same name featuring a wealth of aromatic information including a chapter titled Perfumery with Rare Essences by Christine Malcolm of New Mexico.
The lively moderated discussion ended at noon allowing the sniffing to begin. Aromatic products by sixteen perfumers were present from a diverse palette of materials with the thread of artisanal running through each.
At the show I introduced Figure 1: Noir as an Eau de Parfum (EdP) and the 2012 edition of Blossom. It was my plan to debut more EdP's but some challenges with labels prevented my intention from manifesting. In the end it worked out well since Figure 1: Noir and Blossom are so very different and offered a good contrast to one another.
One of the highlights of these shows is the human interaction with my fans as well as other perfumers. Over the past year, beginning with the SF Artisan Fragrance Salon last July, the bonds made between the perfumers has strengthened and created a rich tapestry of bonds. Although no other event has yet been set, we all look forward to gathering again soon.
On Sunday morning at The Institute of Art and Olfaction the perfumers came together once more for a presentation by John Steele and his aromatic wonders. He began by introducing himself and sitting the stage for the beautiful essences he had brought to share with us. John shared the concept of the Terrior and its relationship to essential oils. Read about the term Terrior here at the journal.
We were all enchanted by the beauty and vitality of the essences that circled the room. My personal favorite was the hydro-distilled Tuberose, which smelled just like a bouquet of fresh Tuberose flowers.
