The alchemical trinity of Chaparral

The perfume Chaparral is not a reference to the creosote bush, Larrea tridentata, which sometimes goes by many name chaparral, as well as greasewood and la gobernadora. I named the fragrance after the California biome distinguished by wet winters, hot summers and drought-tolerant shrub land. This biome is also found in the Mediterranean, South America, Australia and South Africa. The word chaparral comes from the Portuguese and Spanish word “chaparro" meaning evergreen oak shrub land.

Back in 2006, when Chaparral was conceived and launched, my intention was to bring awareness to this community of plants which are very undervalued in Los Angeles where residents opt for pesticide and water hungry lawns and non native palm trees, rather than the local sages, artemisias, oaks, etc. 

In creating the perfume Chaparral®, I weaved together my love and commitment to the indigenous plants of California with skills in aromatic plant preparation and the artistry of perfume formulation.

“Art arises when the secret vision of the artist

and the manifestation of nature

agree to find new shapes.”

~ Kahlil Gibran

My husband, Greg Spalenka states that there are three main components of great art which applies to the full spectrum of the sensory realm including visual, auditory, culinary and olfactory orchestrations.

He adheres to these three components as a trinity of "Mind, Body and Spirit":

Mind; the idea and/or concept

Body; representing the materials

Spirit; the love, passion, integrity and/or soul nature

In alchemy the trinity is Sulfur, Mercury, and Salt, code words for what is also referred to as "Soul, Spirit, and Body"

Sulfur = Soul = Consciousness 

Mercury = Spirit  = Mind

Salt = Body  = Mineral

So if we go back to Greg's trinity, I have overlayed Greg's trinity with that of alchemy in this way, substituting Greg's word Spirit for Soul/Love.

Mind; the idea and/or concept / Mercury = Spirit

Body; representing the materials / Salt = Body

Soul/Love, passion, integrity and/or soul nature / Sulfur = Soul, Consciousness

All these components, working together at a high level of sophistication and awareness, create a synergy, where each component becomes more than the sum of its parts.

In perfume the mind aspect (Mercury) is the concept that the fragrance is built on, encompassing much more than a scent based on a fragrance family or type. The body aspect (Salt) is made of the materials contained within the perfume, the artist’s palette. Soul (Sulphur) is the burning passion of your creation, this is where the true artist weaves their own authenticity into the constructed artwork using their consciousness. Each is important and is required for the finished art to transcend the ordinary, to reach the heights of the sublime.

Over the last twenty years I have come to keen realizations regarding California natives and their value. The journey beginning with guided instructional walks led by herbalist David Crow back in the 90's when he would lead nature walks in the Santa Monica Mountains. Davids introduction than deepened with lessons from communicating with the mighty Oaks on my property and its surroundings, when we lived in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The California native Coastal live oak was the one who spoke to me and revealed the value of native plants just as I began organizing my community to protect four large trees on an lot next to us. In an attempt to secure the safety of the trees I created a perfume devoted to them. The perfume is called “Q” for Quercus agrifolia and was the first in a series titled Californica.

The second perfume in the series, Chaparral® was birthed in October 2006 when I was researching incense. Incense was used by a variety of cultures depending on the plant material in their particular region. The indigenous people of California use the sacred white sage, Salvia apiana, to clear a space or fumigate an individual. I chose to create an incense themed perfume devoted to the California indigenous people based on the plants of the area.

The trinity mentioned above works in Chaparral like this:

Mind/Concept | Mercury/Spirit: The native plants of California, the chaparral.

Soul/Love: The soul nature of this perfume is expressed through the mindful harvesting and preparation of the plant material. The fragrance is created by hand with an intention to expand awareness of native plants.

Body/Material: actual, vital plant material used in tinctures and essential oils to represent an “authentic” fragrance of the regions native plants.

California native plants add tremendous value to a California garden including: authenticity to a landscape design, low water needs, benefits to wildlife habitat, increased biodiversity, and the ability of these plants, particularly the Coastal Live oak, to sequester carbon. Learn more about the chaparral at the website for the California Chaparral Institute.

Related links here at the journal:

Restoring the Woodland

California Dreaming

The Shadow

Medicine Wheel

On the move, again!

Tomorrow, Sunday, we are moving from Tesuque to the old ranch area here in Santa Fe that is turning into the new arts district. No one in the area has told me what the district is called, so I'm referring to it as "the new arts district" until someone corrects me. Tesuque is just north of historic, downtown Santa Fe, where as the arts district is south. Both areas have a very different vibe, Tesuque is more like Santa Barbara where as the arts district has a bit of an edge, like the surrounding areas of downtown LA. Although I will miss Tesuque very much, the new homestead is better in many ways. I'll post more about that once we are settled.

There will be a delay in sending out orders as I unpack and set up once more. Our new space is on our friends property, it's a bit of an art compound with musicians and visual artists, and now an "aromatic" artist being added to the mix of creatives.

The landscape is quite different from the Pinon wood lands we have been inhabiting the last three months. While packing to move last night I found a jar filled with dried plant bits from my California garden. The cowboy pure fume of oak, artemisia and different sages all preserved and ready for inhaling deeply. It’s a very different scent imprint than we have here in the high desert of New Mexico.

Scents of Place

Chaparral in C Magazine!

The summer issue of C Magazine has a fabulous article about the Scent Event in San Francisco orchestrated by author Alyssa Harad with chef Dana Tomasino. Chaparral®, which was translated into a salad for the meal, is described as "a woodsy, dry scent inspired by the native California landscape with hints of sage and frankincense..."

Talking Dirty

In French Goût de Terroir means Taste of the Earth. It is a term referring to wine and the flavors imparted by the earth in which the vines grow. The term originated in the 1700's and used for marketing later in the 1800's. Although the term appears to be specifically related to the taste of the dirt absorbed by the roots of the vine, other it is more a reference to the flavors of the terrain imparted on the vine. For example if you grow the same exact plant in two different parts of the world the wine from the two vines will have different flavors. This is due to the earth as well as the other three elements fire (sun), air (wind) and water (rain).


I came to this knowledge, not through wine but through the study of essential oils in aromatherapy courses. A lavender essential oil of the same species and variety grown in France will have a different aromatic make-up than one grown in Southern California. The 400 or more chemicals that make up the oil shift according the the conditions where it is grown, thus impacting the aroma.


For years I have been using an Oud from Cambodia for my perfumes. It is most prominent in Chaparral® and Rosa as well as featured in other perfumes and accords. This little Cambodia gem that I have been using is just about out and thus I will be switching to a different Oud obtained last year by way of Laos. Since the aromas are so varied between the two, the fragrance of the perfumes will be altered. This is one of the variables that exist in the land of natural perfume. In fact it is one of the reasons the large perfume houses prefer synthetics, not only because they are substantially less expensive and have extreme longevity but the aroma is consistent.


Nature is not consistent and although I work to have some consistency in my line sometimes mother nature has an altered plan. Cheers to our aromatic adventure and all those twists and turns that keeps us on our toes while still planted here on Earth.

Photos ©Roxana Villa, taken during a trip to Ecuador in 2009

Impromptu

Seems to be an auspicious time for formulating perfume and manifesting ideas. Serendipity has visited me in the studio once again. It all started with clearing my drafting table to do some painting. The table had become a chaotic mess of paper with formulas, notes of items to order, tax prep and a magnet for little amber bottles. In fact I think all 10 and 15ml Boston round bottles must come to my studio to die, the amount I have accumulated over the past ten years is staggering.

As I was tediously filing papers and reorganizing boxes that held the amber glass containers (perfume synergies, accords, experiments, etc.) I noticed a heck of a lot of the bottles were labeled Chaparral with various numbers and notes. Then I started to see other bottles of experiments with words like wood chord 3, earth chord, musk chord experiment 4. As I sat there looking at all these bottles I thought "I'm going to put all these together and see what happens." Well the result was a wonderful woody Chaparral-like fragrance. To shift it I began adding woods and resins, attempting to stay away from many of the expensive essences that I would've liked to add.

The whole process became an exercise in constraint. Is it possible to make an interesting, complex perfume without using costly ingredients? I've actually been pondering this for awhile now, but this new fragrance journey put me smack in the midst of it. Niche perfumer Andy Tauer did something along the same lines but limited himself to only five synthetic ingredients, he called the series PentaChords. I'm not so much interested in limiting how many ingredients are in the perfume, at least not now, for me it's limiting key materials such as Rose, Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Orris and Oud. Gosh, I so love Oud.

Perfumes of Yesterday by David Williams, one of my heroes, has quite a lot of formulas from the 19th and 20th century. Not one of them is without Jasmine, Rose, Orange blossom or Orris. In fact most of them have all four. I did find a Lebanon Cedarwood Bouquet where the only floral note was synthetic Rose. It was described as a bouquet of "roses and pencils" for the purpose of scenting incense boxes.

I sat at my drafting table thinking about the spicy woody fragrance that sat before me, although it was nice, there wasn't anything really special about it to me. What could I add to bring in more depth while avoiding the notes listed above? As I pondered spice, Geranium wafted into my mind. Ah-hah, the Geranium would pair well with the spice element already established, add a bit of a rose note and shift the fragrance from a simple wood spice into the realm of leather.

After adding the Geranium I pulled out the formula for the leather chord I use in many of my perfumes. The original formula I had used to create the botanical leather was by René-Maurice Gattefossé, the grandfather of Aromatherapy. I had re-interpreted his formula by substituting notes and my own chords for the animal and synthetic ingredients. Read more about it here at the journal.

Thus I decided to add some botanical leather notes like Tarragon, Basil, Clary Sage and a bit of Mimosa (I know, costly, oh well). The final result is a finely woven botanical perfume with sweet, spice, floral, smoke and leather. The opening, to my nose and on my skin, is: sweet and spice walking in tandem with a warm floral note. As I mentioned the notes are finely woven, thus it becomes difficult to sift out each one. Overall there is a consistent chorus of sweet, spicy floral throughout the orchestration. The final dry down is warm, balsam and botanical leather lasting well over 12 hours on my arm with an end note of Chinese Emperors Pu·erh Tea with a teaspoon of honey.


Since the fragrance was made without a formula, from a variety of experiments all melded together, the name shall be Impromptu. For obvious reasons the first edition is limited. All other editions and a solid will most likely posses a slightly different aroma. Longevity of the perfume on me is extensive, longer lasting than any other fragrance in my line. Keep in mind that natural perfume tends to last quite a long time on me, perhaps because I have no other scents on me (particularly nothing synthetic) or within my olfactory space competing for attention.

Fragrance family is sweet botanical leather. Closest fragrance relatives are Chaparral®, Sierra liquid and Aurora all combined. If you like Aurora you will like Impromptu.

As a special gift to you I am offering a free amber vial of 3.75 grams of perfume for any orders of $75.00 (not including tax and shipping) or small sample vials with any order of $25, until the last day of March 2012. Once I decide on what course to take with packaging I'll post those details here at the journal.

Interesting that Chaparral® has had two fragrance branches, first Tangent and now Impromptu. Next up I am finishing up some custom perfumes and then onto the Sherlock perfume, the new Jasmin Noir, Gracing the Dawn solid and body butters....not necessarily in that order.

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

I saw the image above for the 2012 February issue of Paris Vogue and immediately thought of Chaparral® natural perfume. The history of Chaparral® goes back to 2006 when the formula was slightly different.


Read more details on Chaparral® natural botanical perfume at this link on Fragrantica. In the Spring of 2008 i had to hire an IP lawyer to register the name Chaparral® because a rather large niche perfume company and retailer wanted it. Have you seen the documentaries or read books about the Medicis? Sometimes the perfume world is very much like it.


Find reviews and impressions of Chaparral® at these links:
A Real Bodice Ripper, Perfume Smellin' Things
Trish at Scent Hive
Tom Pease at perfume Smellin' Things

Images: I found the image on ubAWM, as you can see I photo shopped out the type at the top.

Strange Flowers of Reason

"There are strange flowers of reason to match each error of the senses."
~ Louis Aragon

The garden is starting to awaken. As mentioned previously the rosemary on the back slope is in full bloom. Out on the front slope where I have all the natives, the salvias have begun blooming. Salvia spathacea, known as Hummingbird Sage, has tall stalks with bright showy magenta flowers beloved by the local hummingbirds. I planted ours under a small oak with the intention that it would spread. It has been extremely slow growing for some reason, but very pretty non-the-less.


The other sage that is currently blooming is the Salvia mellifera, commonly known as Black Sage. I've noticed the honey bees and small bumble bees are really loving these blooms.


Meanwhile in the studio today, I'm packing orders, working on various new natural botanical perfumes and ordering supplies. Since our two main computers are in limbo Greg and I are on a schedule sharing the laptop which has been both good and challenging. Good in that it limits my computer time and thus I am doing lots of other things, like getting the Poco letterpress ready for printing. The challenge is that since we are on a schedule I am limited as to what I can do when.


My SOTD (scent of the day), in honor of the blooming sages, is Chaparral solid perfume. Regrettably Frankincense, which is one for the main ingredients has become quite expensive which equates to a price increase in the perfume once I make the new edition.

Postcard and salvia photos ©Roxana Villa

From Wood to Hive with Oud

"All my garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia." ~ Psalms 45:8

It's that uber busy time of year when the entire house is transformed into a fragrant palace and my own private studio. Almost every inch of our little cottage is being utilized for my natural perfume business. Each year the flood of orders gets a little easier to handle as I am slightly more prepared from having learned lessons from the year prior. However, there is only so much that two hands can do.


Yesterday morning I made more synergy for Chaparral solid then in the afternoon made new batches of the liquid and solid synergy for To Bee. It was like taking a ride through the forest and then ending the journey within a bee hive. The note that continued along with me on the olfactory travels through the dry desert woodland into the slightly sweet musky home of the girls was oud.

I only have a drop or so left of this particular precious gem from Cambodia. Time to order more, although it probably wont be the exact same one. The first time I learned about this essence was in an article written by Jan Kusmirek which appeared in the Aromatherapy Quarterly back in the mid 1990's.


Oud, also known as Agarwood, Ud and Aloeswood have become really "trendy" in western perfumery as of late. For many westerners it is an odor that may take some time to acclimate to. Since I refuse to use historic animal ingredients in my formulations oud is a great alternative for those in botanical perfume arena. The note provides longevity and a special muskiness without killing or torturing animals. I've personally loved oud from the first moment I inhaled its deep, dark note. I use it quite a bit in my work although it is most obvious in Rosa liquid.

It's been chilly here in the woodland, making our little, non-insulated house feel like a freezer more than a home. Thus I've been wearing many layers of woolens while I make perfume late into the night. The wool fibers of these vestiges have trapped many delicious odor molecules. Today my woolens are fragrant from yesterdays work, the deep muskiness of that intersection of wood and hive and oud. Meanwhile the kitchen smells of paperwhites, the living room of douglas fir and the garden of sage, rosemary and beehives.

In contrast

The coloration here in the woodland has slowly been turning more and more golden. Hills that were once bright green with the vitality of Spring rains have shifted to golden yellow and ochre. The heat and solar influence has slowly saturated the landscape. In the hillsides of Los Angeles, pretty much the only place you'll find native flora, the one constant green is provided by the native oak, Quercus agrifolia and a few of shrubs like the Rhus species.



This palette is so very different from the photos being sent by Eve out in Vermont, where everything is really lush and green from ample amounts of water.


One of the invasive plants we have here which is a nemesis to our local oaks is Hedera helix, common ivy. In April of 2007 I created an ivy perfume as a collective project with a handful of other natural perfumers. At the time I named the perfume Hedera but did not release it.


Now, as I reach down to my roots with a variety of upcoming projects and products, I've chosen to start a new series following the Celtic Tree alphabet. Hedera will debut with the Ivy lunar cycle in September. More on this in the next few days, stay tuned for more details.

Images:
Opening illuminated © Greg Spalenka (I posed for that image.)
Chaparral solid perfume mini and Artemesia photo © Roxana Villa.
Vermont photos © Eve Neuhart
Ivy photos from Free Ivy Plant Pictures

Chaparral at Scent Hive

My latest hive, the SBB2, short for Squirrel Box Bees number 2 gather their pollen and nectar from the hillside wildflowers and brush of the Santa Monica Mountains. This clustering of plants is known as the chaparral biome.


Trish at Scent Hive today has a review of Chaparral® in both the liquid and solid format as well as her impression of the new Tangent. Fly on over and gather some nectar, leave a comment and perhaps win a sample of Chaparral® solid and liquid. In celebration I offer you a giveaway for a .25 gram sample of the new Tangent botanical organic perfume.


This giveaway ends at 10pm PST on Saturday, October 2nd. To qualify please leave a comment on this post. You must include your first name -or- etsy username AND email address with each entry or it will not be included. The contest is worldwide.

For additional entries you can do any or all of the following, please leave a separate comment for each entry.

• 1 entry per day of the contest: Twitter this message: RT @RoxanaVilla is hosting a giveaway for her new Tangent perfume! Visit http://bit.ly/anrZAS for a chance to win
• 2 entries (total) - Blog about this giveaway, leaving the URL to the post in comments (1 blog per entrant, please)
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the Roxana at RoxanaVilla on Twitter
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the Greg at RoxanaIlluminatedPerfume on Facebook
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of this journal: IlluminatedPerfume

More fine print, learned along the way
1. If we cannot contact you we will give your prize away to someone else.
2. Depending how many entries I receive I will determine how the winner shall be chosen. Normally each entry is assigned a card from several decks here at the house, I then shuffle all the cards and have someone handy (like my daughter) choose a card for the winner and a runner up.
3. If you have won a Giveaway in the past you may enter again.
4. Please don't make up any new guidelines, what is outlined above is what we follow.

Be sure to check out the other giveaway over at Scent Hive.
Good luck!

A Tangent Universe

Last night I went to sleep pondering a name for this perfume that was meant to be Chaparral®. I was tossing around words like sage, leaf, wood as if shooting basketballs toward an invisible hoop. My conscious mind finally gave up and I drifted to dreamland.


At some point within the wee hours, in that gap of sleeping and waking, the word Tangent bubbled up into my mind. Normally when ideas come in like this it is rare that I am able to harness them in the morning. This time it was clear as a bell and as I processed the word the more I liked it.

I mentioned it to my daughter Eve who responded with...."Oh like that song in Donnie Darko, The Tangent Universe." Yes, indeed, just like a tangent universe, this perfume is a parallel fragrance to Chaparral, they both share components but are alternates of each other. The ingredients are almost exact and the two share a dominant wood note. The main difference is that Tangent has more of a sweet wood quality while Chaparral® is more of a smokey deep wood. The evolution on the skin is different as well.

This limited edition of Tangent is now available at the E-shop in sample packs and as a 1 gram vial. I am working on an illuminated image to accompany the scent and will list the flacon soon. In the next edition I may change it slightly as I would like it to contain 28 essences in the botanical synergy.

The "Carpathian ridge" scenes in the film Donnie Darko were shot in California along the Angeles Crest Highway where one finds chaparral plants growing wild.

The Wild West

The latest edition of Chaparral® botanical perfume has manifested with a slightly different character. The feel is a bit more feminine, less masculine. I've decided to offer this new version, although I will also be making it once more with those more wild masculine notes missing from this latest rendition.

When I step outside in the early mornings and inhale deeply of the air here in the Santa Monica Mountains the native sage is the primary note I perceive, almost all year long. What I have come to realize over the years is that the sand along the coast specifically from Santa Monica to Malibu has this sage note in it. This new Chaparral® has an element of that California beach note which the other doesn't. Please give them a whiff and share your scent impressions with me.

At this moment in time I haven't decided if I will make more of this more feminine aspect of Chaparral®. Once it is finished I most likely will offer it as a special request item.

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

Hidalgo

Every once in awhile a bright star will write a review of one of my natural perfumes that brings me to my knees. Beth has done this with her latest post at Perfume Smellin' Things. She has weaved a story that includes Viggo Mortenson in Hidalgo and the wild west. The review includes a giveaway.

Chaparral Perfume; A Real Bodice Ripper

Hidalgo is the perfect hero for this fragrance that embodies both the American Native Indian and cowboy of the California. I re-watched this film the other day, so delicious, here is a clip.

Ovata

While Greg and I were on our evening walk through the chaparral a few days ago I noticed that the Sugar Bush shrub, a native known as Rhus ovata, was in full bloom. I went back yesterday morning to get a few sprigs of the pretty white flowers for the photo above.

As I came up to the plant I heard a tremendous buzzing and saw that it was filled with happy little honey bees gathering the botanical nectar. How marvelous! Where as the non-native Oleanders across the street had no honey bees what so ever. Conclusion: plant Rhus ovata and encourage others to do the same.

Photo ©Roxana Villa