Shop Update

While the hunt for a studio/home here in Santa Fe continues, I have been updating both my website and Etsy shop with available product. Many of my tools, raw materials, info cards, etc. are still in a storage POD in Albuquerque, thus I can only offer specific items at the moment.

For example I have the round tins for solid perfumes but I have not been able to track down the honey bee wax seals, thus in the meantime, those are not offered. However, if you want a solid perfume in a round tin and don't mind the missing wax seal or missing info cards, then contact me via e-mail and I'll make it up for you. (roxana at illuminatedperfume.com)

In December we will be moving to a new rental where I will then bring more boxes from storage with the intention to get into regular production again. I have so many new ideas for perfumes, some of which I've already started working on.

In the interim, I have two potential spaces for the perfumery here in Santa, we shall see how that manifests. I've decided not to get attached to any outcomes in order to stay more sane and peaceful. It sure would be nice to take the chandeliers and all the other pretty items out of storage to be appreciated.

And yes, I continue to work on the online, updated version of the Art of Botanical Perfume as well as lots of other courses both online and live. If you would like to host a class in your area contact me.(roxana at illuminatedperfume.com)

So, while I put some order to this chaos, contact me if there is something specific that you would like and I'll do my best to accommodate your desires.

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

In Stock

Here is a list of items currently in stock. As of this moment they are only listed here at the journal and will be sent out via priority mail. If you have any questions and/or are interested in anything listed please contact me via e-mail and I will send you an invoice.

I do plan to start producing perfume again as soon as I have all my tools and raw materials.

_______________________________________________________________________________

AUMBRE

Liquid perfume flacon with rectangular top : 1 available $290
Liquid perfume flacon with round top : 1 available $300
1 gram liquid perfume in vial : 1 available $27 each

Solid perfume samples : 9 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compact : 1 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in brass $37
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $40
• NEW floral vine design. $37

_______________________________________________________________________________

AURORA

Solid perfume samples : 7 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compact : 3 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in silver or bronze $35
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $38
• NEW floral vine design. $35

_______________________________________________________________________________

BLOSSOM

7 gram Eau de Parfum : SOLD OUT

_______________________________________________________________________________

CHAPARRAL

4 gram Eau de Parfum bottle : 2 available $48 each

Solid perfume mini compact : 3 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in brass $35
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $38
• NEW floral vine design. $35

_______________________________________________________________________________

CHIAROSCURO

Liquid perfume flacon with rectangular top : 1 available $305

Solid perfume samples : 4 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compact : 2 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in in brass $37
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $40
• NEW floral vine design. $37

_______________________________________________________________________________

CIMBALOM

Liquid perfume flacon with rectangular top : 1 available $295

1g liquid perfume in vial : 2 available $30 each

Solid perfume samples : 13 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compact : 1 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in brass $37
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $40
• NEW floral vine design $37

_______________________________________________________________________________

FIGURE 1: NOIR

Liquid perfume flacon with rectangular top : 1 available $325

1g Liquid perfume in vial : 2 available $27 each
4g Liquid perfume rectangular bottle : 1 available $102

4g Eau de Parfum Spray : 1 available $50 each
7g Eau de Parfum Spray : 1 available $75 each

Solid perfume samples : 11 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

_______________________________________________________________________________

HEDERA HELIX

4g Liquid perfume rectangular bottle : 1 available $120

Solid perfume samples : 4 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compact : 1 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in brass $39
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $42
• NEW floral vine design $39

_______________________________________________________________________________

IMPROMPTU

4g Liquid perfume rectangular bottle : 1 available $100
1g Liquid perfume in glass vial : 1 available $27 each

4g Eau de Parfum Spray : 2 available $48 each

Solid perfume samples : 16 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compacts : 4 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in brass $35
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $38
• NEW floral vine design. $35

_______________________________________________________________________________

La DAME BLANCHE

Solid perfume samples : 1 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

_______________________________________________________________________________

LYRA

Liquid perfume flacon with round top: 1 available $290

1g liquid perfume in glass vial : 5 available $25 each

Solid perfume in round compact in brass with pouch: 1 available, $180

Solid perfume samples : 10 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compact : 1 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in in brass $35
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $38
• NEW floral vine design. $35

_______________________________________________________________________________

MELLIFERA

1g Liquid perfume in glass vial : 3 available $27 each
4g Liquid perfume in rectangular bottle : 1 available $110

Solid perfume samples : 5 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compacts : 5 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in brass $35
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $38
• NEW floral vine design. $35

_______________________________________________________________________________

ROSA

1g Liquid perfume in glass vial : SOLD OUT

Solid perfume in round compact in brass with pouch : 1 available $190
_______________________________________________________________________________

SIERRA

1g Liquid perfume in vial : 1 available $27 each
4g Liquid perfume rectangular bottle : 1 available $110

Solid perfume in round tin : 1 available $52.50

Solid perfume samples : 8 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compact : 1 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in brass $35
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $38
• NEW floral vine design. $35

_______________________________________________________________________________

TERRESTRE

Solid perfume in round tin: 1 available $60.90

Solid perfume mini compact : 1 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in in brass $35
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $38
• NEW floral vine design. $35

_______________________________________________________________________________

TO BEE

4g Eau de Parfum bottle : 1 available $50
6g Eau de Parfum bottle : 1 available $75

Solid perfume in oval compact in brass with pouch : 1 available $198
_______________________________________________________________________________

VERA

Liquid perfume flacon with round top : 1 available $290

Solid perfume samples : 7 available, combine with other solid perfume samples for a set

• set of three different samples $22
• set of four different samples $29.50
• set of five different samples $35
• set of six different samples $41
• set of nine different samples $63

Solid perfume mini compact : 3 available

• Engraved diamond pattern in in brass $35
• Engraved diamond pattern in silver $38
• NEW floral vine design. $35

_______________________________________________________________________________

VESPERTINA

4g Liquid perfume rectangular bottle : 1 available $120

Solid perfume in round compact in brass with pouch : 1 available $185

Solid perfume in red bee, oval compact with pouch : 1 available $198

VESPERTINA sketch

4g Liquid perfume rectangular bottle : 2 available $120

_______________________________________________________________________________

JASMINE SAMBAC HYDROSOL

1 ounce hydrosol in amber bottle : 2 available $30

____________________________________________________________________________

There may be a few errors in this list which I apologize for in advance.

In the Studio: Ascent

New editions of To Bee, Q, Rosa, Blossom, Gracing the Dawn and a few others are all in the works. The hiccup in making more of these gems was due to having spent so much time in developing and creating the content for the online course. Once the course was finally finished I dived into distillation, then working on the Scent of the Honey Bee presentation for the Beyond Aromatics conference compounded by the holidays. Thus a nice amount of the clear, focused time needed for perfume formulation was not to be found.

When I sat down to re-create the perfumes, I noticed that chords were also out of stock, but even worse, I was out of many essences. Thus, the first task was to access which essences needed to be ordered and tracking them down. Next on the list was creating the chords that would go into each perfume. Rosa contains a leather chord which contains two other chords within its structure—chords within chords. Thus, you can see how complex making more of this fragrance can be. This leather chord is also one of the main bones in the structure of a few other perfumes as well.

Creating perfumes within the studio of my home was much easier than at the perfumery where noise and the constant stream of the freezing air from the shared system constantly assaults my senses. We are dynamic beings in a constantly moving sphere. As these fireballs, in the form of emotional, physical and spiritual challenges hurl their way at us, its good to remain grounded.  I am visualizing myself as graceful as the fictional character Lara Croft, portrayed so eloquently by Angelina Jolie, when defending her manor.

Speaking of Lara Croft, I am thrilled to hear that Alicia Vikander will be Lara Croft in an upcoming Tomb Raider reboot, an excellent choice! Image below via RedIt, wish I knew the artist so that I could credit them. If I were to scent her I'd choice something earthy but with some sweetness, perhaps Rosa, Terrestre or Aumbre, what do you think?

Of all the fragrances on the tarmac being readied for take off, its looking like Blossom will be the first to fly into the heavens and infuse your smell-scape with the uplifting scent of jasmine and orange flowers.

Santal

A few years ago a customer requested a sandalwood solid perfume. After pondering a bit, I decided to do a sandalwood solifleur by building a rich and voluminous chord/accord to personify this sacred and precious wood.

First I combined a variety of sandalwood essential oils from different locations, for example Sri Lanka, New Caledonia and Hawaii. I then added a very special and rare vintage sandalwood I have from Mysore, India. To make it deeper I added other resins, roots, flowers, seeds and precious woods. The result was a seducing, intoxicating riff on sandalwood. I had about ten little pink pots with some of the solid perfume to sample that went out to various customers.

Although the fragrance was not released I have come back to it often, waiting for the perfect moment which has finally presented itself!

In December Steve Robertson of Project Peace on Earth attended our Makers Market Holiday Faire and asked if I would contribute samples of the perfume devoted to Peace for the Global Peace Song Award Gala in downtown Los Angeles. I enthusiastically replied yes and after looking over formula for the 2009 edition of the fragrance decided to build the new version with the sandalwood solifleur as the main chord. I'll be posting more about it soon, just wanted to give you a heads up since the by invitation only event takes place next Saturday.

Spring Flowers

Spring flowers begin blooming here in Los Angeles in January with our native white ceanothus. The little sky blue, rosemary flowers on our back slope usually start up at this time as well, which begins to hum with the sounds of busy bees. The cascade of colors then slowly ebbs its way in with the blue ceonothus, also referred to as California lilac. The photo above is the one on our front slope which is very happy.

Although we had a bit of rain in the early part of the new year elemental water has become scarce once again, with only a few sprinkles now and then. It sure would be helpful to have more rain before we go into the dry, hot months looming around the corner.

I've been so immersed with assembling all the bits and pieces for the Art of Botanical Perfume online course and making/fulfilling perfume orders that most other aspects of life have dropped away. The content for the course includes both written material and video. Although the footage for each module was shot and a first draft of the edits sent over, Greg has been sweetening this footage with his artistry.

Only Modules 1-4 have been released so far, mostly as written content, the videos are being added slowly as Greg finishes them up. The kit I designed with Eden Botanicals is now complete and were sent to students last week. Modules 5, 6 and 7 will be released on April 17th..with or without the corresponding videos.

One of the students sent in this note to Jade today, who then forwarded it to me:

"I am doing the art of botanical perfumery with Roxana Villa. And it's absolutely beautiful.  Hands down one of my favorite courses ever. And I have taken a lot. I love all the sensory stimulation writhing the course and extra credit pieces. I'm so glad you have brought this to your course menu."

Notes such of these make all the hard work so much lighter. I mentioned to Greg that when we are complete with all this a vacation is certainly on the horizon.

Thus, my absence here at the journal is due to the overwhelming amount of work involved with launching a sensory rich course. The challenge with detail oriented / perfectionist people like Greg and I, is that we have high ideals. In the end its a good thing but in the middle is the worst. One of the students sent me this note after reading my apology regarding the delay in including the videos with the launch of each Module.

"You need Chaos in your Soul to give birth to a Dancing Star." 

~ Nietzsche

Introducing Mellifera

Mellifera, meaning Honey (melli) Bearing or Maker (fera) is the second part of the name for our little honey bee. The entire name is Apis mellifera, apis being the genus.

I began the fragrance Mellifera in the summer of 2013 for the HoneyLove Wax Symposium held in Culver City. The fragrance is based on everything that makes up the realm of the honey bee including herself and tribe members, the hive (as in To Bee), the landscape where she forages and other interesting bits about her.

The orchestration was initially composed by listing everything relating to the honey bee in terms of scent and then pairing essences to those words. For example:

Queen bee: Lemongrass

Forage bee: Based on research regarding the hone bees "nasanov" (scent) gland secretions that have components related to Melissa officianalis and Eucalyptus citriodora Melissa, Eucalyptus citriodora and Geranium.

Honey: Ylang ylang and Mimosa

Propolis: Resin and spice

Hive: All of the above plus musk and wood

Landscape: Herbs, flowers and tree sap.

After that I took birds eye view of these ingredients and began to weave them together with other notes to support them, keeping in mind perfume structure. The final composition of twenty two ingredients, all botanical except for the beeswax absolute. The orchestration includes woods, resins, leaves, flowers, herbs, rinds and roots. One of the featured ingredients is helichrysum both from Croatia and Ojai California.

I found this interesting bit on the wordnik blog: "In Latreille's system, the fourth family of aculeate Hymenoptera; the Anthophila; the honeybees." and this bit from Wikipedia: "The first Apis bees appear in the fossil record at the Eocene–Oligocene boundary (23–56 Mya), in European deposits. The origin of these prehistoric honey bees does not necessarily indicate Europe as the place of origin of the genus, only that it occurred there then. A few fossil deposits are known from South Asia, the suspected region of honey bee origin, and fewer still have been thoroughly studied."

I have many healers and intuitives come by my new workspace in Agoura, one of them mentioned to me that honey bees originate from Mars, as do all colony based creatures.

When this little forager was named they believe that she was a male and thus many songs and poems refer to her as such, for example:

“The pedigree of honey does not concern the bee; A clover, any time, to him is aristocracy.”
~ Emily Dickinson, The Complete Poems

The main image for Mellifera is the crown, with the color harmony being antique gold and iconography related to the Goddess since the honey bee is mostly female. Greg took a some beautiful photos of my fellow "Summer essence sister" Sophie specifically for Mellifera, including this one which was previously shared.

Mellifera is one of the items offered in the upcoming Fan Funding Event, and thus for a time being will only be available through that venue. It will be available for sniffing at the upcoming celebration of the new space on November 15th.

Here is what Sarah said about it when I put a little sample in with a locket she ordered:

"I applied some Mellifera mid-morning, and it's still lingering (4+ hours later). Initially it smelled of sweet vanilla + pepper, with beehive (i.e., beeswax + sun-drenched pine wood) notes. A bit like a sweeter + lighter Impromptu. Now, a few hours after application, it smells like a sweeter, lighter Aumbre, which is FANTASTIC, and may account for its longevity on my skin (Aumbre lasts forever for me)."

The scent is most similar to the fragrances in the line that have earthy, resinous, herbal notes like Impromptu, Aumbre, Terrestre, Chaparral, etc. Some noses might perceive it as "medicinal" due to some of the spicy camphor notes.

Then there is what happens to the scent when it comes into contact with each persons chemistry expressing itself on our skin. Everyone experiences scent so vastly different, depending on the olfactory terrain that they are accustomed to. If you have smelled Mellifera please include your experience in the comments or e-mail them to me so that I can share with the rest of the tribe....or should I refer to us as a hive?

Related posts here at the Journal:
HoneyLove Yellow Tie Event: August 2014
Life is a Flower
HoneyLove Wax Symposium

Wine and Cheese

I apologize for being absent from writing of late, here is an update of what's been happening. For the most part, all my energy is going to making perfume, packing orders and getting ducks in a row at the new workspace. 

The ducks include the Samhain decorations, the Fan Funding project (which is rather massive in scope), organizing and then re-organizing the workshop, new products, perfumes, logo, packaging and planning the opening. Everything fits together a bit like a puzzle as I need the funding to get some counters, the display case etc. but time is running out as I am intending to have the Celebration for the new space on November 15th! YIKES!!

Yesterday I met with Gina of Blue Table, the wine and cheese bar at the Whizin Market Square where the perfumery is. The intention was to do a little mind melding about what to serve at the opening and check out options. Right now we are considering either a spiced wine, a Vermouth beverage or Sangria with a infused water for those who don't drink alcohol.

We also discussed cheese and different herbals pairings. I love her eatery, Blue Table and go there quite often, my staple being the beet and goat cheese salad. While speaking with Gina she served me a gorgeous Vermouth paired with GingerBeer. I've never been much of an alcoholic beverage person, but am sensing that may change.

Blue Table reminds me a bit of Il Piatto, a deli my mother had with a friend during the 80's while I was attending Otis Art Institute in downtown. Il Piatto was located on Melrose, back when it was really "happening" in that part of Los Angeles. 

NEWS: French Glass Flacons

At this moment in time the French glass flacons with the flat tops that fit into the crochet pouches are no longer available. The photo above is the last of them which was bought by a fan on the east coast. I do still have some flacons left with your choice of three tops like the rectangle above, the round pictured below or the one I call V-neck.

In the meantime I'm working on some labels for other bottles to offer as an alternative and changing all the listings online.

The redesign of the logo and bee has been an ongoing project for a few years now, worked on by several very talented folks but never quite to my standards. Last month I found a new gal who is in the process of working on it. If all goes well, those designs may be showing up quite soon.

In Between

The work area of my new space, termed apothecary, is finally set up. Thus, all perfumes and new orders will now be created in Agoura Hills. For the time being I've set up the area like I had it here at my home studio to keep things simplified.

The whole space is still being refined, with me making subtle daily changes. I'm in desperate need of furniture, specifically counters and shelving. Its pretty amazing how many bottles of liquids I have amassed in the last eighteen years. Packing and moving all of it in made me realize just how much glass and liquids I have. What a relief that I've only moved ten minutes away.

I have a window display / seating area at the front of the space which for now I am using as a display for my sign and glass ware.

Today I set to work only to realize I have left some valuable glassware and infusions at home. It feels a bit like I'm in between two worlds.

The BHAG

I've been working on manifesting a BHAG: big, hairy, audacious goal. The goal was not necessarily on the top of my list, but rather has occurred by a series of serendipitous events. At first it was just an idea, which like a rolling stone has gathered lots of moss and particles. It is now a big ball, appearing to be gaining speed.

“To dream by night is to escape your life. To dream by day is to make it happen.” 

~ Stephen Richards

In some ways I feel like I will be leaping from a high mountain peak with the intention that my wings will open and the air currents will be manageable. All signs point to GO and each day the goal feels more and more tangible.

Once the goal is in a more solidified form (not just a big mossy ball) I'll be back to share.

Carded

I picked up the little Impromptu cards from my local printer yesterday. Thus all the orders that have been placed, along with promotional packets, will begin getting sent out today. Please note that I didn't make a huge amount of this first batch. I'm working on a big batch of the solid and liquid synergy as well as an Eau de Parfum spray.

I took a few more photographs yesterday, still have quite a lot more to shoot and then edit. Launching a fragrance, even when its a perfume that once existed, is always a bit labor intensive.

Refresh

Part of the inherent impetus of the new season is the urge to purge on multiple levels, most often referred to as Spring cleaning. For me, the purification impulse has been directed at my website and the studio. To the website I changed the opening slide show and added some more content and photos to the "Who is Roxana" link from the About page.

In the meantime, I submitted my site to Peek for an evaluation. I was aware that whoever I received to critique the site might not be my niche market, but, I figured I had nothing to lose. Here is the link to the review if you would like to check it out. I feel pretty lucky with the person who took the time to look at my site, she clearly had no troubles moving through the links and the information.

Thus, I must be on the right track. If you feel the website could use something added to it please send me a note, I really appreciate all the feedback from the best fans and customers in the whole world. One of the things I've been considering doing is adding a new slide show every month or season, what do you think?

Drop by Drop

Occasionally new skill sets are required along the fragrant and adventurous path of authentic natural perfume. Recently I've been practicing lots of bending like a reed when important essences go off the radar. This took place when precious Rosa bourbonica absolute from India became unavailable, then again when aromatic treasures contained in Hedera helix and Gracing the Dawn disappeared.

Last week, after much digging, I was able to obtain the essences needed for both Hedera helix and Gracing the Dawn. Hedera helix as a solid is now back, the fluid, liquid perfume will be back this week.

As I sat down to complete many of the perfumes that have run out, analyzing formulas, I noticed that essences required for other fragrances were running low. As a precaution to running out I decided to restock many of the essential oils, absolutes and C02 extracts I use most often. To my great dismay a few of them, ambrette seed C02 for example, have become difficult to obtain. When I saw that one supplier was out I started checking other suppliers one by one. I finally found ambrette on one site but was dismayed to hear that they could only offer me a small amount because they too were out of stock.

Mercy! When these challenges arise I often contemplate why oh why did I choose to work in botanical perfume.

For now, I have enough ambrette seed C02 and ideas on how to recreate the scent as an accord if necessary.

Other fragrances about to make another return this week are Rosa liquid with Gracing the Dawn in both formats following. Drop by drop we're getting there.

Figure 1: Noir and Hedera helix

Singing over the Bones is the title of a new review of Figure 1: Noir by Beth Schreibman Gehring, so beautifully written I can see the words form into images. No surprise, since Beth is a bit of a witch and definitely knows a few charms. If Hogwarts existed, she'd be the potions teacher, no doubt.

In the post she mentions Hedera helix, how synchronistic because I have great news! After searching and searching and searching I have found and ordered the missing essences for Hedera helix and Gracing the Dawn. I was so happy that jumping up and down resulted. Not only did I find them but they are extremely high quality essences. Thus, expect Hedera helix and Gracing the Dawn to be back in both formats soon.

In the meantime, take a deep breath, get out Figure 1: Noir and Hedera helix (if you have any) and go check out the wonderful review. If inspired leave a comment, Beth tends to like to chat and respond to comments.

Lyra Solid Perfume - 2014 edition

There is a new edition of Lyra in her solid format now in the shops, the new version has a subtle difference that some of you may or may not pick up on. The shift was not intentional but rather has mainly due to some botanicals coming from different sources and variations that occur from year to year with crops and distillations. For example I have an organic Jasmine sambac from a new source and my Jasmin grandiflorum is slightly thinner in consistency than the essence I purchased last year. All my essences are purchased from very high end sellers, I avoid the cheaper essences that are sold to soap and candle makers that also make perfume. I suppose this is due to my background in aromatherapy and the desire to support small farmers.

In looking over Lyras formula to ascertain where exactly the transformation took place I noticed there were also a few subtleties in the gram weights of a few of the ingredients which may have also played a role in the deviation. I've been doubling my formulas lately to keep up with the demand, sometimes when the amounts get increased that will also add a new layer to the fragrance, although for the most part I haven't seen that happen, probably because I work with weight instead of volume.

I am putting the notation 2014 edition on all of the Lyra solid variations from this new batch. There is one round solid compact that is wrapped and ready to be shipped that is from the previous formula here.

To my nose the 2014 edition has a little less of the anise note and more of a floral macaroon quality. I had Greg experience both of them and he perceived the new version as having more of a camphor note. Keep in mind, everyone will perceive a scent differently depending on where they stand with all their personal history and emotions coming into play. I look forward to hearing if you all since a difference and what those differences are. If you place an order and would like a sample of the Lyra 2014 solid sample, let me know in the notes to seller and I will include one for you.