Le Parfumeur Rebelle Yell

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

2011-02-15T06:51:00.000-08:00

After much soul searching and deliberation, the Rebelle crew has decided to make a new blog and transfer all the LPR content from the website over to that new blog. Why not here? Because over the few years this blog's been in existence, access codes were lost by the participating bloggers, which means months went by without a single post, and readership diminished. A dead blog. Or nearly dead.

Out with the old, in with the more efficient.

Le Parfumeur Rebelle Editor

A Year!

2010-11-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

It's been an entire year since any of the Rebel Perfumers blogged here -- a year! So I'm going to jump in and do so now.

Hello everyone! Long time no post, eh? Well, we're not dead or anything, we're just busy. For my part, I attempted to put together a little paper publication for Le Parfumeur Rebelle, lots of photography, lots of interesting articles and such, lots of tutorials, but alas, the webosphere is chock full of this stuff, though scattered from one end to the other, and it seemed a bit premature, and redundant, to go ahead with the project. It is on the back burners and will come to fruition at some point. Just a bit more organization and a lot more advertisers and we're on our way. I'd like to thank all the contributors to the initial idea of a paper publication and your writing isn't going to languish forever -- there are plans for the future with your informative articles the highlights.

Also, I kind of let LPR alone for a while, like months and months, and just began restructuring and posting new articles and reviews and interviews. LPR's become something of a database and I kind of like that idea. I'd like to get a lot more topics covering individual experiments in perfumery or distillation published on the site, and I am working on it. I think it's important to the art form to instruct and tutor newcomers and perhaps teach an old dog a few new tricks in the process.

I think I'll be posting here more often, keeping you apprised of new articles on the site, maybe getting some input on what you'd like to see on LPR. We're here for you, so let us know what you need.

Justine

Free Shipping worldwide at Magickal Realism Perfume Arts - last day!

2009-11-30T10:55:00.001-08:00

Free shipping worldwide and clearance items are available at Magickal Realism Perfume Arts. Shop closes December 1st for a wedding (mine.) So grab it today while it's still there to be grabbed!

And after this, we will return to our regualrly scheduled perfume posts!

Another sales post

2009-11-18T08:37:00.000-08:00

I'm closing my shop on December 1st - temporarily. I'm spending that month off in Vegas, getting hitched and doing honeymoon things with the new-minted husband. But that means I have to bust-a-move this month for those of you with perfume plans for the holidays.

So for the month of November, I am offering free shipping worldwide at my Etsy shop. As long as your country will accept fragrance, I'm happy to send it, shipping on me!

Fall Giveaway Winner!

2009-11-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

The fall giveaway prize was a full skincare set from The Scented Djinn Etsy Apothecary. The Haseki Skincare Kit, part of the Harem Skincare line, was chosen for the giveaway. It includes Haseki Soap, made in a base of extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil and loads of organic cocoa butter, and scented with lots of really beautiful essential oils ~ pink grapefruit, bergamot (bergaptene free), frankincense b. serrata, petitgrain sur fleur neroli (neroli!), tangerine essence, lemon essence, fresh ginger, lavandin abrial, ylang-ylang and lemon petitgrain. The neroli/floral aspect really comes through this lovely citrusy soap. Also included is Haseki Skin Elixir, made with virgin organic coconut oil and organic jojoba with just a hint of that bergaptene free bergamot (no phototoxicity to worry about), more of the gorgeous petitgrain sur fleur neroli, and just a hint of lemon essence from the juice, and Haseki Scrub, a simple, simple, simple, but oh so good scrub made with organic cane sugar, ground raw almonds and ground organic coconut shreds.

And the winner is ~

Jolyn Trewatha of Portland, OR!

Congratulations, Jo.

It's my Etsyversary!

2009-10-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

Normally I try to only post once a week, but this one snuck up on me: I've been in business on Etsy as Magickal Realism Perfume Arts for three years now. If I knew what that meant, I'd tell you, but mostly I'm about continuing to create new explorations in fragrant experience, and no, that's not a tagline, that's really what I'm angling for. The above is our October sampler pack - for a discounted price you can try some of your yummy fun scents, and the pack will change monthly.

So squee with me for year three!

A language of scent

2009-09-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

www.flickr.com

magickalrealism's Textures photoset

I'm rethinking smell. Perhaps not rethinking, exactly - smell is smell, technically one of the five senses but also somehow more involuntary. We can take steps to block out sights and sounds, even block out physical sensations by wearing gloves and thick clothing - but with smell, well, even nose plugs have an odor.

While we mainly associate smell with taste - because the next closest similarity we have in the layers of information we get from smell is by inserting something in our mouths - I'm starting to reconsider smell as an extension of touch. First of all, the comparison of smell to taste belies a few assumptions: coffee in no way tastes how it smells, for instance. While I haven't run around tasting my essential oils (an experiment bound to end with a hospital visit at the very least) I'm reasonably certain there's no way they taste like they smell, either.

I've also found that certain scents and their quality might possibly vary based on cultural experience and geographical location. There is no one scent that smells good to everyone. There's a filter going on. Also, if you create a perfume that to the knowledge of your scent-memory isn't comparable to anything else you've smelled, what then?

This is why I'm experimenting a bit with my perfume listings on Etsy. I'm completely reconsidering not just smell, but how I describe it. Right now I'm experimenting with the language of texture: rough or smooth? thickness: does it feel light, or heavy? Does your mind conjure an image of a clogged pipe? Speed: this isn't just sillage and evaporation rate, this is how fast it hits your olfactory nerve and whether it makes you go cross-eyed (some people like that.)

Is it a perfect system? Probably not. But it seems like, especially amidst the challenges of online sellers, it's the way to go.

If I were a perfume . . .

2009-09-25T08:44:00.001-07:00

If I were a perfume, I would be like blood
Necessary for life, unaware of self

Magickal Realism's garden adventures

2009-09-21T11:40:00.001-07:00

- image by Diana Rajchel of Magickal Realism Perfume Arts.

I'm a very DIY kind of girl. This is partly because my own perfumery is a bootstrap effort - no debts, no loans, no credit cards used ever. And this means that fancy things like tuberose and ottos come by way of gifts, and are sparse. Nope, my perfumes have a garden feel to them because often, major components of them come from someone's garden.

So, even as I advance my art form from the familiar safety of oil based mixtures to complex things like tinctures, I have to resort to a sort of guerilla harvesting from time to time and I am a girl who relies on the kindness of trusted friends.

This year's treats have been generous indeed: scores of lilac flowers, moving me into year three of the seven year tincture I'm working on. Tomato leaves, thanks to a dear friend's garden going completely bonkers. And, to my delight...roses.

Unfortunately, I had no idea roses were so uncooperative in tincture. I'm sure someone could have told me if I'd asked, but I do like to learn things the hard way. That said their stems and leaves behave very nicely, and I've got some lovely herbal greens to play with this winter as a result. As for the petals...well, the alcohol is very strangely pink/brown now. I might be able to do something with that...

the slowest infused etoh in history

2009-09-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Imagine my surprise when I scored a Jasminum sambac at Home Despot earlier this summer. I mean, we have a conducive climate in CA and all that, but this flower is the stuff of fantasy and is an atlas missile in any perfumer's arsenal, given its qualities as a crack-filler-inner, a crappy-blend-corrector, and certain something that works wonders in 'masculine' blends. It was like winning the lottery and it was also Christmas morning, at the same time :)

The plant is slowly growing and thriving, being a plucky little guy. I repotted him into a much larger vessel, into some hand-blended planting mix comprised of clay from the side yard where I excavated something like 50 square feet of clay (and then filled in with a measly 20 square feet of purchased planting mix, gah), wood shavings and shredded straw from the chicken coop/run, and then fresh-ish compost. He's throwing lots of blooms at a time now.

And of course, those blooms are getting plopped into etoh, and ending their days of freshness happily inebriated, soaking until they get crunchy, and I replace them with fresh blooms. It looked futile at first. 100ml of etoh, and two blooms. Three blooms a few days later. But, one keeps at this sort of thing, and over three months one gets a reward, or at least the preview to a reward.

(Still kicking myself for not bugging the Despoteers to order more plants for me in June.)

No clue what I'll be using this precioussssss for, when it's 'done', or when the plant decides he has given me enough flowers. It was a reflex getting into the habit in the first place, and I figured at the time that I'd better just do it or regret not having done it when I finally have time to start blending again.

Sometimes life feels like a marathon of stages of prep work, eh.

it wasn't supposed to be that long of a break from perfume

2009-09-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Everything changed in March of this year, starting with putting Ye Olde Mandrake on hiatus, and culminating in a move to a house where I'd set up a garden and build a chicken coop before the summer.

As is true with so many things that nurture and inspire and sustain, however, it was impossible to forget aromatics entirely.

I remember patchouli whenever I dig into a row for planting. Even the most lackluster dirt in a backyard that time forgot has hints of this dusty golden ripeness, after a good rain, or after a watering in the late afternoon sun.

And I fell in love with the smell of wheat straw. The first bale from the feed store changed some things entirely, and I learned that I like hay-type smells after all. Happy surprise? It wasn't like Foin coupe, the traditional hay absolute (which I like in moderation, on occasion, like when the stars are in harmonic convergence, and the sun and moon change places and my cat spontaneously starts to talk). It smells of dried golden things, sunshine, sweet earth, and warmth.

The chickens have their decidedly poultry smell, but it is not bad at all. I replaced the straw with pine wood shavings last month, which added a beautiful foresty tone to the yard. If anything, the chickens enhance their environment. When I feed them melon rinds and seeds, the run smells of those white wonder watermelons I grew on a whim but never did get very sweet. When I feed them the noir des carmes melons which are fabulously aromatic but insipid in taste, the yard smells of sweet melons.

Then there are the 18 tomato plants, with that green, astringent, and rather acrid odor all their own. The first Wapsipinicon peach tomatoes actually tasted of that smell, and it was otherwordly, and faintly wicked. Then... they came back to earth and were merely peachy-toned tomatoes with faintly soft skins.

My favorite yard smell? That would be freshly-husked corn. It matters not how long I waited to pull the ear off of the plant, or if the husks are drying, or if the kernels are not all developed; the silk, inner husks and cob are sweet. And I'd forgotten that smell completely, in the 25 years since I'd last harvested corn for my nana. Sweet, green, powdery, confectionary almost, and very faintly herbaceous. I pulled up half of the rainbow Inca last night, in preparation for letting the chickens go wild in that patch to prepare it for next spring, and found myself just sniffing the papery dry husks as I stood over the compost pile.

Perfume is everywhere.

I finally unpacked half of my essences on Tuesday. It was a second home-coming, after the garden beckoning and welcoming me and my nose every day when I go out there to water.

So, as I water, I consider Jasminum sambac, with a base of wheat straw, and a touch of melon rind in the top. I consider Lavandula abrialis with a hit of flowering sage, pine shavings from the coop, and some crushed lemon leaves. Perfume is why I get up in the morning, go about my chores, and then come inside to remember what the essences all smell like. It is remembrance, and the present.

And, as it turns out, I never did actually take a break from it.

If I were a perfume...

2009-09-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is a fanciful - if I were a perfume:
If I were a perfume, I would have hints of savory at my base,
be warm with an herbal center
and honeysuckle florals would make me seem gentle.
I am not one to float away,
so don't count on me to evaporate -
though perhaps I come and go,
cleaving, cleaving to the skin
taking from deep within beneath the blood and sweat and dreams
something more real than how real seems.

Badger's Bill Whyte Speaks on Perfume

2009-09-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

In the Opinion/Editorial section of Le Parfumeur Rebelle.

The Purple Dress Press Release

2009-09-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

The Purple Dress: Limited Edition Perfume by Ayala Moriel

09.09.2009: Vancouver, BC. Ayala Moriel release The Purple Dress, a chromatic perfume that blurs the lines between soliflore and oriental.

A salute to Alexander Argov famous song, The Purple Dress is just as romantic in a chromatic, nocturnal, off-beat way. Champaca flowers from India are the main theme of this spicy, floral tea-like composition, supported only by hints of white magnolia and star anise, and a foundation of black tea and smoky woods.

Top Notes: Star Anise, Nutmeg, Mace Heart Notes: Red Champaca, Golden Champaca, White Magnolia Base Notes: Sandalwood, Guiacwood, Black Tea, Angelica Absolute
Fragrance Family: Soliflore (Champaca), Floral-Spicy

Official launch date & party:12.12.2009

*Offered in Parfum Extrait 9ml flacon ($160) and Crème Parfum in Ayala Moriel’s Signature Peprfumed Pendant ($150). Only 12 bottles and 4 pendants are available.
** Available at Ayala Moriel’s studio, or via our website www.ayalamoriel.com

ABOUT THE PERFUMER
Ayala Sender, the Nose behind Ayala Moriel Parfums creates perfumes that are inspired by her deepest emotions and memories from her childhood landscapes of the Mediterranean. “My art stems from my love and longing for the Mediterranean natural and cultural landscape”, Ayala says, “It is strongly rooted in those ancient and colourful aromatic traditions”.

Born in Montreal and raised in Israel, Ms. Sender’s work is influenced by her eclectic background in fine art, music, philosophy, psychology and education. “Perfumery is my means for self expression, and where all my interest integrate into a beautiful whole” says Ayala. “My perfumes tell a story. They capture a moment in time, an emotion, a memory, and entice you into their world”. Combined with an intuitive understanding of each individual’s need for self expression through personalized fragrance, Ayala creates customized Signature Perfumes as well as ready-to-wear perfumes. “My perfumes have their own personality and evolve with time almost like real living people” tells Ayala. “When I make a perfume for a person, I help them to translate who they are into a beautiful perfume that is as complex and multi-faceted as they are”.

For all media inquiries, please contact:
Tel. (778) 863-0806
ayala@ayalamoriel.com
Invitation to The Purple Dress Launch Party (December 12, 2009) as well as additional images and samples are available upon request.

Home Distillation

2009-09-09T06:23:00.001-07:00

For some of us more adventurous types, distillation becomes part of a natural progression through perfumery. A few years back I received a small copper distillation unit from a company in Portugual, Iberian Coppers S.A. For the first six to eight months, the still was just a pretty ornament and point of curiosity sitting all shiny and bright on a shelf. And I got a lot of ribbing about making my own "hooch". In the past year, however, the little two-liter al-embic has been an invaluable tool in my perfumery education. Thanks to diligence, determination and a strong sense of experimentation, my copper al-embic has provided me with nearly a gallon of beautiful frankincense b. carterii hydrosol, a few liters of cucumber "hydrosol", a liter of whole fruit distilled lemon hydrosol, peppermint hydrosol, ambrette seed hydrosol, and a few milliliters of lemon essential oil.

Distilling your own perfumery products offers another benefit -- peace of mind. How many times have you wondered if an essence you purchased from a dealer is real?

So if you're into tincturing and infusing and macerating and old-time enfleurage, why not jump into distillation? Make your set-up with copper tubing and a pressure cooker (for which blueprints can be found online), or find a glass distillation unit on ebay, or hit up Iberian Coppers.

Iberian Coppers S. A.

Post by: J

Photo: Iberian Coppers S.A., Essential Oils' page pic

We're Baaack!

2009-09-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

There has been a huge gap in blogging here in the last -- um -- year? I hope this is the beginning of the end of that business!

With that being said (written), let me just say thank you to all our supporters. Our sponsors, the folks we review, the giveaway contributors, the blog contributors -- all of you are a huge part of what Le Parfumeur Rebelle is all about.

Now, go read LPR! There are a lot of great reviews, another great giveaway, and in the very near future, some really cool articles written by some really cool people.

FDA Globalization Act of 2009

2009-02-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

Updated information regarding this Act, which impacts producers and users of natural botanical perfume, can be found here.

PDF format of the bill, HR-758 -- the cosmetics' portion begins on page 115 of this file.

Perfumery Without Pretension

2009-02-04T09:40:00.000-08:00

February 2009 installment of Perfumery Without Pretension by Diana Rajchel here.

LPR's Holiday Sales

2008-12-02T09:34:00.001-08:00

We're adding more new sales every day to the Le Parfumeur Rebelle Holiday Sales' list.

Holiday Sale!

2008-11-28T07:15:00.001-08:00

Le Parfumeur Rebelle's Holiday Sales' page is filling up fast, but the sales won't last forever.

Come to LPR and peruse for holiday gifts from some of your favorite small businesses ~

Soivohle ~ Liz Zorn, Soivohle's perfumer, is offering free shipping plus 10% off all orders thru December 18th

Faerie Made ~ Tina Glen of Faerie Made is offering 15% off all orders thru December 6th

Nature's Gift ~ Marge Clark of Nature's Gift is offering 10% normally discounted products through the Thanksgiving weekend

Sunrose Aromatics ~ Rosanne at Sunrose is offering 10% off all orders over $50 to all Le Parfumeur Rebelle readers

Magickal Realism ~ Diana Rajchel of Magickal Realism is offering free shipping internationally from Thanksgiving thru January 15th

The Scented Djinn ~ Justine Crane of The Scented Djinn is offering 10% all orders thru December 5th

The list is growing daily, so check back at LPR for more holiday deals.

Angel Face Botanicals

2008-11-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

Angel Face Botanicals product review on Le Parfumeur Rebelle.

Back of the Moon

2008-11-26T14:02:00.000-08:00

Back of the Moon review at Le Parfumeur Rebelle.

Holiday Shopping Ideas

2008-11-25T09:21:00.000-08:00

Shopping ideas from Le Parfumeur Rebelle.

Le Parfumeur Rebelle Giveaway

2008-11-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

Mandrake Apothecary is hosting the November LPR giveaway.

Go enter.

Perfume Sample Giveaway

2008-10-06T12:36:00.001-07:00

At 'Oh, True Apothecary!' blog here.

October LPR Giveaway

2008-10-02T10:42:00.001-07:00

Sponsored by MoonaLisa ~ A Supernatural Clean.

Enter here.

Get Your Sniffa' On!

2008-09-24T10:10:00.001-07:00

Roxana Illuminated Perfumes does Sniffa' -- twice!

Read the details here.

Classes, Courses & Workshops in Natural & Botanical Perfumery

2008-09-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

NNAPA ~ Nature's Nexus Academy of Perfuming Arts' pilot course begins October 21, 2008 for one year of online comprehensive natural and botanical perfume training. Course offers certificate of completion. Contact NNAPA for more information.

Coeur d'Esprit Natural Perfume Course ~ "Introduction to the art of Natural Perfumery. We will be covering twenty-one oils/absolutes; various bases; scent profiling; the language of natural perfumery; formulation; accords; scent-similars; tinctures; macerations; and many other aspects. Specific assignments are given for each of the six sections. In order to attain a Certificate of Completion for this course, you will need to do these twenty-six assignments and reports, sixteen perfume samples, and the final proctored written exam, and practical exam. The exam can be taken six months after you begin your studies. This is an in-depth course and there is no need to rush." per website. Visit Lyn Ayre at Coeur d'Esprit for more information.

If you are interested in listing your natural perfume course with Le Parfumeur Rebelle, contact the editors here.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume

2008-09-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

September 2008 Le Parfumeur Rebelle Giveaway sponsor:

Roxana Illuminated Perfume ~

Go enter!

Perfumery Without Pretension

2008-09-10T20:57:00.001-07:00

LPR's Diana Rajchal interviews Stephanie K Naturals perfumer!

Working the Bench

2008-09-10T20:56:00.001-07:00

With Lyn Ayre, Natural Perfumer on Le Parfumeur Rebelle.

Lyn Ayre

2008-09-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

LPR's own Lyn Ayre featured in Sniffapalooza Magazine.

August LPR Giveaway

2008-08-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

This month's sponsor is Luscious Naturals, LLC, purveyor of luxury vegan skincare products.

Giveaway items include: Luxury Salt Butter Scrub, Chamomile~Aloe Toner, Pure Natural
Vegan Clay Masque, and Kaolin Complexion Super Luxe Vegan
Soap.

ENTER HERE!

Luscious Naturals, LLC

Dog Days

2008-08-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

Summer's got us all by the sweat glands.

I'm sure the blogging will commence, oh, sometime.

I'm making a pact with myself to finish up those leather accord evaluations. They're good.

Fight the FDA's proposed Globalization Act of 2008

2008-07-16T11:57:00.001-07:00

By signing the petition at the Indie Beauty Network hosted by Donna Maria Coles Johnson.

Watch the video, then sign the petition.

© 2008, Donna Maria Coles Johnson. Used by Permission. Originally posted at www.indiebusinessblog.com.

Interview on Le Parfumeur Rebelle

2008-07-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

There's a new interview up on the 'Working the Bench' page at the Le Parfumeur Rebelle website ~ this time 'we' talked with Ruth Ruane of White Witch and Nature's Nexus.

Jumping in

2008-07-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

. . . to say Happy 4th.

j

Leather Incognito

2008-06-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

An accord by Roxana Villa

This is a leather accord that is not a leather accord ~ it is a perfume. The ingredients read like a guest list to an exclusive party. A masque ball on the banks of a slow moving river.

The Choyas arrived with Mr. Mate in tow, while a belligerent Dr. Orris tussled a bit at the buffet line with the Balsam brothers, Peru and Poplar. The Misses Saffron and Mimosa cornered the handsome bachelor Mr. Cabreuva in the geranium garden, begging for cinnamon kisses. It was all in good fun.

The Oakmoss Band played into the early morning, leaving alone Labdanum and Ambrette embracing on the cedarwood dance floor.

Okay, that was just a bit of silliness. The 'guest' list is much, much longer. Without giving away too much by way of what's in this leather incognito, let me finish off by saying it is lovely. It opens fresh and sparkly with notes of geranium tangling with orange and bergamot. The flash lasts moments before moving into something softer, sweeter, a little closer to the skin. Flowers emerge -- jasmine, a hint of rose. This 'fume has spectacular lift. It is effervescent and pops off the skin. Never quite going completely dark and leathery, it maintains this lighter than air character. And it lasts quite a while on the skin.

In a word, this leather accord is delightful.

Leather ~ Ms Adrian

2008-05-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Le Parfumeur Rebelle's Leather Project commences:

Gail Adrian's submission to the leather project is the one I chose to begin with -- for no particular reason other than it landed in my hand.

This is a perfume in and of itself. It is light and dark, sweet and salty, warm, ambery, animalic and floral ~ in a word: Lovely.

Directly from my notes: Reminds me of a Native American blend with grasses and smoke and earth, muted fire, soil after a deluge of rain, is slightly floral (a nearly finished perfume!), animalic ~ this scent undulates, surges in and out like warm, murky waves. I would wear this if I wanted to seduce someone ~ ha!

Justine

Scentsation scentsory overload & loving it.

2008-05-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

I have been a gardening fiend this past few weeks. In fact, I am neglecting a lot of other things in life, like making soap or scrubs. My excuse has been because I have injured my back (which is on the mend), so I can't lift things. And I haven't. Just ask my husband ;) ... he was recruited to be lift boy. However, that hasn't stopped me from planting things and a bit of weeding.

It's been great year for my roses... I was gifted an antique jacques cartier and then i have two climbers that have just rock and rolled. Now I am obsessed and need more. If I can't eat it, smell it, or be healed by it, then it better be pretty ...

Oh feline Goddess of the Kitchen...

2008-05-21T10:51:00.001-07:00

...I petition and invoke thy steadfast state of relaxation to calm me as I attempt to take product photos on the kitchen table. Here, I will lay a green milk glass saucer before thy snoozing hairy feet, with a wee bit of home-baked bread with organic butter spread upon it.

Daisy Ernestine, help me maintain my cool, and help me to have a steady hand, as I hold the camera, and snap pics of perfume bottles in various stages of packaging.

Your humble servant,
sara, the un-photographer

Fascinating!

2008-05-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am perplexed as I continue to labor on an astrological scent that requires an ability to create and balance luxurious and rich warm expansive scents of luxury with an underlying theme of disruption, creating order out of chaos and micro-management.

I have to admit, I've been struggling. And that can only mean another roller coaster ride for me.

Quite recently, I have been noticing that specific aspects of my patrons' lives which leave me puzzled appear in my life in the form of my own challenges that in turn, lead to new realizations leading to scentual resolution.

While I am having a blast, raising my hands over my head, and shreiking WHOOOOO while the winds of magic and empathy blow on my face. Nevertheless, the experience is also exhausting and requires my personal aromatic comforts.

To this end, I am finding for my own edification and centering, notes that include different Patchouli's, and Chocolate Tinctures.

Prelim From Tonie On the Leathers . . .

2008-05-18T11:32:00.001-07:00

"Mooney got soft suede. Rox's~ I have to smell more~ it's so complex. I got 2 from Nic~ #1 maybe got tea~ #2 is the inside of an old cowboy boot~ a saddle. A warm tack room with dust filtering through the windows, dancing in the sunlight. There's a common thread that runs through these~ is it sandal & choya? I think it's tres cool that you babes are doing this~ offering cruelty free scent interpretations."

Operation Leather

2008-05-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

Over the next few weeks, some of our contributors here will be posting information and reviews on a recent leather accord project hosted by Le Parfumeur Rebelle.

Modern natural botanical leather accords are usually typified by the use of birch tar, nagarmotha, choya nakh and choya loban, among other pungent smelling naturals.

I think you will be surprised and enchanted by the diverse interpretations of LPR's leather accord project submissions.

Rules? What rules?

2008-05-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

Nobody can teach you to be a natural botanical perfumer.

Nobody.

They can teach you how to analyze and evaluate. They can teach you perfume history, and they can regurgitate information gleaned from the handful of perfume making books that specialize in pre-synthetics. They can even try to force you to follow methods of blending that directly relate to modern synthetic perfume formulation.

But they still cannot teach you to be a perfumer no matter how much money they charge for the service.

You teach yourself. You teach yourself because there are not yet any hard and fast rules in modern natural botanical perfumery. The same techniques and modes of blending used before the late 1800's don't apply -- there are far more raw materials in our palettes than there were then. Modern French techniques don't apply either.

As those folks who use these mismatched methods of instruction harp on and on about Edmond Roudnitska and Jean Carles, let them be reminded that these great perfumers made their mark because they tossed the rules.

tinctures aren't just for 'fuming

2008-05-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

File under 'Happy Surprises', eh.

I was preparing scallops for dindin on Sunday night, hoping to recreate something I did in March when I was able to get my perfumey mitts on a black truffle. The truffle is long gone, but I did have a stack of crimini mushrooms, some good butter, and tinctured black truffle (in grain etoh) from 2006, bwahaha. *eagerly rubs hands together*

You can do a couple droppers of truffle tincture into melted butter, let it steam and stew, and have a very good truffle aroma and flavor left behind.

And here I thought I was limited to futzing with the tincture in earthy blends and accords...

Intro

2008-05-10T19:37:00.001-07:00

Seems we're suffering from a bit of stage fright ~ ha!

I'll make the first post to kind of let folks know what this is all about.

You'll notice that there are several bloggers writing this blog -- all of them are botanical perfumers or severely addicted to botanical perfumes. Some of them you may recognize from elsewhere on the blogosphere or maybe through their business websites. Some of them will be entirely new to the game.

This blog is about the perfumed life.

And how we do it our way.