Aegis of Neith, Primordial Scent 2012

Wiki Commons photo by Rama

She is the mythological Egyptian goddess of war. 

She is shielded by an aegis made of metal. 

Her name is Neith. 

Aegis of Neith is my PS2012 METAL inspired perfume. 

Horse Chestnuts aka Night Eyes

Horse chestnuts are the knobbly bits or growths found on a horse above the knee area of the front legs and below the hock of the hind legs. They can grow over time and can be soft or dry & brittle. They grow in layers and depending on the texture can be peeled or shaved off (sometimes falling off on their own). Being that chestnuts are growths from the horse's body they carry a bit of the horse's scent in them. Not knowing much about horses I learned recently that horses' scents are individual. I hadn't thought of that before but I guess it makes sense since scents (hahaha did you like that?) can be individual to other living beings. I already had a small chunk that I tinctured a year ago. I wanted more so I put out a request to a group of soapers who are also horse owners. Several said they'd send some to me and yesterday I received an envelope (thank you Shannon) with chestnuts from 4 different horses. I'm really excited about this because just from sniffing the little bags they're in I could tell that each one, while having that horse-y smell, was a bit different in it's scent and odor intensity. 

Chestnut from 24 y/o Appaloosa

Learning this made me wonder how differently the tinctures would come out, how much of the horse-y smell would come through in the alcohol. The chestnuts that I have are from horses that range in age from 8-24 yrs. Whether age or breed  makes a difference I don't know but I'm thrilled to start this experiment and see what comes of it. There's probably someone's findings on this subject somewhere on the web but I like to do some things myself. :^) 

I started working on a white flower accord.  The first sample was just the flower essences. The second had horse chestnut tincture added. What I noticed was that in the first sample jasmine came through very strong. In the second the jasmine was tamed while the michelia alba took over. I also noticed it cut some of the headiness of the florals. I haven't done the skin test with these yet but will update when I do.

Note: The name Horse Chestnut also refers to the nut of the Aesculus hippocastanum tree. To learn more about horse chestnut/night eyes you can search "chestnut & night eyes" or "chestnut & horse anatomy".

In The Works - Tea Perfume

When I first started thinking of characters in Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream for the recent scent event I participated in one I thought of focusing on was the Little Indian Boy. A minor character, yes, but one that caused friction between Oberon & Titania.  What came to mind was tea, sweetly scented flowers and spices. Dark, rich, full-bodied with a slight smokiness. However I quickly pushed that back because warm and spicy perfume in the summertime just didn't move me. I am however going to work on this for autumn/winter. But what about a tea perfume for summer? That one is in the works. The soothing scent of rooibos, intoxicating jasmine sambac or lotus blossom, sweet chamomile and perhaps a bit of mint to cool things down. Rooibos, black tea, green tea and Lapsang souchong may all find their way into a tea set. And there is vanilla, cinnamon, clove and cardamom to add a little spice. Mmmm...  I'm not a foody scent person so I'll work to blend these perfumes in such a way that although they will smell like tea you'll be less likely to lick your wrists. 

all photos courtesy of Wikipedia 

Omumbiri - Namibian Commiphora wildii

Omumbiri, the name used by the Himba of Namibia,  is a resin from the Commiphora wildii, a species of myrrh tree. It has a lemony scent that actually reminds me more of Omani frankincense than myrrh.  

It's hard to tell from this picture but the colors vary from a creamy bright lemon yellow to a warm burnt amber to a deep red to black.  This was stored with ground resin so it looks a bit 'ashy'.

The resin is very dry to the touch and can be crushed easily into a powder. It becomes very light in weight and floats in the air so I suggest wearing a mask when grinding this up. I used the ground powder to tincture.

Omumbiri oil is also available from Aftelier (under the name Myrrh from Namibia). I diluted the oil to 10% and compared it to the tincture. What I found was the tincture had a cool, fresh and mild lemon-pepper scent while the diluted oil was warmer and more resinous, earthy.  On a scent strip the tincture faded quickly while the dilution lasted hours even becoming a bit stronger over time.  I can see both having a place in perfume blends depending on what I'm looking to achieve.  The resin can be purchased from African Aromatics.

A Midsummer Night's Dream Scent Event Reviews Are Coming In

I mailed my perfume, Fare Thee Well, Nymph, to six of the eleven bloggers participating in the Midsummer Night's Dream Event. To say that I was a little nervous would be an understatement. Truth is my nerves were shot! :) And I believe I am just a little too anxious. Calm it down girl! Did I think I would get slammed in a review? No, not at all. But it does feel like a first-day-at-school moment. Reading the reviews that have come in so far has put me at ease and motivated me at the same time.  I have a long way to go but this event was a good start.

I chose the character Helena as my subject. I found her to be a bit quirky. :) I sympathized with her "plight". I was drawn to her more than any of the other characters and wanted to help her in the same way Oberon wanted to. The difference being that instead of using a flower on the eyes of Demetrius I would use a perfume on Helena, that would draw Demetrius to her.  

I have been delighted with the reviews and appreciate the perspectives of the bloggers, as they have more experience with perfume, both all natural and blended, than I do. As I mentioned above this event has motivated me to work harder.  Thank you to all the bloggers taking time out to review my perfume. I am so very humbled.

Fare Thee Well, Nymph opens with soft tones and simplicity and with the quickness, a whiff of noted woody undertones simmers through validating Helena emotion transformation.

Felicia M. Hazzard, Fragrance Belles-Lettres: The Magazine

I think Fare Thee is very well done. It's a perfume with a backbone surrounded by passion.

Victoria Jent, EauMG

As Helena worries about things she needent this fragrance opens the “upper chakras” to help a person see things for what they are, rather than what you fear them to be.
Monica Skye Miller, Perfume Pharmer



WOW!!!


Whew, now I need to compose myself and act like a professional. ;-)

UNCORKED ~ Celebrating The Voices of the Natural Perfumers Guild Members

~How I came to love natural aromatics~

When this blogging event was announced I knew I wanted to join in even though I had no idea what it was going to be about. Then the subject was revealed. I thought 'Uh-oh! This is going to be the shortest blog post.' 

Not long ago I blogged about how I felt like the new kid in school when it came to natural perfumery, or rather perfumery in general. Growing up my mother and maternal grandmother didn't grow fragrant flowers. And while my paternal grandmother grew roses I vaguely remember them, even though I was at her house almost every day of the week. I recall areas in her backyard where these roses grew but that's about all. The scent of roses, lilacs and others don't transport me back to my childhood. Neither of them owned any of the more talked about classic perfumes (Chanel No. 5, Joy, Mitsouko, etc). I never received pretty bottles of perfume as gifts. My maternal grandmother was an Avon lady and I remember trying different Avon colognes here and there. My mother had many bottles on her dresser that she hardly ever wore. Red Door, Paloma Picasso and Youth Dew (newer version) are a few I recall.  And while I remember them nothing really stands out that would remind me of her. My experience with scent was purchasing the cheap stuff from drug & convenience stores. Remember Jean Nate and Love's Baby Soft? And I really loved Sand & Sable. Up until 2006 my only exposure to essential oils was keeping a bottle of tea tree on hand in my first aid kit. Even as popular as lavender is I was only familiar with the synthetic fragrance. I never liked the smell of vanilla until I smelled a real vanilla bean.  That was about 12 years ago and I didn't know vanilla absolute even existed. 

In December of 2005 my mother passed away after a battle with cancer. Two weeks later a very close cousin (my mom's niece) passed away suddenly. My family was shocked and saddened. As a result I began to suffer from insomnia. I'm not much of a pill taker. I'd rather try alternative methods first. So I turned to aromatherapy. I searched for websites and articles on the internet that would give me some ideas that would help me to fall asleep. I came across a website that had an offline study introductory aromatherapy course developed by Jeanne Rose. (side note: I didn't know who Jeanne was and remember thinking 'I wonder if she's reputable.' You live & learn.) I read all the material I received and ordered samples of essential oils. Being a book lover I sometimes detour from my planned errands and stop by book stores. One day I came across a used book store and decided to go in just to look around and found a little book on aromatherapy formulas. There was a formulation in it for insomnia. I ordered more samples and blended the oils. I don't really recall if it helped me sleep or not but it smelled really pretty. I started to blend it and add it to an oil burner to scent my home. At that point I stopped blending for any therapeutic affects of aromatherapy and started blending for scent alone. They were really simple blends. Not being very knowledgeable about perfumery in general I had no idea that there was a segment of perfumery dedicated to naturals.  Oddly enough I was introduced to it by a perfumer who blended with synthetics. We both posted on the same soaping forum and he became sort of the forum's perfumery tutor. He posted about the Jean Carles method and explained what it all meant. He pointed me to perfumery groups on Yahoo which is how I found out about the Natural Perfumery group and then the Natural Perfumers Guild. 


It seems as if the path to naturals chose me instead of me choosing it. Looking back so many opportunities came my way for me to latch on but for whatever reason I did not. Maybe I just moved too slow.  But once I was immersed in it there was no looking back. 


Random tidbit:
I've come across the question many times as to what aromatic(s) I dislike. I can find a place for and appreciate many scents, even those that some find foul. But I have a very hard time smelling fresh cut grass. I simply can't stand it. 

Participating NPG members

Adam Gottschalk Lord's Jester Inc

Alec Lawless Being Led by the Nose

Anu Prestonia Anu Essentials Blog

Anya McCoy Anya's Garden Perfumes Blog

Charna Ethier Providence Perfume

Christine Ziegler A Little Ol'Factory

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz DSH Notebook

Denise Smith Perfume Journal

Elise Pearlstine Bellyflowers

Emily Pienaar The Western Cape Perfumery Blog

Ida Meister Ça Fleure Bon

Isabelle Gelle Les Parfums d'Isabelle

JoAnne Bassett Natural Perfumes

Julie Longyear From The Bathtub
Karen Williams Aromatics International

Laura Natusch Olive and Oud

Noelle Smith Ellenoire

Robert Tisserand I'm Just Saying

Ross Urrere Olfactory Rescue Service

Susan Stype Aromatherapy Contessa

Trygve Harris Absolute Trygve

Fare Thee Well , Nymph

My submission for the A Midsummer Night's Dream Perfume Event has been mailed to participating bloggers and now I wait. :) What a relief! I wasn't completely happy with it but I wasn't disappointed either. I'm actually looking forward to participating in other projects like this.


Check out the Perfume Projects page for all the details and I invite you all to stop by the blogs and leave a comment.

Shakespeare and Blossoming Tree

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;

And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind:

A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 1, Scene 1

I'll be taking part in a perfume event organized by Amanda Feeley of Essential Alchemy. The theme is the Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night's Dream. The character that I'm focusing on is Helena. Why? Because she seems so quirky to me. :)

The details are under my Perfume Projects page.

Fare thee well, nymph.

Ere he do leave this grove,

Thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love.

A Midsummer Night's Dream Act 2, Scene 1

Omumgorwa

Commiphora crenata-serrata

When I received this commiphora resin I wasn't sure what to do with it. It was new to me and I needed to go through all the steps of evaluating properly.  Of course it needed to be tinctured before I could do that. I measured the resin & alcohol and added them to a jar. I tucked it away in a cabinet and completely forgot about it. Months passed before I remembered it was there.  It had been tincturing for over a year when I thought to use it in my Nymph (A Midsummer Night's Dream Scent Event) perfume. I used a rather large percentage in my formulation and I must say it adds a rich warmth and mild sweetness to my blend. I like what it adds to my perfume, so much so that  I plan to buy more.  Anyone interested in purchasing this commiphora resin, along with a couple others can do so from the African Aromatics site. These resins are shipped from South Africa by natural perfumer Sophia Du Toit. 

Channeling Shakespeare

As I recently posted I will be taking part in the Midsummer Night's Dream Perfume Event hosted by Amanda Feeley of Essential Alchemy. Although I've participated in perfume challenges before this is the first that will actually put me and my little scented creation out in the public eye to be critiqued. I'm excited! And nervous. OMG...what if everyone goes crazy over my perfume and HAS to have it? Will I be able to keep up with the demand? Oh no! What if it is universally hated? Will I be banished from the perfuming community forever? Yikes! :^)

Seriously, this is a great opportunity for me to get my name "out there". I KNOW this will be a fun, interesting and enlightening experience and I look forward to it. Now if Mr Shakespeare would kindly step forward I have a few questions to ask.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, what direction am I going in with this perfume? My initial thoughts run along these lines:
woody, mossy, smoky, musky, damp, herbal, slightly floral and slightly sweet. Of course all this may change by the time I get to the end product, but being that I'm a fan of woody scents that aspect will most likely remain. I haven't based this around any particular character as yet although I have one in mind. I pulled out about 30 essences and will narrow those down as I start to build my perfume. One thing I'm (almost lol) sure of is that this will be oil based. 


That's all for now.....

Natural Perfume Oil

A blend of jojoba and fractionated coconut oil infused with natural essences to scent body and hair. Compositions available for men and women.

MPAD intro post

Natural Perfume Treasury on Etsy

'Scented.....Naturally' by BlossomingTree

Etsy natural perfumers

Rosa Botanical Perf... IlluminatedPer... $190.00	Giselle Natural Par... VictoriaJess $185.00	775 - EXTREME, Haut... THERAPEUTATE $220.00	Delilah Essential O... AromaArtisan $18.51
Cocoa Tuberose Natu... ProvidencePerf... $115.00	Tallulah B2. wingandprayerp... $35.00	Jaded - natural per... ForStrangeWome... $25.00	Lavender Pie - One ... Ayala $
The Royal Collectio... joannebassett $35.00	Aurora Botanical Pe... IlluminatedPer... $150.00	ON SALE Aliah Solid... sapobubbles $8.80	CHAKRA 2 - Parfum a... THERAPEUTATE $270.00
Daphnomancer - Natu... DarkStar $9.00	Jitterbug Perfume -... OpusOils $50.00	Eau Contraire Natua... herbalalchemy $22.00	Decadence and Debau... ForStrangeWome... $25.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

Outlaw Perfume Samples Arrived

Today I went by the post office to pick up my samples from the recent Natural Perfumers Guild's Outlaw Perfumes Project. The sets were put together by Carol at WaftbyCarol (thanks Carol). As usual I opened the package and sniffed each sample before leaving the parking lot. I was anxious to try them so I randomly selected a vial and dabbed on the liquid loveliness. I am currently wearing Belle Star by Lisa Fong of Artemisia Perfume. I'll post more on it in a few days. In the meantime if you haven't checked out the earlier reviews the bloggers' links are posted here.