Tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 at the perfumery we are going to delve into the botanical essences used to create a Chypre style perfume. This fragrance classification was introduced in the 19th century but made popular in 1917 by François Coty with the release of Coty’s ‘Chypre’ and Guerlain with . The French word comes… Continue reading Palette Exploration: Chypre Perfumes
Tag: fragrance families
Perfume Illuminated: Raspberry
The fruit trees last week were in full bloom here in the City of Angels. I witnessed it on a stroll, regrettably without a camera, just when the blossoms were in flower without any leaves. Such a glorious site. These fruit trees will soon dislay their fresh green cloak for the new season adorned with… Continue reading Perfume Illuminated: Raspberry
As Noted
I often get asked to “reveal” more of the notes in my perfumes. When this query is presented I wonder what exactly is being asked. For example is it the fragrance notes or the ingredients that the enquirer is interested in? If it is the fragrance notes then I ask them, “Well, what fragrance notes… Continue reading As Noted
Aromatic Journey: Fragrance Families
For the Aromatic Journey post over at Lillyella today I contributed a rather lengthy piece about categorizing fragrances into families. If I had published the post here it would have been placed within the “In the Raw” archives where we learn about the raw materials of botanical perfume. There is also a recipe there to… Continue reading Aromatic Journey: Fragrance Families
Sanguine
I have always associated the word Sanguine with one of the four humors as theorized by the Alchemists. Pondering the term the other day I had a thought that the word must also have a related meaning to blood, since in Spanish the word for blood is sangre. Sure enough, upon exploration, I discovered that… Continue reading Sanguine
In the Raw: Gourmand
For over a year now I have been contemplating starting this new blogging series. It is called “In the Raw” and will delve into specific materials within the palette of a natural botanical perfume artist. I am thus debuting it today with the spotlight on the gourmand/edible scent family. With over ten million scent receptors… Continue reading In the Raw: Gourmand
Vespertina Giveaway Winner!
Thank you to all those who stopped by this Illuminated Perfume journal to enter the opportunity to win a 1 gram bottle of the liquid botanical perfume and a mini of the new solid natural perfume of Vespertina. I have meticulously gone through each entry and assigned a card from the red and blue decks.The… Continue reading Vespertina Giveaway Winner!
Foul & Fragrant
In the autumn of 2004 I attended a series of presentations associated with a show at USC titled The Foul and the Fragrant: Creating Perfume. These notes below are from a presentation toward the end of the exhibit in mid November 2004. Originally a representative from Santa Maria Novella in Italy was scheduled for the… Continue reading Foul & Fragrant
A Secret in the Forest
The main green notes in perfumes come from leaves and stems which give the impression of the scent of grass and crushed leaves. Heather Ettlinger of the blog “Memory and Desire” has just posted an entry about green perfumes which include our “Q” and Sierra. When I begin a perfume I don’t generally start with… Continue reading A Secret in the Forest
Oceanic
“I am you; you are ME. You are the waves;I am the ocean. Know this and be free, be divine.” – Sri Sathya Sai Baba A divine Goddess in my realm sent me a link to The Hyperbolic Crochet Reef Project because I am a parent of a child in a Waldorf School. Children in… Continue reading Oceanic