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Showing posts from May, 2008

Steve Earl Responds to Jean Pierre Subrenat of the World Perfumery Congress - 2007

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To view the quotes and the context for this blog, please visit my article on Basenotes wherein I trace my take on the evolution of acceptance of natural perfumery in the past few years. What triggered my article was a published account of the closing speech of Jean-Pierre Subrenat, Chairman of the World Perfumery Congress as it appeared in Perfumer and Flavorist magazine. I have to give a lot of credit to Steve Earl of Glen Custom Perfumery in Greenwich Connecticut. He pointed me to the P&F article, and then he provided me with a copy of the succinct, witty and pithy letter that he wrote to the editor of Perfumer and Flavorist in response to the Subrenat speech. Knowing that P&F does not publish letters to the editor, Steve admitted it was just something he felt had to be said. I am very honored that Steve has given me permission to publish it here. Editor Stephen A. Earl Perfumer and Flavorist Glen Custom Perfumery Allured Publishing 26 Applewood Lane

In Search of Scentless Ben (Oil) ;-)

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Posted earlier today on various groups I host on Yahoo and one I don't, but my friend's group is dedicated to oils and herbs: No, it's not a man, and if he was, I guess he'd be like the killer in Perfume, the book/movie. The image is of a camel providing the power for an ancient oil press, probably like the same one used centuries ago for moringa/Ben/Behn oil. Oil of Ben or "Behn" is Moringa oleifera, loved for its many useful properties, not the least of which is its use as an extraction medium for flower scent in enfleurage. It has been used for this purpose, and as a perfume base, since the time of the Egyptians. The seed oil can also be used for cooking and lubrication and other purposes. It is believed to never go rancid, but I can't comment on that. So I was rereading a bit of Piesse the other day and he comments on the "inodorous" Behn oil from Jamaica and notes its use as an enfleurage medium. A few years ago I got some scentless Ben oil

The Three Stages of Public Acceptance of Natural Perfumery - My latest article on Basenotes

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I had a lot of fun writing this article looking back on the past three years that natural perfumery has had a presence on the Internet. I hope you enjoy reading it and look forward, as I do, to the ongoing development and acceptance of our naturally-fragrant art. Later today I'll post a great letter that Steve Earl wrote in response to Mr. Subrenat's caustic comments at the World Perfumery Congress in 2007. Such a big ruckus a one-year-old Natural Perfumers Guild caused for Mr. Subrenat - it's actually quite an honor that we were on his radar with only minor press and even less distribution of our perfumes as we struggle for a corner of the market. The world of perfumery is changing, and thus the concept for my article was born - enjoy!

Wake up! It's Study Time and Natural Perfumery is the Subject

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Monica and Gloria hit their alarm clocks to make them stop ringing at 5 a.m. in their respective homes in Taipei. Viv and Wendy struggled to find their coffee and limber up their typing fingers at 6 a.m in different towns in Australia. On a Sunday. On the other side of the world, Lisbeth in Denmark logged on at midnight on Saturday. Everyone else was joining the monthly live chat in time zones spread out between Taiwan and Denmark. Occasionally we switch the time around, and admittedly we're still trying to find the best times for the Spring 2008 class. The Module 3 discussion was lively and a lot of fun. Questions came at me fast and fabulous, with the topics ranging from how to fill in #4 on the evaluation sheet to requests for clearer definitions on the order and significance of the aromatics family list versus the fragrance family list. I enjoyed every single moment of it, and the students posted their satisfaction and comprehension levels were high after the chat. All of the c

Happy Mother's Day Everyone

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Scents of the Soul - Reflections on the Art of AbdesSalaam Attar of Italy

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Helg of the Perfume Shrine approached me several weeks ago with the proposal that we write a "Double Dubrana" today to pay our separate homages to the wonderful perfumer I know as Salaam of AbdesSalaam Attar Profumo di Dominique Dubrana of Italy. I was eager to participate in this joint effort, noting to Helg I would not be reviewing his beautiful perfumes as she is doing - instead I will reminisce about the man, the perfumer I know and how his stature has developed and spread as an esteemed natural perfumer. Salaam joined my online natural perfumery group on Yahoo a few years ago and became an active participant, sharing his knowledge and spiritual philosophy about the pure and natural aromatics we use to create our all-natural perfumes. I was honored when Salaam joined the Natural Perfumers Guild as a Professional Perfumer last year because I had sampled many of his perfumes over the years and found them to have an elegance and quality that set them apart, in a league of

When Robert Tisserand sends you a lovely card - stop and smell the Wild Rose and Lemon Leaf!

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How Anya got her Aromatherapy and Natural Perfumery Groove on With Someone She's Admired for Almost 30 Years. Ok, that's just silly, but read on for a nice, sweet story about how I got to work with an industry icon I've admired for decades . (blogged about earlier today on the Guild blog, but here is the personal story behind it all.) In 1979 I was happily stunned, amazed and excited to find that there was a book that claimed that the beautiful essential oils I loved had the power to heal the mind, body and spirit. Robert Tisserand was the author of that book, and I collected every one of his books since then, and I regarded him as the #1 aromatherapist in the world in both scholarly endeavors and as spokesman for responsible aromatherapy. Fast forward to 2006. Robert found his way to the natural perfumery group I host on Yahoo and joined in the lively discussion. We corresponded behind the scenes and a true bond was formed. In early 2007 I agreed to join Tony Burfield of

Egyptologist and Perfumer David Mark - Expert Q&A Guest in Anya's Garden Natural Perfumery online Class

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On Saturday, May 3, 2008 Egyptologist and Perfumer David Mark of Chicago's Renaissance Aromas was the guest for the Expert Q&A session (formerly known as Guest Lecturer series) in Anya's Garden online Natural Perfumery class . Originally scheduled for the Spring 2008 students' Module, due to popular demand the Fall 2007 students joined the Q&A, resulting in a student audience of 45 for Marks' session. David had just returned from an Egyptologist conference in Seattle, so he was brimming with news and scholarly insight to share with the students. The subject was the legendary and mysterious Egyptian incense known as kyphi. David has studied kyphi for many years, and he explained that there is no one kyphi recipe - the use of kyphi spanned many dynasties and changed according to new ingredients being introduced to Egypt by trade route introductions. Additionally, it is impossible today to recreate some of the kyphi recipes, since the ancient Egyptian language is n

Cropwatch Asks for your Input

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STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 CROPWATCH AT THE CROSSROADS - looking for your feedback note: if you wish to contact Tony about the questions below, you can write him at info@cropwatch.org After 4 or 5 years of continuous activity, Cropwatch has some choices to make. Do we go on the way that we have been, snapping at the ankles of those who run & regulate the aroma industry so badly, or should we 'old dogs' learn some new tricks? Cropwatch s upporters, and organisations sympathetic to our aims, regularly offer us donations and advise us of potential sources of grants, to which we have always said 'no thanks, we're non-financed'. Our current thinking is that this might be a mistake, since we are limiting our potential effectiveness. . We are certainly not asking everyone for money, but we are asking you to help us with some feedback on how a financial input could potentially help the aroma world to become a better & fairer place, so please mail