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Showing posts from April, 2011

Thought-Provoking post on greening a product, quality and a reference to Natural Perfumery

Michelyn Camen, the editor-in-chief of Cafleurebon launched a new feature, the Letter from the Editor, which will be a monthly event.  I think it's a great read on many levels.  Click here and leave a comment, if you wish.

Ask the Perfumer - Sunday, April 24, 2011 - until 10 PM EST

Happy Easter everyone. I hope you have a chance to have a relaxing day, and I hope you will enjoy beautiful weather this lovely Spring day.  I'll be online on and off today, and I'm happy to check in for your perfumery questions. There were quite a few comments that were added to last Sunday's "Ask the Perfumer" during the week, so if you were following a topic there, you may wish to visit the comments thread again.

Natural Perfumers Guild Update for April 2011

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Guild news: We welcome Anu Prestonia of Anu's Essentials as a Professional Perfumer. Michelyn Camen upgraded her membership to Associate by adding CaFleureBon to our roster. Laura Natusch of Urban Eden joined as an Associate andBeverly Laird has joined us as a Friend. Many thanks to David of Renaissance Aromas and Nick of Sharini Parfums Naturels for renewing their membership. David is an Associate and Nick is a Professional Perfumer. Also Trygve Harris of Enfleurage (Associate) and Lydia Sabbah of Sabbah Perfumes (Professional Perfumer) renewed their memberships. It's been a busy month! Mandy Aftel, who founded the Guild in 2002, resigned from the Guild, by mutual decision.  The direction of the Guild is inclusive of those who wish to teach, and those who wish to sell various lines of oils they desire, a sharing and learning place for all.  Mandy is honored as the Founder, and as the leader in the natural perfumery world, and we treasure her for her gener

Perfumers Share Their Thoughts on Earth Day + a Giveaway

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CaFleureBon, one of the highest-ranked perfume blogs in the world, has a great Earth Day post up.  EIC Michelyn Camen invited a number of perfumers, myself included, to share our thoughts on what Earth Day means to us.  There is also a great giveaway, via a random draw,  for those who leave a comment. Read the blog here and leave a comment, sharing your thoughts.  I have to say the folks who have posted so far are really impressed me with their comments.  So thoughful!

A Yummy, Natural Trend: Perfuming Your Food - and the Launch of Anya's Garden Food & Drink Oils - with a Giveaway

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Trends are fun, and it's fun to be on the front end of one.  Funny thing about this trend, which is using essential oils for food and drinks, is that it's been around for a long time. I've been cooking with essential oils since 1978, starting out with the humble dill weed oil. Nobody noticed much except my friends and family and customers of my early-80's catering business. The difference is that now it's starting to get attention in the media.  Heck, I wanted to launch my latest line, Anya's Garden Food & Drink Oils , way  back in 2006.  At that time, I wrote a letter to a local chef who was opening a new restaurant, pitching her the idea.  She never replied, I got toooo busy with life and work, and had to put my line on the back burner. Now, the timing is better, anyway.  There are several mixologists who have been hosting perfumed cocktail soirees for the past year or so.  Menket Prince, whom I knew from aromatherapy groups back in the mid-90

CaFleureBon really hit a nerve with their recent post on phobias - and how aromatherapy can help

I was honored that Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen asked me for my professional opinion on how specific essential oils or absolutes can help alleviate phobias.   I have studied aromatherapy enthusiastically since I first obtained Robert Tisserand's book The Art of Aromatherapy in 1979.  I was fascinated with the theory (followed up by clinical practice trials) that the beautiful oils I loved could help all sorts of medical issues. I submitted information about vanilla, lavender and neroli, which is orange blossom.  Then I noticed not many men were leaving comments on CaFleureBon.  I think men hide their phobias, don't you?  Do they have a phobia about asking for directions? LOL.  That is a common complaint of the women who accompany men on road trips. Here's one I never heard of - Arachibutyrophobia - fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. Just some silliness to break up the monotony of the day.  My contribution to helping some men get over to CaFle

Ask the Perfumer - Sunday, April 17, 2011 - until 10 PM EST

I'm up early because it's going to be a busy, busy day, but I'm not too busy to answer your questions about perfumery.  If you know what I'm "soft" launching tomorrow in an expansion of the Anya's Garden Perfumes fragrant products, and you post here with the correct answer, you'll win two of the launch products ;-)

Mandy Aftel resigns from the Natural Pefumers Guild

The Natural Perfumers Guild’s Founder, Mandy Aftel submitted her resignation from the Guild on January 28, 2011, and announced it publicly on April 14, 2011.   We respect her decision, and wish her well in her endeavors and her three Fifi nominations, which paved the way for natural perfumery to be accepted as an ART.  We look forward to bringing the Guild to the next level as we work towards achieving our goals of even more awareness and new voices, noses and fans in   the 21st Century.

Ask the Perfumer - Sunday, April 10, 2011 - until 10 PM EST

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I'll be here until 10 PM, EST, USA, so if you have any questions, please post.  I'm working on the lilac post I promised two days ago, but life sure has a way of messing up your plans, eh? ;-)  Are the lilacs blooming where you are?  I have tips on how to capture it's scent.

Kewda flower may be victim of government crackdown on gutkha in India

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Oh, no, my beloved kewda flower, the male flower of the Pandanus odoritissimus, a Prehistoric plant that has survived for millions of year, may be in danger because of a proposed Indian law.   It seems that the kewda flower is one ingredient used in a rather toxic chewing gum known as gutkha.  You can read the article for all the details, but I will cut the chase about the problem:  an industry may be shut down because of this, an industry that supports many families and a beautiful product that is used in perfumery.  I use pandanus flower oil in two of my perfumes, Fairchild and Kewdra.  I will be able to harvest the flower here in Miami or grow my own if supply dries up.   Pandanus - aka Kewda flower I truly don't think it will dry up, because some of the distilleries will remain active.  Perhaps the distilleries could have been more forward-thinking and used some long range planning for alternative uses for their kewda oil, but often industries fail on the human end of the p

Ask the Perfumer - Sunday, April 3, 2011 - until 10 PM EST

It's a hot and steamy day in Miami, the peach-scented frangipanis, Vietnamese gardenias, gardenias, white champaka and long-petaled jasmine, next to the Confederate jasmines, are blooming.  I'll be enfleuraging and tincturing all day, but will still love to answer your perfumery questions. Oh, and once I sort through all the entries, write the respondent's names down, cut the paper with the name into strips, I'll choose the winners from the Guild- and ginger-helpful respnses this past week.  Well, one name will be selected because I like the name they've suggested for the non-fresh ginger. First, though, coffee!