Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

  A New Edition of Kewdra Perfume From the Mystery of Musk project (2010) by  Anya McCoy  |  Mar 2, 2014  |  Anya's Garden Perfumes ,  Mystery of Musk project  |  1 comment Exotic Kewdra perfume from Anya’s Garden was made as an homage to the main character Kudra, from Jitterbug Perfume, a wonderful novel about perfumery. An update on the progress of the Perfume From Your Garden book: Yes, it’s Saturday night, and I’m writing. Going in-depth about ultrasonic extractions, both for tincturing and infusing. I’ve also been playing with my perfumery supplies, too, and just checked on my latest edition of Kewdra, my heady, lusty perfume honoring Kudra, the heroine of the book Jitterbug Perfume. The spelling is slightly different from her name because I use the kewda flower as the top note, so I combined them. Anyway, I’m dazzled by this latest edition, which will be ready in a week or so, and so I doused myself (1 ml, tops!) and I’m Kudra for a day. Here’s a fun graphic I made to illustr

It’s Hyacinth Tincture and Enfleurage Time by  Anya McCoy  |  Mar 12, 2014  |  Anya's Garden Perfumes ,  Perfume From Your Garden book  |  4 comments Three fragrant hyacinth flower stalks It’s a real hassle to try to grow hyacinths in Miami. Yes, I can get the bulbs from a northern supplier, put them in the refrigerator to force them, try to harden the bulbs after the blooms are spent, etc., but I really don’t have the time or space for that. I’m not going to buy hyacinths from Fresh Market or Whole Foods again. This year I discovered that the local Publix has many stronger-scented ones, and since one stem of the four flowering bulbs in a pot was drooping, I got two pots for the price of one. The flowers were fine, the stem just looked awful. Into the tincture and enfleurage, they go! These processes will be documented in my upcoming book Perfume From Your Garden (renamed Homemade Perfume, pub. 2018). If you like, you can follow the posts about the book content I write on Facebook

  Ask the Perfumer March 23, 2014 Perfume Bottle Lust and International Fragrance Day by  Anya McCoy  |  Mar 23, 2014  |  natural perfume  |  7 comments Boule bottles of Je Reviens perfume from Worth March 21st was International Fragrance Day, and I posted about it on Facebook and included this photo of some bottles from my vintage perfume collection. Oh, if only we artisan perfumers had the resources to obtain bottles such as this! Not only are these beauties frosted, but the stars are also raised, so you have lots of sensory pleasure when you pick one up, and then, when you open it, the final pleasure – the perfume. Enough about that! It’s only a bit discouraging, and I’m here to encourage you to ask questions about perfume making. I’ll be here until 10 PM ET USA, and I’ll take breaks from writing the Perfume From Your Garden book and blending some perfumes to answer your questions. 7 Comments Mary H Anderson   on March 23, 2014 at 1:42 pm  (Edit) Hi, Anna~ This post brought back fon

  Daniel Krasofski’s Historical Perfume Research and the TV program “Reign” by  Anya McCoy  |  Apr 14, 2014  |  natural perfume  |  1 comment Daniel Krasofski is an Ayurvedic healer, longtime natural aromatics lover, perfumer, and lifelong student of perfumery. I am happy to have him as a student at my Natural Perfumery Institute. Daniel is always coming up with surprises, and the latest is that he created perfumes for the actors in the TV series “Reign”. Here is his account of the path and the perfumed product. — Intrigue. Poison. Perfume and The French Royal Family of 1558. “Perfume”: is derived from the Latin word “parfumare” meaning “through smoke” Scent has been used for religious, therapeutic, and aesthetic purposes for at least 4,000 years. The term “Perfume” has only been used for the last couple hundred years with the development of the modern / French Perfume Industry. My background in the healing arts inspired me to look at the anthropological effect of spice, oils, and scen