Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

  The Outlaw Perfumers are honoring the aromatics of the 21st Century Nothing says innovation like using materials that are cutting edge. We realized that many new aromatics had been brought to market since the year 2000 - things like lilac CO2, gardenia absolute, aglaia flower and many more.  Also appearing were previously-unknown to the artisan niche community of perfumers fragrant beauties like linden flower CO2, wild rose absolute and yuzu essential oil.   Many of the perfumers in the Guild, myself included, were making fragrant tinctures of rare and stunning aromatic materials, from freeze-dried strawberries to obscure jasmines. So, what's an Outlaw Perfumer to do? Gather those lovelies, and include materials like lotus absolutes, which weren't used by traditional perfumers, but were in use in India for many years, and create some Brave New Scents, unfettered by IFRA. My muse was ancient India, brought into the present, once again (remember Kewdra from the Mystery of

I'm honored to be chosen as the perfumer featured in the kick-off of a series on American Perfumery on Cafleurebon (click on Cafleurebon to read).  Leave a comment before July 5th and you'll be in the running to receive a 3.5ml mini extrait of my RiverCali perfume.

Twenty Guild members are joining me in pulling out the stopper, uncorking the stories of our natural perfumery paths. Like effervescent top notes, our stories are released, ticking our memories and sharing them as they waft out over the Internet.  I hope you love reading all of the fragrant bios as much as I do.  Links to their blogs are at the bottom of this post.  Enjoy! I grew up thinking all fragrances were natural: flowers, gasoline, floor cleaner, deodorant, lightening bugs, hairspray, dirt, and particularly, perfumes. As a child I sniffed everything, and I dabbed myself with perfumes with wild abandon. I was lucky that I grew up two blocks away from the biggest public park in the world, Fairmont Park in Philadelphia.  It gave a bucolic respite from the row houses and tiny yards of the tightly-packed streets where I lived.  The street where I grew up in Philadelphia, two blocks from Fairmont Park. Memories of roses, boxwood, iris flowers flood me as I look at this photo. I

  How very lovely that two of the four bloggers that grouped together for the Holiday Gift Guide selected my perfumes, Guild, and perfumery courses for inclusion.  I haven't sent any samples to one of the other bloggers ever, and the other in a year or more, so they're not up-to-date on my offerings.  Lucy at Indie Perfumes did make me blush with her praise! I will be offering 10 perfumes come Monday, Nov. 15th, 2010 when I launch Light and Amberess, so that's a little pre-release leak: the 10 will be offered for $65 for the sample size, a wonderful value. Here's links to Lucy and Elena's Holiday Gift Guide picks, so you can read about their choices: http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2010/11/holiday-gift-guide-2010.html http://indieperfumes.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#2523908032031520792

I posted this on the Anya's Garden Natural Perfumery Institute's blog after I realized the recent list of articles on the Institute's website had never been listed before:   Director and Head Instructor Anya McCoy, natural perfumer of Anya's Garden, just published a list of articles she has authored on the subjects of natural perfumery, perfumery and book reviews since 2004. They are available for download from http://perfumeclasses.com/faculty.htm McCoy, A. - Natural Perfumery:  A Fragrant Evolution (pub. Aromatic Sage.com) McCoy, A. - Steve Earl - Position Paper: Defining Natural Perfumery (pub. self) McCoy, A. - Robert Tisserand, Tony Burfield - IFRA/EU Boycott Primer (pub. self) McCoy, A. - The Beauty of Botanicals Made Liquid: The Passion of Natural Perfumers (pub. Basenotes.net) McCoy, A. - The Stages of Public Acceptance of Natural Perfumery (pub. Basenotes.net) McCoy, A. - Book Review: What the Nose Knows (pub. Basenotes.net) McCoy, A. - Book Review:

I got a late start today after an early visit to my mother, but I'm back in the studio now, so if you have any perfumery questions, ask away.

I rarely check the stats on my website, but I did the other day, and found someone had clicked through to my educational website Anya's Garden Natural Perfumery Institute from Chinese Vogue . What the heck?! LOL.  There's a picture of 190 proof Everclear alcohol, and my name stands out in the chinese words, for sure, so I just had to run the copy through Google translator software. I like that 100% of the respondants wanted to make their own perfume! Here's the translation: Even if you are not an alcoholic, there is a wine you should know, not whiskey is not vodka, but Everclear, has recently been widely used home-made perfume. Everclear (pictured) are specifically fermented wine produced in cereal brands, only alcohol 75.5% (151proof) and 95% (190proof) two kinds of wine. Wow, even more than Erguotou "Lie" is much more alcoholic drink should be and it is no different. DIY for the natural fragrance of Modern Alchemy The modern trend in terms of the pu

I'll be available to answer your perfumery questions until 10 PM EST.  I'm happy to help!

Ask the Perfumer is open for today, so ask all your natural-perfume-related questions.  I can also answer questions that apply to mainstream perfumery, if you keep it in the technical area, like weighing, specific gravity, etc. PS:  In case you missed it, I posted two podcasts on http://perfumeclasses.com/podcasts.htm - more to come. PPS:  I also started a Facebook page for my online perfumery course http://www.facebook.com/pages/Study-Perfumery/280777102473 - join it to receive timely updates.

Are you laboring over perfumery issues this long, hot Labor Day weekend?  Let's see if I can help you solve them. Ask the Perfumer is open for questions.

 © Copyright Anya's Garden - 2010 All Rights Reserved I have been posting lectures in the online perfumery course I teach since 2007.  Previously available only to registered students, some of my short, informative lectures will be uploaded to the Anya's Garden Natural Perfumery Institute's website within a week or so. These lectures will be available on the "public side" of of the website, where no log in is required. I'm thinking of uploading the pronunciation key, a short advisory on accessory notes and another topic I haven't determined yet. I hope you'll enjoy my Philly accent and a bit of humor I can't help but interjecting into the lectures occasionally. The lectures will probably be only five to ten minutes in length, in comparison to the more extensive lectures the enrolled students enjoy, which are often 20 to 30 minutes.  I'll post here when they're available.

Can you believe the summer in the Northern Hemisphere is almost over? Perfume wardrobes will be changing for those in temperate climates. Ask the Perfumer is open, thinking of hemispheric differences and the perfumes that love them. PS:  I've started a page for the Anya's Garden Natural Perfumery Institute on Facebook - you can click to join there.  I'll be updating that page frequently.

Hi Everyone: I'll be here to answer your perfumery questions today, so please submit them via the comments option.

Hi Everyone: Ask the Perfumer is waiting for questions on this hot, humid mid-August day.  Wear some refreshing cologne and post your queries and I'll answer up to 10PM tonight.

I apologize for launching the "Ask the Perfumer" forum so late today. I slept late and then went to the hospital where my mother is for a long visit, went shopping, - and just plain forgot until now!  I'll answer your queries until late tonight, so ask away.

You can submit your questions about perfumery all day today, August 1, 2010.  I hope I can help you solve your scented dilemma.

Busy, busy this week -- almost forgot to open the blog for questions.  I'll keep it open a little longer tonight if folks post later than usual.

Ask the Perfumer - July 18th - please post your questions any time before 10PM EST USA and I'll help you with your perfumery questions.

Ask the Perfumer anything about perfume creation - Sunday July 11, 2010. I'll answer your questions and give you tips on how to pursue your dream of perfumery

It's a lazy holiday weekend in the US - yay, Independence! - but I'll be around to check in if anyone has any questions about natural perfumery. Hope I can help. Take care and have fun!