Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

  How Perfume Got Its Stank On – Five Perfumers Write About Using Animal Essences by  Anya McCoy  |  Nov 14, 2013  |  Anya McCoy  |  0 comments This goat is coated with labdanum resin because he grazes on hillsides covered in the fragrant plant. Photo by Dimitris Nykarsis Basenotes, one of the most popular and longest-lasting perfume forums on the Internet, is hosting a five-part series on Animal Essences in Perfumery. I invited four other perfumers to write about their take on this controversial subject. I think you’ll be surprised, as I was, at the different topics they chose. The series launched on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2013 with my contribution, and I’ll post the links to all of them as they are published. Enjoy! http://www.basenotes.net/content/1718-The-Essence-of-Animals-How-Perfume-Got-Its-Stank-On http://www.basenotes.net/content/1855-Tri-dimensional-and-Spiritual-Perfumes http://www.basenotes.net/content/1856-The-Lure-and-Licensing-of-Using...

Ask the Perfumer - and an Ambergris hypothesis Guild member Lisa Coburn posted a link on Facebook that took me to a video on how cephalopods--squid, cuttlefish and octopus, are masters of disguise.  As I watched it, I made a perfume connection, straight to the elusive, mysterious, rare and valued ambergris, a gorgeous material used in perfumery. Photo of the famed 'Yeti' chunk of ambergris. Ambergris is produced by the stomach/intestinal secretions of the sperm whale to protect its insides from the sharp beaks of the squid and cuttlefish, two main items in its diet.  The whale evacuates the chunk of ambergris when it becomes large enough to be an irritant on its own, albeit a softer, rounder irritant compared to the beak and cartilage of the squid or cuttlefish.  As a perfumer, I often have to gently remind excitable newbies ;-)  that the scent of the ambergris is secondary to its major contribution to a perfume, which is its ability to 'marry' and a...

Disclaimer:  It has come to my attention that Douglas Stewart of Scentsual Antiquities has a link to this blog post, perhaps implying that he is endorsed by me.  This is not the case, and I have no affiliation with him, and would wish he would take the link down, as it is deceptive.

MoonDance Perfume Launched October 5, 2009 to celebrate Anya McCoy's birthday and the next "perfume as art reflecting life" phase of Anya's Garden Perfumes Cool, sophisticated romantic love, as you slowly dance under the full moon, and a sweet and long-forgotten memory of eternity emerges from MoonDance . Sweet violet flowers, a touch of mint, sulty tuberose and sambac and the iconic accord of rose and apple-scented chamomile softly radiate over a woody, sultry base. Top notes: American Violet Flower Isolate, Indian Water Mint Middle notes: French Tuberose, Chinese Jasmine Sambac, French Rose de Mai, American Chamomile Base notes: Carolina Ambergris, Haitian Sandalwood, Sustainable White Sandalwood, South African Hyrax MoonDance is now my signature scent. I originally conceived this perfume at the end of 2007, and thought I'd release it in 2008, along with StarFlower. They're both homages to tuberose, that heady, swoon-inducing and sensual flower from Mexi...