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-Natural-Animal-Extracts

 Originally posted June 24, 2013 I’m going to revive my Vintage Vault series on beautiful perfume rarities.  that I hosted on my old blog site.  Here are two beauties and what I wrote about them previously: These Fritzsche bottles are very rare.  One perfumer told me the musk one is museum quality due to its rarity and design.  I’ve also a suspicion that the Sweet Birch one contains the pre-IFRA really great salicylic-rich sweet birch that is the type that was used in leather fragrances such as Cuir de Russie. Rare Fritzsche essence bottles: Musk and Sweet Birch 1 Comment Rae Lynn Reffruschinni   on June 24, 2013 at 3:57 pm I love old bottles! I have a large one from my grandfather’s pharmacy.

Back in 2006, I revealed that I was using a new form of animal musk scent in my perfumes, one that was tinctured from the hair of a rutting billy goat. The adorable goat, Frontrunner, donated some of the hair from the area where his scent glands are located, which is the top of his head. Tinctured in organic alcohol, the reminiscent-of-goat-cheese scent quickly gave up its muskiness and later debuted in my Pan perfume which was created in honor of the Goat God Pan. Roundly mocked by some for this bold step, I have to smile now, after hearing they're all picking up on the goat hair, evaluating different tinctures as if they were fine wine. I don't get that carried away - this stuff really stinks, and it is the skill of the perfumer in figuring how to blend it that I believe has made Pan perfume such a runaway hit. Words like warm, sexy, pheromonic, and "I had a crowd gather around me, and they obviously loved the perfume" or phrases to that effect were sent back to me