Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

Yes, this is the second time this week this image has appeared on this blog. When I blogged a few days ago on the wonderful book The Scent Trail that I had discovered, little did I imagine that within a few days the author Celia Lyttelton would join the Guild as an Associate member. I'm not even finished the book yet -- only up to p. 185, deep into the world of saffron imagery she so beautifully conveys in her visit to India. We just left nutmeg in Sri Lanka, this is a whirlwind trip! In a world that sometimes gifts you with synchronous fun moments, a friend who is on my Natural Perfumery group revealed to me that she is close friends with Celia, and in fact, they will be giving an talk together in late October. Well, quick emails were exchanged, and here we are, a gifted writer on natural aromatics is in the folds of the Guild. If you're reading this blog, you're interested in natural perfumery -- go get the book. You'll love it!

Imagine a book that is so attuned with your nose, your language, your desires, your obsession, that just an hour after opening it, reading random passages, you have to pick up the phone and call your perfumer friend 3000 miles away, in Ireland, near midnight her time, to rave about it and insist she gets on the 'net and order a copy for herself. That is Celia Lyttelton's The Scent Trail. I saw the cover online, read a tiny bit, and just had to have it. If you are at all interested in natural aromatics, you will want it too, and begin to devour every word the minute you get it, as I did. Lyttelton was raised in Tuscany, and followed her mother, a famous archaeologist, on treks around the world. She, like all of us, has strong scent memories from childhood, some unique, as her grandmother's peppery-rose perfume, made for her in Egypt, and the formula brought to Paris so she could have it replicated. Bespoke before many of us knew bespoke (which I like to call couture or cust...