Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

I got a call two months ago from an associate editor at Palm Beach Cottages and Gardens Magazine, published by Conde Nast. She said they wanted to put a bit in their "What's New" section for the March issue. The magazine came out on Friday, and I got my copy in the mail today. Pretty good coverage for a perfume line that was only officially launched in December. Click here and follow the link to see my homemade photo positioned above a $730,000 Mont Blanc pen!

STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 Time for a break from blogging again. Time to network more with the people around the globe who are aghast at the bad science, bad attitude and outright bias that International Fragrance Association (IFRA) and also the European Union (EU) are exhibiting towards natural perfume materials. Just when natural products are enjoying a 20% annual rise in sales, and traditional products only 3-4% rise, they want to severely limit our access too these gorgeous, lovely natural aromatics. Yes, perhaps some essential oils or absolutes, if used in an excessive amount *may* cause a rash in in some people; wine causes allergies, too, but we don't see the EU limiting it, or banning it. My time has been eaten up by the learning curve necessary to work on this. On Sunday I had to take a few hours to cobble together a printout for an esteemed ethnobotanist and natural perfumer because he is without a computer, and I couldn't just send him links to websites. ...

Tony Burfield's recent work challenging IFRA and the EU has forced them to show their hand, and here is the plain, awful truth, which Tony said all along was their agenda: http://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=74667 They're insisting that synths are good, and naturals are bad and expensive. Baloney (well, ok, some naturals are expensive, let the market find it's own level.) Funny they cite Calone: it was the first perfume ingredient that ever caused a respiratory reaction from me. For my entire life, despite dousing myself in perfumes that yes, contained some synths, when Calone was introduced, it, and the other harsh synths that followed, caused both me and a lot of the general public to rebel against heavy, harsh perfumes. I had no idea what, at that time, had changed perfume, I just knew everyone was complaining. Before that, I remember people would complain someone was wearing "too much" perfume, but after the age of harsh synths came...

STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 1st March 2007 Dear Sirs, Please find attached the petition posted up at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ifra40/ http://www.cropwatch.org/40thpetition.htm . You will note that there are approx. 740 signatories to date, including perfumers, natural perfumers, MD's of aroma ingredient companies, aroma technicians, academicians, soap makers, staff from cosmetic & natural products companies as well as natural products commodity end-users from countries as diverse as Russia, Iceland & USA. There are a number of anonymous signatories, and to avoid any unfair accusations of ballot-rigging or signature duplication, we are quite willing to submit the owner's version of this petition (which reveals fuller identity details), to an independent 3rd party (who will need to agree to absolute confidentiality), if the need should arise. I think you if you read the comments section of the petition - scroll through http://www.ipetitions.com/petit...

Another of the short, fun, or informative posts I've been making for the past few days...here's some great news. Several of the European natural perfumers are taking action and proposing a NP conference in the next year to year and a half in Europe. It's very exciting to see the energy and interest and I just wanted to post a short note about it to put the word out there into the Universe. It seems they'll probably meet informally to plan the event, to get to know each other and work out details, and then finalize the conference details. More announcements to follow. We're discussing this in my Yahoo group,linked in the right column, if anyone cares to chime in and join in.

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STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 I need to relax. Next week I'm going to post on frivolous, fun, fragrant stuff. The IFRA/EU Global Harmonization is coming, it'll change the way, or the ability, to continue business for many artisan perfumers. I'll work on it behind the scenes, but yowza, it's really taken a chunk of my personal and business life working on all these issues. I did have a great, fun Valentine's Day, great restaurant, South Beach cruising, and a preview of the huge boat show in town this weekend, and I realized that was the first day I've taken off in weeks! This Libra needs to catch up on her lovin' and loungin' ;-) Tuberose, jasmine, neroli, petitgrain, beeswax, ambergris, pandanus, jamrosa, ambrette, etc., etc....gotta get back to the basics.

STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 POLL CLOSED AGAIN. No explanation, no links left. So, the following post is moot, but the situation is interesting. Perfumer and Flavorist magazine has decided to extend the poll by reopening it for votes. The new deadline is March 5th. You can read the editor's letter about this at: http://www.perfumerflavorist.com/news/5761601.html At first I thought the original poll was going to be tossed out for the new one, but the editor assured me today that the results are being carried over. You can't vote this time if you voted previously, which is not spelled out on the website, so if you have already voted, and care about the issue, circulate this information to other interested folks. You have to go to the main page to vote. Anyway the new results go, it looks good for Tony and Cropwatch http://cropwatch.org David (Cropwatch) is really nipping at Goliath's (IFRA/EU) heel, and them not accepting the results of this unscientific (Allured...

STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 Please note that there is a detailed FAQ on this issue, linked at the end of the press release. -Boycott Called to Halt Adoption of International Fragrance Association’s (IFRA) 40 th Amendment by UK-based Watchdog Organization Cropwatch Gains Momentum with Online Poll and Petition. Online poll by Perfumer and Flavorist newsletter P&F now shows a landslide for Cropwatch with 85.1% of the vote. -USA- based Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild joins in effort to Demand Opening the Process Up for Public Input and Review of the Process before thousands of small perfumery and toiletry businesses are adversely affected by restrictive, unfair compliance standards. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MIAMI SHORES, Fla./February 8, 2007.  On February 7, 2007, fragrance and flavor trade magazine Perfumer & Flavorist released the results of an online poll showing 85.1% of readers in favor of boycotting proposed fragrance industry guidelines that will h...

The industry magazine Perfumer and Flavorist is running a poll until February 7th on the boycott that Cropwatch has called for against the IFRA 40th Amendment. Cropwatch is trying to get IFRA to allow discussion of the proposed amendment before it is automatically adopted. If you click on the P&F website here scroll down to the lower left corner of the page to vote. You can read more about the issues in my post Freedom to Choose, below. STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008

Headline: EU Issues Plastic Bubble Pods for Everyone - Protection from Everything Guaranteed OK, let's get serious. STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 Fir st thing I must state is that no natural perfumer, or traditional perfumer I know, desires that any product they create would cause a rash, irritation, allergy or respiratory problem in the consumer. Or themselves, for that matter, since we deal with the essences every day. The user of natural aromatics, whether they are for personal or professional use just wants something that smells wonderful, puts them in a good mood, and has that deeply wonderful gestalt that only comes from nature. We also recognize that some naturals can cause problems because of their chemical makeup. They're also after some synth oils created in a lab, but I'm here to focus on the naturals, since they let a lot of the synths slid into use without proper review. Are you a niche, boutique perfumer who uses either all natural aromatics, or, p...

Ahhhh...the smell of money. As intoxicating and seductive as a gorgeous natural perfume....but....your business skills have to match your blending skills, and your PR skills may also be called upon if you're caught with your pants down, and your bottom line down even further due to bad planning. Pricing your product is a tricky business, and you have to take many current and future variables into account: Materials Labor R&D Loss Rent & Overhead Advertising Website Contract Manufacturing Employees FICA, taxes etc., etc. So many homegrown businesses start to fail when they start to grow because the owner didn't factor all of the above, plus some I've forgotten to list because I'm jotting this message down in between many errands today, so, basically, their success kills the business. Many of us won't reveal how we arrive at our price point. It's just too complicated, too personal. If you're really serious, and you wish for your business to grow beyon...

This image of perfumed gloves hand-in-hand, as if two friends reaching out and clasping hands in friendship is very evocative of the old Artisan Perfumer and Glovemakers Guild in France. The two guilds used to be intertwined, since Grasse was the center for both the perfume and glovemaking industry, and perfumed gloves were the rage for many years. Now guilds are spread out all over the world, all with the same credo: help others learn the art of whatever the product is you are making, and work to keep the standards up by finding new methods and helping the apprentices. The Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild, although only six months old, has 75 members now, from all over the world. This week, if you click on the Basenotes website you'll see photos of a guild member,  Alexandra Balahoutis, who was interviewed by Basenotes, and the guild logo, posted by Basenotes in recognition of the guild naming December Natural Perfume Month. It's a historic moment of our small, growing gu...

What a great response! Many perfume blogs posted about this (see original blog entry, below) and I'll be interviewed on Marlen's Perfume Critic blog next week on the subject. The major magazines' beauty editors that received promotional baskets with the announcement were so supportive when I spoke with them - and they've been supportive of natural perfumery in the past, so we're all looking forward to the increased public awareness of the art. The Guild is taking baby steps, reaching out, spreading the word as best we can. Thanks for Ayala for her amazing work on her blog advertising all the Guild member's sites in association with December is Natural Perfume Month. Thanks to Now Smell This, Bois de Jasmin, Scented Salamander, Indie Perfumes, Coutorture, Blogarithm, and portals far and wide who picked up on it -- and please forgive me if I've forgotten to list your blog, but let me know, and I'll add it.