Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

It wasn't until months later, when I had a bit of a bad bout with the February mango pollen in Miami, that I realized I had damaged my liver a bit due to 9/11. After 9/11 traumatized the nation, it was noted some people turned to self-medication to deal with the terrorism. Some drank a lot, overate, or took drugs for depression. Some perhaps did all of the above. I turned to my beautiful aromatics, absolutes, essential oils, concretes and CO2 extracts, all from nature, all complex, heady, indulgent fragrances. They allowed me to escape into their fragrant magic, distract me, overwhelm me. The year before, on my birthday, I had gone on a shopping spree, a gift to myself, of a lot of aromatics I was not familiar with, to fill in the gaps in my olfactory education. I had already been collecting and studying natural botanical essences since the early 1970's, but had let it lapse a bit in the late 1990's. In the early '90's, I had a very successful oil perfume line I sol...

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...

Robin of Now Smell This discovers the beauty of natural aromatics in food: Now Smell This Great review of Isabelle's yummies. Read my confession as to what I did with her samples, good for a laugh! Isabelle is one of the loveliest people, and a valued Professional Perfumer in the Guild. I'm so glad to see this recognition for her! Here is an upcoming event that celebrates Isabelle's birthday and the launch of a new perfume: Found the information on the Soiree: Desire in Sunlight Couture Perfumes graciously invites you to a PERFUME CHOCOLAT SOIREE In celebration of Isabelle's Birthday to launch our newest perfume - 'La Fete' a rich honey floral blend Saturday 13 October 20074-7 pm location: 2510 42nd Avenue East, #447D, Seattle 98112 RSVP 425.471.4770 breathe in beauty, Isabelle Aurel

Sometimes the busy bee that is me has a bit of a blurry see. Ok, bad poetry. Sharper image now, though. In May of 2005 I discovered that there were folks out there blogging on perfume. I also found perfume forums. As a respite from some rather nasty folks who had plans to take over my natural perfumery group and used some rather Machiavellian means, I drifted around the internet looking for some related, non-stressful talk on perfume. (BTW, that "group" founded on my stolen list is well, listless and feeble, and mine has more than doubled in size to 1300 members -- the good guys do win in the end.) I found about a dozen blogs, and made friends, or at the very least, acquaintance, with the bloggers. I chatted about mainstream perfumes, aka those made with synths, the stuff you find in all the department stores, boutiques and drugstores, always referring to my beloved natural perfumes also. Many of the ladies (and two men) bloggers weren't very familiar with natural perfume...

STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 The latest Cropwatch newsletter isn't on their site yet. You can view it on the Natural Perfumers Guild site by clicking on the link. It's long, 50+pages, packed with information. Before you read the latest message from Cropwatch below, I cannot stress enough the importance of what Tony Burfield and his Cropwatch organization are doing FOR US ALL - those of us who love natural aromatics, natural and botanical perfumery, and want to retain our rights. If you enjoy aromatherapy, naturally scented toiletries, natural body care and natural perfumes, you'll want to pay attention to this issue very closely as your access to natural aromatics is in danger. This message went out to the 1200+ members of the Yahoo group I host, and it's relevant here: Let's put the power and beauty of our numbers to work. Please volunteer to help him if you have any expertise in the areas he's asking for assistance with, or perhaps you're just a ...

Please visit the Perfume Classes blog for the latest update on the Basic Natural Perfumery Class I will be teaching this Fall. The class will be online and offer for the first time, online interaction with a teacher, learning modules, and a study forum.

The male flower of the Pandanus odoritissimus can weigh two pounds or more. The Pandanus is also known as the Screw Pine due to the swirl of the leaves. It is one of the most useful plants in the tropics. Practically every part of the Screw Pine is used for all type of different purposes: clothing, bowls, housebuilding, food, medicine and fragrance. But it's the wild and crazy flower I'm interested in as a natural perfumer. High, pierceing, radish-y, rosy, green, dirt, glorious, sun-drenched, yet cool as can be - that's the hydrodistilled oil of the Pandanus odoritissimus. Also can be described as hyachinth-honey, fresh floral, addictive. Dilute it down to 1% to have some of the hyacinth notes really release - wow. Male flower only, please - like the male peacock with his technicolor plumage, only the male flower of this tree has the scent. Yes, the lady trees may have the bombastic, grenade-looking fruit, but it's the essence of the male flower that is craved. And co...

STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 For those of you who have been following this blog since January, when we first reported on Tony Burfield's watchdog organization Cropwatch challenging the IFRA 40th Amendment, and the European Union regulation of natural aromatics, I am happy to report there is progress. On July 3rd, Tony, along with representatives of the Perfume Foundation, sat down with the representatives of the EU Cosmetics Commission in the first-ever of its type of confab. We take this as a sign of a crack in the ongoing bulldozing effect of IFRA-fueled nonsensical and nonscientific regulation of natural aromatics in natural perfumery. You can read or download a PDF of Tony's report on the meeting here: Cropwatch sits down with the European Union (EU) Cosmetics Commission. Back to lounging on the beach for me - yeah!

Just a taste of what I've been up to: I started selling exotic, and some not-so-exotic, but absolutely knock-out beautiful,exceptional raw materials on my website here. The hyacinth absolute is already sold out, but more is expected soon. Lush narcissus poeticus absolute is also sold out, both due in the end of July. Rose de Mai absolute is on the way, a non-CITES agarwood is for sale - it smells like a very posh leather good boutique, all freshly-sawn wood and buttery, fragrant leather. Vanilla absolute to die for! Heck, I'm even parting with some of my double-infused St. John's Wort oil, an incredible ruby red jewel of an oil for what ails ya. My perfumes have had a slight price reduction after the big June sale, and it's permanent. All of the pure essential oils are suitable for aromatherapy use. I also term these rare essential oils because of the exceptional aroma quality of them. Absolutely knockout in strength and clarity of scent. My most obvious reason for m...

This summer is busier than the past two summers, which were some of the busiest of my life. Lots of obligations in the perfume world, personal goals, and just too much on my plate! So, I've decided to really have down time every chance I can grab it, and the picture above sums up where you should look for me. I'll be there, lolling around, or nearby, having fun, instead of working on this blog. Happy Summer, everyone!

June 1, 2007: The Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild is now the Natural Perfumers Guild. We're celebrating the one year anniversary of the reopening of the Guild with a new name and a new logo, seen above. In the past year 88 wonderful people joined the Guild, supportive and enthusiastic about the art of natural perfumery, helping spread the word, networking amongst themselves and just being supportive. We're also adopting the phrase "Slow Scent" as our slogan. Mandy Aftel, the Founder of the Guild, coined the term for her new book, and is graciously sharing it with us. Here's a great example of how we're all connecting and helping each other and spreading the news about what we do, and who we are: with hours of reading the June Guild newsletter, Blunda Los Angeles store owner Persephenie called Andrea Budje of Aromahead because she wanted her to come to LA from Florida to give a class at her store - all because of a small feature I put in the newsletter withou...

The very-talented Helen of ZenSoaps created this image from a photo of the Grasse variety of Jasmine grandiflorum I have growing in my garden. I find it alluring and mysterious, sensual and spiritual, much like the flower itself. Today is the Full Moon in Sagittarius. White fragrant flowers bloom wildly and profusely during a full moon, and here in Florida, our major flushes of blooms are from April - June, with intermittant blooms throughout the year. I have been harvesting Jasmines - grandi (sparse, it may bloom more in July, for some reason), sambacs - Belle of India, Maid of Orleans, Grand Duke of Tuscany and several lesser-known varieties, like long-petaled Belle of India. Also into the alcohol goes the auriculatum and azoricum, and night-blooming Jasmine, Cestrum nocturnum, and Orange Jasmine, Murraya paniculata. Quite heavenly tinctures they are, too. More like the fresh flower on the vine than the concretes and absolutes we buy from suppliers. I use them to supplement and enhan...

It is my pleasure to announce the first-ever sale on the perfumes of Anya's Garden. The sale is in celebration of three happy events: the six-month anniversary of the launch of Anya's Garden, and the wonderful success of the perfumes, which are lovingly reviewed on forums such as Perfume of Life, MakeUpAlley and others, and the appreciative notes from customers, who write to say how the perfumes create a mood, bring back a memory of a warm summery place, or as in the case of Fairchild, take them to an intoxicating salty, flowery shore in the tropics. This is what a perfumer aims for, at least I do. Not just to create a pretty or exotic fragrance, but to create one that evokes a soulful response, or in the case of Pan, as it has been reported, a real pheromonal response from men. Pan is a hit with the ladies who do not mind a slightly masculine scent, and among gay men, where it is a cult favorite. The ladies say the men flock around them, or give them appreciative stares in p...