Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

Gardenia flower When I was in school studying Economic Botany, (scroll down) I reveled in tales of the Plant Hunters. These were adventurous botanists who traveled to remote regions looking for plants that would be useful to us. Many focused on medicinal plants, but I was obsessed with fragrant plants - of course! I never did become a Plant Hunter, and was a bit disheartened to learn that for the past decade or so, the Plant Hunters tend to be governed by the headspace machine, which although it captures the scent of the flower, results ultimately in a recreation of the scent with synthetic chemicals. Headspace proponents argue that by doing so, they are ultimately protecting the plant because there is no need to harvest it. Well, I like my essences natural and I like them renewable, and I especially like the idea that there are still Plant Hunters like Trygve Harris of Enfleurage in New York and other entrepreneural souls who strive to establish new plantations and grassroots indust...

Anya's Garden Packages with Handmade Boxes Created from Sustainable Nepalese "Daphne" Plant and Recycled USA Fibers mixed with USA Wildflower Seeds *plant and grow a wildflower garden with the box!* ~~~ 15% off everything in Anya's Garden to Celebrate - click here for the sale ~~~ enter the word garden for the discount ~~~ photo of Fairchild box taken in Anya's Garden Aug. 14, 2008, nestled in the branches of a flowering Aglaia odorata tree As a natural perfumer, I searched for years for an ecological, sustainable way to package my fragrances. I wanted to source boxes here in the US to keep the carbon footprint as small as possible, and I wanted the fiber for the boxes to be from a sustainable, renewable source. The fiber source is not from the USA, but I am very happy that the harvest supports wildcrafters in Nepal. The Lokta plant is a relative of the Daphne bush, and it's bark must be harvested to insure the plant survives. No fertilizers or sprays are us...

A perfumer can sometimes dream - or daydream - of little dots/drops - and the dance of the aromatic molecules. Sometimes, if you're lucky, those drops coalesce into a perfume - a cornucopia of rewards of scent, time and place. They can be imagined as people moving together like the fractal cornucopia, all a different color with a unique beauty, all synchronized to help form a beautiful image. First off - to catch up: I haven't blogged for a few weeks because I've been so busy and caught up in great things. First, I got the perfect boxes and packaging for my perfumes. Finally. It's only been two years, lol. The company will make custom boxes for me in the future, but the regular ones are wonderful in the time being. I'll launch them in the next day or two. One of my webmasters (I have two!) turned out to be a graphic artist of sorts and got my labels fixed. Yay! Then the new Guild site launched last Friday 8.8.08 , and the feedback is fantastic! The Guild members are...

What Madison Avenue Touts to the Detriment of Health - from Cigarettes to Plug-In Air "Fresheners" et al Just a quick follow up to the previous blog on chemical sensitivities causing problems for perfumistas. This appeared a few days ago in the Washington Post. A brief quote from the article: "Collectively, the six products gave off nearly 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including acetone, the eye-stinging ingredient in nail-polish remover and paint thinner. (VOCs are compounds that vaporize easily, like fumes from paint and gasoline. Many VOCs are known to be harmful.)" It's very clear to me, and has been very clear for a long time that we are in a state of sensory overload due to savvy Madison Avenue brainwashing. My prediction? In a few years the fragrance fumes of the grocery aisles, the plug-in "air fresheners", the scented candles will all be as rare as cigarette smokers, smoke-filled restaurants and offices and will be viewed as harmful.

Synchronicity has struck. In one day I stumbled upon three perfume bloggers who have written how they have either had to stop using perfume altogether, or at least drastically cut back on their use of perfume. I was idly searching back through the Urban Farmer blog and found this post , dramatically titled The End of Scent. When I read the comments, I noticed that Heather of Memory and Desire discussed her problems with scent and having to stop using fragrance entirely. I was wondering why she hadn't blogged since May - now I know. With Heather, it's headaches, for Lou, well, she had a litany of problems. Savvy, they cut back on scent usage. It's tearing their souls up, but their bodies are healing. It's been barely three years since the birth of perfume blogs. I'm wondering if we're now seeing the "canary in the coal mine" syndrome starting to surface. Often I have read on forums snarky comments from perfumistas about those who complain about st...

You don't have to be Einstein to recognize the disastrous effect this unfair corporate-sponsored Act will have on the small independent business owners who make cosmetics, perfumes and other body care products. STOP THE FDA GLOBALIZATION ACT OF 2008 Today I took part in a meeting of a Coalition of small business owners/organization leaders who are very concerned about the proposed FDA Global Harmonization Act of 2008 here in the USA. We are pooling our membership rolls into building a groundswell of grassroots efforts to give us strength in numbers as we work towards stopping the FDA. The most articulate message I have seen so far on this subject is by the President of the Indie Beauty Network, Donna Maria Coles Johnson, and I urge you to visit her blog and view the video she prepared on this. Then, PLEASE sign the petition on that site, and don't forget to use your full name and city and state. The short story? This GHA will effectively put many of the small perfumery, body ca...

Anya's Online Basic Natural Perfumery Course - Registration Beginning Currently there are 40+ students enrolled in the Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 course. Read some of the testimonials from them, below. More available upon request. Enroll now for the Fall 2008 session. Click here to Register now - secure you place in the most dynamic, interactive one-year online class in perfumery! Whether you want to study perfumery for fun or with the goal of becoming a professional perfumer, you'll enjoy and establish a firm foundation in perfumery basics by taking this course. Imagine - a full year of interactive, professional education from a teacher with thirty years experience working with natural essences! Read on... Your Tuition Helps Others! $50 of every student's tuition is donated to a worldwide charity on Global Girlfriend. Donations so far have included providing goats to a Rwandan family, sending two girls to school in Afghanistan, and buying a cookstove for a refugee family in...

The interview was conducted a few months ago, and Part 1 appeared soon after. The current intstallment is Part 2, and I must say that Marlen, an old Internet buddy who went on to found Perfume Critic really made me feel welcome and opened me up conversationally during the interview. His questions were those only someone who has known somebody for a long time could ask :-) You can find Part 1 here ad Part 2 here . If you leave a comment, you may win a generous sample of my Temple perfume.

Earlier today my assistant Giselle blogged on the Natural Perfumers Guild blog about a microgrant program that is being started to provide assistance to growers and distillers of botanical aromatics worldwide. The Guild will help those involved in our industry, while I have chosen to "pay it forward" to a wider variety of folks. I've donated a percentage of my income from Anya's Garden to the Red Cross and other rescue agencies since the garden began. Living in Miami, my heart goes out to those in need because of natural disasters. We've been slammed so many times down here I've lost count, and organizations like the Red Cross always come through. Now as my business picks up, I have the need to give more. I'm fortunate and blessed, and grateful, and when I lay my head down at night I want to feel I've made the world a better place - and I'll be you do, too, so maybe you'll follow my lead on this. Let's face it - perfume is a luxury, and nat...

I adore neroli, but the neroli that is what we call the essential oil distilled from the blossoms of Citrus aurantium does not compare to the scent of those blossoms in the garden. I first created a natural tincture/absolute of those blossoms about 30 years ago at the University of California, Riverside, armed only with a bucket of vodka. ;-) Into the vodka went the blossoms where they were left to tincture for a day, and then the vodka was recharged with more blossoms three or four times. The resulting extraction was true to the blossoms' scent, and cherished by me for several years as I used it to make perfumes. Aglaia flower is often called Chinese lemon tree or Chinese perfume tree among other names. The scent of the blooms in the garden, again, like the neroli, is quite different from the concrete or absolute we perfumers purchase. While glorious, fruity, floral, with a touch of tea, the commercial extract is missing the beautiful soft, uplifting nuances of the flower. The flo...

Jasmine sambac "Grand Duke of Tuscany" from my garden As an artisan who grows much of her botanical aromatics, I made a conscious decision not to rely on the vagaries of the open market for many of my supplies. Of course, I have to buy concretes, absolutes and essential oils - but not that much anymore. I have a huge stash of stuff I've stocked over the years, all properly stored to preserve freshness. I am increasingly aware of the fragile nature of the supply chain, and I hope you, artisan natural perfumer, if you're reading this, are too. Heck, if I were a perfumer who used synths in my perfumes, I'd be quaking in my business boots. Even worse if I used bases from major supply houses. You're completely at their mercy. That stranglehold on supply, as more and more smaller supply houses are gobbled up in the EU-fueled stranglehold on the supply of processed aromatics - combined with the weak US dollar, typhoons that destroy crops, adulteration, and the warine...

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...

Natural Perfumery Yahoo group - Sixth Anniversary, 1500+ members strong In 2000, I started a perfumery group on the old idma.com server. It was populated by about two dozen folks that I knew from aromatherapy and fashion groups, and it served its purpose, but there were a lot of elements that could make it more educational, fun and personal missing. So, on June 14, 2002, I started a group on Yahoo dedicated to natural perfumery. Little did I realize that as the first few souls trickled in that it would grow to over 1500 members in six years. Six years on I need moderators to help me manage the group, and they're wonderful, dedicated friends who I can trust to pick up the work in their respective time zones around the world - a big thanks to Claire, Elise, Chris, Carol, Laura, Jennifer and Patty! It's wonderful to read the happiness in the posts of those who discover the group and realize they aren't alone in their love of natural perfumes. Some have shared that they felt ...

For the past few months a number of people have contributed to a document that both strives to help define natural perfumery and has self regulation of the industry as goals. The approach we decided on by general concensus was to take a very gentle approach at this time by providing a brief narrative and the definitions we arrived at. This document is being released on June 1, 2008, the 2nd Anniversary of the Natural Perfumers Guild and we are very pleased to present this to others in the industry and all interested parties to communicate the nurturing and forward-thinking steps the Guild is making in the protection of our art and our products in the worldwide marketplace. Defining Natural Perfumery and Recognizing the Need for Self Regulation A Position Paper Issued by The Natural Perfumers Guild June 1, 2008 Introduction Perfumery, as an art and profession, has a long and distinguished history. For the thousands of years perfumers have practiced their art, nature has...