Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

Lazy Sunday!  Still, I will persevere to answer your perfumery questions. 

You need to leave a comment to be in the running for the drawing to win perfumes. Light and Amberess are among a number of beautiful perfumes offered in a giveaway on Cafleurebon . Draw ends Thursday January 13, 2011 at 1 am and 11 seconds EST.

It's the first Ask the Perfumer Sunday of the new year, and the new decade.  Happy New Year to everyone!  Got any perfumery questions? I'll be here unti l10 PM tonight.

I must admit I have never seen an article like this before.  The writer obviously knows the basics of perfume making, and compares it to what is needed to, well, for want of a better phrase, government making.  http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/history/american/5711-what-is-the-essence-of-american-liberty My goodness: What are the head chords, heart chords, and base chords of the American republic? Which of all the fragrances did our Founding Fathers mix to concoct the sweetest, most aromatic bouquet ever devised by the political perfumers of history? The evidence is in the product itself, and the various component spices are readily recognizable by one with a trained and discriminating nose. What do you think about this article?

I almost missed this mention of "Best Natural Fragrance" on Elena's list on Perfume Shrine! Here's what I wrote on Facebook about the award:  I adore my Light perfume. I was almost afraid to release it, as it went against my typical style, yet I was consumed with creating a modern "cologne" perfume, beautiful and wearable 24/7, year-round. Well, listen to your passion and don't hesitate, because Light was named Natural Fragrance of 2010 by Elena of Perfume Shrine.

I'm just soooo happy that the perfumers from the Guild followed me into Outlaw territory and won this award from Elena of Perfume Shrine: Rising Star of 2010 : "Outlaw" perfumers doing what they darn please irrespective of perfumery restriction, just for the heck of it. It was about time...

BEST BUZZ AWARD   MICHELYN: The Natural Perfumer’s Guild Blogger Events: The Mystery of Musk and Outlaw Perfume As Ida wrote,   “ It seems inconceivable that there can exist so many gifted natural perfumers, of whom one has never heard”.

Monday, December 27, 2010 10 Midwinter Perfumes- Keep Warm Without Getting Bored   6. Anya's Garden: Kewdra - An all-natural and botanical dirty musk, as carnal as it gets and then some.

The perfumers in the Natural Perfumers Guild worked very hard this year to create perfumes to fit themes that are close to our hearts - botanical and cruelty-free musks, and declaring our independence from nonsensical IFRA constraints. Ca Fleure Bon recognized our efforts in their Best of Scent 2010 awards. December 29, 2010 The Fragrant Year In Review: 2010… From Top to Bottom Notes One of my favorite trends of 2010 was the emergence of Natural Perfumery. Under the auspices of The Natural Perfumers Guild I was honored to participate in two projects they held this year; The Mystery of Musk and Outlaw Perfume . These projects exposed me to some very talented perfumers who I think are the rising stars of not just Natural Perfumery but Perfumery. Those names you should be looking for are Charna Ethier, JoAnne Bassett, Alfredo Dupetit , and Jane Cate . This is not to mention the “old hands” like Anya McCoy, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz and Alexandra Balah

Cafleurebon – Best of 2010 Fragrances http://www.cafleurebon.com/best-of-2010-fragrances-or-my-biscentual-year-a-draw-naturally/ Dec. 30, 2010 Kewdra  by Anya McCoy for Anya’s Garden Perfumes. 100% natural.   Anya McCoy’s scent Kewdra is named after Kudra the heroine of Tom Robbin’s novel Jitterbug Perfume. I have read this novel several times and have to say my little Mona Lisa smile reveals my “hat’s off” agreement with Anya’s interpretation of this classic heroine. Kewdra is a very sexy sultry 1 st -2 nd Chakra perfume concentrating on a “down and dirty” theme with lots of earthy musky mushroom like scents suggesting sexual fluids and golden honeyed florals giving rise to the image of a healthy fertile woman. I heard that Kudra likes to get down with the God Pan. But you didn’t hear it from me… Notes: Kewda flower, Chinese gardenia, golden boronia, musk.

From The Non Blonde's Best Perfumes of 2010: This is a "Best Of" list, so I'll address one of the most important movements of the year- the growing public interest  in independent artisan perfumery, including all natural/botanical scents. The Natural Perfumers Guild and its current president, Anya McCoy, made a huge contribution to educating the public and promoting the cause and concept of natural perfumery as a luxury product made of the finest ingredients by artists committed to creating beauty. Between the Mystery Of Musk project and the Outlaw Perfumes initiative, McCoy and the Guild pushed several very small lines into the limelights and encouraged the creation of some of the most interesting and vibrant perfumes of recent years. Showing the world what a talented perfumer can achieve when freed from bureaucratic restrictions, I hope the Outlaws will forge a new path and inspire others to take a stand against IFRA. How awesome would it be?

I've built up a great library of perfume books by systematically revisiting websites, looking for a good deal.  The latest is David Williams Perfumes of Yesterday.  The image below is from amazon, and it shows I got the one copy that a seller undervalued for $45.  The almost-$200 cost shown for other copies is more in line with all the other websites.  You have to "sniff" out these bargains, perfumers!  Try not to weep! You, too, can be a perfume book collector: it just requires persistence. Click to enlarge.

Well, you know how some (me!) natural perfumers love to grow and tincture/infuse/extract the scent from plants in our gardens.  I can't grow lilac here in Miami, but this new plant looks to be a winner for those in more northern climates.  Syringa Bloomerang!    What a name ;-) NPers tincture lilac blooms, but have to devote several years to getting a well-scented alcohol, because of the short blooming season.  Several changes of blooms are needed to reach that well-scented goal, and perhaps Bloomerang can solve that.

Well, maybe Gaia of The Non Blonde blog goes a step further - she notes that Kewdra is " An all-natural and botanical dirty musk, as carnal as it gets and then some"  My online store is closed until Jan. 5, 2011, but you can place an order now and it'll be shipped Jan 6th or so.  Use the code "holiday" (without the quote marks) for 10% off.