Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

Ask the Perfumer is open for questions from hot and humid Miami - summer is giving us a sneak peek with 90F-degree weather today.  I'm just in from watering my plants, which, since we're on water restrictions, is only on Wednesday and Sunday, and I'm wilting.  Perk me up with your questions. And today is a very special day for Mandy Aftel, master natural perfumer - she's nominated for three FiFi Awards from the Fragrance Foundation.  I believe it's the first ever Indie Awards by them, so it's quite a coup. 

In the Spring, do your thoughts turn to lighter perfumes? Ask the Perfumer is open for questions today, and with a gentle reminder: please do not post follow-up questions to me privately during the week.  This is the forum for all questions.

It's a beautiful day here in Miami, and I'll be working on extracting the scent of hyacinths both by enfleurage and tincturing.  I hope you have a beautiful day, too, and if you have any perfumery questions, I'll be here until 10 PM.

I'm here until 10 PM to answer questions you have about perfumery.  There may be a time lag until your questions appear, as I'm in and out all day.  Have a beautiful Sunday!

I'm really going to be blogging a lot more, especially since I realize that I failed to mention Tom Pease's review of Kaffir perfume on Perfume Posse on February 7th! I did tweet about the review, calling it "stunningly accurate", but that's definitely not the same as posting here, on the blog. Some of Tom's comments did stun me - in a great way.  To hear that my perfumes are his "armor" and "heartlessly chic", in the vein of Bandit, an iconic mainstream perfume was just wonderful.  Too often, we perfumers work in solitude, and yes, sales can indicate that customers love our creations, but we also don't get direct feedback, except from bloggers. When I wake up every day, the first business thought on my mind is - how can I help my customers?  Sound odd.  It isn't, if you think about it.  Tom was helped by a perfume so feisty, that he felt it was like "Bandit" and provided him with "armor".  Most females, I w...

Ask the Perfumer forum is open for Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011.  I'm happy to assist you with your perfumery questions and as usual, I will be in and out all day, so if it's not answered immediately, be assured it will be by tonight.

I've just dashed in, ready for perfumery questions.  I hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful day!

I'll be in and out of the studio today, but don't hesitate to leave your questions, I'll get to all of them.  I love checking the stats for this feature, and seeing all the hits from all over the world. Some check back over and over in the course of a day, so it's obvious this feature really interests you!  If there are 700 hits, maybe I only get five questions, but everyone is sharing in the answers.  Don't be afraid to post, because those of you who do post to me via email know I point you right back here ;-)

Ah, Bob Marley's birthday!  Any hemp oil related questions? Maybe pimento oil (the best is from Jamaica)? I'll be in and out throughout the day, enjoying the highest temps in the nation right now.  Miami rocks in February!

This happy little bee was working away on my pink lemon tree yesterday I had a lot of fun putting this newsletter together, and for the first time ever, I got emails from readers telling me they loved it. Wow, what a nice Valentine to me! There's a typo in the link to the store where 25% off is the lover's gift.  Here's the correct link: http://anyasgarden.com/store.htm The newsletter can be read at http://anyasgarden.com/newsfeb1-2001.htm

The theme and details of the next Guild project will be revealed to the Guild perfumers on Tuesday, Feb. 1st. They will release the perfumes and the project will be launched on the Internet Oct. 1st, 2011.  I can say this much: it's an extension of the Outlaw Perfume project, although the words outlaw and perfume don't appear in the slogan ;-)

It's a beautiful day for perfume talk. I'll be gardening outside today, and thinking up new ways to extract scent from the lovely aromatic plants. What's your perfume question?

It's chilly here in Miami, only up to 70F today!  Still, the aglaia is blooming, some jasmines are blooming, and so the perfume making obsession is still fueled by nature.  Are you frozen in somewhere? Want to talk about the beautiful aromatics that make our life better? Ask your questions until 10PM EST USA today.

Admin Announcement from Anya McCoy, Guild President: The Natural Perfumers Guild Wekcines Elise Pearlstine as Administrative Manager.  Elise, the nose of Bellyflowers Perfumes , is taking on several projects as part of her duties for the Guild. First, Elise has inventoried and categorized all of the items in the Guild Scent Library.   As Perfumers and Associates join the Guild, they are requested to submit, according to their category, perhaps one full size bottle of perfume, and samples of their perfume line, or perhaps soaps, body lotions and other fragrant products.  It is important that we keep a reference library of the Perfumers products first and foremost, for historical purposes and also for PR and communication purposes.  Elise will contact Guild members who may need to send products to fill in the gaps of their materials in the Scent Libr...