Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

Click here to read or download a copy of HR 759, the FDA Globalization Act of 2009 The FDA Globalization Act of 2008, which died in committee in December was expected to be introduced this year modified and it's here, much earlier than expected. On Tuesday I called Rep. Janet Schakowsky's office because it had been reported earlier that she might be the one to reintroduce the bill. Her rep said it was "unclear" at this time if she would. Well, the next day, in true DC confabulation, it was introduced by Rep. Charles Dingell (DemMI) (the original author of the 2008 bill) and Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (DemNJ) as the FDA Globalization Act of 2009 HR 759. Until the bill is released on the internet today for close examination, a cursory look indicates that they may have backed off on the high fees and registration hurdles (more fees) that they were aiming at us, the little guys of the cosmetics industry. This is what is gleaned from the press release , but I'm holding of

What a handsome, sweet big dog. Just about the last think I need in my life right now. I am juggling so many clients, students and obligations it's ridiculous. We seldom have barking dogs in my village as there is a pretty stern law against it. When I heard a dog barking around 4:30 a.m., I thought it might be the new people who moved in with a big dog they keep in the backyard. When I moved to the back of my house, I realized the barking was coming from the alley, not the direction where the new folks and dog were. I went back to sleep. Over the next two-plus hours the dog barked on and off, from up and down the block, front and back. I figured it was a stray, and felt sorry for the poor thing. At 7:15, as I was getting up, I heard a big "woof" in the side yard next to my bedroom, where a wall deadends the yard. I parted the curtain, and his big, happy face looked up at me, he got on his hind legs, and you could imagine him saying "a people - a people who will take

Anya's Garden Online Basic Natural Perfumery Course The worldwide course is one year long and consists of nine modules of study Do you find you make some common mistakes in your attempts to create perfume? Do you even know if you're making mistakes? Are your blends muddy and you don't know why? Do you wish to gain a solid understanding of the basics of perfumery - basics that will last you a lifetime of study and perfume creation? Then this online, interactive course is for you. This course is for those who desire comprehensive basic training in: - Natural Perfumery - to become a Professional Perfumer - Education in a natural art - General interest in blending natural aromatics for the bath and body industry Materials Provided for Study - An aromatics kit of 25 absolutes and essential oils, labeled with botanical name, and country of origin. The bottles are 4ml in size, and four of the rare essences are diluted to 10%. Many students have said these aromatics far surpass any

I'm working with others to organize a two-pronged effort to expose the agenda of the Energy and Commerce Committee to effectively shut down our artisan businesses. Are you the member of a Guild of association of like-minded folks who make bread, body care products, toys, cheese, wine or any other made-in-America proudly and lovingly handcrafted item? You need to join us. Please volunteer - write me at my website contact page. You can visit the White House pag e and register your objection to the FDA Globalization Act or it new incarnation - not sure what the name will be yet. Click on the contact page and send your message. Here's what I wrote (messages are limited to 500 characters.) The Energy and Commerce Department is pushing the FDA Globalization Act or a form thereof and it will effectively put small artisan business out of business. We are organizing a grassroots group of associations of artisans - bread, cheese, perfume, bath and body care, etc. to fight the fees they

Got your attention? Too bad we all weren't paying attention to the US Energy and Commerce Committee. Sell handmade toys, children's clothing or any child-oriented item in your shop? Have some handmade children's toys, clothing or bath or body product you want to donate to a shelter? Perhaps you want to give some handmade cradle or bassinet away to your best friend. Forget it. Come February 10th, you have to: Empty your shop of the toys, forget about donations, and don't give them away - you might as well send them to the dump. The landfills across America should be full of handmade children's products in the coming months. Why? The U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee, the same group that attempted to pass the small-business-killing FDA Globalization Act last year, passed the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act in August. Quietly, sneakily, this bill was passed into law and is just now becoming evident for what it is - the death knell for any handmade artisan pr

Chemists Promote Theory of "Shape Shifting" Odor Molecules Perfumers, perfumistas, scent geeks and assorted nose-governed folk have been aware of the shape theory of olfaction for years. Let's say a molecule of orange is square and of a certain size. Theory had it that your nasal receptor site had a square "hole" (for want of a better term) of that size that allowed that square orange molecule to travel up to the brain, where it was analyzed to be orange. Luca Turin had a different theory, and he postulated that odor molecules vibrated to a different frequency, and it was the receptor site that passed that frequency on to the brain, and thus, we knew an orange was an orange, not to be mixed with apple. Profs. Kevin Ryan and Stuart Firestein report in the journal " Chemistry and Senses " that they have a third theory, more linked to the shape theory - that molecules shape shift as they are inhaled. To me, it looks like a kind of hybrid between shape the

I'm trying to take a few days off from the perfume business, but you know how it is. Artisans are workaholics and devoted to the art, so I'm still fiddling with mods, packaging up the boronia for the Guild members, fielding questions, etc. It's been a great year, but what I wouldn't give for some truly carefree days. My mother is doing incredibly well for 89, friends are, for the most part, hale and hearty, family is cruising along pretty well, and the cats are being their same old catty silly selves. I will now have three perfumes released early next year, well, at least by spring, I hope. Also, the Prima Aroma line will launch. Stay tuned for updates, and some more specials for the Guild members. Take care everyone, and remember to reflect and use your wisdom in moving forward. Most of all, take care of yourself.

Shhhh --- a quick, limited offer from Anya's Garden - a glorious organic white rose hydrosol! This sale starts December 25th, 2008 Notice: Anya's Garden of Perfumes regular store is closed for a lovely holiday until Monday January 5, 2009 But , due to popular demand, the Organic Bulgarian White Rose Hydrosol will be sold during this time - get it while you can! Supplies are limited and it is expected to sell out quickly. Click here to purchase. Rosa damascena var. Alba is a descendant of the ancient apothecary rose, Rosa gallica. Used for centuries for skin care, it is lovely just sprayed on the face and body after a shower, or sniffed to be enjoyed anytime to refresh and lighten your spirit. It blends beautifuly into lotions and creams during the "water phase". Mix with some clay for a facial mask, and spritz some hydrosol on after you remove the mask because it's a wonderful toner for your skin, balancing the sebum production. I love to spray it on

Wishing you lovely perfume this holiday time of year Check back tomorrow for another giveaway

It's very sweet some readers nominated me for this blog and also the Natural Perfumers Guild blog - but I have no use for the prize, which is a gift certificate to a store that sells only perfumes containing synthetics. It's sort of like a vegetarian winning a prize hunk of meat. It's nice that they're gathering all the blogs and are going to put them into a common area, but please - save your votes where I'm concerned.

I've been writing about organic gardening since 1972 (admittedly for a school paper, but it was a start!) and organic agriculture since the mid 70's. In the 1990's I wrote Organic Gardening magazine asking why they didn't have a "Zone 10" (South Florida) writer and they asked me to write for them. I've started several community gardens that asked for (we couldn't demand) the gardeners to use only organic methods. The first was in 1976 in Riverside, California, at the married student housing center. So you can say I really have a decent resume in promoting organic gardening and farming methods, but this is the first time I've ever been fired up about the United States Secretary of Agriculture. Too often, we've only had tools of the ag chemical industry in that position, but hopefully this time we might get a voice for organic agriculture and hopefully (because I never stop hoping) sustainable agriculture. A fellow on Facebook posted a link to th

We welcome you to celebrate December is Natural Perfume Month and we invite you to visit the Natural Perfumers Guild site to learn more about us. We welcome you to join the Guild, and a 20% discount on the membership fee is being offered throughout December in celebration of Natural Perfume month. Fill out the form on the Guild site this month and you will be refunded the difference of the discount. Help us celebrate natural aromatics and work with us as we promote natural fragrances and educate the public as to the beauty of fragrance from a plant, not a test tube. The Natural Perfumers Guild supports artisanal distillers, works to lobby for fair business practices for artisan business owners, provides business support services and best of all - a network of like-minded people.

Winners of the natural perfume samples and ambergris giveaway are - Stephanie (general public) - and Keri (from the Natural Perfumers Guild applicants.) Each giveaway will have two prizes - one for the general public and one for the members of the Guild. Stephanie and Keri: please send me your mail address privately by visiting the contact page on my website: http://anyasgarden.com/contact.htm Everyone else - a new giveaway will be announced in a few hours so check back!

I was noodling around the Internet this morning and found this: "Until recently, the EU banned the sale of ugly carrots with knobby protrusions, cucumbers that were grossly curved, and equally unaesthetic specimens of 24 other fruits and vegetables. "It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' shape," said the EU's commissioner for agriculture." I've often related to disbelieving friends and colleagues that the EU is so out of hand with their Draconian, bad-science, big brother is watching you (and forcing you out of business) mentality that they regulated the curve in bananas. Too much curve, can't be sold in the EU. My particular peeve with them is the bad science and horrid fees they impose on perfumers both artisanal and corporate alike. They've been partly to blame for the reformulation of many perfume classics, deeming oakmoss and orange oil alike too dangerous for us poor silly une

Confused about chypre, ambergris, ylang ylang, absolute or concrete? Well, let my New York/Philly accented voice clue you in and I hope, help you out ;-) I originally recorded a version of this for my online perfumery course and I've seen over the years how often these terms are the subject of concern on my yahoo perfumery group , so have a listen - it's short and sweet ;-) PS: Is this the first-ever perfumery podcast by a perfumer? I've searched and never found one. Let me know if you know of any, otherwise I'm laying claim to being the first perfumer to podcast. Beauty blogs where they pod about the latest perfume releases don't count, LOL. Click below to play:

Anya's Garden is Celebrating the Redesigned Website with a Giveaway Celebrate the Natural Perfumers Guild-designated "December is Natural Perfume Month" With Us! Click on the graceful photo of Anya's Garden perfumes with a fabulous clereodendron flower and wander down the fragrant garden path to discover the new aromatherapy and potpourri line that I'll be launching next year. Post here with the name of the new line and you will be entered in a giveaway. The winner will receive a set of samples of Pan, Kaffir, Fairchild, RiverCali, Temple and a 2ml tincture of the legendary rare and gorgeous ambergris. These samples retail for $30 and the ambergris is very hard to find, and I know a lot of perfumistas would love to experience my private stash aged, glorious tincture. This contest closes in five days on Dec 7th at midnight, so check back here after visiting my new site, and post. This offer is open to anyone anywhere in the world with the exception of Germany an

All Allured Publishing Media books on sale for 20% off through 12/31/08 The image above is of the Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin volume - generously offered separately by Allured when they realized the demand for it among natural perfumers. Previously it was bundled in a three-volume set and cost $900 dollars. When Guild member David Mark contacted them, and their Book Manager and I talked, they realized that the natural perfumery group on Yahoo and the Natural Perfumers Guild were signs that this book was needed as a solo item. We will forever be grateful to Allured Business Media for this. For several months now Allured has made a very generous discount offer on all the books they publish. Now, through December 31, 2008 just use the code anyaperfume at checkout. The Steffen Arctander book Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin is widely regarded as the natural perfumers bible. Click here for the Arctander book on Allured.com - but don't limit yourself t

The Natural Perfumers Guild Celebrates "December is Natural Perfume Month" December is Natural Perfume Month - When Fragrant Trees and Wreaths Bring the Outdoors In, and Natural Perfume is the Gift of Choice for Many For a limited time only - in celebration of Natural Perfume Month - join the Natural Perfumers Guild and receive 20% off your membership fee. In 2006 The Natural Perfumers Guild named December Natural Perfume Month in recognition of the growing interest in natural fragrances. The first naturally-perfumed gifts associated with the month of December were frankincense and myrrh which we use in their pure form in our perfumes. Click below to see a picture of rare Hojari Frankincense incense, one of the most beautiful fragrances in the world: Ancient traditions called for a fragrant conifer tree, wreaths and boughs decorating the home during this time of year. Today, the wonderful aroma of cooking with sweet spices like cinnamon and clove adds to the ambiance, creatin

The dreamy, sensual image above is the chosen graphic for one of my two new perfumes, MoonDance . It's one of the few images I've used that aren't either a collage piece of art that I created or a photograph I took. I just fell in love with it when I saw it, and it snapped me right out of the mindset I was in, with rather literal images of people dancing under a full moon. I also believe that the image helps a person imagine the gossamer beauty of a perfume, wafting and swirling up off their skin, an item of delight - and don't we all need a little delight right now? As my friend Chris said "I refuse to participate in this recession." You might not be able to buy a new car, or you're worried about your job, but a recent article - or two or three - have pointed out that perfume and lipstick are two luxuries women refuse to give up when the economy tanks. I've decided to push back the launch of MoonDance, and it's accompanying launch partner, StarFlo

Thanksgiving always is the day when I give thanks for living in the subtropics because the weather has cooled down from steam bath to cool and breezy. It's also the real beginning of our growing season. This year I regret not getting tomatoes or veggies in the ground yet because I've been so busy, but my herbs are always booming at this time of year and ready to go into the holiday dishes. I harvested bay leaf, sweet marjoram, oregano, lemon balm and lemongrass today, and I just love the slight fragrance they leave on my fingers throughout the day. The meal is in various stages of preparation, and I'm feeling very relaxed, fulfilled and happy. What more could you ask for on a Thanksgiving day? I'm thankful for everything in my life, it's all wonderful and prosperous. I'm especially thankful for natural perfumery, because the gorgeous botanical essences compliment a meal, and a gathering of people because of their understated scent - you won't have to "s

Actually, this test can analyze your blog personality, perfumer or not. I found this fun bit of time-wasting silliness floating around the 'net . Supposedly based on the Myers-Briggs Personality system (which has classified me as a Field Marshal in lengthy tests I took a few years ago.) Maybe I'm mellowing with age. Probably not, but truthfully I guess I have little patience for time wasting, although my silliness meter is often set pretty high. So I'm a "Doer" aka an ESTP. The image of a teenage dribbler for the Doer is pretty silly, actually, but I'm game. Get it - game? OK, so here's my profile: The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities. The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it throug

I blogged a few days ago about the decline of the rose-de-mai farmland in Grasse and a French Perfumer, Isabelle Gelle commented on the Natural Perfumery group listing the reasons she perceived to be at fault, and offering her prediction as to the future of rose (and other natural aromatics) production. Reprinted here with permission: To me, there are 2 main guilty ones: 1) the consumers who will not pay for pure rose products because as mentioned in the article 'rose is not rose' any longer - I actually browsed the latest website of Scents of Time in which I saw that the great idea of reproducing various Scents of Time has been once again transformed into another 'chemical' venture, using the now widely spread HEADSPACE technique (which is still leading to reproducing scents in a laboratory). 2) the European Union who by trying to place every citizen in a sterilised bubble and create a Federal Europe is slowly killing national identities and regional specialties.

This is a graphic collage I created for the launch of Fairchild, the first perfume in the Anya's Garden line. The image is meant to show the wild and exuberant nature of the perfume, where citrus and powerful tropical flowers mix with seaweed and clamshells - yes, toasted clamshells. The levels of drydown are many - some joke over a dozen according to their nose. It's such a strong perfume I can only wear it at night, because if I wear it during the day I become woozy, it's that narcotic and demands that much of your attention. Imagine my surprise when I checked back into the comments section on Perfume Shrine today and saw that both Helg of PS and Maria of the BitterGrace blog are asking I create some food that contains Fairchild. The blog topic was cooking with animal essences, so I suppose the ambergris, dosed generously in Fairchild, was the jumping-off point for the request. It did get me to thinking - perhaps a drop in vodka? A drop in some honey? It would certainly

A student in my online perfumery course stopped me short during our live chat the other day: she had no scent memory connections with the aromatics in the study kit supplied with the course. She's from Nigeria, and rose, jasmine, lemon, etc. - many of the common scents we know and associate with people or places in our past have no reference point for her. I'm just guessing here, but I suppose they just aren't used in the home and environment as they are here. I'll have to ask if there are any lemon-based dishes or lemon-accented food in Nigeria. I have a book on perfumes made for regions of Africa based on the travels of several French perfumers. Perhaps that will assist me in helping her. There are, of course, many aromatics produced for perfumery in Africa: rose geranium, jasmine and rose, frankincense, grapefruit, clove, vanilla, etc. Since we were in the middle of class, I didn't have time to question her in depth, but I did promise to look further into how to

Members of the Yahoo Natural Perfumery group are moving forward with the plans I wrote about earlier. We wish to create a series of perfumes in honor of the election of Barack Obama, unifying the perfumes under one theme yet to be decided. The project is less than a week old, and many ideas have been submitted on the NP group, but we felt to be able to sort through participating members ideas and lists, we needed to create a smaller group for the project. Above is the photo just uploaded to the new group's webpage, and below is the draft description: This is a cooperative worldwide project of natural perfumers wishing to create a perfume honoring the spirit of unity and progressiveness we feel because of the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. We are going to create a list of natural aromatics that have relevance to the new President: oils from Africa, Indonesia, America and perhaps all the continents will be considered. We will refine the list and each per

Rosa centifolia harvested in Grasse, France Natural perfumer Haley Alexander van Oosten visited the rose fields of Grasse, France for the harvest and reports on some sad, inevitable news in the Huffington Post. She reports that the general public is so used to the scent of fake rose that they choose it in a sniff comparison. The price difference, declining demand and land development pressures may soon make this lovely oil a thing of the past.

This is quite a beautiful book, lots of eye candy which links the mind to the scent candy. I'll be reviewing it soon, but all I can say for now is that I am very happy with it, just glancing through it, as it is a book I know I'll treasure for the photos. Shallow, yes, but eye candy is lovely, isn't it? ;-) I'll post here when the review is up - it will be on Basenotes .

When I discovered, a few years ago that Justine Crane, a very ambitious and gregarious perfumer, was happily taking ideas I posted in my Natural Perfumery group on Yahoo and posting them on her Yahoo group (as her own ideas), I contacted her and asked nicely that she credit me. Emails were exchanged, and in a telephone conversation she agreed, but nothing happened, so I let it slide - there are probably tens of thousands of words written by me over the years on the group, and if one person decides that the stuff is just too good to pass up, I decided I have to learn to live with it. In fact, I even sent her an early release of another Primer I did on the IFRA issue regarding regulation of aromatics to show there was no bad blood. After all, isn't it just the idea that knowledge and ideas have to be shared? Unless it's taken and passed off as one's own works with no credit. I wrote previously how Ruth Ruane violated copyright and posted my Primer contents on her blog (since

The photo that has graced the main page of the Yahoo Natural Perfumery Group for six years The Natural Perfumery Group on Yahoo that I host has a fun project just beginning. Some of us were posting today about how elated we are about Obama's election, and we decided to do something to celebrate - create a perfume in honor of the new era his presidency will usher in. Not sure how many will participate, since we just started posting about it a few hours ago, but I'm sure it will be international in scope, since the members - almost 1700 of them at this time - come from countries all over the globe. Evie - Selkie - posted a deliriously happy note about the election to the group that Adam picked up on, and I said something to the effect that this would be a wonderful extension of our artistic and emotional response to the election if we created a perfume. Here are the suggestions I threw out to get us started: Why don't we turn this into a group project? We could have worldwid

Anya's Garden Perfumes website due to relaunch with redesign in a few days. The photo above was taken by me two years ago on the spur of the moment with the only flower I could find blooming in my garden that day. It's a clereodendron and it's fragrant, and it's just "right." Paul Kiler, the photographer, cleaned up the photo and brightened it, and I am thankful for his help and his skills (see photo below.) The photo will be the "splash" page for the new website. Click on the photos to see them full size. You know how it is - artists always need to redesign, tweak, reevaluate and just plain fix everything. I was increasingly unhappy with my old website , despite lovely people telling me it was beautiful. It's still up there for now, but over time I have fiddled with the code and just found it blah. My webguy didn't respond to my request (probably sick of the templates I had sent his way, they were too complicated) and I found I had to do it