Spring Daffodils

Spring Daffodils
Originally uploaded by pdbreen

Hello.... spring is coming round and my thoughts are returning to perfume and the beauty that surrounds the world of natural perfume. the Art form continues to grow and both the yahoo group and the Natural Perfumers Guild grow from strength to strength. I look forward to more tincturing this year. Creating more natural perfumes for clients and celebrating the world that is natural perfumery through creation and exploration.

My daughter is well and I can at last return to my obsession with this aromatic art. Gentle steps but positive ones. xxxx

Returning into the light

Silk Flower II
Originally uploaded by debrasin

I can't believe it is nine months since I last blogged. Family illness put my work on hold while I tended to my darling. We are slowly returning to the light after what seems like a long dark period.

Natural Perfume is filling my thoughts again and what has evolved is now I have wonderful new ideas to begin blending with.

The Bluebells are again in the wood but nothing will happen this year but just to enjoy them is enough.

Wonderful breakthroughs have come with a sustainable Sandalwood coming from Sri Lanka that Anya McCoy sourced . I am looking forward to seeing how this will age.

I can't wait to dive in again and it won't be long if my thoughts have anything to do with it.

gardenia tahitensis

I was sent a sample of gardenia tahitensis absolute from this georgeous flower from tahiti a while ago by my dear colleague and friend Isabelle who has been searching the globe far and wide and sent me a sample with an attachment of the GC analysis ... the safety document was in french for which Isabelle has translated into english.

Today is the first time I have been able to study its aroma and oh my goodness it packs a wow.....Conducting a dry down study on both a 10% dilution and undiluted. The oil definately benefits from a dilution to understand its aroma... the flowers intoxicating, open up readily and fills the air with its heady tropical floral perfume.... It is tropical green floral and narcotic.... in the undiluted state I would add creamy and heavy..... as its perfume dries down the green, narcotic ,attributes to also, a floriforous roundness that is in its perfume and is very tenaceous...I began the study around 9am and the scent strips are still heavy with perfume three hours later. I can't wait to create a perfume with this delicious botanical..... ideas are flowing and I am so excited by the thought. I shall begin immediately.

picture of Gardenia tahitensis by Robert Hulak

rose musings

Rain is holding up me tincturing the alba rose much to my slight irritation , very slight .. I love this season too much to let it get me down..:-D
The threads concerning early morning picking for distillation in places like Bulgaria and Turkey and other threads from the natural perfumery group, has left me in a deep thinking and contemplative mood. The weather here is unlike the climates in the above areas. The temperature in these countries get far hotter by midday....and yet english roses abound prolifically and with great abundance in our peculiar climate... I am also aware of the certain species used for maximum odor intensity...ie damascenas, centifolias and their names ie kazanlik etc and have spent many happy hours studying and reading...

As for their perfume.....because of the inclement weather we have here I'm interested to experiment with species and their odours with different varieties that are grown here.

Peter Wilde along with now sadly deceased Victor Ogden and his company started exploring the english rose scents by using four different types of english roses for the phytol which I still have . this was back in 97 or even earlier....which I used in my first perfume 'Perpetually Yours' for the Hereford Cathedral. I am certainly intrigued at some point along the way to make some distillations just as I am studying bluebell in tincture to see what could be available in aroma over here for a different species of rose and what sort of perfume it may give up....
just musing.... *smile*

Pot-Pourri

Pot-Pourri
Originally uploaded by Janice LeBlanc

This time of year makes one busy in the garden... collecting petals , wildflowers and anything that can be put in an artisan terracotta pot for pot-pourri... Mine is made by fellowes in Hay-on-Wye and is a large terracotta earthenware lidded Jar... I love it.

I made some wet quite a few years ago with rose petals from my garden and I continue to add to it.. when I feel like it ... rose petals from our wedding anniversary ..dried rose head all goes there... the perfume is beautiful...

In Wales there is much to enjoy at this time of the year ... not just the wildflowers, cow parsley, buttercups, red campion, red and white clover, foxgloves, elderflowers and wild honeysuckle. But also, in the cultivated gardens where we love to plant, are roses, ceonothus, peonies, buddleah wil be coming out soon, lilies, bay tree, marjoram, thyme, irises and all this and more will continue through the summer... divine. Then comes the autumn to cut back and dry and more... to come... before the cold weather sets in and indoor tasks are to hand.

Roots, Roses and Recognition

roos
Originally uploaded by Campel

It's my birthday today. (9th).. and what better way than blog about subjects close to my heart.

I had been conversing with Anya and knew about the wonderful news that was going to be broadcast and held back my post of yesterday until it was out..... I had known about the collaboration for a long time and was delighted and excited. The long wait is over and it's public knowledge.

With all this going on, created for me, a mood of reflection and so I felt compelled to go back to the beginnings of the Natural Perfumery Group and Guild with the Group beginning in 2002 founded by Anya McCoy. That was six years ago. It's astonishing to see how far Natural Perfumery has come since those early days. Back then the roots were very much in Aromatherapy and the search for natural aromatic perfume was born on the web.

Today it is a thriving 1500 plus group with sophisticated links, files and a learning compendium on Natural Perfumery which is second to none anywhere in the blogging world.

Anya McCoy has just released this post I first started mentioning earlier in this blog. Robert Tisserand has honoured Anya's help on his Wild Rose and Lemon Leaf creation that he brought out recently. If you go to http://www.tisserand.com/ click on Roberts Space and here you will see Roberts thoughts on the creation and how Anya became involved. The Guild Logo is on his website. Here below is the Guilds release...http://naturalperfumersguild.blogspot.com/2008/05/associate-natural-perfumers-guild.html. Talking of roses ... thanks Anya for helping me send those organic roses to my mum for mothers day!

The Guild goes from strength to strength with people like the Fragrance Foundation and Albert Vieille well known and respected french supplier joining the ranks of the Guilds membership. Anya's aim to create a haven for meticulous standards concerning Natural Perfumery is evident with each new member. Mandy is the advisor of the Guild and together with Anya make decisions for the direction of the Guild. The Guild wishes to educate the public and mass media as to what true, pure and natural aromatics are (Mandy's role) and protect access to and use of aromatics (Anya's role) which makes for a dynamic team.

Mandy Aftel knew what she was doing when she handed the Guild over to Anya McCoy and her decision is faultless. It's not easy running a group and guild of over 1500 people and finding time to still make room for her own work. Anya is also a true friend which not many realise. Her visions are clear and always for the good of the Guild and its future. I trust her and know that her timing on issues are right and on the button. I have worked with her a few times including sending information out to people here in the UK about the 40th amendment and know of her faultless attention to detail in getting the correct meaning to the written word. Very important when using the web.

Her online Courses are a success. Her maiden course offered at reduced price, as all people involved knew they would be the first ones trying out this pioneering module of learning, which would set the foundation for subsequent courses. With four dozen intellectual enjoyed students..... Her next course is full and she incorporated the two groups just recently for a one off , so they could all enjoy David Mark Covill's wonderful words on early Egyptian aromatics.

Natural Perfumery on the web has come a long way from those early days in 1992. In just six years the face of Natural Perfumery has become public domain

love Janita

ps... since I have written this.... I am overjoyed to see the collaberation of two blogs about Dominique Dubrana or Salaam Attar from Profumo.it from Italy honoured by perfume shrine and Guild blog... their secret working title was/is Double Dubrana... this is the best birthday ever!

http://perfumeshrine.com/ http://naturalperfumersguild.blogspot.com/

Footprints

Footprints
Originally uploaded by KathyAAdams

We strive in this life to make some meaning to what we do.....

As I was unable to sleep tonight I followed a few blogs and read some interesting articles....

words that reach out ... words that have empty promises... words that desperately try to say look at me ...look at me..... and sadly fall short of the reality. Some words full of beauty, life, vivacity and joie de vivre in all they do... other words obviously manipulated to get attention...

It is the footprints that we leave that will bear the mark of time.

My thoughts turn to the beautiful botanics and their sparkling resonating depths that call to me to play ..... I have ideas running round my head for a perfume ... and I am excited to where it will take me....

Photo from Flickr... called 'footprints' originally uploaded by Kathy AAdams... for some reason it sometimes doesn't print up... the last one did... go figure. :-)