I’ve been diluting new batches of moss, labdanum, and birch tar and making a batch of Fireside Intense. It smelled smoky in here today, lol. We have weird hot, muggy weather from a tropical storm south of us, so it’s not exactly fireside appropriate, but that’s ok.
Still lots to do. I put the new blends away for now so I can spend time stocking up on things before opening.
Nathan recently reviewed Mark Buxton’s new Black Angel, and while reading the review to see what the scent is like I found some things in the review that struck a chord with me. Nathan writes about Buxton’s journey on his own with this line of scents and comments how different it must be to work independently that way. He writes, “It’s not just anyone who can wear all those hats (plus the Creator of the Juice hat, too) without completely toppling over into bankruptcy, madness or both.”
Nathan is more accurate than he might know, lol. It’s certainly different for someone like Buxton who has a very large and impressive list of major hit fragrances (making some things easier for him but riskier too at the same time). Still, everyone who does this on any scale has to juggle many hats. There are advantages to it too, of course, like the freedom to create according to your own preferences, and that makes everything worthwhile. I think most people who do this love working with the ingredients so much and love creating so much that it makes up for the challenging parts. Anyway, I thought Nathan’s comments were perceptive, and his review was well-written (he is good with words as well as with his camera).
I just sampled Black Angel yesterday and agree it’s a very easy fragrance to wear with a yummy spice accord that doesn’t go too sweet. I also tried my Liasons Dangereuses sample and although it’s a pretty rose scent it won’t go to the top of my rose favorites list. It does have a nice rose accord with fruity notes and some soft musk and woodsy basenotes, and it has good lasting power for me.
I should get back to the stocking up project….
