I’ve been working on some new blends and evaluating some new materials. Sourcing new ingredients is one of the most fun aspects of this job. I tried an interesting co-distillation of pine and cedar that smelled much better than if you mixed pine essential oil with cedar essential oil. The pine took on a green needle note sort of like hemlock or fir, and it interacted with the cedar to make more than the sum of its parts.
There’s a nice review of Incense Pure today on The Blackthorn Orphans. I like Kelly’s beautifully written thoughts about how the appeal of incense scents relates to our connection with the natural world. I also like the (unrelated) photo of the gorgeous little New Zealand Bellbird.
If you will be in the Los Angeles area on June 22, you might check out a pop-up shop of small indie and artisan perfumers at an event called FRAGments. West coast perfumers are looking for ways to get together and meet with customers. This will be the first in a planned series of pop-ups in southern CA, northern CA, and the Oregon/Washington area. I won’t be taking part in this one, but you’ll recognize many of the indies involved.
If you missed Suzanna’s Timeline post on Bois de Jasmin, it is worth a read. It’s a well-written account of some of the perfumes she wore through the years, tied to important memories and stages of life. Makes you think about your own fragrance timeline.
Le Labo just released a San Francisco exclusive, Limette 37. Since it was created for SF I will have to try this one!
4 comments
i love incense! and laurie thank you for getting my last order to me and i really like the fig sample! enjoy the holiday weekend.thanks again,sara(carrie lauters)
Thanks, Sara! Glad you liked the fig! Hope you have a great holiday weekend too!
I was able to get out to a nursery today to pick up a few plants to fill in an empty in the garden. Lots of people out plant shopping today.
Well – I remember going over Suzanna’s post, but went back for a revisit. She mentioned a store that played a monumental role in my perfumista timeline – I.Magnin. That was where – as a tourist in SF (in 1996) I made my first Guerlain acquisition, a 100ml splash bottle of Chamade edt for ~$65. It was such a positive experience: I was the only visitor to the boutique at the time and the SA (I believe her name was Mariko) was friendly and patient, introducing me to various scents she thought I would like. I was saddened to hear of I.Magnin’s closure less than a year after my visit, but I will always remember that visit.
Can’t wait to try your new WIPs!
That’s a great memory and Chamade was a wonderful pick! Isn’t it amazing how someone helpful like that can be remembered years later.
I thought I had a tester, but then I tried a few tweaks too many and need to backtrack. I had an all natural start and tried adding some synthetics for oomph; I liked a couple of the additions but not all of them. Hope to get time tonight to try a few more mods.