Carmel Perfumer

Ode to a Rose: The Magic of L’Emblem Rouge by Guest Writer Marlene Goldsmith

2012-01-03T03:04:00.000-08:00

Shelley Waddington is superb at creating complex, radiant perfumes, and L’Emblem Rouge is a rufescent diamond in her jewel box.

It is a delicate tapestry of scents, its centerpiece, a rose soliflor, softly emerging from the woods, balsam, and amber fragrances threading through it.

It immediately sets me dreaming.

I envision medieval women in sumptuous gowns, their long bell sleeves lined with shimmering fabrics trailing the floor. Sitting at looms with long graceful fingers, they weave wall hangings of blue, red, and gold colored roses.

Then, as the scent warms on my skin, I am out in the sun as it filters through a dense green path of woods, alert in the fresh air to the colors and smells around me.

And through it all, the fragrance of L’Emblem Rouge....

How wonderful that when the scent of Shelley’s eau de parfum begins to fade, I can refresh it with the rose hydrosol, L’Eau d’Emblem Rouge by Dabney Rose, Master Distiller.

Her hydrosol can also be used to nurture the face or on your bedsheets and linens.

The magic of L’Emblem Rouge is multifaceted.

Do try this rose-colored diamond.

Many thanks to our guest blogger, Marlene Goldsmith.

Photo Credits:

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/dynoGallDetail.asp?photoID=10505802

http://mamad-fancydiamond.blogspot.com/2010/04/young-red-diamonds.html

Guerlain Trunk Show

2011-10-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

I live a mere 50 miles from San Francisco. But it takes a bit of effort to get there and each visit has a special “Going-to-the-City” glow. The Guerlain trunk show at Neiman Marcus, presented by Guerlain’s National Fragrance Beauty Director Marie Line Patry, was a California premier that added to the aura of yesterday’s visit.

But let’s begin at the beginning.

The House of Guerlain is among the very few older houses that exist solely to produce and market perfumes. Founded in 1828 by Pierre François Pascal Guerlain, the flagship store is still located at 68 Champs-Élysées.

Guerlain's second generation in-house perfumer Aimé Guerlain’s greatest composition was 1889's Jicky.

Jacques, Aimé's nephew, became Guerlain's third master perfumer; he was the author of many of Guerlain's most famous classics, Après L'Ondée (1906), L'Heure Bleue (1912), Mitsouko (1919), Vol de Nuit(1933), and Guerlain's flagship fragrance Shalimar (1925). Jacques composed his final perfume, Ode (1955), with the assistance of his grandson, the then-18-year-old Jean-Paul Guerlain.

In a decision widely seen as a break with tradition, the Guerlain family sold the company to the luxury goods conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) in 1994. Jean-Paul Guerlain remained as an in-house perfumer until 2002 when he retired. Thierry Wasser was appointed the in-house perfumer in 2008.

Guerlain Secrets . . .

· What is “Guerlinade?” Just as one can identify the origin of a great wine, or the composer of a symphony, so it is possible to identify Guerlain’s “trademark” fragrance. The olfactory signature for Guerlain is referred to as “Guerlinade,” which is composed of tonka bean, iris, rose, vanilla and jasmine.

· The inspiration behind all of the Guerlain masterpieces? A woman who was loved or admired.

· In 1955 when Jean-Paul began his tutelage there were no schools or colleges dedicated to studying perfumery and the ISIPCA (International Higher Institute of Perfume, Cosmetics and Aromatic Foodstuffs) would only be created many years later by his father Jean-Jacques Guerlain in 1974. “In those days we did not routinely make fragrance ‘hearts’ like we do now – which saves us from having to recompose an entire formula when very slight modifications are made.” In those days perfumery was done by working in a spontaneous way, with no marketing brief to follow and no constraints except those of the perfumer’s imagination. “Fortunately our formulas are short and this is a characteristic I have retained,” once noted Jean-Claude Guerlain.

· The Guerlain philosophy of perfume is to allow the body and skin of the wearer to affect the fragrance, rather than the fragrance putting its smell upon the person. “The body ‘perfumes the perfume,’” according to Marie Line Patry. Patry also informs us that Guerlain perfumes continue to retain the classic vertical structure, as opposed to the horizontally constructed perfumes of some other companies.

· Mitsouko (1919): Named after the heroine of the novel La Bataille by Claude Farrère, Mitsouko is said to herald the ending of World. Due to a bottle shortage at the end of the war, it was marketed in an identical bottle to that of L'Heure Bleue.

GI’s took home the essence of Paris to their girlfriends, in bottles of Shalimar, Mitsouko, and L'Heure Bleue.

· Some say that the concept for Mitsouko was originated by a mistake in blending caused by oakmoss being accidently included in the formula for Jicky. But Mitsouko could never have existed but for the discovery of aldehyde C14 in 1908. And this would have been a great pity because this masterpiece paved the way for all the later fruity chypre perfumes.

Best of Show

Voyeur, a stunning men’s fragrance that is both aromatic and herbal with a toned-down vanilla.Chypre Fouleil, very similar to Voyeur but with less vanilla. And of course the classics Shalimar and Mitsouko.

Here are the visuals of a fun afternoon.

Marie and Rich, testing Voyeur.

Product Specialist Lana Lulis-Lou makes samples for us.

Matt says, “I’m taking the trunk to catch a red-eye back to New York.”

A TROPICAL ESCAPE By David Lincoln Brooks, Guest Writer

2011-04-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Welcome David! And thank you for sharing your thoughts with our readers.

Here is what David has to say about our EnVoyage NECTARS DES ÎLES and VENTS ARDENTS...

Shelley Waddington of EnVoyage Perfumes has released the fifth and sixth perfume in her EnVoyage Odyssey Collection: NECTARS DES ÎLES and VENTS ARDENTS. In a novel fashion, Waddington has conceived of these two fragrances as "partners" in a his-and-hers fashion.

Composed by noted Purto Rican perfumer, Juan Manuel Perez, NECTARS DES ÎLES is a feminine fragrance, and VENTS ARDENTS, by Waddington is its masculine concomitant. The two scents are marvelous and full enough on their own, but when layered together, they form a magical third scent which is more than the sum of their parts. With this symbolism, they are perfectly suited for weddings and vow renewals, where it is implied that the union of the bride and groom will become more than the sum of their parts.

The theme of these two fragrances is one of foreign, overseas discoveries... islands, sea-waves, sunshine, trade winds, tropical fruits, exotic woods and liquors, rare fragrant flowers. But each fragrance approaches the island theme in a different fashion:

NECTARS DES ÎLES, the feminine potion, opens with brilliant, green, tart, juicy citrus notes, laced with the waxen, chilly, pure brightness of Chinese Osmanthus... this sparkling tang, as it settles, reveals an enchanted bouquet of rare and costly tropical flowers: gardenia, tiare, plumeria, frangipani, supported by the somewhat duskier ylang-ylang, and fresh blooming jasmine. Undergirded by the most subtle base of sandalwood from Vanuatu, Tahitian vanilla and fresh, transparent musks, NECTARS DES ÎLES is a fresh, sparkling, intoxicating love potion knowing no equal.

The official pyramid:

A Modern White Floral

Top Notes: Wild Oranges, Mandarin, Green Citron, Osmanthus Nectar
Heart Notes: Fresh Gardenia and Tiare petal accord, Absolutes of two frangipani species, Ylang Ylang and Jasmine auriculatum.
Base Notes: Sandalwood Absolute from Vanuatu, Tahitian Vanilla, Amber and Fine White Musks

The masculine partner of NECTARS DES ÎLES is the exotic, delicious and mysterious VENTS ARDENTS.

Its name suggests the burning winds blowing cargo-laden ships to their exotic journeys. A subtle and discreet perfume, VENTS ARDENTS is a rich blend of sea-blown delicacies... scrumptious notes of curacao and rum soak compote of tropical fruits... (Do we detect notes of sweet mango, granadilla and juicy melon?). This delectation is supported by warm, subtle florals suitable for a swashbucklingly masculine perfume: magnolia, heliotrope, and the "bulbiness" of French narcissus. Anchoring this delirium of seductive delights are masculine notes of tonka, amber, rich woods, vanilla and balsams, recalling and strengthening the kiss of toothsome fruits introduced earlier.

The official pyramid:

A Rustic Amber

Top Notes: Curacao, Wild Oranges, Bay Rum, a touch of Tropical Fruits
Heart Notes: Venezuelan Tonka Beans, Heliotrope, Magnolia, French Narcissus
Base Notes: Amber, Mahogany, Tobacco, Oak, Driftwood, Musky Vanilla, Balsams

NECTARS DES ÎLES is a most exuberantly feminine perfume, bearing the most costly extracts of rare petals, but there will some intrepid men out there who will undoubtedly find it an irresistible wear for themselves, especially in summer vacation months. VENTS ARDENTS is decidedly Unisex in mood, and many women and men will be quick to claim it as a favorite. In my own case, I have been much in the mood for a fruity which can be masculine; VENTS ARDENTS is my new favorite non-citrus focused fruity, and it will likely be my new summer favorite.

For a time, EnVoyage will be releasing a limited number of these exquisite tropical elixirs in exclusive "message in a bottle" flacons of delicate glass. This limited release will be available on selected perfume blogs as complimentary gifts. Keep an eye out for these collector’s items.

The engaged couples you know, planning their nuptials, simply could not receive a more appropriate, loving, tasteful, utterly one-of-a-kind gift... Worn on their special day, the fragrances will become inextricably part of the heady memories of the day, never to be forgotten. Brides who especially love fragrance may insist that every bridesmaid and flower girl in her procession wear NECTARS; and magical it will be if groom, groomsmen and ringboy are spritzed with VENTS!

Please visit ENVOYAGE PERFUMES online for more information regarding this sensational, spirit-lifting duo.

Thank you again, David, for taking the time to evaluate our newest release. We wish you fair winds and following seas!

Photo Credits:
Couple on beach: http://www.specialmomentshome.com/wedding.html
Sailing Ship: http://www.flickr.com/photos/starsantique/5459380651/sizes/o/in/photostream/
http://www.oilpaintings-sales.com/images-paintings/caspar-david-friedrich/caspar-david-friedrich-on-board-a-sailing-ship-81345.jpg
Tropical Floral:http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vickiemartinoriginals.com/images/HawaiiOrchidFive.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.vickiemartinoriginals.com/floral.html&usg=__B-MiF2yjr7TyMbWD4cK568GcO9E=&h=347&w=260&sz=14&hl=en&start=0&sig2=aFfAYcYWV8vB_

Perfume Formulas, Part 1

2011-03-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

FOUGERE, (pronounced foozsh-air) means "fern" in French. This classic perfume family is built on a base of lavender, coumarin, and oakmoss. Many men's fragrances belong to this family of fragrances, which is characterized by its fresh, sharp, herbaceous and woodland scent.

Fougere Royale by Houbigant was made back in 1821, and Jicky by Guerlain came along a few years later.

Here are some famous modern fougeres:

Faberge’s Brut, Caron’s Tabac Blond. Canoe by Dana, Clinique Wrappings, Kenzo Parfum d'Ete, Givenchy III. Also Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien, O de Lancome, Yardley English Lavender. Paco Rabanne for Men, and Guy Laroche Drakkar Noir. The list would be incomplete without a mention of Davidoff Cool Water .

Although coumarin, is typically a synthetically laboratory produced material, the natural isolate is now available. Both come in the form of white crystals. Also, liatrix (deer’s tongue), sweetgrass, tonka bean, and vanilla contain enough of this sweet new mown hay/fresh field fragrance to be used successfully in an all natural blend.

The following is a very basic formula for a natural fougere base:

Orange cold pressed oil 30
Bergamot essential oil 75

Labdanum resinoid 70

Lavender essential oil 70

Oakmoss absolute 50

Vanillin natural isolate or Vanilla absolute 30

For those with access to aromachems, here is a formula for making a version of Fougere Royale:

Bergamot 120
Linalool 30
Lavender 70
Phenylacetaldehyde 10% 20
Methyl Salicylate 25
Phenylethyl Alcohol 60
Geranium 80
Ylang ylang 10
Anisic aldehyde 5
Oakmoss 50
Benzoin 50% 20
Labdanum resinoid 10
Patchouli 10
Vetiver 5
Amyl Salicylate 20
Coumarin 100
Heliotropine 30
Hydroxycitronellal 20
Musk* 60
Vanillin 5
Jasmine base** 100
*Musks used at the time were nitro musks. The modern perfumer can substitute with Ethylene Brassylate or any of the newer musks.
**Suggest Sampaquita, Hedione, or any of the newer jasmine bases.

Photo Attributions:
inner-product.blogspot.com
aromierotici.blogspot.com
flickr.com
pictures.polandforall.com
gettyimages.com

A Personal Invitation

2011-02-02T12:57:00.000-08:00

As you’ve probably noticed, this blog is non-commercial, non-promotional, is not monetized in any way.

Certain things in the world affect my art and inspiration - I write about them to provide value to you, my readers, who now number nearly 500 perfumers, artisans, and fragrance lovers.

Today I am making an exception, because I’ve found a way to bestow a small gift. Last week I wrote the following content for the blog Perfume Pharmer, and donated one of my perfumes for their drawing that will take place on Valentine’s Day. Please follow the link, enjoy the article, and leave a message on the Perfume Pharmer. That will enter you into the draw.

A Perfumed Anointing

Again, please follow the link, enjoy the article, and leave a message at the bottom to be entered into the draw.
Bonne chance!

Perfumer’s Alcohol

2011-01-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

I am driving through the Siskiyou Mountains at an elevation of 7500 feet (2200 meters), and it is snowing. Traffic has slowed to a stop. Getting over the summit between California and Oregon in time for my appointment is not going to happen. Rats.

My destination? Alchemical Solutions in Ashland OR. I was hoping to buy some organic grape alcohol and to interview the master distiller, Peter Formosa. I call Aaron Glover, the CEO, on my cell to tell him I won’t be able to get there before he closes for the day. We reschedule our meeting for Saturday.

Small-scale micro-distilleries such as Alchemical Solutions produce high quality certified organic alcohol - in contrast to their large corporate competitors, they are more aligned with the long term values of sustainability.

It’s still snowing like crazy, but the roads are clear on Saturday. Peter drives out to open the shop and he welcomes me in for an informal tour. We begin our interview. “190 proof alcohol is made from organic corn or from grape wine”, he explains. “All phases of the production process - fermentation, distillation, packaging and shipping - are done according to strict organic guidelines. This is pharmaceutical grade alcohol that meets USP (United States Pharmacopeia) standards.”

“Fermenting is a simple metabolic process involving yeast and sugar” continues Formosa. “Although I remember once, as a beginner, when I overlooked one step and ended up with 1,000 gallons of polenta instead of fermented mash. That was an interesting day,” he chuckles.

Above: Peter Formosa and Shelley Waddington, during interview.

Below: The 1,000 gallon fermenters.

Below is the 55 gallon distillation unit and detail:

Above: Peter making adjustments during a distillation.

Below: Fermented mash prior to distillation.

I also learn that Alchemical Solutions delivers world-wide, but that most of their clients are located in the U.S. “Our primary clientele are herbal tincture makers,” Peter informs me. (Those are presumably the guys who buy those palettes of 55 gallon drums I see stacked up - and I’m feeling pretty happy that they opened the doors for me and my little one gallon purchase.)

Shelley: “A lot of perfumers have questions about the various alcohols, Peter. Can you recommend a place for accurate information?”
Peter: “Our website provides the basics for people who want information about various proofs and percentages, denatured and undenatured alcohol, taxable and non-taxable alcohol, liquid extracts, kosher ethanol, you name it. We even have a couple recipes on there as well."

My hearty thanks to Aaren Glover, CEO and Peter Formosa, Master Distiller
I exclusively use their organic grape alcohol for all of my natural perfumes, for over 10 years.
They provide an excellent price and a superior product that supports organic farming and sustainable values.

They drove through the snow and opened their doors to me on a snowy day.

Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Gloom Of Night…

"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" was said about 2500 years ago by the Greek historian, Herodotus. He said this adage during the war between the Greeks and Persians about 500 B.C. in reference to the Persian mounted postal couriers whom he observed and held in high esteem. I think Herodotus would’ve esteemed Aaron and Peter too.

Shelley Waddington

Ashland, Oregon, Winter 2010

Skunked!

2010-10-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

How we look.
How we smell.
Personal branding.

Personal branding may be loosely organized entirely to suit ourselves.
For some it is purposefully engineered towards a specific communication to others.

Personal smell, whether conscious or unconscious, is a choice and a statement.
It communicates in a variety of ways.
And it goes far deeper than the contrived modern notion of personal branding

To illustrate, I have chosen some well known animals, some predators, others quite shy, secluded, and retiring, who all use personal fragrance (and the lack of it) for very specific reasons.

“When a fawn is born, it has almost no scent on it, therefore, reducing the chance of attracting predators. Its instinct is to lie down in an area and hardly move until the doe returns to feed it.

“The doe has scent which could attract predators to the area, therefore, once the fawn is fed she will leave the area until it is feeding time again. The doe will only go to the fawn if she believes it is safe. It is not unusual for a doe to leave the fawn for several hours, especially if there is a lot of human or other activity in the area.” (New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game)

The Indian civet, Viverra zibetha, lives from Indochina to southern China and is also found in Nepal, Bangladesh, the Malay Peninsula, Hainan, and Vietnam.

Civets are territorial and mark their territories with excretions from their anal glands, an excruciatingly stinky substance that is highly prized by perfumers.

Interestingly, they’re also connoisseurs of the coffee bean. “Costing hundreds of dollars a pound, these beans are found in the droppings of the civet, a nocturnal, furry, long-tailed catlike animal that prowls Southeast Asia’s coffee-growing lands for the tastiest, ripest coffee cherries. The civet eventually excretes the hard, indigestible innards of the fruit — essentially, incipient coffee beans — though only after they have been fermented in the animal’s stomach acids and enzymes to produce a brew described as smooth, chocolaty and devoid of any bitter aftertaste”, according to NORIMITSU ONISHI’s article in the New York Times.

The Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) is a musk deer found in the mountain forests of Northeast Asia, and in parts of Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Manchuria and the Korean peninsula.

The male deer has a musk pouch (located between the sex organs and the navel) that releases a scent that is believed to be a signal to attract a mate. During the breeding season, he produces musk, which mixed with its urine, gives it a pink colour and the strong musk smell that is believed to stimulate the female to begin oestrus.

Natural and laboratory made musks, like civet, are used as components in fine perfumes.

But the musk deer uses fragrance in other ways as well:

“During the autumn and winter, communal defecation sites, and their associated scents, are used to help the deer communicate with one another. Scent is also an important indicator of the male Siberian musk deer's territory, which may cover up to 300 hectares and is marked out by wiping thick, yellow, strong-smelling secretions of the caudal gland on surrounding vegetation. The male's territory usually contains the feeding ranges of between one to three females and generally, weaker or smaller males will not attempt to enter into it, but on occasions that they do, fighting may ensue.” (Mulder)

Housecats are well known for their “scentsual” behaviors. Having scent glands on their feet, lips, cheeks, face, and tail, when the cat is rubbing against you she’s defining you as “hers”. Kitty also uses scent to direct territorial aggression toward other cats (or new furniture) by spraying urine. She also uses scent to advertise her breeding status.

“When a cat curls back its upper lip and looks like it's sneering, it has just discovered an interesting, unusually intense odor and is smelling it more deeply. Called "flehming," it is drawing the odors into an organ (Jacobson's organ), in the roof of its mouth.” Glenda Moore)

{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}

A gray wolf in the snow
Photograph by Joel Sartore

Wolves, the ultimate predator at the top of the food chain, are territorial and defend their territory through vocalizations and scent marking.

A wolf’s 'scent marks' serve as messages, and provides warnings.

A wolf 'scent rolls' to promote interaction with other pack members.

“Scent plays a very important role in the life of the wolf, by smell alone wolves can locate prey, other pack members or enemies. It can tell them if other wolves were in the territory, if they were male or female, and how recently they visited.

“The wolf has several specialized glands, one around the anus and another on its back about 3 inches in the front of the base of its tail. The scent from these glands is as individualistic as are out fingerprints and is used by that particular wolf as its personal calling card. These Glands are used as to mark boundaries and also to mark trails. These "Scent Stations" are often 100 yards apart.

“Wolves have been known to paw or scratch the ground or trees, this may release odors from glands in the paws or as visual markers to pack members and other wolves. Alpha males will use Raised-leg urination primarily, Female and subordinate males use the squat-position. Females wolves also scent mark less than males.

“The Alpha wolf will direct urine at stumps, rocks, or trees this marks the packs presents to the members of the pack and other wolves. Wolves from rival packs may mark over the existing scent mark to obscure its odor. The marks may also be used as a boundary or fence post acting as a direction system.

The wolf use scent to mark territory, establish position of site of a kill and other factors within the pack.” (wolfcountry.net)

“Scent rolling is the act of pressing the body against a strong-smelling object or scent. This behavior

usually begins with the wolf pushing a cheek against the object, and then sliding on it until the side

of the chest has cleared the object. The wolf will likely stand and repeat the process several times

on each side of the body.

“Wolves commonly perform this behavior with any strong or unique-smelling object within their territory,

such as a smelly carcass (food), urine or feces from another animal outside the pack, or any other

pungent odor encountered that is not a regular scent within their territory.

“Many visitors ask why wolves and subsequently their dogs perform such a behavior. For wolves, the

answer is simple: olfactory camouflage. We believe wolves are essentially transferring the scent of

the different odor to their bodies so when hunting their prey may not smell wolf, rather the benign

rolled-upon scent, when in close proximity of the hunting pack. This camouflage has obvious benefits

for hunting wolves, as they may be able to gain closer access to their prey. Another theory for evolution

of scent rolling is to transfer the scent of the rolling wolf onto the object chosen, thus "marking" it as

an item within their territory. Gray wolves likely utilize both of these advantages as a motivation to

perform scent rolling." (Jeremy Heft)

Taking our cue from the animal kingdom, it seems that whether our predilection is to hide, to camouflage, or to assert dominance; and when it comes down to being playful, advertising sexuality, setting boundries, identifying ownership, leaving a calling card, or just being plain old friendly, using scent or absence of scent to communicate it is pretty darn useful.

Brand On!

Credits:
http://pawluxury.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-deskunk-your-dog-removing-skunk.html
http://www.deermeadowfarms.com/index.php?main_page=photo_gallery
http://www.navy34.com/board342550/index.php?topic=3208.0
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/world/asia/18civetcoffee.html
Mulder, J. 1999. "Moschus moschiferus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed October 17, 2010 at http://www.eol.org/pages/328320
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Moschus_moschiferus.html
http://animales--asombrosos.blogspot.com/2010/04/almizclero-moschus-moschiferus.html
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/printable/wolf.html
http://weather.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/03/25/cute-break-3/
http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/whycat.htm
http://onlyfunnyjokes.com/bestoftheweb/2005/12/11/yet-another-collection-of-funny-and-cute-photos/
http://www.wolfcenter.org/scent-rolling.html
http://www.thefullwiki.org/Gray_wolves
http://www.northwestmagazines.com/northwest_wildlife_parks.php
http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/golden-retriever-adopts-leopard/
http://www.petlanehome.com/blog/?p=274
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Wildlife/faqs_wildlife.htm
http://www.wolfgangartgallery.com/figurines.html

Houston, We Have Lift Off!

2010-09-27T04:21:00.000-07:00

Carmel Perfumery Launches EnVoyage Perfume, International

Company strives to create most trusted source of perfume resources

PRLog (Press Release) – Sep 22, 2010 – CARMEL, CA--Carmel Perfumery, an independent perfume house providing innovative fragrances, has officially launched its EnVoyage Perfumes platform providing hand blended artisanal fragrances and global perfume education to consumers and perfume professionals.

"Our goal is to establish the perfume industry's most trusted source of easily accessible fine perfumes and perfume education," says Shelley Waddington, CEO of parent company Beau Soleil and head perfumer of Carmel Perfumery. “Developed in response to increasing global customer demand, the EnVoyage platform is a unique and distinctive solution – it is an easy to use, robust International platform that allows us the ability to better serve our global clients while expanding our artistic reach and retaining our core values as an artisan perfume house with hand blended fragrance as in the days of old.”

EnVoyage client requests vary considerably, such as designing fragrance for architectural installations, weddings and events, as well as providing International perfume education. The prêt-à-porter collections are hand curated to deliver fragrance profiles of nature, of specific places, and meaningful moments known through literature, legend, archaeology, and visual art. In an innovative paradigm shift only now possible in an era of light speed communication, EnVoyage users will now have immediate access to exceptional perfumes and to reliable, knowledgeable and savvy perfumers.

“We are still a small operation, says Waddington. “We continue to use the finest rare and exotic fragrance materials from all points of the compass and to process our own botanicals from our garden studio. Remaining dedicated and connected to the planet is vital – even our bottles are recyclable. This is a win-win solution that allows us to expand our creative range of focus while retaining the sustainability and the top-tier customer care expectations of an artisan business.”

In commemoration of today’s launch, EnVoyage Perfumes is releasing the new Odyssey Collection, a trilogy of fragrances from exotic places and legends which includes the erotic Makeda, the only perfume to honor the Biblical Queen of Sheba’s true name; the sensual, virile, and playful Havane pour Homme; and Peche Noir, an intimate smoky fruity floral.

Website visitors making a purchase will be registered in a drawing for a special gift, and all customers purchasing one or more of the fragrances will receive an additional complimentary bonus until October 21, 2010.

Visit EnVoyage Perfume at www.envoyageperfume.com

Beau Soleil LLC provides perfume products, services, and education for the cosmetic industry and, perfumers within flagship Carmel Perfumery®. and EnVoyage™, the global online platform for prêt-à-porter collections and fragrance education.

What’s Past is Prologue…

2010-09-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

Oracles are notorious for all those obfuscated and confusing prophetic messages they've issued over the centuries.

But a recent message from my own metaphorical “oracle” is as clear as glass and startlingly contemporary. “Step your game up,” she says.

But Oracle, dear, I’m in Carmel, one of the most beautiful places in the world. And besides, it’s comfortable here.

Silence. Old talky-talky is ignoring me. Sigh...

Not heeding the advice of the oracle never works out well for me, even when her advice is annoying - in this case, irritating. So off I begrudginly go to gird my loins and start stepping up my game.

She decides to talk to me again. I can’t honestly say I’m happy to hear from her. “Follow your path, ” she says this time.

Nominally more willing than I was last time, I again follow her advice.

At least the path is fragrant.

This fragrant path leads to an unexpected destination.

It’s culmination brings an expanded business model, a new website, and a new fragrance collection – all to be revealed this month.

Lots of opening festivities, soon to come.

For now, a small peek…

Natural Perfumers: Only 12 Days Left - Are You In?

2010-08-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Natural Perfumers,

There are only 12 days still open for enrollment for
my upcoming Perfuming With Natural Isolates workshop,
September 4 and 11, 2010.

Do you want one of the remaining spots?

If so, the price goes up after tomorrow (Tuesday, August 24th)
so contact me now to confirm your enrollment:
dariaesque2001@yahoo.com

(If you've already registered, sorry for this duplicate message!)

When you attend the Workshop, you’ll receive a basic understanding of
what an isolate is, how it is produced, and how to incorporate
isolates into your own natural perfume compositions.

This is an online seminar that will remain open for 3 weeks to accommodate
all schedules and time zones. All registrants will receive a kit of 18 natural isolates,
along with formulas and blending ideas, as well as a list of suggested reading for
future study.

If you still need to apply, go here now:
dariaesque2001@yahoo.com

In any event, I hope to see you in the class in September and to
help you get more information, fragrances, and ideas for your natural perfuming!

Best,
Shelley

Shelley Waddington

Carmel Perfumes
http://carmelperfumes.com/
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&tid=1512390844198#!/CarmelPerfumer

Reluctant Lovers

2010-07-27T15:02:00.000-07:00

Epic stories of starcrossed lovers abound throughout history, from Zeus and Demeter, Adonis and Aphrodite, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Guinever and Lancelot, to Tristan and Isolde, Paris and Helena, Odysseus and Penelope. Remarkable love stories all, highlighting the trials of separations sometimes resulting in great tragedy, sometimes in great reunion and jubilation.

A perfumer’s love affair with natural fragrances , too, can turn into an ordeal of personal drama. Especially when it comes to the wooing of fruit, delicate spring florals, and exotic tropicals.

In a paradoxical contradiction, it is just plain hard to coax certain natural fragrances out of their corresponding plants.

When asked to give up a little of their lovely fragrance for a perfume material, certain flowers and fruits are like the stingy millionaire who buys his girlfriend shoelaces or a gopher trap for her birthday.

The basic nature of these ungenerous lovers has been that, even with dedicated wooing, they have continued to withhold their precious fragrance.

Fortunately our persistence has now been rewarded - a stunningly beautiful array of notes has at last been coaxed from some of our previously most reluctant fruits and flowers.

Lab Update: A few weeks ago a class about botanical natural isolates (the fragrance materials referred to above) was mentioned in this blog.

The class and corresponding kit of 18 natural botanical isolates are now ready for delivery.

If you have questions or would like to partake, let me know at dariaesque2001@yahoo.com.

Image Credits:

http://tnaron.wordpress.com/2007/08/02/stranger-than-reality/
http://people.hofstra.edu
http://underpaintings.blogspot.com/2009/04/2009-portrait-society-of-america.html

A Tranquil Tea

2010-07-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Inspired by hot summer weather, I am making an all-natural fruity iced tea fragrance.

Tonight I am selecting a few beautiful naturals with fruity and tea aspects from my perfume organ and testing some combinations that enhance the chosen notes, based on nose and chemistry.

Certain fruity notes such as peach, strawberry, and apricot require a deft and creative hand when using only botanical materials. A good summer challenge.

Photo Credits:
Saidaonline.com, Blogs.orlandosentinel.com, Thepaintedchef.com

Natural Isolates, the Future of Natural Perfuming

2010-06-14T21:14:00.000-07:00

To a non-perfumer it might sound weird or even a bit kinky, but I still admit to being a perfume-nerd whose favorite pastime is playing with fragrance molecules.

My latest voyage into perfume nerd-ery is exploring the world of natural isolates - fragrance molecules that are used to enhance and decorate natural perfumes.

The technology used to separate these little molecules from their botanical sources is pretty fascinating. I’ve even organized my favorite isolates into a collection kit and developed some formulating suggestions that should appeal to the “Inner Perfume-Nerd” in us all.

You’re invited to join if you’d like to.

NATURAL ISOLATES

The New Trend in Natural Perfuming

The use of natural isolates is a new cutting edge trend in natural perfumery.

This online course is designed to allow students and professionals of natural perfumery to take advantage of this new trend by providing a basic understanding of what an isolate is, how it is produced, and how to incorporate isolates into their own perfume compositions. Attendees will also receive a comprehensive bibliography for personal reference.

Upon completion of this class, the student will have a basic understanding of natural isolates and will be ready to begin blending using these fragrance materials.

A kit of natural isolates is available to all registrants.

DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 and SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2010

TIME: 2:00 PM PST
Seating is limited to 20 students

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE, contact dariaesque2001@yahoo.com.

Instructor Shelley Waddington, MA, is a classically trained perfumer of eleven years standing. She holds a California Teaching Credential and has delivered online seminars and training for eight years.

Perfume Secrets Unearthed update

2010-06-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

On March 25, 2009, I wrote about the topic of the world's oldest perfumery.

This topic was and still is of special interest to me because I have visited and stayed with family in Cyprus several times over the past fifteen years. The time I have spent in Cypus continues to influence my perfuming in many ways.

The following is a re-write of my March 25, 2009 post.

I was thrilled to read in Perfumer Flavorist and Magazine (March 2007) that "archaeologists have recently discovered the world's oldest perfumes in Pyrgos, Cyprus. The remaining traces of perfumes, dating back more than 4,000 years, were scented with extracts of lavender, bay, rosemary, pine or coriander and kept in small translucent alabaster bottles. Just as intriguing as the scents they found was where the archaeologists found them—a 43,000 square foot perfumery factory. There they found at least 60 distilling stills, mixing bowls, funnels and perfume bottles. The discoveries are on display at the Capitoline Museum in Rome. In addition, an Italian foundation has recreated four of the perfumes from residues found at the site."

Pyrgos/Mavroraki is an archaeology site in the Limassol district of Cyprus, spanning from 2350BC to 1850BC. The mission’s head archaeologist, Professor Maria Rosaria Belgiorno, who works for Italy’s National Research Council, excavated the site with her team, starting in 2005.

Belgiorno and her team have also painstakingly researched and recreated the 4,000 year old fragrances from residues found at the site perfumery. Belgiorno's recent book entitled Aromata Cipria, (Cyprus Perfumes), describes the process used for her perfume experiments that she conducted at the Antiquities Centre in Italy.

Olive oil was the basic ingredient for making medicaments, cosmetics, perfumes and soft textiles.

For each of the four perfumes recreated by Belgiorno and her team, the process took about five days and the mixture was enclosed in a jug buried under the sand in the sunlight at a temperature of no more than 50 degrees, to avoid damaging the mixture. The four scents produced are ‘Afrodite,’ ‘Elena,’ ‘Artemides’ and ‘Era.’ ‘Afrodite’ contains olive oil, pine, turpentine and bergamot. ‘Elena’ has scents of olive oil, laurel, coriander and turpentine. In ‘Artemides,’ almonds, myrtle, parsley and turpentine are used and, for ‘Era,’ olive oil, rosemary, green anise and lavender.

“For the essences, we copied the entire process, step by step, as was done, 4,000 years ago, putting the essences into a closed jug underground, in the sunlight for five days. But the entire process for the four different essences took about six months, because we had to wait for the seasonal essences to come out of the herbs,” Belgiorno said.

“The vase used at Pyrgos as a condenser, was probably one of the large metallic ware jugs, whose neck shape and dimension is correct to contain the alembic spout and the base perfect to say inside a water basin. Six jugs of this type and dimension, all crushed, have been found in the Pyrgos perfumery: three were on the bench running along the eastern wall, two among the pits for maceration and one in north west corner, where there were two alembic heads and two large basins. “The experiments made to reconstruct the apparatus confirm that the shape and dimensions of the jugs are correct not only to be used as condensers but also as boilers (going inside the alembic head) which find a perfect support on the jug shoulders,” said Belgiorno.

Serious efforts were made to copy the ancient perfumes, as descibed by Belgiorno: “In our experiment, we found that direct contact between the jug and the embers quickly raised the temperature in the liquid. Using a thermocouple to calculate the temperature inside the jug, 15 minutes after the start of the heat treatment, we found that it was 84C. This is rather high. Based on the literature, 55C was the right temperature for extracting essences. Thanks to a mistake in our procedure for making fragrant essences, we were able to see how hard it is to maintain the jug temperature constant from the outset.”

Regarding ancient methods used to make perfumes, Belgiorno notes: “It is possible to extract essential oils and perfumed waters with the same system, as during boiling, the terpenes - tiny particles of fragrant plants, transported by vapour - pass the alembic head into a collecting jar. At the end of the operation, the essential oils float on the water surface and it is easy to separate them from the water.” The procedure, she adds, appears simple for a modern point of view but in the third millennium BC, it was different.

Bourbonia

2010-05-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

One of the legendary and most magnificently fragranced rose oils is the Rose Edouard , also known as Rose Bourbon. It’s distinctive delicate spicy-carnation quality makes it the perfect rose upon which to base a fine oriental perfume.

Here is the little known story of how this distinctive rose came into being.

Artistic motifs and ancient documents dating back to 3000 BC tell us that the rose first emerged in Central Asia. In the myth of Aphrodite’s birth, shown above, a rose tree sprouted from the foam that ran from her body, which she watered with nectar.

..........

Forward in time to 11th century France, when a French Noble, Adhemar de Monteil, became Lord of the House of Bourbon and acquired the Castle of Bourbon, Bourbon-l'Archambault.

Adhemar was a great enthusiast of the First Crusade. He responded to Pope Urban II’s call for a holy expedition to the East, was appointed papal legate of the Crusade, and made his pilgrimage to the East in 1086–87. He was wounded and temporarily captured in Constantinople, where he saw his first rose and later brought it home to France.

Adhémar de Monteil carrying the Holy Lance in one of the battles of the First Crusade

Forward once again to the 17th Century when the French began to colonize the Indian Ocean island of Reunion island, but which was then named Île Bourbon after the royal house. The French East India Company sent the first twenty settlers in 1665, who brought along some China and Damask roses.

By the early 1800’s, it had become the custom to mark off the island’s land boundaries with rose hedges comprised of one row of the Common China Rose (presumably Old Blush, sometimes referred to as Parsons' Pink China), the other of the Red Four-Seasons (presumably the red Tous-les-Mois Damask Perpetual, which was common then).

One day, an island inhabitant named Monsieur Edouard Perichon was planting his hedge and came upon a plant which appeared to be a hybrid of the two. This magnificently scented new rose was brought to France, recognized as a new species, and subsequently became known as Rose Edouard.

Rose Edouard, aka Rose Bourbon, is today harvested especially for it's unique fragrance, and enjoys high demand among fine perfumers. Enjoy some rare images of the modern harvest:

Harvesting Bourbonia

Master’s Perfume Wheel©

2010-04-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

A perfume wheel is as critical a tool to the perfumer as a color wheel is to a painter.

But when a perfume wheel is constructed illogically, it is for the most part useless.
I’ve never yet found one that made really good sense or that was as helpful as it could be.

I have the common sense to understand the old maxim, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
But for me, existing perfume wheels are all based on an old broken model. And my common sense is going to nag at me until I fix this thing.

I get out my paper, pencil, ruler, watercolors and brushes while considering the requirements of a logical, useful perfume wheel.

A good perfume wheel will
     • Serve as an educational tool for all levels of understanding
     • Spark independent creativity for the perfumer
     • Represent the logic of classic perfume construction
     • Represent both classic as well as contemproary perfume
        families
     • Reflect the nuance and gradation between perfume families
        that occurs from the most classic to the most contemporary
        great perfumes

My simple prototype starts where it should, in the middle with the basenotes, the largest molecules that anchor every perfume family. It travels outward towards the macro families. Its clockwise voyage progresses from family to family and includes the most modern ones. It presents logical blending ideas within the families. It serves to educate all levels.

It ain’t glossy. Definitely not the work of a graphic artist. But technically, it’s spot on.

Now that I’ve corrected this annoyance, I return to making perfume.

Shelley Waddington
April 21, 2010

Lab Technician For the Senses

2010-04-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

A glimse into the office and the process of a perfumer...

When asked, "What do you do for a living"?, I sometimes jokingly answer, "I play with molecules".

But not all molecules have a fragrance. As a perfumer, I work only with fragrance molecules. A typical perfumer's organ contains single molecules produced in the laboratory as well as complex materials of natural origin. My personal organ contains a quantity of materials from both categories.

These performance molecules come in many sizes, shapes, and families. Their function is to impart specific fragrance qualitites that can be sculpted into perfume.

I keenly enjoy the challenge of balancing the scientific aspects of botany, phsysiology, chemistry and toxicology with the history and the art of sculpting with air.

Shelley Waddington

April 10, 2010

Fibronacci Golden Spiral In Orange & Chocolate! (update)

2010-02-26T10:44:00.000-08:00

Leonardo. The Parthenon. Sanscrit Poetry. Virgil. Beethoven, Bartok, Schubert, Debussy, Bach and Satie. What do these people and things have in common?

The Golden Spiral, also known as the golden triangle, the golden ratio, the golden mean and the divine proportion, has been applied in film, poetry, music, architecture, and art, as seen above, as a means of achieving The Golden Proportion.

Carefully formulated upon the Fibronacci sequence, an incandescent California Orange and an exotic French-distilled natural chocolate from South America combine to become a superlative fractal, containing the whole of itself within itself, infinitely, many times over.

A Most Prolific Month

2010-02-02T09:59:00.000-08:00

January was a prolific perfume month. I completed four new perfumes and conducted my first experiments with steam and hydro distillations.

Perfume "A" is a fruity fresh floral.
Top Notes: Orange blossom, citrus, creamy fruitys, fresh air, water
Heart Notes: White flowers, honeysuckle, rose, carnation
Base Notes: Teak wood, elegant musks

Perfume "B" is a floral, woody amber.
Top Notes: Italian bergamot, fresh citrus
Heart Notes: Spring blossoms (mille fleur)
Base Notes: Warm woods, amber, rich musk

Perfume "C" is an aromatic citrus.
Top Notes: Petitgrain, Lemon, Sweet Orange
Heart Notes: Clover, green tea, rose, iris, muguet, vetiver
Base Notes: Sandalwood, vanilla, musk, amber

Perfume "D" is a musky gourmand.
Top Notes: Coriander, fresh clean air, citrus
Heart Notes: White flowers, muguet, fresh meadow, patchouli, rose damask, absinthe
Base Notes: Musk, amber

Distillations: LAVENDER! Gros blue, Intermedia Provence, and Royal Velvet augustifolia. Thank you Dabney Rose for your patient coaching and support.

Lastly, congratulations to Sara Nystrom, the winner the January Drawing for a complimentary personalized Blue Moon Oil of Intention from Carmel Perfumes.

At the Bench

2010-01-13T15:59:00.000-08:00

Approaching the bench today, I am ready to pull down the bottles I’ve chosen and begin to dip test strips for a first evaluation.

This new perfume features some recently acquired naturals – French Hydrocarbonresine (a cistus fraction), organic Vanilla and Ylang VOP from Madagascar - gorgeous materials to exalt and to set off like the precious jewels they are.

So begins the bench phase of the third and final perfume of my new trilogy. (One is masculine, one is unisex, and this last one is decidedly feminine. They are all connected thematically, the story will soon be released!)

Concept, perfume family, and notes, the constructs that I pondered for days, were followed by a mental review of raw materials and a penciled outline. Today is a most lucky day - my imagined fragrance is readily translating into physical reality.

Shelley
P.S. The drawing for a bespoke natural perfume of intention remains open until January 31. You still have a great chance of winning!
Just send your full name and email address to info@carmelperfume.com .
No obligation to purchase. Winner will be announced on this blog.

Blue Moon. Blue Perfume. Blue Oils.

2010-01-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Blue perfume. Made from blue oils.

To honor the blue moon that occurred on the last day of the twelfth month of 2009, I am creating a blue perfume, designed to manifest benevolent intentions until the next blue moon in August, 2012.
(The second full moon in a given month is called the blue moon, and the name really has nothing to do with color. Regardless, one or more natural blue oils will be used in the perfume.)

WIN a complimentary personalized Blue Moon Oil to support your own intentions for the New Year and beyond.

ENTER NOW! Just send your full name and email address to info@carmelperfume.com. Entries accepted until midnight, January 31, 2010. The winner of this drawing will be announced in February, 2010

Perfume Lab Notes

2009-11-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

Wine barrels at Tenuta Valdipiatta
Montepulciano, Italy

My shipment of hand-selected naturals will arrive soon.

Oakwood absolute from France, a dry woody fragrance with nuances of plum and red wine. This material is produced from used wine barrels, using a hydrocarbon extraction method. I have several ideas about what I “think” it will pair nicely with and am looking forward to doing some testing. Should fit well into a couple of concepts I’ve been thinking about.

Ylang Ylang from Madagascar, VOP (Very Old Process). This was a rare find. It’s a complete
ylang rather than the modern standard process of reconstructing fractions. I recently learned that this is the nicest ylang yet encountered by one of my trusted “nose friends”. I am looking forward to comparing it with my current Ylang extra that is quite lovely itself.

Hydrocarbonresine from Spain. Another rare find, this material is a fraction of the Cistus absolute. It is almost clear, with incense and slightly smoky nuances over a warm cistus heart. (Cistus absolute is made from the top portion of the entire plant rather than from labdanum gum.) I will try this in a white flower/honey/labdanum blend that I haven’t released yet.

Rose Otto from Iran, organic, Iran-ecocert. Iranian rose is rarely available outside of Iran, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. One of our buyers has been waiting for eight years to this especially spectacular material.

A singularly gorgeous Agarwood from Laos, comparable to any oud we have
ever encountered.

Today I continued late-stage testing with the white flower, honey and labdanum perfume mentioned above that contains some special enfleuraged materials.

Image credits: http://impressive.net

Out of Africa

2009-11-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

Secret Beauty Traditions of the World, Part 2

Shea Butter
Western countries are now recognizing the considerable health and beauty benefits of shea butter, the all-natural vitamin A cream. Shea butter is made from the nuts of shea trees that grow in the savannah regions of West and Central Africa, and is sometimes referred to as “women’s gold” in Africa, because so many women are employed in the production of shea butter.

Vitamin A in Shea Butter is said to improve a number of skin conditions, including blemishes wrinkles, eczema, and dermatitis. Shea butter also contains a substance that helps protect the skin from harmful UV rays.

It has a beautiful, white consistency like cake frosting that melts at skin temperature.

Shea butter is a particularly effective moisturizer because contains so many fatty acids, which are needed to retain skin moisture and elasticity. Its soft, butter-like texture melts readily into the skin.

Shea butter, in combination with rice bran oil (see previous post), is smooth, protective, and nutritious for the skin. Carmel Perfume's new Skin Care Body Butter includes generous servings of both these ingredients.

Click here to order Skin Care Body Butter. Available in scented and non-scented editions. $19.95. Available exclusively from Carmel Perfumes.

Image Acknolwdgements to Treeaid.org and Nailsmag.org

Secret Beauty Traditions of the World Part I: Japan

2009-11-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

It is a Japanese beauty tradition for women to rub rice bran oil on their face to keep their skin smooth. These women are called “Nuka-Bijin” (“Bran Beauty” in English). Rice bran oil is full of anti-oxidants - the oryzanol it contains, for example, whitens the skin slightly, and can impede the progress of melanin pigmentation by intercepting the ultraviolet rays at the skin’s surface. Because of this, rice bran oil has long been used in sunscreen products and hair conditioners in Japan.

More recently, rice bran oil is now being used in US cosmetics and body products. This new market is growing remarkably as increasing numbers of consumers become aware of the benefits.

What is rice bran?
Rice bran is obtained in the milling process, and is the part of the rice that is richest in fat. The oil, which is expeller pressed from the bran, has the presence of natural antioxidants which makes it an excellent ingredient for products designed to treat mature skin.

What does it do?
Rice Bran oil is a nourishing skin protectant and is purported to reverse the effect of aging by slowing the formation of facial wrinkles. It also helps to reduce and soothe inflammation.

Benefits of Rice Bran Oil
• Provides moderate penetration with little greasiness
• Promotes of collagen formation
• Inhibits lipid peroxidation
• Treats dry, mature skin
• Provides smooth spreadability
• Provides skin protection from the sun

How is it used?
I use rice bran oil to cleanse my face at night, and include it in my body butters, soaps, and massage oils. As one of the richer carrier oils, it takes a moment to sink into the skin, and leaves a soft, velvety feel.

Photo credits to http://www.naturaljapanesebeauty.com

The Turkish Perfumer

2009-10-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,
Part of my "self-assigned" job as a perfumer is to discover and explore the interesting innovations of others in the profession. Vedat Ozan, a friend and colleague in Istanbul, has recently emerged as a standout media personality as well as a stellar perfumer with a unique signature. Here are the results of my interview with Vedat.

Do you identify yourself primarily as a perfumer, a media personality, an educator?
Vedat: I am primarily a perfumer, although I enjoy sharing what I know. Perfumery, as of any other form of art, is a way of communication between the perfumer, individuals and society.

In newspaper and TV interviews I’m considered as a perfume researcher - and I am very much afraid that it will stick on me as a label, leaving my modest creative side in darkness. I haven’t talked about my perfume formulations in my weekly show because I think that will be too egoistic, but I know this is risky as it can change my label from a perfumer to a perfume researcher.

How would you describe your evolution as a perfumer?
Vedat: Scents are part of my first memories, especially warm milk and cookies. As a teenager, I challenged myself to find out which perfumes the girls around me were using and making guesses about them.

On my trips, I always spend a lot of time in duty free aisles, spraying this or that to myself, my shirt and even my passport. (I will never forget the passport officer lady in the Malpensa Airport in Milan who opened the pages, closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and stamped my passport with a smile).

Prior to every trip, I plan ahead by checking the Internet for the perfumery houses, especially the "marginal" shops that offer fragrances that are different than those found in department stores. In Milan, for example, visiting the lovely Corso Como 10 of Carla Sozzani has been a habit of pilgrimage to me. I can find many extraordinary or niche brands under one roof there. It also has a lovely art gallery and a very interesting bookstore where I can spend hours without noticing how the time passes.

I visit Frederic Malle and Parfums Montale at every opportunity when I am in Paris. I plan to visit L'Etat Libre d’Orange; I find their concept very clever and amusing. In London I just had the chance to smell Frederic Malle’s latest edition of Geranium pour Monsieur, and also smelled a fabulous natural perfume, Shaman’s Party,formulated by the legendary Olivia Giacobetti, at Les Senteurs.

Next time I go to Paris, I plan to visit the Francis Kurkdjan boutique, this little shop seems to be rocking the perfumer circles in Paris at the moment.

You started your radio show in May, 2009. What are the most popular topics?
Vedat: The listeners really enjoy hearing about "bad" or unusual smells such as civet, ambergris and sweat. Today, after my broadcast about "sweat", I can definitely say that my feedback hit a peak and I was asked to continue this subject on my next broadcast. I would have never believed so many people had such "angst" about the smell of sweat!

I’m about to make a single broadcast about Soviet perfumes because no one has any idea about them here. Only three major perfumes were produced by state owned USSR factories, Red Poppy, Red Moscow, and Chypre. But as time passed, lots of people preferred to use the smuggled Western perfumes and would drink the Soviet perfumes when there was an alcohol ban.

Have you done any other public speaking about perfume?
Vedat: I just accepted an offer to give a conference lecture the Istanbul Retail Fair later this month at the Lufti Kirdar Convention Center.

My subject will be ambient scenting, using fragrance as a booster for in-shop sales, and using fragrance as a part of brand identity.

Let’s talk about your own perfumes. When you strive to construct an appealing fragrance, who do you have in mind as the end user of your fragrances? i.e., what is the profile you have in mind of the person or people who will open the bottle and experience a burst of pleasure?
Vedat: Even when making something masculine, my starting point is always a feminine figure from which I get the inspiration.

She is someone who is not satisfied by what is offered to her in the aisles of shops which can be found everywhere and wants to explore new dimensions (in terms of scents), a woman who likes surprises and has no prejudices. I cannot name a female figure in my life, my past or in my futuristic dreams, who exactly fits in this definition, so perhaps it is a collection or a patchwork of feminine qualities and cues I have accumulated in my life.

Maybe it is because I still try to reach the eternal female figure in my life. My mom passed away this February at the age of 93 and this feeling of mine has lots to do with that I think.

What perfumes have you made?

Vedat: Lighter Shade of Pale is light floral-citrus nuanced with water lily, iris, muguet, and various citruses on a base of sandalwood, cedar wood, ambergris, coumarin and some ozonic notes.

Bitter Moon, which I consider to be a love-or-hate fragrance, is a somewhat harsh aldehydic-fruity fragrance with bitter notes that led to its name itself. Have you read Brıuckner's Bitter Moon? The novel itself is a "harsh" one indeed.

Nude is an aquatic semi-floral which I have based around a marine accord.

The more masculine Baalbek contains cedar wood (the name is based on the significant symbol on the Lebanese flag) and patchouli at the base and generous dihydromyrcenol topped with cloves, bergamot, orange bigarade and lemon.

My latest, Tuberose Cashmere, is a sweet, sweet perfume with lots of hints from tuberose and a strong cashmeran dominated base.

There are twelve finished fragrances in my collection.

Are your perfumes influenced by cultural customs?
Vedat: Yes, geography and culture do influence my compositions and also the way I think about perfumes.

For example, Eau de cologne (kolonya in Turkish) is used very generously here. A house guest is offered a few drops before the tea is served. You are also offered some kolonya when leaving a public toilet, or even on intercity bus trips, the host or hostess definitely serves you a few drops of kolonya just after you depart. It is somewhat a cultural icon. In times of stress, or sorrow, people immediately offer you some cologne to make you feel fresher.

Also, rose and jasmine are considered to be feminine scents in the West. It would be unusual to find a man smelling of roses and musk in Denmark or Iceland or Norway, but if you come to Istanbul and wait near a big mosque for the prayer to finish, you find Islamic men coming out with their beards smelling of rose and musk. This is even more common as you go to the Eastern, more Arabic countries.

Other than our national drink, Raki, for which I have named one of my perfumes, I think that our cuisine, however, is more of a social influence rather than an influence on my perfumes.

What is your biggest challenge as a perfumer?
Vedat: My biggest challenge is that there is no one with whom I can share topics about perfumery in my own language. There are people with whom I can talk about perfumes, but not about the more technical aspects of dilution ratios, qualities of the naturals, biological and physiological facets, or perception of odor molecules.

As a perfumer, what are your business goals for the next twelve months?
Vedat: As it is nearly impossible to achieve any "success" locally here before getting your name known, I will try my best to have my name known in next to any subject related to scents and fragrances here. I feel that this will be my greatest capital for the future.

Until then, I will go on experimenting and hoping that a perfume with my name attached on it will attract some clients.

This means I have to try harder with my radio show and with any attention it attracts from any kind of media.

If you wish to contact Vedat, he can be reached at vedato@yahoo.com

Image Acknowledgements: BeautynewsNYC.com, The Brand Union - Sauce, Londontown.com

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Conclusion (Update)

2009-09-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

This article concludes a series of perfume exercises intended to develop an earthy, organic, green, outdoor forest woodland fragrance from natural materials, constructed around an accord of pine, redwood, and cypress, supported and deepened with fragrances of loamy soil, leather, mushroom and tree moss, as well as accessorized by notes of smoke, hot seashells, and rain on earth.

This composition is intended to be an organoleptic representation of Rumsen Carmel Ohlone ethnobotanicals, interwoven with environmental fragrances that would have been present and noticeable during their annual encampment at their Point Lobos summer village.

Top Notes:
Laurel Leaf, Violet Leaf, Black Currant Bud, Fern, Carrot and Celery Seed, Kelp, Boronia, and Cassie

Heart Notes:
Foin Coupe, Sage, Tarragon, Cedar Leaf, Orris Root, Genet, Honey, Birch Bud, Rose, Narcissus, Carnation, and White Ginger Lily

Base Notes:
Fir Balsam, Aged Cedar Wood, Earth, Smoke, White Willow, Cypress, Mosses of Oak and Pine, Pine Needles, Deer Antler, and Sea Shells.

Edge of the World opens with the delicate essence of a coastal oak and pine forest, evoking the movement of ocean breezes, pounding surf on the rocks, while capturing the warm presence of human skin.

The heart notes emerge to reveal the naturalness of fields, moist ferns, herbs, and forest loam, slightly nuanced with woody-flowery, hay and tea-like herbaceous fragrances of native wheat and grasses, interwoven with delicate fresh foliage, nuances of blackberry, elderberry and thimbleberry, spicy red currant, juicy cucumber, and fresh, honey-like hyacinth.

The drydown of this woody aromatic chypre, similar to the approach of evening in the forest, imparts the relaxing, grounding fragrances of delicate woods, ferns, and mosses.

UPDATE: To read this entire article, please return to Part One.

Brief Note to Readers

2009-09-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Am now focused Eastward towards a brilliant new independent perfume star in Istanbul who also hosts a very popular radio show on perfume topics.

Stay tuned.

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 11 (Update)

2009-08-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Composing the Notes de Tête

As perfume rises from the bottle, or from a scent strip, or from the skin, the beholder’s first impression will be the top note, which is the “greeting note” of the perfume. This is a short-lived note that quickly dissipates as it also leads the perceiver through the transition into the heart notes. An inviting top note is not the least of the factors upon which the commercial success or failure of a perfume depends.

The goal of today’s perfume exercise is to develop a fragrant and inviting note of perfumed greeting that represents the ethnobotanicals used by the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone, interwoven with environmental fragrances that would have been present and noticeable during their annual stay at their Point Lobos summer village.

I’ve been anticipating a unique challenge regarding this most critical part of the composition, because traditional perfumery typically relies on the contribution of citrus to top notes. The Carmel area lacks any native citrus botanicals, so I must find a way to work without them.

To provide a unique fragrance introduction to the world of the Ohlone natives, I finally decided to try an alternate composition based on fresh air of meadows and seashore, a brief breeze carrying gently woody-flowery, hay and tea-like herbaceous fragrances of native wheat and grasses, interwoven with delicate fresh foliage, nuances of blackberry, elderberry and thimbleberry, spicy red currant, juicy cucumber, and fresh, honey-like hyacinth.

My first attempt, according to experience, reason, and careful blending, should have smelled very pleasant on the skin. It smelled fine in the bottle and on the scent strip. But when I applied to my skin it was a disappointing stink bomb. So I stepped away from the blending room for a few days to re-think the matter.

However, one of the interesting phenomena of perfume making is that fragrance molecules sometimes do unexpected things when given a little time and space. So by the time I returned to the perfume table, the accord had developed into the quite lovely fragrance I had hoped for.

My time out also had another benefit. I was able to think about how the top note could be approached a little differently, since at the time it didn’t seem to be going so well. So now I have a backup plan to try out as well.

Here is the summary of my first pass:

Boronia Flower absolute from Tasmania, genus Rutaceae, possesses the warm, sharp, spicy, dry, and herbaceous effects very similar to native wheat and grasses while also lending subtle fruity elements reminiscent of blackberry, elderberry, wild huckleberry, and thimbleberry. It’s sometimes used in high class chypre and fougere perfumes, and it blends beautifully with the cedar leaf used in the heart.

For the fragrance of fresh foliage, I used a dilution of an experimental concrete of Apple Blossom from Australia, along with the wonderfully diffusive absolute of Violet leaf, Viola odorata, a green leaf fragrance containing a natural, delicate cucumber note that typifies the wild cucumber.

The unique warm and wood-floral note of Cassie absolute, Acacia farnesiana, gleams from a complementary setting in Celery Seed, Apium graveolens, an essential oil from India, provided a warm, earthy-spicy, and rich effect similar to the native wild celery, and Carrot Seed, Daucus carota, a CO2 extract from Moldova, famous for its dry-woody, wet-earthy ambiance.

Elemi oil, Canarium luzonicum, possesses a light, fresh, lemon-like, peppery odor which later dries out into a balsamic, slightly green-woody, sweet-spicy, pleasant note. It was very useful as a freshener in this blend, and paired well with Guiacwood, Bulnesia sarmienti, with its delicately sweet, rosy woody, slightly smoky fragrance. The fragrance of this accord typifies the summer fragrance of the Point Lobos area.

I used a small amount of Black Currant Bud, Ribes nigrum-niribine, an absolute from France, as a substitute for the powerful spicy-woody, and slightly phenolic undertone of the native Red Flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum.

A tincture of Kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, from the kelp forests of Point Lobos provides an ozonic-marine, foggy seashore fragrance.

For a natural sweet, hyacinth-honey like aspect, I used a small amount of highly diluted Kewda Flower, Pandanus Odoratissimus, from India, combined with flowery, hay- and tea-like, woody Alaia Flower, Aglaia odorata, an absolute extraction from China, abs extraction.

In the next posting I will be exploring an alternate opening accord.

UPDATE: This project is now completed and I will be posting the summary soon.

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 10 (Updated Version)

2009-08-23T11:06:00.001-07:00

Composing the Notes de Fond

The goal of today’s perfume exercise is to develop a secret fragrant heart of wild grasses, green herbs, ferns and florals from natural materials, supported and deepened with the fragrances of honeybees and warm human skin.

Again, this composition is intended to be an organoleptic representation of Rumsen Carmel Ohlone ethnobotanicals, interwoven with environmental fragrances that would have been present and noticeable during their annual encampment at their Point Lobos summer village.

To convey the fragrant coumarin effect of wild grasses I used Hay, Foin Coupe, absolute from France, and tinctures of Sweet Grass Hierochloe odorata, and Tonka Bean,
Dipteryx odorata, an absolute from Venezuela.

The ethereal and slightly minty fragrance of green herbs was achieved with tinctured wild harvested White Sage, Salvia apiana, Tarragon, Artemisia douglasiana, known as Estragon by perfumers, and Wild Nettles, Urtica dioica. This herbal accord was paired with
with warm, rich Mugwort Artemisia vulgaris essential oil. Small amounts of Birch Bud CO2, Betula allegheninsis, and European Cedar Leaf, Thuja occidentalis, highlight the golden aspects of this combination.

The embellishment of fern was accomplished with Maile Fern, Aliyxia Oliviformis, an absolute from Hawaii. Wild iris and orchids were represented by the aroma of Orris Root tincture, wild roses by Geranium essential oil and Rosa damascena tincture from absolute. The heather fragrance of Genet absolute was used for French Broom. Gardenia Enfleurage rounds out the effects of honeysuckle, sweet pea, clover and everlasting. Bee fragrances composed of French Honey Absolute and tincture of beehive products from Wales. The lily accord was composed of White Ginger Lily and Jonquil Absolutes.

The scent of human skin and sweat was created with tinctured Costus root, Saussurea lappa, and cumin, Cumulum cyminum, both from India.

Update: To add slightly more emphasis to the fragrance of Everlasting, I added some Carnation absolute, Dianthus caryolphyllus, from Egypt and the tiniest amount of Cassia – Cinnamonum cassia. This small touch lightened up the entire heart.

The next post will be a perfume exercise with Notes de Tête.

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 9

2009-08-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

Composing the Notes de Base

The goal of today’s perfume exercise is to develop an earthy, organic, green, outdoor forest woodland base from natural materials, constructed around an accord of pine, redwood, and cypress that has been supported and deepened with fragrances of loamy soil, leather, mushroom and tree moss, as well as accessorized by notes of smoke, hot seashells, and rain on earth.

This composition is intended to be an organoleptic representation of Rumsen Carmel Ohlone ethnobotanicals, interwoven with environmental fragrances that would have been present and noticeable during their annual encampment at their Point Lobos summer village.

To convey the fragrance of Monterey Cypress I chose to use Cypress, Cupressus sempervirens, essential oil from France. It has exceptional fragrance movement and development, and smells very similar to the Monterey cypress.

The fragrance of Monterey Pine was achieved by a pairing of Canadian wild harvested Fir Balsam, Albies balsamea, with its rich aroma of the conifer pine forest - ethereal, sweet, and slightly minty - with the delicately rich resinous aroma of the Silver Fir Albies alba essential oil, wild harvested from Austria. I lightly glamoured the result with a hint of fragrant fir cones in the form of Templin essential oil from Bosnia.

A judicious application of my 2007 Tincture of white willow Salix alba wood chips imparted the fragrance of willow branches and bark.

A gloriously aged 75 year old cedarwood atlas essential oil serves to round, smooth, and lend an aura of burnished antiquity to the dryer Cedarwood Virginia Juneripus virginiana and the sweeter Cedarwood Atlas, Cedrus atlantica. The resulting accord closely approximates the fragrant coast redwoods of Point Lobos.

Embellishments of smoke, hot rocks and seashells were accomplished with the breathtakingly smoky Birch Tar, Betula alba, combined with the smoky resinous Choya Ral attar, and oceanic Choya Nakh, the destructive co-distillation of seashells and sandalwood oil.

I have also interwoven a five percent dilution of Oakmoss, Evernia prunastri with a tincture of Cedar Moss, Evernia furfuacea.

The scents of loam, earth, and first rain are represented by attar of Mitti (destructively distilled earth), and a co-distilled Vetiver and Mitti essential oil. This accord is enhanced by fragrances of mushroom, Cêpes, Boletus edulus, a French absolute in two percent dilution, and by a proprietary 2006 tincture of deer antler that imparts a soft note of deerskin.

Blending Note: In the previous post, several additional Notes de Base were listed. During the above blending exercise I either decided to not use them, or to try to use them in different parts of the total blend:

The Artemisia douglasiana – mugwort – is to be used in the heart.
Navarretia squarrosa – skunkweed –which was to have been represented by a tincture of skunk oil was eliminated because I discovered that it was infused in oil rather than alcohol as I had previously thought.
I have decided to use the sage in the Notes de Tête, along with nuances of sweat and seaweed.

The next post will be a perfume exercise with Notes de Cour.

Crossing the Rubicon

2009-08-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Alchemy, Spagyria, Magic,Reiki, Numerology, Kabbalah, Correspondences, Color Frequency, Crystals, Flower Essences, Herbology, Ethnobotany, Astrology, Mythology, Archtypes, Tarot - what do these ancient esoteric disciplines have in common with each other and how do they fit into making perfume?

Being a Christian minister has never stopped me from pursuing and incorporating these practices into my life and my perfumes. Until now I have been reluctant about speaking publicly about these matters, as there are some that would call them utter nonsense, hooey, non-scientific, a silly waste of time, irrelevant, or even evil and satanic. I, however, choose to believe that whether or not these things are acknowledged, they intrinsically affect us all.

So I am taking this opportunity to announce my formal departure from the closet.

Embracing and yet expanding beyond the mainstream of conventional perfuming and conventional religion, we thus cross the Rubicon into the realm of Mystical Perfumery.

Shelley Waddington, Los Gatos, CA

Perfuming The Edge of the World, Part 8

2009-08-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

The Case of the Missing Mitti

In preparation for blending, I set out all the fragrance items on my blending table. Sfortunatamente, no mitti to be found. This lapse in my inventory skills will delay the project. Despite the project’s primary objective of ethnobotanical accuracy, I plead artistic license in considering mitti an essential ingredient for helping to capture the fragrance of earth and the first droplets of water on dry soil.

The fragrance of earth is additionally important because the RCO wore no clothing and spread mud on their bodies to stay warm when the weather was cold.

While waiting for the acquisition of mitti, I am using the additional time for tincturing deer antler, fresh sage, kelp, and willow chips.

Deciding On The Carrier

Being there is no recorded historical precedent to rely on, an educated guess would lead to the conclusion that animal fat and/or beeswax would have been the salve carriers used by the RCO’s.

I have eliminated animal fat for this project as seal, sea otter, or deer fat is beyond the scope of my immediate inventory, and I am unwilling to face park rangers whose disapproval would predictably escalate to hostility were I to pursue this direction. Plus, there is the concern of eventual rancidity which is unsuitable for a variety of reasons.

Beeswax, with its high melting point, is not a suitable carrier for fragrance in and of itself, although it would serve well to harden an oil based fragrance. Since some of the subject botanicals I plan to use are indeed infused in vegetable oil, I have given consideration to using a vegetable oil carrier and hardening it with beeswax.

However, the majority of ethnobotanical materials I have developed do not lend their fragrance to oil. I have thus tinctured them in high proof organic grape alcohol, which will not mix into an oil based product. Thus, rather than to sacrifice the use of these materials, I have decided to use organic grape alcohol as the primary carrier, reserving the use of bee products for fragrance only.

I still like the idea of a solid perfume, and even though it would be by neccessity composed of fewer fragrance materials, may pursue this concept as another project.

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 7

2009-07-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

(This is part seven of an ongoing article about the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone Native Californians.)

In this part we will begin to determine what family of fragrance to build. Here I will begin with the base.

Per the previous post, the following Notes de Base were determined:

*Artemisia douglasiana – mugwort
*Cupressus macrocarpa - Monterey cypress
Navarretia squarrosa - skunkweed
*Pinus radiata - Monterey pine
*Salix lasiolepis - arroyo willow
*Salix scouleriana - Scouler willow
*Salvia mellifera - black sage
Salvia microphylla - smalled-leaved sage
Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood
Additional environmental fragrances:
Smoke
Hot rocks and seashells
Tree moss
Seaweed
Loam, earth
Rain on earth
Willow branches, bark and foliage
Deerskin
Sweat
Skunk
Mushrooms

These notes point to the beginnings of a green, woody leather chypre.

Summary: Green, natural and outdoors scents of pine, sage, redwood, artemesia and cypress are supported and deepened with fragrances earth and woody leather, mushroom and tree moss.

I will be returning to my blending studio on Friday to experiment with mixing these materials, and will record and evaluate the outcome as an update to this post.

Shelley Waddington
Carmel-By-the-Sea, California

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 6

2009-07-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

(This is part six of an ongoing article about the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone Native Californians.)

Selecting Ethnobotanical Fragrance Elements

In this step I have selected the most ideal and replicable botanicals for the perfuming process and categorized them into the most likely perfume notes they will fit into. At the end of each category I have placed the additional environmental elements that could be included.

Notes de tête:
*Achillea millefolium - common yarrow
*Apium graveolens - celery/smallage
Fragaria vesca - wood strawberry
Artemisia dracunculus - dragon sagewort/tarragon
*Carex harfordii - Monterey sedge
*Carex praegracilis - clustered field sedge
*Carex tumulicola - foothill sedge
Danthonia californica - California oat-grass
*Eriogonum nudum var. auriculatum - coast buckwheat
*Eriogonum parvifolium - dune buckwheat
*Eriophyllum confertiflorum - golden yarrow
*Lepidium nitidum - common pepper-grass
*Lepidium strictum - wayside pepper-grass
Marah fabaceus - man-root/wild cucumber
*Raphanus sativus - wild radish
*Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum - red flowering currant
*Rubus parviflorus - thimbleberry
*Rubus ursinus - California blackberry
*Sambucus mexicana - blue elderberry
*Stachys bullata - wood mint
*Vaccinium ovatum - evergreen huckleberry
Additional environmental fragrances:
Cooked grain
Fragrance of fresh cut green vegetables and grasses
Ocean
Mushroom
Ripe fruits
Fragrance of medicinal herbs

Notes de Fond:
Calochortus albus var. albus - globe lily
*Calochortus uniflorus - large-flowered star lily
*Ceanothus griseus - Carmel ceanothus
Danthonia californica - California oat-grass
*Dryopteris arguta - Calif. wood fern
Ericameria ericoides - mock heather
Fritillaria affinis - checker lily
Genista monspessulana - French broom
Geranium dissectum - cut-leaved geranium
Geranium retrorsum - New Zealand geranium
Gilia achilleifolia ssp. multicaulis - many-stemmed gilia
Gilia clivorum - gilia
*Gnaphalium californicum - California everlasting
*Gnaphalium ramosissimum - pink everlasting
Iris douglasiana - Douglas iris
*Lathyrus vestitus var. puberulus - common Pacific pea
*Lathyrus vestitus var. vestitus - San Gabriel or canyon pea
*Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans - hairy honeysuckle
Lotus purshianus var. purshianus - Spanish clover
*Lupinus albifrons var. douglasii - Douglas' silver lupine
*Lupinus arboreus - yellow bush/tree lupine
*Lupinus nanus - sky lupine/Douglas' annual lupine
*Lupinus variicolor - Lindley's varied lupine
*Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata - bird's-foot fern
Pentagramma triangularis ssp. Triangularis - goldback fern
Phacelia distans - wild heliotrope
Piperia elegans - elegant rein orchid
Polystichum munitum - sword fern
*Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens - western bracken fern
*Rosa californica - California wild rose
*Scrophularia californica - bee plant
Selaginella bigelovii - Bigelow's moss-fern
*Trifolium barbigerum - colony clover
*Trifolium wormskioldii - cow clover/coast clover
*Urtica dioica ssp. Holosericea - hoary nettle
Woodwardia fimbriata - chain fern
Zigadenus fremontii - Fremont's star lily
Additional environmental fragrances:
Fragrance of bedding
Fragrance of blooming flowers

Notes de Base:
*Artemisia douglasiana – mugwort
*Cupressus macrocarpa - Monterey cypress
Navarretia squarrosa - skunkweed
*Pinus radiata - Monterey pine
*Salix lasiolepis - arroyo willow
*Salix scouleriana - Scouler willow
*Salvia mellifera - black sage
Salvia microphylla - smalled-leaved sage
Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood
Additional environmental fragrances:
Smoke
Hot rocks and seashells
Tree moss
Seaweed
Loam, earth
Rain on earth
Willow branches, bark and foliage
Deerskin
Sweat

Coming next: Deciding on what fragrance family to build

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 5

2009-07-18T14:09:00.001-07:00

The first step I take in the creation of an interpretive perfume lies in conceptualization. Simply stated, what is the objective of the project? What is the intended result? What actions are required to reach that result? By what measure will I know that the objective and intended result has been satisfied?

My first objective for this project is to produce an existential all natural interpretive perfume composed of olfactory elements common to the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone. The intended result is to produce a perfume that evokes the authentic olfactory phenomena that would have been experienced by them at the time.

My second objective is to utilize additional non-native botanicals, carriers, and laboratory produced fragrance molecules to a separated portion of the fragrance blend, for the purpose of enhancing olfactory elements that cannot be produced solely by the use of botanicals. Such applications will be solely for the intended result of the enhancement of accurate interpretation of the living plants.

Required actions:
• analyze the olfactory elements that accompanied their lives
• identify the vascular plants that are known to have had practical use
• identify other native botanicals with olfactory characteristics suitable for incorporating
• reduce general olfactive and vascular plant lists to selected fragrancing elements
• organize those elements according to fragrance category and diffusion characteristics
• blend
• test
• identify the optimal carrier/dilutant
• blend to optimize fragrance and ratios of elements and blend to selected carrier
• test

Environmental olfactory elements to consider:
• Fire containing hot rock and seashell and basket
• Smoke of burning wood
• Fragrance of cooking grain, green vegetable, meat and foul
• Fragrance of fresh cut green vegetables and grasses
• Ocean
• Non-vascular plants: mushroom, tree moss, seaweed
• Loam, earth
• Rain on earth
• Willow branches, bark and foliage
• Tule grass
• Leather
• Sweat
• Fragrance of bedding
• Fragrance of blooming flowers and ripe fruits
• Fragrance of medicinal herbs

Vascular plants that are known to have been used by the subjects or that grow in proximity of the subjects, and that may be suitable for their fragrance value:
*Achillea millefolium - common yarrow
*Apium graveolens - celery/smallage
*Artemisia douglasiana - mugwort
Artemisia dracunculus - dragon sagewort/tarragon
*Calochortus albus var. albus - globe lily
*Calochortus uniflorus - large-flowered star lily
*Carex harfordii - Monterey sedge
*Carex praegracilis - clustered field sedge
*Carex tumulicola - foothill sedge
*Ceanothus griseus - Carmel ceanothus
*Chenopodium californicum - California goosefoot/soap plant
Chenopodium murale - wall goosefoot/nettle-leaved goosefoot
Chenopodium rubrum - red goosefoot
*Chlorogalum pomeridianum - soap plant/amole
*Cupressus macrocarpa - Monterey cypress
Danthonia californica - California oat-grass
*Dryopteris arguta - Calif. wood fern
Ericameria ericoides - mock heather
*Eriogonum nudum var. auriculatum - coast buckwheat
*Eriogonum parvifolium - dune buckwheat
*Eriophyllum confertiflorum - golden yarrow
*Foeniculum vulgare - sweet fennel
*Fragaria vesca - wood strawberry
Fritillaria affinis - checker lily
Genista monspessulana - French broom
Geranium dissectum - cut-leaved geranium
Geranium retrorsum - New Zealand geranium
Gilia achilleifolia ssp. multicaulis - many-stemmed gilia
Gilia clivorum - gilia
*Gnaphalium californicum - California everlasting
*Gnaphalium ramosissimum - pink everlasting
*Hordeum brachyantherum ssp. brachyantherum - meadow
barley
*Hordeum brachyantherum ssp. californicum - California barley
Iris douglasiana - Douglas iris
*Lathyrus vestitus var. puberulus - common Pacific pea
*Lathyrus vestitus var. vestitus - San Gabriel or canyon pea
*Lepidium nitidum - common pepper-grass
*Lepidium strictum - wayside pepper-grass
Leymus condensatus - giant ryegrass
*Lobularia maritima - sweet alyssum
*Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans - hairy honeysuckle
Lonicera involucrata var. ledebourii - black twinberry
Lotus benthamii - Bentham's lotus
Lotus formosissimus - coast lotus/witch's teeth
Lotus heermannii var. orbicularis - woolly lotus
Lotus junceus - rush lotus
Lotus micranthus - small-flowered lotus
Lotus purshianus var. purshianus - Spanish clover
*Lotus scoparius - deerweed
*Lupinus albifrons var. douglasii - Douglas' silver lupine
*Lupinus arboreus - yellow bush/tree lupine
*Lupinus nanus - sky lupine/Douglas' annual lupine
*Lupinus variicolor - Lindley's varied lupine
Marah fabaceus - man-root/wild cucumber
Myrica californica - wax myrtle
Navarretia squarrosa - skunkweed
*Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata - bird's-foot fern
Pentagramma triangularis ssp. Triangularis - goldback fern
Phacelia distans - wild heliotrope
*Pinus radiata - Monterey pine
Piperia elegans - elegant rein orchid
*Plantago elongata - annual coast plantain
Polystichum munitum - sword fern
*Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens - western bracken fern
*Quercus agrifolia var. agrigolia - coast live oak
Ranunculus californicus - California buttercup
*Raphanus sativus - wild radish
*Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum - red flowering currant
*Rosa californica - California wild rose
*Rubus parviflorus - thimbleberry
*Rubus ursinus - California blackberry
*Salix lasiolepis - arroyo willow
*Salix scouleriana - Scouler willow
*Salvia mellifera - black sage
Salvia microphylla - smalled-leaved sage
*Sambucus mexicana - blue elderberry
*Scrophularia californica - bee plant
Selaginella bigelovii - Bigelow's moss-fern
Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood
*Stachys bullata - wood mint
*Trifolium barbigerum - colony clover
*Trifolium wormskioldii - cow clover/coast clover
*Urtica dioica ssp. Holosericea - hoary nettle
*Vaccinium ovatum - evergreen huckleberry
*Verbena lasiostachys - western vervain
Woodwardia fimbriata - chain fern
Zigadenus fremontii - Fremont's star lily

*Botanicals with verified Monterey County Ohlone use by ethnobotanists Joyce DePow and Andy Hunter.

Carriers that are elements that would have been available to RCO’s:
Beeswax
Seed oils
Animal fats

Determining success (evaluation and testing):
Does it meet IFRA standards
Does it achieve the use of ethnobotanical materials
Does it meet traditional perfume standards of balance, diffusion, color and appearance, fragrance development and movement, longevity, texture
Is it organoleptically agreeable
Has it been evaluated both subjectively and by other perfumers
Does it have market appeal, if so in what market

Next: Reducing vascular plant list to selected fragrancing elements

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 4

2009-07-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

(This is the fourth part of an article about the Rumsen speaking Carmel Ohlone Native Americans.)

Discovering the Lost Treasure

In an almost unbelievable stroke of luck (helped along by the foresight of a few remarkable visionaries), the terrain and native plants of the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone territory remain relatively undisturbed. Except for some peripheral development, the main body of land remains almost unchanged beyond the natural acts of nature. Portions of the territory are protected nature preserves.

Within these bountiful areas lies the Holy Grail, the last living evidence of an intricately balanced culture, the place where, by applying the art and science of ethnobotany, a living understanding of the extinct RCO culture emerges.

Here are the native plants still growing in the Ichxenta locale:
http://www.montereybaycnps.org/lists/POINT_LOBOS_2.pdf

Up the Carmel River into the Carmel Valley is Garland Ranch, also part of the RCO territory, and also a protected area. Here are the native plants still growing in the Garland locale:
http://www.montereybaycnps.org/lists/GARLAND_PARK_2.pdf

There is no mention in primary sources of RCO use of incense or fragrant unguents. It can be concluded from secondary sources and from extrapolating our understanding of other California native tribes that they may have, in preparation for the hunt when, after fasting, sweating, and cleansing, utilized the smoke of burning sage to mask their remaining human odor.

Although no record exists of other forms of fragrancing, the RCO did use fragrant herbs and medicines containing roots, barks, leaves, fats, and resins.

Using the scholarly work of a dedicated ethnobotanist as a tabula rosa, the native plants can be cross-referenced with those that were used by the RCO, a process wherein the specific plants and their RCO uses are revealed.

As an interpretive perfumer, I will guide the reader through the making of a spiritual botanical perfume based solely on the plants that were used by the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone people. It will be a prayerful living accompaniment to honor the wisdom of those who were here before us.

May it teach us in the future to conserve rather than use up our natural resources;
to respect all people and their differences rather than to try to form all opinions into a single tribal mentality;
to protect the animals, birds and fish with whom we live—bringing them closer to us once again;
to be true to our innermost being through our own path of spirituality;
to make wise choices in our personal health and habits of living, and to live in harmony one with another, honoring and respecting the older people, caring for the younger people and those who are most frail or vulnerable in our society.

These are the lessons to be learned in honoring the Ohlone Way.

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 3

2009-07-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

(This is the third part of an article about the Rumsen speaking Carmel Ohlone Native Americans.)

At Whaler’s Cove in Point Lobos, stands an old whaler’s cabin that houses a small but priceless Rumsen Carmel Ohlone archaeological assemblage that includes projectile points (including Desert side-notched points), a variety of cores and modified flakes, bone awls, a bone tube, a bone gaming piece, portable mortars, pestles, shell jewelry, and a bone whistle.

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 2

2009-07-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

(This is the second part of an article about the Rumsen speaking Carmel Ohlone Native Americans.)

The Rumsen Carmel Ohlone territory is identified as Number 2 on the above map.

Location, Location, Location
As hunter-gatherers, RCO’s were constantly on the move throughout their territory, following the seasonal crops, animal and seafood cycles as they occurred. They were a complex society who were dependent on fishing and hunting. The land and sea provided well for them, and what they had in abundance they traded for items they could not obtain locally. Thus, they maintained a mutually beneficial association with other nearby groups and travelling native traders with whom they nevertheless maintained a wary ongoing vigilance.

The RCO managed their land well, taking surprisingly modern agricultural steps, such as controlled burning, to maintain an ideal provision of food, clothing, shelter, fuel, and tools. The wet meadows that preserved the water supplies were coppiced by the women to encourage the growth of choice basketry materials.

Margolin, in The Ohlone Way, offers a rich description of the annual life rhythm:
“For the Ohlones one harvest followed another in a great yearly cycle. There were trips to the seashore for shellfish, to the rivers for salmon, to the marshes for seeds, roots, and greens. There were also trips for milkweed fiber, hemp, basket materials, tobacco. and medicine.

Thus Ohlone life was a series of treks from one harvest to another. As one food or material ripened or came into season--and the season was often quite brief--the people worked hard to collect it and in some cases to dry, smoke, or otherwise preserve it. Then, after a small respite, there would be another harvest, another event, another episode in the year.

The series of ripenings and harvestings divided the year into different periods, and gave Ohlone life its characteristic rhythm. Moving from one harvest to the next, the Ohlone led what early observers called 'a wandering life.'

Each triblet had a major village site, but they did not live there throughout the year. 'They moved their village from place to place,' comment Father Francisco Palou. Sometimes the whole group traveled together. Other times it split up into separate families. But always the Ohlones were on the move, wandering about their land in pursuit of still another ripening crop."

The RCO had one or more permanent villages usually consisting of dome-shaped thatched huts clustered around an open area. At Point Lobos, the Ohlone established spring and summer village sites near the mouth of San Jose Creek at the Reserve's northern boundary and along Gibson Creek, which forms the southern edge of the Reserve.

This village along San Jose Creek, known as Ichxenta (pronounced “Ah-shen-ta”), was first occupied about 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, and is thought to be the longest inhabited Ohlone village site in the Monterey area. Within the Reserve, nineteen sites have been identified which were used as seasonal camps while gathering abalone and mussels or grinding seeds and acorns into meal. Other RCO villages of Achasta and Tucunut were located across the nearby Carmel River, close to the site where the Carmel Mission was later established.

Today, signs of the Ohlone's former presence can be found in many forms: black dirt from years of campsite fires, grinding stones, and large mounds of cast-away shells called middens.

The wandering life set the Ohlones apart from many other North America Natives. They did not cultivate or depend on one specific food source. They followed a more ancient way: the way of the hunter-gatherer. "Like the Arabs and other wandering tribes," wrote Captain Frederick Beechey, "these people moved about the country and pitch their tents wherever they find a convenient place."

In contrast to other parts of the world where hunter-gatherers lived in less favorable environments and needed expansive territories over which they could range in pursuit of food and water, in Carmel the abundance of wildlife and edible plants allowed for a small territory. “Stephen Powers' characterization of a Maidu people to the northeast of the Bay Area might just as accurately have described the Ohlones: ‘They shift their lodges perpetually: yet it is very seldom that a Nishinam, after all his infinite little migrations, dies a mile from the place of his birth. They are thoroughly home-loving and home-keeping, like all California Indians.’"

”Thus we can picture an Ohlone family on one of its ‘infinite little migrations.’ They number perhaps a dozen people. The old and infirm have been left behind in the main village where they will be visited regularly by other family members who make certain they are well-fed and comfortable. The women of the group are weighted down with burden baskets and digging sticks. Sets of cooking baskets and a variety of skins and pouches are heaped on top of the burden baskets. Some of the women have babies in cradles lashed to the top of everything else.

The older children carry small baskets full of seeds, acorns, and dried meats and fish. The men have quivers of bows and arrows tucked under their arms: over their shoulders are slung carrying nets filled with skins, knives, fire- making tools, beads, cordage, and perhaps ceremonial regalia. Some of the men and women also carry medicine bundles hidden within their baskets or nets.

They stop frequently along the trail to eat, nap or simply rest. The children romp about, excited by the sight of new or seldom-visited meadows. The men poke among the bushes, wandering off to revisit an old quarry site, a bear den, an eagle's nest, or some other point of interest. The women rest at the side of the trail: they are tired, for a fully-loaded burden basked weighs up to 200 pounds.

Later in the day the people arrive as their destination. The children gather firewood, the women unpack their baskets and cook dinner, and the men set about constructing shelters as a sweat-house. Within a day or two everyone is settled, the encampment is complete, and the people are thoroughly ‘at home.’"(Margolin)

Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 1

2009-07-16T07:38:00.000-07:00

Carmel, California began forming in the late 1800’s on ground previously occupied by the Ohlone (pronounced “Oh-lone-nee”). These were the native hunting and gathering inhabitants who preceded the Spanish occupiers who built the still-existing Carmel Mission.

The entire Ohlone (sometimes referred to as Costanoan) territory covered the coastal area of California from the northern San Francisco bay area to what is now the southernmost boundry of Monterey County. There were many independent subgroups within this larger group, many speaking distinctly different languages than their nearby neighbors.

Costanoan and Ohlone are externally applied names, or exonym’s. The Spanish explorers and settlers referred to the native groups of this region collectively as the Costeños (the "coastal people") circa 1769. Over time, the English-speaking settlers arriving later anglicized the word Costeños into the name of Costanoans. (The suffix "-an" is English). For many years, the people were called the Costanoans in English language and records. According to historian Florence Fava, the neighboring Miwuk tribes were the first to refer to this group as the "Ohlones" - the people of the West.

The Costanoan languages are considered by most linguists to be part of the Penutian family of languages, most closely related to Miwok. There were once several distinct Costanoan languages, including Mutsun, Rumsen, Karkin, and Cholon. These languages were as different from one another as the Romance languages of Europe (French, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.) Language loss in California has been especially severe. None of the Costanoan languages have been spoken in more than fifty years. However, some of the few remaining Ohlone people are working to revive their ancestral language.

Some archeologists and linguists hypothesize that these people migrated from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River system and arrived into the San Francisco and Monterey Bay Areas in about the 6th century AD, displacing or assimilating earlier Hokan-speaking populations of which the Esselen in the south represent a remnant. Datings of ancient shell mounds in Newark and Emeryville suggest the villages at those locations were established about 4000 BC.

Through shell mound dating, scholars noted three periods of ancient Bay Area history, as described by F.M. Stanger in La Peninsula: "Careful study of artifacts found in central California mounds has resulted in the discovery of three distinguishable epochs or cultural 'horizons' in their history. In terms of our time-counting system, the first or 'Early Horizon' extends from about 4000 BC to 1000 BC in the Bay Area and to about 2000 BC in the Central Valley. The second or Middle Horizon was from these dates to 700 AD, while the third or Late Horizon was from 700 AD to the coming of the Spaniards in the 1770s.

_______________

This monograph is focused on a small group of Rumsen speakers who occupied a small section of the coastal area south of the Carmel River up through the lower end of Carmel Valley to the San Clemente Dam. It is their land on which I was raised in Carmel. From this point forward this group will be referred to as the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone, RCO for short, because it distinguishes them from other nearby groups, and because we don’t know what they called themselves.

This group remained undisturbed until the establishment of the Carmel Mission in the late 1700’s. However initially well-intentioned, the mission system was the equivalent of GITMO on steroids. It was a genocidal pogrom.

Remaining evidence of the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone villages and ways of life are extremely scarce. Few artifacts remain, as they made no pottery, preferring the use of more portable finely woven baskets. Nor did they work with metal. They burned their dead. Their custom of never speaking of the dead precluded the development of any verbal history. They did not value the accumulation of goods or wealth. Of their intricate basketry, remaining examples are scarce. By the time this tiny nation of about two hundred people was ultimately decimated by the effects of the mission system, their previous sustainable, portable lifestyle left little in the way of a footprint of their culture.

Following the confiscation of the missions by the Mexican government in 1834, the few remaining descendants of the RCO travelled to Southern California in 1864 to work on ranches. There, those who can still trace their Ohlone ancestry have recently established the tribes listed below and are making admirable efforts to revive some of the old ways.

Other than these few individuals living several hundred miles away, the tribe is officially classified as being extinct. The Rumsen language, as mentioned above, is no longer spoken and only a few words were ever recorded. By the time photographs of any remaining descendants were taken, tribal life had been virtually obliterated.

Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe
3025 E. Brookside Ct.
Ontario, CA 91761

Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe
3929 Riverside Dr.
Chino, CA 91710
www.costanoanrumsen.org

Costanoan Band of Carmel Mission Indians
P.O. Box 1657
Monrovia, CA 91016

From Abattoir to Atomizer Part II

2009-06-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Interpreting the Scent of Leather
Part II

As promised in the previous post, I will now discuss the correlation between leather making and the process of making an interpretive perfume, first by mapping the alchemical process of the making of leather, followed by an explanation of how this relates to perfume formulation.

Leather Alchemy

The gross matter of urine, manure, and decaying flesh are described in the previous post as being the first part of the leather making process. Although of the life force, these things typify the hellish, gory type of mess that people generally prefer to reject.

It is in the first stage of alchemical transformation that the breakdown of the above primordial, chaotic mess begins. This first stage of purification is associated with the black crow and is also symbolized by fire.

Continuing the operation of dissolution, the gross matter continues to break down during the second stage of alchemy.

Stage three is when the impure, unworthy material is separated out and discarded. The desired components are isolated and recovered.

In state four, the saved elements are then recombined to begin producing a whole new substance, the beginning of a new incarnation. This is where, in leather making, the hides would be introduced to rye flour, oat flour, yeast, salt and water.

Stage five is called fermentation. During this time the saved elements are allowed first to putrefy, and then to ferment in the flour, yeast, salt and water.

The stages up until this point are considered the black stages of alchemy. With stage six, we begin the white phase in which, after fermentation, agitation, and sublimation, the impurities are removed by the introduction of the tanning liquor of pine and willow barks and then finally by the impregnation of precious oils of birch, seal and sandalwood.

Stage seven, the final step, results in the new, resurrected material. Thus ends the First Magesterium, known as the Lunar Stone.

Alchemists believed that ultimate success required three passes through the above seven operations, twenty-one steps in all.

Think of it this way:

First Magesterium: The Lunar Stone. The alchemical transformation of the subject, the perfume idea itself - in this case, leather.
Second Magesterium: The Solar Stone. The alchemical transformation of each individual component that will be combined to make the final perfume formula. (This could include tinctures, extracts, infusions, elixirs, distilled oils, concretes, absolutes, laboratory developed molecules, alcohol, and water.) Those items selected by the perfumer will be organoleptically and vibrationally suited to synergistically represent all of the elements and processes of the subject.
Third Magesterium: The Stellar Stone. This is the final fragrant blend, the union of the Lunar and Solar Stones. It is also known as the golden or astral body as well as the coagulation of spirit in matter. The Stellar Stone is the full awakening of the intention, skill, and consciousness of the perfume artist.

From Abattoir to Atomizer Part I

2009-06-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

Interpreting the Scent of Leather
Part I

Perfumes based on the “scent of leather” are far from being a new concept, and one can easily locate blogs and articles about the efforts of various companies and perfumers since the beginning of the twentieth century who have executed this idea, sometimes quite successfully.

Prior to taking on the project of creating a leather concept perfume of my own design, I tasked myself to learn about the historical process of leather making. My thought was that it would be better to be informed by the source material, rather than to just “copy” ideas of previous perfumers without any understanding of how those ideas were derived.

Part I of this article is a summary of my findings, in a roughly chronological order. Part II will be more about how the findings relate to perfuming and to fragrance interpretation.

An Ancient Epiphany

At some point long ago, our early ancestors discovered that by immersing animal skins in a brew of water containing various barks, berries, and leaves, the skins became rot resistant and significantly softer than dried skins. The active components of those liquids are now understood to be tannins, thus the process is now referred to as leather tanning.

The process of leather tanning spread rapidly and was improved upon by different nations. By the middle ages, tanneries were established in areas with adequate sources of all necessary materials such as water supply, a lot of trees rich in tannins, and a supply of skin and hides.

Tanneries at Fez

In ancient history, tanning was considered a noxious or "odiferous trade" and relegated to the outskirts of town, amongst the poor. Indeed, tanning by ancient methods produces such foul smells that tanneries are still isolated from those towns today where the old methods are used.

Skins typically arrived at the tannery dried stiff and dirty with soil and gore. First, the ancient tanners would soak the skins in water to clean and soften them. Then they would pound and scour the skin to remove any remaining flesh and fat. Next, the tanner needed to remove the hair fibers from the skin. This was done by soaking the skin in urine, painting it with an alkaline lime mixture, or simply letting the skin putrefy for several months then dipping it in a salt solution.

After the hair fibers were loosened, the tanners scraped them off with a knife. Once the hair was removed, the tanners would bate the material by pounding dung into the skin or soaking the skin in a solution of animal brains. Among the kinds of dung commonly used was that of dogs or pigeons. Sometimes the dung was mixed with water in a large vat, and the prepared skins were kneaded in the dung water until they became supple, but not too soft. The ancient tanner might use his bare feet to knead the skins in the dung water, and the kneading could last two or three hours.
It was this combination of urine, animal feces and decaying flesh that made ancient tanneries so odiferous.

Children employed as dung gatherers were a common sight in ancient cities. Also common were "piss-pots" located on street corners, where human urine could be collected for use in tanneries or by washerwomen. In some variations of the process, cedar oil, alum or tannin was applied to the skin as a tanning agent. As the skin was stretched, it would lose moisture and absorb the agent.

Spanish Cordwain (Cordovan) Leather

Fragment of Cordwain

The Caliphate of Córdoba (Arabic: خلافة قرطبة Khilāfat Qurṭuba) ruled the Iberian peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous Great Mosque of Córdoba. In January of 929, Abd-ar-Rahman III proclaimed himself Caliph (in place of his original title Emir of Córdoba) The rule of the Caliphate is known as the heyday of Muslim presence in the Iberian peninsula.

As part of the Muslim influence in Spain in the ninth century, embossed leather tapestries known as guadameci became favored by the church and among the elite classes. This style spread throughout Europe and beautifully worked Spanish Leather was used for wall covering and flooring in luxurious rooms, as book coverings, and as artistic upholstery and altar fronts in Italy, France and Spain.

Embossed gilded leather hangings in a Dutch interior, ca 1730, painted by Philip van Dijk

Russian Leather, or Russia Red Leather

Russia leather is a type of vegetable tanned leather, but has very distinctive oils used during the currying process. This oil has an aromatic scent, and because of this the leather has certain scent properties that also imparted insect resistance and mold and mildew resistance. This type of leather was used both ornamentally and functionally in book bindings and hat sweat bands. It was embossed with a pattern in the grain surface of the leather, such as a diamond pattern as well as others. The leather is known for its distinctive red color, but was also dyed black. This leather is no longer tanned.

In the making of this leather, the preliminary operations of soaking, unhairing, and fleshing were done in the usual manner, and then the hides were permitted to ferment and swell in a mixture of rye flour, oat flour, yeast, salt and water. The tanning process was then completed by putting them into tanning liquor composed of pine and willow barks, equal parts.

The currier would then temper the hides by impregnated them with a compound consisting of 2/3 parts birch oil and 1/3 parts seal oil. The leather was then "set out," "whitened," and well boarded and dried before dyeing.

A decoction of sandalwood, alone or mixed with cochineal, was used for producing the Russian red color, and this dye liquor was applied several times, allowing each application to dry before applying the following one. A brush was used to spread the dye liquor on the grain side.

The dye liquor was prepared by boiling eighteen ounces of sandalwood in thirteen pints of water for one hour, filtering, and dissolving in the filtering fluid one ounce of prepared tartar and soda, which was then given an hour's boiling and set aside for a few days before use.

After dyeing, the leather was again impregnated with the mixture of birch and seal oils (applied to the grain side on a piece of flannel) and when the dyed leather had dried, a thin smear of gum-dragon mucilage was given to the dyed side to protect the color from fading, while the flesh side was smeared with bark-tan juice and the dyed leather then grained for market.

"Boots of Spanish Leather" by Bob Dylan

Part II of this article to follow...

Acknowledgements to the following:
http://www.syl.com/hb/theleathertanningprocess.html
Wikipedia
U-Tube
Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas Recipes Processes by Norman W. Henley and others
http://www.jarnaginco.com

Fire, Smoke, and Illumination

2009-05-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Ancient pagan observance of Belatain takes place in early May. It was considered the first day of summer, marked by bale-fires between which the flocks were driven to summer pastures while being blessed and protected by the smoke.

The corresponding Byzantine and Roman Catholic liturgical event is Easter eve. Early Fathers St. Gregory Nazianzus and St. Gregory of Nyssa give vivid descriptions of the illumination of the Easter vigil. Five grains of incense were set cross-wise in an enormous candle, recalling the sacred wounds retained in Christ's body, and the lighting of the candle with new fire itself symbolized the resurrection. Evidence that stretches back as far as Tertullian and Justin Martyr shows that catechumens were baptized on Easter eve and that this ceremony of baptism was spoken of as photismos, i.e., illumination.

To this day, the lighting of Judas fires are part of the Easter eve observance on Cyprus. Throughout the countryside and in neighborhood churchyards, piles of collected wood are burned to represent the burning of Judas, the betrayer.

Current Roman Catholic observance includes the lighting of the Pascal candle, ornamented with five grains of incense. Sometimes the candle is lit from from a blessed bonfire in the churchyard. The lighted candle procession then enters the dark church to begin a candlelight service in which each member of the congregation holds a candle shares the Pascal fire, passing it from candle to candle until all candles are lighted and the church is beautifully illuminated.

Incense, with its sweet-smelling perfume and high-ascending smoke, is considered by many religions as a symbol of prayer, which, enkindled in the heart by the fire of love, rises up as an exhaled offering.

(This is the second article about religious instinct. The first was Devolution? published on February 14, 2009.)

Four Thousand Year Old Perfumery

2009-03-25T10:38:00.001-07:00

Pyrgos/Mavroraki is an archaeology site in the Limassol district of Cyprus, spanning from 2350BC to 1850BC. The mission’s head archaeologist, Professor Maria Rosaria Belgiorno, who works for Italy’s National Research Council, excavated the site with her team, starting in 2005.

The site, an early Bronze Age industrial complex that produced wine, perfumes and textiles dyed with purple or blue indigo, also includes remains of a palace from the early Bronze Age.

Belgiorno and her team have also painstakingly researched and recreated the 4,000 year old fragrances from residues found at the site perfumery. Belgiorno's recent book entitled Aromata Cipria, (Cyprus Perfumes), describes the process used for her perfume experiments that she conducted at the Antiquities Centre in Italy.

For each of the four perfumes recreated by Belgiorno and her team, the process took about five days and the mixture was enclosed in a jug buried under the sand in the sunlight at a temperature of no more than 50 degrees, to avoid damaging the mixture. The four scents produced are ‘Afrodite,’ ‘Elena,’ ‘Artemides’ and ‘Era.’ ‘Afrodite’ contains olive oil, pine, turpentine and bergamot. ‘Elena’ has scents of olive oil, laurel, coriander and turpentine. In ‘Artemides,’ almonds, myrtle, parsley and turpentine are used and, for ‘Era,’ olive oil, rosemary, green anise and lavender.

“For the essences, we copied the entire process, step by step, as was done, 4,000 years ago, putting the essences into a closed jug underground, in the sunlight for five days. But the entire process for the four different essences took about six months, because we had to wait for the seasonal essences to come out of the herbs,” Belgiorno said.

Olive oil was the basic ingredient for making medicaments, cosmetics, perfumes and soft textiles.
Regarding ancient methods used to make perfumes, Belgiorno also notes: “It is possible to extract essential oils and perfumed waters with the same system, as during boiling, the terpenes - tiny particles of fragrant plants, transported by vapour - pass the alembic head into a collecting jar. At the end of the operation, the essential oils float on the water surface and it is easy to separate them from the water.” The procedure, she adds, appears simple for a modern point of view but in the third millennium BC, it was different. The distillation methodology should follow serious rules including the system and duration of boiling, and cooling as the final stage.

“The vase used at Pyrgos as a condenser, was probably one of the large metallic ware jugs, whose neck shape and dimension is correct to contain the alembic spout and the base perfect to say inside a water basin. Six jugs of this type and dimension, all crushed, have been found in the Pyrgos perfumery: three were on the bench running along the eastern wall, two among the pits for maceration and one in north west corner, where there were two alembic heads and two large basins. “The experiments made to reconstruct the apparatus confirm that the shape and dimensions of the jugs are correct not only to be used as condensers but also as boilers (going inside the alembic head) which find a perfect support on the jug shoulders,” said Belgiorno.

Describing the process used by her team of archaeologists and scientists for copying the ancient perfumes, Belgiorno said: “In our experiment, we found that direct contact between the jug and the embers quickly raised the temperature in the liquid. Using a thermocouple to calculate the temperature inside the jug, 15 minutes after the start of the heat treatment, we found that it was 84C. This is rather high. Based on the literature, 55C was the right temperature for extracting essences. Thanks to a mistake in our procedure for making fragrant essences, we were able to see how hard it is to maintain the jug temperature constant from the outset.”

Update Posted 5/9/09
From Perfumer & Flavorist Magazine, March 2007 Issue:
Archaeologists have recently discovered the world's oldest perfumes in Pyrgos, Cyprus. The remaining traces of perfumes, dating back more than 4,000 years, were scented with extracts of lavender, bay, rosemary, pine or coriander and kept in small translucent alabaster bottles. Just as intriguing as the scents they found was where the archaeologists found them—a 43,000 square foot perfumery factory. There they found at least 60 distilling stills, mixing bowls, funnels and perfume bottles. The discoveries are on display at the Capitoline Museum in Rome. In addition, an Italian foundation has recreated four of the perfumes from residues found at the site.

Fragranced Interregnum

2009-03-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

The following Universität Bonn press release was on the newswires this morning:

What Scents did the Ancient Egyptians use?

Researchers in Bonn aim to recreate a 3,500-year-old scent

The Ancient Egyptians cherished their fragrant scents, too, as perfume flacons from this period indicate. In its permanent exhibition, Bonn University´s Egyptian Museum has a particularly well preserved example on display. Screening this 3,500-year-old flacon with a computer tomograph, scientists at the university detected the desiccated residues of a fluid, which they now want to submit to further analysis. They might even succeed in reconstructing this scent, which would be a worldwide sensation.

Pharaoh Hatshepsut was a power-conscious woman who assumed the reins of government in Egypt around the year 1479 B.C. In actual fact, she was only supposed to represent her step-son Thutmose III, who was three years old at the time, until he was old enough to take over. But the interregnum lasted 20 years. She systematically kept Thutmose out of power, says Michael Höveler-Müller, the curator of Bonn University´s Egyptian Museum. Hatshepsut´s perfume is also presumably a demonstration of her power. We think it probable that one constituent was incense, the scent of the gods, Michael Höveler-Müller declares. This idea is not so wide of the mark, as it is a known fact that in the course of her regency Haptshepsut undertook an expedition to Punt, the modern Eritrea, and the Egyptians had been importing precious goods such as ebony, ivory, gold, and just this incense, from there since the third millennium B.C. Apparently the expedition brought back whole incense plants, which Hatshepsut then had planted in the vicinity of her funerary temple.

World Premier with an interesting result

The filigree flacon now under examination by the researchers in Bonn bears an inscription with the name of the Pharaoh. Hence it was probably once in her possession. The vessel is exceptionally well preserved. So we considered it might be rewarding to have it screened in the University Clinic´s Radiology Department, Höveler-Müller explains. “As far as I know this has never been done before. This world premier will now in all probability be followed by another one: The desiccated residues of a fluid can be clearly discerned in the x-ray photographs, the museum´s curator explains. Our pharmacologists are now going to analyse this sediment. The results could be available in a good year´s time. If they are successful, the scientists in Bonn are even hoping to reconstruct”the perfume so that, 3,500 years after the death of the woman amongst whose possessions it was found, the scent could then be revitalised.

Hatshepsut died in 1457 B.C. Analysis of the mummy ascribed to her showed that the ruler was apparently between 45 and 60 years of age at the end of her life; that she was also overweight, and suffering from diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis and arthritis. Obviously for reasons of security, she was laid to rest in the tomb of her wet nurse.

In 1903, over 3,300 years later, the famous Egyptologist Howard Carter stumbled upon the two mummies. However, more than 100 years were to pass before the Pharaoh´s corpse could be identified using DNA and dental analysis in the year 2007. Thutmose III, incidentally, appears not to have shed a single tear for his step-mother, as during his reign he had every image destroyed which showed her as ruler, and which could have belonged to her. (Source of this article listed at bottom of page.)

In my next post I will explore other concurrent perfumes existing in the timeframe of 1457 B.C., thirty-five thousand (!) years ago. Meahwhile, here is a place to learn and see more of this amazing woman: www.travelegypt.com/peopleinfo/hatshepsut.htm.

http://www.uni-bonn.de/en/News/127_2009.html

Images related to this press release may be viewed in the Internet under http://www.uni-bonn.de/ >> Aktuelles >> Presseinformationen.

Contact:Michael Höveler-MüllerÄgyptisches Museum der Universität Bonn

Telephone: 0228/73-9710

E-mail: aegyptisches-museum@uni-bonn.de

The Violin Maker's Shop

2009-03-03T02:19:00.000-08:00

My colleague, friend and mentor Lisa Camasi and I recently collaborated in the production of an interpretive fragrance for an architectural installation at in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The project required the delivery of a very specific olfactory experience - invoking a comfortable, cozy old library where one sips hot black tea, smokes aromatic tobacco in a well-seasoned pipe, and is subtly aware of the fragrance emanations of the nearby violin maker's studio.

We met Erika Jacons Lord as she was finishing her Masters degree in interior architecture in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Erika's research and inspiration for this project came from the French philosopher Deleuze and his notion of smooth and striated space. Inspired by the implications for architecture, her design focused on using all of the senses in the creation of spaces, and called for the specific above-mentioned scents in the study/library of the apartment she was redesigning.

"Shelley and Lisa jumped in when I needed the help in a very short timeframe and helped me figure out how the scents should be built. They researched what constitutes the scents which so fascinated me, and quickly and professionally created and sent samples to me via international mail. It was a joy to receive their work, because they were able to recreate the scents I had been only dreaming about. I appreciate their attention to detail and sensitivity in building the scents and their use of organic, hard to find ingredients. The quality and level of the finished product far exceeded my expectations."

Erika Jacobs Lord
Interior Architect

The Medium of Scent

2009-02-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

The following is exerpted from an expository on olfactory aesthetics, written by journalist and author Chandler Burr. It appeared in the New York Times on February 21, 2009, and provides a frame of reference for understanding a museum project that I recently co-created with a colleague that will be discussed on this blog in the near future.

Shelley Waddington

"WHAT DO THE SUN, AN ATOMIC BLAST AND COMMUNISM SMELL LIKE?

The first thing you should know about olfactory works of art — scents made by artists who work not in paint or clay but in the medium of scent — is their rare, visceral beauty. Art scents are the Lucian Freuds, Mirós and, at times, Damien Hirsts of the trade. The raw materials used by the luxury fragrance brands to concoct perfumes are harnessed here by artists to construct serious aesthetic work, work that conveys vision and emotion on an invisible canvas. The inventiveness poured into these creations reverberates not against our retinas or eardrums but our nasal epithelia. Which is the second most astonishing thing about scent art — the degree to which museums essentially ignore it. The Reg Vardy Gallery in Sunderland, England, however, is a notable exception. Its recent show, ‘‘If There Ever Was: An Exhibition of Extinct and Impossible Smells,’’ was as eerie, terrifying and enchanting as it was ingenious. The curator, Robert Blackson, an American then at the School of Arts, Design and Media at the University of Sunderland, had become interested in synthetic scent materials, which were first introduced in the late 1800s. A specialist in contemporary art, he came to understand that the modern perfumer’s appetite for the abstract and unexplainable, like a painter’s, is what ‘‘binds the world of contemporary fragrances to contemporary art.’’
contemporary art.’’

But if smell is integral to the perception of abstraction and representation, what would he like to inhale? His decision was highly unusual: 14 smells that no longer existed or could not possibly exist. He wrote a brief description of each and then took them to the artists — perfumers working with chemists, botanists and, in one case, a NASA scientist — who after a time brought back the startling results.
The masterful Geza Schön delivered the ghostly and violent scent of the sun in perpetual atomic explosion: ropes of flaming hydrogen and helium hurled into space. Patricia Millns, working with the art curator Kóan Jeff Baysa, created the scent of surrender during the reign of Ramses II when conquered cities would burn incense to signal their defeat. Maki Ueda summoned the body odor of political suspects in East Germany, carefully stored in jars by the Stasi in order to track them someday with dogs. Christophe Laudamiel envisioned the scent of the Hiroshima atomic blast.
Christoph Hornetz took his marching orders from a recipe published in 1555 that an alchemist wrote for a perfume to make a woman beautiful forever: ‘‘Take a young raven . . . kill it, and distill it with myrtle leaves, talc and almond oil.’’ Mark Buxton made the sweetish, lightly herbal scent of the arsenic deposits in Peru whose gas was released into the air by a meteorite in 2007. The gas poisoned 30 people.

In 1908, a species of Chilean sandalwood vanished from overlogging, and its creamy wood scent vanished with it. A pungent herbal holly species, Ilex gardneriana, has also disappeared, as have two trees common in India: the sharp rose apple Syzygium gambleanum and the small Hopea shingkeng. Bertrand Duchaufour tried to recreate each of their scents in one impossible perfume. It is exquisitely beautiful, the smell of cool cloud mist sweeping from the colder Pacific through aromatic cedars and astringent eucalyptus in San Francisco.
To me, perhaps the most startling work of all was made by Sissel Tolaas, a Norwegian artist who has studied chemistry and linguistics; since 1990 her work has focused on smell and language communication. During the cold war, the German Democratic Republic was closed to the West. Of all the subway stops that traversed the Berlin Wall, only one station, Friedrichstrasse, remained open as a transfer for West Berliners. It was in crossing this platform to the connecting train that those from the free world could catch a whiff of Communism. Tolaas, who is based in Berlin, has recreated that scent. It is the smell of gray, of worn concrete, a light perfume of drab industrial stench, a hint of smoke and stale air. It is awesome. And someday MoMA will recognize an entirely new category of art, perhaps the most viscerally, instinctively powerful art form we will ever experience."

Speaking Sense

2009-02-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

I detest heavy perfume and shrill voices.
Renee Vivien

Devolution?

2009-02-14T04:05:00.000-08:00

Imbolc (Im-Bolc)originated in Ireland as a holy day for Brighid(pronounced "breed"), the Great Mother Goddess. It was observed on February 2nd and honored the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God and at the time when the lengthening periods of light awakened Her. The God is a young, lusty boy, but His power is felt in the longer days. The Earth begins to feel this warmth, marking a return to the months of Spring. Imbolc is also known as Imbolg, Candlemas; Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Lupercalia and Brigid´s day.

Wanting to attract more followers of the old belief, the Catholic church adopted this celebration and translated it into the feast day of the Purification of Our Lady, which closed the Christmas season, forty days after Christ's birth. It continued to be a day of sensitivity to the providential and mysterious event that is the conception and birth of new life, and was regarded as a feast for those in humble service that included solemn blessings and processions of candles, popularly known as "Candlemas." In the Middle Ages this feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or 'Candlemas,' continued to be of great importance.

The reformed liturgical calendar no longer refers to the "Purification of Mary" but to the "Presentation of the Lord". The specific liturgy of this Candlemas feast, the blessing of candles, is no longer widely celebrated as it once was, except whenever February 2 falls on a Sunday and thus takes precedence.

The contemporary secular observation of this day is now, in the United States and Canada, marked by the appearance of a fat, bad natured, hibernating rodent. To it's credit, the ground hog, also known as a woodchuck, is a comparitively handsome specimen of rodenthood, and is a sturdy and solitary beast of the marmot family.

"Man is what he believes." Anton Checkhov

Shelley Waddington
Los Gatos, California

The One Outstanding

2008-10-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

. . . the greatest thing a human soul ever does in this world is to see something,and tell what it saw in a plain way. Hundreds of people can talk for one who can think, but thousands can think for one who can see. To see clearly is poetry, prophecy, and religion,—all in one.
John Ruskin, “Of Modern Landscape,” Modern Painters III, 4.16 (91)

Restated, one individual among hundreds has the ability to think.
Among thousands of thinkers will be one with the ability to see.
The one left standing who is capable of seeing clearly and expressing it in a plain way delivers the product we recognize as art.

Buried somewhere amid thousands of perfume launches lies one uniquely worthy gem of a fragrance. And it won't necessarily be carried in any chain or department stores.

Shelley Waddington
Carmel, California

Well Kept Secrets

2008-10-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

October - the glorious month when Carmel breaks free from the immovable summer pileup of fog and tourist visitors. Residents stoll the sunny, breezy beach accompanied by doggie companions. Long-faced students gaze from classroom windows, vaguely sensing the unfairness of their recent darkly chilled summer vacations.

Yesterday, descending the stone steps at the Thirteenth Street beach, I observed a gray haired man in a woolen blazer, pipe in mouth, tossing a tennis ball for his exuberant black lab as they progressed liesurely along the surf line. Glancing up at tree-lined Scenic Drive, I tried to envision what that once houseless, treeless grassy field along the sand would be like today had Robinson Jeffers not planted his hundreds of cypress seedlings so many years ago. To the visitor it must appear that once upon a time the forest naturally grew to the edge of the sea. And that most of the houses that appear old really are.

Shelley Waddington
October 8, 2008