Original Collection, Elements, Anima, Spiritus, For the Men
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The most ancient ways of scenting the body and objects were with unguents, usually fat-based compoundings such as the Egyptian kyphi, or oil-based fragrant potions.
An early technique of coaxing the aromatics out of botanicals, usually flowers such as jasmine, rose, and tuberose, was a technique known as enfleurage. This very labor-intensive method entailed layering flowers or petals on a frame coated with fat, removing the spent flowers or petals, and then repeating the process many times. The end result? Fragrance-impregnated fat that could then be used as is in unguents, or could then be washed with alcohol to remove the fragrance for use in other applications.
There is something quite primal about applying a fragrant oil to one's pulse points, and the medium of jojoba (which is what we use because of its infinite shelf life) for conveying scent has certain advantages not shared by aromatics carried in spirits.
The following artisan perfume oils are very simple. Deceptively so. They are also single notes, which is to say that you will smell what the label tells you, although there are certainly complex nuances present that will act with your unique chemistry. Try layering them for added depth and drama! Natural Perfume Oils come in 5 ml clear glass bottles with a small orifice and flattened pouring lip, for ease of application.
Jasmin Perfume - Jasmine is sensual, faintly overwhelming, warm, mood-altering, downright narcotic. And it provides a basis in classic perfumery for utter magic. I find it particularly responsive to personal chemistry, of all the essences that contain indoles, and that it changes everything it touches, for the better. Our Jasmin unguent contains two types of jasmine, the sambac and grandiflorum species. It also contains just enough myrrh and patchouli to nudge the grandiflorum into the top notes along with coriander and a touch of steam-distilled bergamot.
Purchase for $18.00
Neroli Perfume - The bitter orange tree provides the resourceful perfumer with several essences, distilled and/or extracted from the blooms, the rinds of the fruit, and the leaves, as well as from the hydrosol that results when the flowers are steam-distilled. Orange flower is a rather old-fashioned scent, which we have updated with a few drops of boronia to add a bit of berry-like clarity and tenacity. This unguent is a citrusy floral composed of neroli, orange flower absolute, ylang ylang, orange essence, steam-distilled bitter orange essential oil, and petitgrain.
Purchase for $18.00
Cacao Perfume - Chocolate is one of those base notes that has many charms and quirks to recommend it. It blends beautifully with many of the flower absolutes, and will work well in place of vanilla in some formulations, because it adds darkness, velvet, and bittersweet character that vanilla does not possess. In this unguent it has been played against orange flower absolute, neroli, saffron absolute, bitter orange essential oil, and a single drop of boronia (the world's costliest perfumery ingredient, which smells of raspberries and flowers).
Purchase for $18.00
Lavender Perfume - This unguent contains six different lavenders, harvested from various parts of the world and each with a unique character and bloom. It also contains a mere whisper of deep blue german chamomile, which adds a grassy and sweet element to the composition. If you love lavender, this was made just for you!
Purchase for $18.00
Patchouli Perfume - Did you know that patchouli is what is known as a universal blender in perfumery? You can add this to the base of many blends in small amounts and it will completely surrender itself to the whole. It is also magic on its own, especially when you bolster it with complementary tones. The supporting tones in this unguent are frankincense, fir absolute, and nagarmotha, a uniquely woody essence from India. And of course, the patchouli used in this unguent is well-aged and quite golden in effect. This unguent has the sheerest hint of cumin, which adds a faintly 'dirty' tone as it evolves on the skin initially.
Purchase for $18.00
Roses Perfume - This is a flirty and bright compounding of several rose absolutes (from the damascena and centifolia species), a few drops of rose otto, a sublime geranium bourbon, a whisper of ylang ylang, and a dab of organic bergamot essential oil. It is decidedly rosy, but never overly-sweet, and it has a bright tartness and lightness to it that the synthetic roses always fall short of. A bright pink sunshine of an unguent.
Purchase for $18.00
Purchase all six for $95.00, and try layering!
Demeter - deep roasted coffee announces the top tonalities of rose and jasmine flying off of warm skin, and as it wanes the bittersweet character of the cocoa bean comes up. Chocolate and musky ambrette play off of the sweet ambery incense of labdanum, coasting into a powdery dryout of myrrh
Purchase 5 ml bottle for $30.00
Hekate - blue lotus breathes and whispers florals into a woodsy and earthy heart of spikenard and sage tempered with rose. The attar and the frankincense are the incense smoldering in the censer, while the flowers and sage waft into the atmosphere.
Purchase 5 ml bottle for $30.00 |
