I have been very preoccupied with other aspects of my life lately. With deadlines, personal obligations and bills have all taken a good deal of my time during the past few weeks. Despite this, I'm happy to report that I've been a good perfume addict and have managed to devote at least a few hours to studying materials, tweaking formulas and blending new concoctions to sit undisturbed in the far reaches of my pantry.
Earlier in the year, I had purchased a generous size portion of Nerolidol, a "woody, tea-like note" and had been experimenting using it in various tea themed fragrances. At a certain point in my life, I can remember not being able to function without a steaming hot cup of Earl Grey first thing in the morning. Sometime in the intervening years, I switched to over to coffee. Creating a tea based perfume might bring back memories of a previous stage in my life when it was not so complex.
A few weeks earlier, Brad Kalavatinos, a fellow perfumer and owner of Le Scent Studio in Normal Illinois had sent me a sample of an accord he was working on for a tea fragrance. He created a fragrance that he could relax in, that was imbued with the natural, quiet beauty of tea on a backdrop of cream with violet and smoky undertones.
Inspired by Brad's vision of tea and my love of clary sage I decided to take a stab at a basic tea accord and put together a formula of Coumarin, Oakmoss, Orris/Violet, Clary, Tea, Hedione (it ain't jasmine like I know jasmine) and Begamot. It was put aside and several weeks and several versions of tea came and went. There was a lemon tea, lavender tea, herbal tea and tea to the point where I had completely forgotten about making tea altogether.
On occasion, if I'm going to spend a lot of time on the road, I'll take an accord with me as a sort of pick-me-up to make the day more pleasant. Yesterday, the forgotten tea accord number one beckoned and made the trip with me on my daily rounds. I dabbed a little as I drove to work, but being a bit ahead of schedule, decided to take a detour into the Whole Foods Store & be tempted by the essential oils on the shelves and purchase a few grocery staples. The cassis bark and clementine were plucked off the shelf and I headed for the check out aisle.
As I was checking out, the youngish cashier looked at me brazenly and demanded to know what I was wearing. HAH! I thought that only happened on the pages of women's magazines, movies, advertising or on some secret perfume blogspot. Now it was happening to me in real life. I swelled up with a mixture of disbelief, panic, pride and joy as I confessed the truth. Uuuhhh, I made it myself, you really like it?
Never dreamed that would happen to me the way it did but it really made for a very nice rest of the day.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
picture perfect
a few days ago I received a shipment of sprayers and bottles; the bottles were slightly translucent and the sprayers had a gold-colored base, a clear cap, and white atomizer button. Surprisingly enough the bottles and sprayers (which were snugly fit) looked very good with each other. The bottles looked even better after my daughter made a label for one of them. The labels had teardrop shapes in the color of sky blue with the words 'Dew Drop' written inside of it. Here is a picture
AHEM,,,, yes, "I" did order bottles with matching tops that turned out quite nice. A ball roller top is available for the same glass bottle, which I believe would be appropriate for oil based perfumes. I was also able to find atomizer tops that are exactly the right size for the small army of 30 ml boston rounds I'm currently hoarding which are about as attractive as a bottle of cough syrup......
Our next project - by the end of the month - will probably involve developing some of the packaging ideas we've been toying with. I'm thinking about incorporating some of the tricks we picked up during our 6 month bookbinding fling a few years ago, where we learned how to hand bind and cover our own books, into attractive, sturdy and recycled/recyclable packaging. Another possibility we are considering is to incorporate some novel origami designs into some light cardboard or stiffened paper or fabric carriers for the smaller size bottles.
There certainly is a lot more involved in our perfume hobby than what goes into the bottle .
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Father's Day Cologne - Bay Rum Cologne
Yesterday afternoon, while discussing what to get daddy for Father's Day with my youngest, I was informed that one of the gift's was going to be a men's cologne. I panicked. No way, that really wasn't what I had planned or hadn't planned, but after considering the alternatives to a men's cologne, I resigned myself to a fast and furious production schedule of exactly one day.
Since I started making perfumes, about a year ago, I've started to collect and save samples of all of the formulas I've worked on. I have chypres, fougeres, ambres, musks and many other families and styles of fragrance. Granted, most of them are exercises designed to teach and train in olfactive arts, acting more as a testament to the fact that I'm trying and making minute progress in honing my craft than a great artistic achievement. Still, it is intensely satisfying and, I have to confess, offers the opportunity to daydream about far off exotic lands teaming with unheard of species of fragrant plants or sitting in on a board meeting reviewing the latest numbers from my latest successful product.
Anyway, the men in my family are not the "cologne" types. They wouldn't be caught dead at a perfume counter. The only perfume or cologne they have or will ever own was given to them as holiday presents and then sit on a closet shelf waiting to be worn to the Niece's Wedding, the Company Board Meeting and other events that creep up and interrupt their regular cyclic schedule of going to work everyday and engaging in the regular weekend rituals they've grown accustomed to.
I opened my drawer of textbook exercises and slowly opened several bottles to try to decide which one was going to be the sacrificial lamb for my child's Father's Day gift. I had several choices, a fougere, a hay scented cologne and a bay rum cologne. Having notice that all of the perfume victims on my list had already purchased and owned bay rum cologne, I figured Bay Rum Cologne was the most appropriate choice, if for no other reason than that they were comfortable with it and might use it if the right occassion, like my brother and his fiancee's upcoming wedding, presented itself. So the Bay Rum Cologne was pulled from the drawer and readied for it's Father's Day coming out party.
The original solution had been made in February but needed some dressing up and diluting in order to be made presentable. I added a tiny base of synthetic sandalwood, labdanum, atlas cedar, siam balsam and vetiver. The heart was augmented with a very healthy dose of dihydromyrcenol, bay, cardamon and juniper berry. The top notes included orange terpenes, lemon, eucalyptus, pimento, neroli, litsea and bergamot. A more than healthy dose of dark Jamaican Rum was added throughout the process.
My child was happy and satisfied to watch me scurry about in a mad rush of measuring, diluting, bottling and making labels. Somehow in the midst of all of this, we also managed to clean my car inside and out with the new power washer that was the "other" gift of the day.
The presentation went well, all the women liked it! I ended up making two larger bottles for my "Dads" and several smaller bottles for my brothers and sister's husbands. My mother asked me how she was supposed to use it and I told her to dab some behind his ears and make him sit real close to her on the couch while they watch television....;). .
Since I started making perfumes, about a year ago, I've started to collect and save samples of all of the formulas I've worked on. I have chypres, fougeres, ambres, musks and many other families and styles of fragrance. Granted, most of them are exercises designed to teach and train in olfactive arts, acting more as a testament to the fact that I'm trying and making minute progress in honing my craft than a great artistic achievement. Still, it is intensely satisfying and, I have to confess, offers the opportunity to daydream about far off exotic lands teaming with unheard of species of fragrant plants or sitting in on a board meeting reviewing the latest numbers from my latest successful product.
Anyway, the men in my family are not the "cologne" types. They wouldn't be caught dead at a perfume counter. The only perfume or cologne they have or will ever own was given to them as holiday presents and then sit on a closet shelf waiting to be worn to the Niece's Wedding, the Company Board Meeting and other events that creep up and interrupt their regular cyclic schedule of going to work everyday and engaging in the regular weekend rituals they've grown accustomed to.
I opened my drawer of textbook exercises and slowly opened several bottles to try to decide which one was going to be the sacrificial lamb for my child's Father's Day gift. I had several choices, a fougere, a hay scented cologne and a bay rum cologne. Having notice that all of the perfume victims on my list had already purchased and owned bay rum cologne, I figured Bay Rum Cologne was the most appropriate choice, if for no other reason than that they were comfortable with it and might use it if the right occassion, like my brother and his fiancee's upcoming wedding, presented itself. So the Bay Rum Cologne was pulled from the drawer and readied for it's Father's Day coming out party.
The original solution had been made in February but needed some dressing up and diluting in order to be made presentable. I added a tiny base of synthetic sandalwood, labdanum, atlas cedar, siam balsam and vetiver. The heart was augmented with a very healthy dose of dihydromyrcenol, bay, cardamon and juniper berry. The top notes included orange terpenes, lemon, eucalyptus, pimento, neroli, litsea and bergamot. A more than healthy dose of dark Jamaican Rum was added throughout the process.
My child was happy and satisfied to watch me scurry about in a mad rush of measuring, diluting, bottling and making labels. Somehow in the midst of all of this, we also managed to clean my car inside and out with the new power washer that was the "other" gift of the day.
The presentation went well, all the women liked it! I ended up making two larger bottles for my "Dads" and several smaller bottles for my brothers and sister's husbands. My mother asked me how she was supposed to use it and I told her to dab some behind his ears and make him sit real close to her on the couch while they watch television....;). .
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Making Bath Fizzies
A few years ago, I started making my own bath fizzies or bath bombs. It's actually a rather simple process. You mix together the various ingredients until you the mixture is the right consistency to hold it's shape when pressed together. It is pressed into a mold and then allowed to dry until it is rock solid. That is the basic process. Of course, there is a myriad combinations of skin conditioning ingredients, scents, colors, molds and textures that can be incorporated into the basic scheme to produce a very unique bath fizzie and satisfying bath experience.
The basic recipe for bath fizzies:
1 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Citric Acid
1-2 Tablespoons of an emollient oil or melted bath butter of your choice.
1/2 teaspoon - more or less - essential or fragrance oil
Coloring - a tiny dab of paste food coloring diluted in a minute amount of H2O
Witch Hazel in a bottle with an attached sprayer
If you are sensitive to dust, you should use a disposable dust mask.
The basic steps are as follows:
1. Measure Baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
2. Blend the emollient oils into the baking soda. I like to use a large spoon to smash and stir the dry ingredients until the oils are evenly mixed into the baking soda.
3. Measure and add the Citric Acid. Thoroughly stir until completely incorporated into the baking soda mixture.
4. Dilute the food color with a tiny amount of water and then add to the witch hazel in the bottle.
5. Alternately spray witch hazel into the dry ingredients while quickly stirring the mixture until the fizzie mixture will hold shape in a mold. Be careful not to wet the mixture so much that you prematurely activate the chemical reaction responsible for the bath bomb fizzing. It is very important to immediately stop spraying the witch hazel and stir the dry ingredients vigorously if any fizzing takes place.
6. When the mixture has absorbed enough witch hazel to allow it to be molded, press the mixture into the mold of your choice.
7. Let fizzie mix sit in the mold for a minute and then very gently, release the fizzies from their mold.
8. I like to line a cookie sheet with wax paper while I allow them to dry, at least overnight.
9. When completely dry, store in a container.
There are a lot of variations that can be used to create a custom bath fizzie. Some of the possibilities include incorporating other emollients such as glycerin, emollient oils, melted coconut oil or vegetable butters into the mixture.
Dry ingredient alternatives include adding finely ground oatmeal, Epsom salts, dry milk powder(for a milk bath), corn starch or just use your imagination.
On a whim, I've added finely ground lavender buds to my bath fizzies. What a delightful treat that was!
Bath fizzie bases can be molded into a myriad shapes such as hearts or flowers. Sizes can range from a softball size to a mini lozenge size.
I've seen pictures of fizzies offered on the Internet that are spray painted on the outside or have coordinating scent and color combos incorporated into a single bomb. Haven't tried it myself, but think they look pretty cool.
One of the friends I had gifted the lozenge size fizzies to made sachets out of a few to keep as drawer fresheners. She took different colors of Tulle and decorative ribbons to hold the sachet/fizzie and then put them into drawers and linen closets.
Children and Tweens can really get into this project too! Group dynamics can really get charged when the kids figure out that the bath fizzies are very similar to the vinegar and baking soda volcano science experiments we all remember from our childhood & that all they need to do is add water.
In any event, my frustration in locating certain essential oils, fragrance combinations & other materials for this project led me to embark on the study of niche perfumery.
The basic recipe for bath fizzies:
1 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Citric Acid
1-2 Tablespoons of an emollient oil or melted bath butter of your choice.
1/2 teaspoon - more or less - essential or fragrance oil
Coloring - a tiny dab of paste food coloring diluted in a minute amount of H2O
Witch Hazel in a bottle with an attached sprayer
If you are sensitive to dust, you should use a disposable dust mask.
The basic steps are as follows:
1. Measure Baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
2. Blend the emollient oils into the baking soda. I like to use a large spoon to smash and stir the dry ingredients until the oils are evenly mixed into the baking soda.
3. Measure and add the Citric Acid. Thoroughly stir until completely incorporated into the baking soda mixture.
4. Dilute the food color with a tiny amount of water and then add to the witch hazel in the bottle.
5. Alternately spray witch hazel into the dry ingredients while quickly stirring the mixture until the fizzie mixture will hold shape in a mold. Be careful not to wet the mixture so much that you prematurely activate the chemical reaction responsible for the bath bomb fizzing. It is very important to immediately stop spraying the witch hazel and stir the dry ingredients vigorously if any fizzing takes place.
6. When the mixture has absorbed enough witch hazel to allow it to be molded, press the mixture into the mold of your choice.
7. Let fizzie mix sit in the mold for a minute and then very gently, release the fizzies from their mold.
8. I like to line a cookie sheet with wax paper while I allow them to dry, at least overnight.
9. When completely dry, store in a container.
There are a lot of variations that can be used to create a custom bath fizzie. Some of the possibilities include incorporating other emollients such as glycerin, emollient oils, melted coconut oil or vegetable butters into the mixture.
Dry ingredient alternatives include adding finely ground oatmeal, Epsom salts, dry milk powder(for a milk bath), corn starch or just use your imagination.
On a whim, I've added finely ground lavender buds to my bath fizzies. What a delightful treat that was!
Bath fizzie bases can be molded into a myriad shapes such as hearts or flowers. Sizes can range from a softball size to a mini lozenge size.
I've seen pictures of fizzies offered on the Internet that are spray painted on the outside or have coordinating scent and color combos incorporated into a single bomb. Haven't tried it myself, but think they look pretty cool.
One of the friends I had gifted the lozenge size fizzies to made sachets out of a few to keep as drawer fresheners. She took different colors of Tulle and decorative ribbons to hold the sachet/fizzie and then put them into drawers and linen closets.
Children and Tweens can really get into this project too! Group dynamics can really get charged when the kids figure out that the bath fizzies are very similar to the vinegar and baking soda volcano science experiments we all remember from our childhood & that all they need to do is add water.
In any event, my frustration in locating certain essential oils, fragrance combinations & other materials for this project led me to embark on the study of niche perfumery.
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