Scents and sensibility.
The National
July 8th, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Detecting Smell
July 8th, 2008 — , Natural Aromatics, Sierra Nevada, mountains, olfaction, scent detection from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I have not read any of the newest tomes on scent detection, and there are several in circulation at the moment. I’ve read Luca Turin’s ‘Secret of Scent’ and have to be honest and say that while I find the study of smell fascinating, this book left me w…
Research
July 7th, 2008 — , Education, Natural Aromatics, advertising, antiquarian perfumery, article from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Probably one of the most difficult tasks a self-trained perfumer has before them ~ all that research.It isn’t enough to read the right books or the books that someone who seems more experienced recommends. Bibliographies in those books are often recomm…
Agarwood
July 7th, 2008 — , Education, Natural Aromatics, agarwood, article from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Missing trees for woods in perfume industryIan JacksonMonday July 7, 2008″Have you ever wondered how much money is involved in the odors of the developed world.So, to make sure there are no big surprises here, I’m not talking about imported Chanel No 5…
Oh, True Apothecary! 2008-07-07 01:00:00
July 6th, 2008 — , Education, Teazers, Tower District, primer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
We went out for tea at the one and only tea house worth visiting, Teazers, in the Tower District. While there I thought it would be great fun to walk through the old neighborhood and check out the gorgeous architecture of the homes in the area. Most o…
Grand Nez
July 6th, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Check out this old article from the Times.
When Life Moves Into a Higher Gear
July 5th, 2008 — , EdC, Natural Perfumery, The Scented Djinn, advertising, antiquarian perfumery from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
You pedal faster.I’ve been toying with the idea of compounding more eau de colognes. Non-traditional, I think, using fewer citruses and more ~ what? Herbs? Rare greens? Yes! Already put one up on Etsy — 1 dram size bottles of a boronia ‘flavored’ EdC….
Happy 4th
July 4th, 2008 — , formulating, joy from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone stays safe, not too sane, and ~ well, just stay safe. July is the official end of the year for us at Oh, True Apothecary! and The Scented Djinn (by ‘us’, I mean me and my aromatics), and believe it or not, this is whe…
Busted!
July 4th, 2008 — , flying money alert, snark from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Just found out someone’s been diddling with my rating over on the ‘She-Commerce’ pages of Bust.com — diddling to lower the rating. Two weeks ago I had a vote stat of only 7 (that’s 7 votes), today votes are up to 24 or 25, but my rating has remained s…
Interview With Ruth Ruane
July 3rd, 2008 — , advertising, interview, natural perfumer, white witch, working the bench from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
You can find it here.
New Le Parfumeur Rebelle Giveaway
July 2nd, 2008 — , Giveaway, Le Parfumeur Rebelle, The Scented Djinn from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
July’s giveaway is a Goodie Bag. So far, the goodies included in the bag are two LPR t-shirts, one size extra large, one size small; a full size bottle of the yet-to-be-released eau de parfum ‘Serj’ by The Scented Djinn (that’s me in case you weren’t …
The Plight of Sandalwood
July 1st, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
“Mysore, the sandalwood capital of the world, is an epithet that’s fast losing meaning.”Read the rest here.
A Series of Ridiculous Events
July 1st, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
The most ridiculous thing happened to me the other night. I was sitting at the bench blending a small dilution of labdanum amber, when someone elsewhere in the house slammed a door. This started a domino effect of things flinging themselves to the floo…
The Perfumer’s Bible
June 26th, 2008 — , Amazon.com, Natural Aromatics, advertising, arctander from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Arctander on Amazon at $194 and change.UPDATE! June 29,2008 ~ Oops! It appears the ‘deal’ went out the door and the books are up to $246. Still, that’s a deal ~ the publisher’s price is usually $349, oh, and maybe a 10 or 20% discount.Another Update! J…
FDA Globalization Act of 2008
June 26th, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Here’s a bit more information on this subject. In a nutshell, this new act will kill small independent businesses by the thousands.Read more here.
Underestimating the Power of a Tincture
June 23rd, 2008 — , Natural Aromatics, antiquarian perfume, formulating, tinctures from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Just a brief note here ~Tinctures need diluting. Or at the very least, a better understanding of their nature; knowing that some tinctures can rival the strength and quality of a good absolute is important, and they should be used in the same manner as…
White Witch
June 21st, 2008 — , Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, advertising, botanical perfumery, natural perfumer, ruth ruane, white witch from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Ruth Ruane, aka White Witch, has recently redesigned her website ~ it’s easy to maneuver, easy on the eyes, and the products listed are — well, run on over there and take a peek for yourself!White WitchPhoto copyright White Witch
Caution: Perfumer Knows Less Than It Appears
June 19th, 2008 — , Education, antiquarian perfumery, joy, spirituality from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I’ll be the first to admit I know next to nothing when it comes to this gig. I’m learning something new and wonderful about this art form I’ve chosen to follow every single day. From peers, from books, from research — from life! Today is a good day an…
Continue reading → Caution: Perfumer Knows Less Than It Appears
Antiquarian Perfumer
June 18th, 2008 — , Antiquarian Perfumer, Natural Perfumery, antiquarian perfume, antiquarian perfumery, botanical perfumery, monikers, natural perfumer, pretention, snark from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
The most recent entry into the current line-up of explanations of ‘what we do’ has arrived, via Martin Watt ~ Antiquarian Perfumery While many of us veer away from frivolous and pretentious monikers in this business (i.e. Master Perfumer, Artisan Perfu…
Natural&Botanical Perfumery 101 ~ Where to Start
June 17th, 2008 — , American Science Surplus, Education, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, White Lotus Aromatics, natural perfumer, perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Well, at the beginning, of course. Get thee swiftly to thy apothecary ~ in this case, that would be American Science Surplus, and buy up as many of those little 5 ml dropper bottles as you can fit in the shopping cart (ok, 50 or 75 or 100 are more than…
Continue reading → Natural&Botanical Perfumery 101 ~ Where to Start
Smellin’ Ethical
June 12th, 2008 — , advertising, big house perfumery, raw materials from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Sydney Morning Herald, Life&Style SectionHelen Greenwood, June 12, 2008:”The Emporio Armani Red perfumes for men and women raise an interesting question: when it comes to perfume, can you smell ethical? These perfumes are part of the Red campaign t…
Research & Rediscoveries
June 11th, 2008 — , Christopher McMahon, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, joy, magic, spirituality from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I spent a bit of time on White Lotus Aromatics’ website perusing the archives. Reading Christopher McMahon’s descriptions of blue lotus & agarwood made me drool.Blue lotus is a spectacular essence. No words can aptly describe it. It produces a phys…
Roses, Roses, Roses
June 10th, 2008 — , Bulgaria, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, natural perfumer, rose production from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Forbes.com announced today: Bulgaria expects record production of rose oil in 2008Sophia, Bulgaria - Bulgaria’s rose oil distilleries expect record production this season of the ingredient …
Cost of Doing Business 2008 Style
June 6th, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I’ve been thinking a lot about the FDA’s proposed Globalization Act of 2008 and how it will affect the art of natural&botanical perfumery.As the act is currently written and proposed, there would be a mandatory $2000 annual fee per each manufacturi…
Blending & Safety
June 5th, 2008 — , Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, natural perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I think it’s sad how modern natural perfume books (teaching material) have so little information with regard to raw materials’ safety. Redirecting the reader/student elsewhere, away from the book or teaching manual, isn’t a responsible route to take as…
Finding Joy
June 5th, 2008 — , joy, olives, tea from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I find joy in simple things.Rediscovering what I thought I’d lost.Jasmine pearl green tea with just the right amount of raw honey.Kalamata olives.A ten-year old bottle of dark patchouli.Photos of people I haven’t seen in years — or better, photos of p…
Frankincense
June 4th, 2008 — , Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, a, natural perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
That, my friends, is the result of two years and one month in the life of a forgotten tincture.Boswellia carteri, pea-sized tears of African origin, soaked and sealed in organic grape alcohol, and abandoned to the dark depths of the Cupboard of Scente…
Reflecting on My Scented Beginnings
June 3rd, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Celestiale was one of the first perfumes I sold. Back when I was a partner at Delicia Skincare Deli. Damn. It was so much fun running a street shop ~ hard work, but great fun. I was so sad when we had to close up.So, Celestiale . . . she was oil-based….
Mitsouko
May 31st, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I sold this full, unopened bottle of vintage (sales sticker dated 1967) Mitsouko extrait on ebay two years ago for just over half what I paid for it the year before. Should have kept it. Since I don’t suffer regret easily, and because the buyer actuall…
A Little About Education
May 22nd, 2008 — , Education, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, natural perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Much has been written lately about natural and botanical perfumery education. It seems you can’t throw a stick these days without hitting an expert in the blending and creation of natural and botanical perfumes. Five years ago your education options we…
Kiss of the Vampire
May 20th, 2008 — , Diana Rajchel, Natural Perfumery, advertising, botanical perfumery from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Come out, come out wherever you are!Magickal Realism’s Diana Rajchel has created a scent which pays homage to the vampire. The really good-looking rock star kind, of course. No bald-headed, drooling, moogly-eyed Nosferatu in this bottle.It has a wicked…
EdC Revisited
May 20th, 2008 — , EdC, Education, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, natural perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I felt I’d done quite well with my first real attempt at an EdC. That is, I felt that way until this morning.Trying to put a new twist on an old formula isn’t as easy as you might think. Other folks are chiming in with what they’ve done to tweak the fo…
Mountain Misery
May 19th, 2008 — , Education, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, raw materials, tinctures from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Chamaebatia foliolosa, supposedly a member of the rose family, is a scent once sniffed is never forgotten.Mountain Misery, it’s common name, or Kit Kit Dizze, it’s less common- common name, is the scent of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Deeply green and …
Hats Off to the Neti Pot
May 16th, 2008 — , Natural Perfumery, advertising, botanical perfumery, natural perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I woke yesterday morning with a telltale pulsing behind my left eye. Yup, the sinuses were acting up again.I’ve suffered with sinus infections, hay fever and allergies my entire adult life, and it’s not something a natural perfumer can deal with very w…
Two Weeks Left . . .
May 15th, 2008 — , Le Parfumeur Rebelle from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
. . . to sign up for the Le Parfumeur Rebelle monthly giveaway for May, 2008.May’s contributing sponsor is Little Flowers; the giftie is a jar of an intensely scented decollete balm.
Classic EDC
May 13th, 2008 — , EdC, Education, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, formulating, raw materials from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I’ve been playing around with Eau de Colognes of late ~ attempting to recreate formulas, and come up with a few of my own.The whole water issue with EdC’s kind of scare me. I remember when I was new to natural perfumery, I attempted an EdC based on a f…
Gathering the Green
May 10th, 2008 — , Education, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, raw materials from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I’m obsessed with green.I want to run out and gather up leaves and grass to tincture. Chaparral — manzanita in particular — intrigues me. I’m inspired by Roxana Villa’s ‘Q’ parfum built around an oak leaf tincture. She and I had brief email conversa…
Treat Yourself
May 9th, 2008 — , Mother's Day, advertising from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
It’s a little late to be recommending great places to get Mother’s Day gifts, but it isn’t too late to make recommendations for After Mother’s Day Day gifts — um — yeah.So if your wee little ones, with the help of the significant other, aka, The Clue…
Children of Aphrodite
May 8th, 2008 — , Edward Sagarin, Mother's Day, Natural Perfumery, Youth Dew, advertising, botanical perfumery from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
“At various times of the year, as gift-giving holidays approach, the advertising columns of the newspapers take on a changed aspect. The flights of fancy of the copy writers have no limits. The lady is exhorted to use a drop of an odor that will bring …
Perfumery Without Pretension
May 7th, 2008 — , Diana Rajchel, Education, Le Parfumeur Rebelle from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Le Parfumeur Rebelle is proud to feature co-editor Diana Rajchel’s monthly column ‘Perfumery Without Pretension’ ‘in which she outlines the trials, tribulations and legalities facing botanical perfumery today.Her writing style is intelligent and highly…
Mr. Gracious
May 5th, 2008 — , Andy Tauer, perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
“Making perfume is an educative mission.” Mr. Andy Tauer, Luckyscent Scent Bar, Los Angeles, CA, March 29, 2008
May 2008 LPR Giveaway Sponsor: Little Flowers
May 4th, 2008 — , Le Parfumeur Rebelle from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
My dear friend and colleague, Nicole of Little Flowers, is the May 2008 LPR Giveaway sponsor.Enter at Le Parfumeur Rebelle for your chance to win this gorgeously scented decollete balm.I’ve used many of Nicole’s beautiful handmade skincare items, inclu…
Continue reading → May 2008 LPR Giveaway Sponsor: Little Flowers
Yuzu
May 2nd, 2008 — , Education, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I remember my first experience with this essence as being sort of meh. No big deal, I thought. Now, years later, I find myself craving the scent of this odd little citrus.It is not sweet and robust as orange essence, nor subtly tart as lemon, or sheer …
Leather
May 1st, 2008 — , Education, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, accords, botanical perfumery, natural perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
I’ve been experimenting with creating leather accords, pushing the leathers toward gourmand and simple rankness.The gourmand leather accord is pretty interesting. Among many of its components is valerian root tincture. Valerian, as supremely rank as it…
Word On the Wind
April 30th, 2008 — , Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, snark from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
What comes around goes around.You reap what you sow.Karma.Someone once told me, during a long, protracted, one-sided phone conversation funded on my dime, that we all (natural/botanical perfumers) need to stick together. Okay. So when is that going to…
Feeling the Crunch
April 28th, 2008 — , Education, Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery, natural perfumer, raw materials from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Some of you may be wondering why natural perfumes are so costly — why a bottle the size of your thumbnail can cost as much as $150, and more. One reason is because most natural perfumers build in cost of production increases into their products — giv…
Musings
April 25th, 2008 — , Education, Music, Natural Aromatics, Natural Perfumery, Poetry, botanical perfumery, natural perfumer from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
As some of you who read this blog know, I’ve taken time off from the grind of mass producing skincare and perfume products to study. When I initially made the decision, I thought it would be difficult — y’know, being separated from my loyal customers,…
Celebrating Earth Day
April 18th, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Tomorrow we celebrate Earth Day at the Intermountain Nursery in Prather, CA. It will be a day of speeches and music and celebrations, a time to meet with old friends we haven’t seen in a while, a time to heal.The folks at Intermountain will cleanse the…
Ha!
April 13th, 2008 — from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
Trials
April 8th, 2008 — , Natural Perfumery, botanical perfumery from Oh, True Apothecary @ Oh, True Apothecary!
There’s so much to do — even though it’s only April — before the re-opening of The Scented Djinn this fall.Formulating perfumes, for one! Ah, but that’s the fun part. It’s the marketing materials, contacts and basic pounding of the pavement that are …