Anya McCoy

NPI Founder, Anya McCoy



Anya McCoy is the Founder and Head Instructor of the Institute, and a world-renowned natural perfumer and pioneer in the revitalization of this beautiful ancient art. She is helping usher it into the 21st century by introducing modern perfumery techniques and building an interactive community of students who can network and help each other in their studies. Anya’s history in natural perfumery is deep and dedicated: she launched the first retail natural perfume line in American in 1991 in South Beach, Miami. She is widely recognized as a guiding mentor to thousands of people interested in natural botanical perfumery, reaching out to the worldwide community with education, support, and encouragement.

 

Some of Anya’s passion and history in the world of natural perfumery include:

  • Developed the first online course in natural perfumery (2007)
  • Authored the first American textbook on perfumery, used in the NPI basic course (2010)
  • Developed dozens of unique recording forms for perfumery studies, including editable Word and Excel documents
  • Instructed over 500 students in natural perfumery (since 2007)
  • Founded Yahoo Natural Perfumery group, the largest repository of information on the subject in the world (2002)
  • Mentored thousands of natural perfumery lovers on the Yahoo group
  • Was the first artisan perfumery invited to join the American Society of Perfumers (2013)
  • Authored Homemade Perfume, a book for hobbyists (2018)
  • Over 400 blog posts on natural perfumery since 2006
  • Written numerous research articles on natural perfumery
  • Written a dozen book reviews on essential oils and natural perfumers
  • Written numerous articles on the development of natural perfumery in the 21st century
  • Initiated several Internet perfumery projects including Mystery of Musk and Outlaw Perfumers
  • Written millions of words on aromatherapy, herbalism, and natural perfumery on forums and blogs
  • Instructor for the South Florida Chapter of the Florida School of Holistic Living
  • Founded Anya’s Tropical Essences in 1991, Anya’s Garden Perfumes 2006
  • President of the Natural Perfumers Guild (since 2006)
  • Working with essential oils since 1966, perfumery studies since 1976
  • Pioneer in making scented tinctures and enfleurage for perfumery
  • Owns 800+ essential oils, absolutes, CO2s, and handmade tinctures
  • Owns hundreds of books on essential oils, perfumery, and herbalism

 

Interesting tidbits about Anya:

Anya’s first perfume line was launched in 1991 in Miami, and the 100% natural perfumes were sold in hotels and boutiques in the South Florida area. She gathered a loyal following of celebrities and chefs who welcomed her on-site visits where she also promoted perfumes, fragrant gardens, and herb plants. Always involved in environmental issues, Anya stresses the need for perfumers to become more ecologically-minded, and to promote sustainable growing and processing of botanicals used in perfumery or home fragrance products. Demands for essential oils and other natural aromatics is putting a burden on the planet, and she urges those who can, to grow, and extract whatever fragrant materials they can to lessen that burden. Anya McCoy a singular authority in the world of fragrance as someone who nurtured and developed natural perfumery into the growing, vital community it has become.