The Ask the Perfumer forum is sporadic now, as I am caught up in so many projects, but I still love to assist others in making perfume, tinctures, enfleurage, etc. Feel free to post a question between now and 10 PM ET USA. For fun, a lovely photo of a Florida green...
Jasmines and gardenias smell so beautiful in a cool, early Miami morning. Heavy with dew, this is little early to harvest them for enfleurage or tincture, because the sun needs to work its magic and burn off the dew and warm up the flowers, so they'll release their...
I'm so thankful for the assistance of my apprentice Paula Diaz and Jimmy in renovating my front garden. Edged, mulched beds full of fragrant flowers and leaves look so beautiful, and the plants are so healthy now with proper care. I've had some really poor gardeners...
Can you vote on this? I found the first photo of me with a plant, a tiny tomato plant to my left, from when I was only one and half years old. I want to use the photo in the Perfume From Your Garden book, so I scanned the original...
An Extravagant Perfumed Life - Something we all want! 🙂 A closeout on the unctuous Kaffir perfume, 10% off through August 1st on botanicals and kits, and become the best perfumer you can be A Perfect Scent for Summer - Closeout and Savings I love my kaffir...
I planted a tiny root cutting of comfrey (Symphytum officinale) in 1994, in a prime spot in my front garden. I love this plant so much. I first read about it in Jeanne Rose's Herbs and Things book twenty years before. Comfrey has recently been a conversational subject...
Helene, who posted on the 28th Helene's name was drawn at random, and she has been notified by private email. I'm so happy for her! This book is a true treasure for perfumers, there is nothing like it out there. Thank you to everyone who entered here and on Facebook,...
(Update -- Thanks to the three readers who did find it downloadable on this site at http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/bitstream/1/2031806/1/27102.pdf ) I will be so excited tonight when I get to draw the name of the winner of the print copy of the iconic natural...
How to Make Enfleurage des Poudres – Powder Enfleurage Fragrant Body Powders - An Ancient Art Rediscovered Update April 19, 2015: I do recommend using a bit of powdered orris root or powdered oakmoss as a fixative. The ylang-ylang enfleurage was overpoweringly...
I get frequent emails from potential students who want more information about the professional course I offer at the Natural Perfumery Institute. It's all about them wanting to learn how to make their own perfume, and what it entails. There is no short answer: even...
I wish you could smell these ylang-ylangs!! They look limp, and that's because I wilt them for an hour or so before putting into tincturing alcohol. The tincture I wrote about a few weeks ago is dark green, and saturated with so much scent, it could be ylang absolute....
The Ask the Perfumer Forum is open for questions on how to make your own perfume today. I've been spending so much time on the Facebook page for my upcoming book Perfume From Your Garden, answering scent extraction questions, I felt a need to open up perfume-making...
If you have Ylang Ylang growing, you must tincture it, it's so beautiful, so easy. My ylang-ylang is blooming here in Miami, and I gathered flowers in various stages of maturity, from green to the "ripest" with yellow petals and a red throat, and put them into 190...
A BANANA-scented flower! The Michelias are a beautiful group of magnolias. Of course, there's the M. champaca, with glorious golden/orange fragrant flowers, known as the Joy Perfume tree, and M. alba, whose white flowers smell of fruit and sweetness, and I also love...
Working with, or wearing natural essences is a healthy choice. Want to study this healthful art? http://PerfumeClasses.comI haven't had a cold or flu since I was 20 years old. For the previous five years, I had been using essential oils and fresh herbs on a daily...
Daniel Krasofski is an Ayurvedic healer, longtime natural aromatics lover, perfumer, and lifelong student of perfumery. I am happy to have him as a student in my Natural Perfumery Institute. Daniel is always coming up with surprises, and the latest is that he created...
I finally found a local source for bee goo, and there will probably be a steady supply. In 2003, on the Natural Perfumery group I host on Yahoo, a few members spontaneously, synchronistically, started to write about a tincture of bee goo they were using. Since beeswax...
March 21st was International Fragrance Day, and I posted about it on Facebook and included this photo of some bottles from my vintage perfume collection. Oh, if only we artisan perfumers had the resources to obtain bottles such as this! Not only are these beauties...
It's a real hassle to try to grow hyacinths in Miami. Yes, I can get the bulbs from a northern supplier, put them in the refrigerator to force them, try to harden the bulbs after the blooms are spent, etc., but I really don't have the time or space for that. I'm not...
Exotic Kewdra perfume from Anya's Garden was made as an homage to the main character Kudra, from Jitterbug Perfume, a wonderful novel about perfumery. An update on the progress of the Perfume From Your Garden book: Yes, it's Saturday night, and I'm writing. Going...
Memberships in the Natural Perfumers Guild usually are for one year, but to "pay it forward", all renewals and new members will have their membership extended to fifteen (15) months. Non-business members, such as Friends, can benefit from the community forum,...
