Simplers Distillation to Create a Quick and Easy Hydrosol There are times I just want to spray a delectable floral, spice, herb, or other botanical water on my face or body. The well-known botanical waters, rose or orange blossom, are also known as hydrolats,...
I've long been obsessed with a tropical member of the Mint family Labiatae and focused on obtaining some plants of it to grow in my fragrant garden. They were harder to find than I imagined, but I got two in small pots about a year and a half ago. You can read more...
Making Perfume: Perfume Shorthand Key to Comprehensive Descriptors for Organoleptic Evaluation Perfumers need a jolt, or a boost to the thinking process, to help them come up with a descriptive word for various aspects of a fragrance. When making...
I just revised the insert card that I include when customers buy my sample box of 12 perfumes. I decided years ago that it's best to make a suggestion about the sampling process, and the parallel to wine sampling. If you've ever visited a winery or attended a wine...
When you make perfume from flowers, there are several ways to extract the scent. I love to enfleurage rare flowers. Enfleurage is placing flowers on a bed of semi-hard fat, such as shortening, or rendered leaf lard and suet. The next step in the process is to "wash"...
Slow Study Making perfume takes time, and lots of thinking and introspection. As I work through adapting my textbook for my new website, I am finding many passages that are very helpful for anyone who wants to make perfume, or is already making perfume, whether you...
THE PROJECT AND PROCESS BEGINS In November, 2014, I was contacted by Dr. Claire Shaw, Borough Council President, on behalf of the New Hope (Pennsylvania) Historical Society. They were referred to me as a natural perfumery expert and someone who may be able to assist...
First, I have to thank my new garden assistant, Eric, because he was the first one in three years who followed my instructions to radically prune back my orange jasmine tree (Murraya paniculata) so that I would get lots of flowers. The pruning is needed to produce new...
I have great news: I had the seeds planted in my Miami garden on Tuesday, April 21, when the moon was in an infertile sign, Gemini. I had to have my garden helper plant them, and that was the only day she was available. I would have loved fertile Cancer, but sometimes...
This is a quick post, no illustration other than the photo of the Microplane because it was written quickly for my students who are on an ambergris buying binge. They're familiar with the use of scales in making perfume, so I just used the same format to write the...
I just discovered that this plant can kill honey bees! I had no idea, and this was my first year growing this pretty yellow-flowered fragrant plant. I have two plants, and I'll be removing them, having my gardener destroy them this week. No perfume plant is worth...
Update: The ambrette seed giveaway is closed. Over 35 packets will be mailed out this week, and I wish everyone to have a fruitful harvest! I have quite an important update to my ambrette seed growing and harvesting project of 2014-2015. I have 17 ounces of ambrette...
In 2007, when I launched my perfumery course on the Internet, I put together an expansive, detailed series of forms, charts, and educational materials to assist my students in their studies. There are organoleptic evaluation forms, an aromatic lexicon, several Excel...
Oh, the incredible beauty of the inner chambers of ripe ambrette seeds! I have been growing a patch of them for several months, chronicled here and here. Last night I sat down for another session removing the seeds from the hairy, prickly pod - ouch! The pod is made...
I grow both of the most common types of lemongrass in my garden: the bulbous stalk type we're most familiar with, Cymbopogon citratus, known as West Indian lemongrass. This is the one used in stirfrys, Asian marinade pastes, and many savory dishes. I also grow...
And they say scented geraniums can't be grown in Miami! The beautifully-scented Pelargonium geraniums are native to the high, dry desert of South Africa. Minimal rainfall, low humidity, and far from the equator, they flourish there and in many Mediterranian climates...
This is a closeup photo of one branch of my Meyer Lemon mini tree showing it touching branches with m labdanum bush. The two labdanums that I'm growing are experimental, to see if they will survive in hot, humid Florida. They've survived one summer so far, and are...
Jodi Battershell at Fragrantica wrote a lovely article that can bring those new to my perfumes up-to-date. http://www.fragrantica.com/…/Strolling-Through-Anya-s-Garde… I posted a photo of a moonflower here. It's not part of the article, but its beauty spoke to me...
I've blogged about tincturing the ylang-ylang flowers in my Miami garden. They only smell highly fragrant after the sun goes down, and the next morning the scent retreats into the stems, where the tree protects it from the hot sun. This tincture captures the high,...
Five yellow-flowered plants are in full bloom here in Miami, and all yield a valuable perfume, either to the air, or, luckily, to the perfumer's bottle. I'm growing cassie, vanilla, ambrette seed, Aglaia, and angel's trumpet. This is the first year I've ever noticed...
Just a quick post about the progress of my patch of ambrette seed plants. Known as Abelmoschas moschata or (Syn. Hibiscus abelmoschus L.), is prized for food, drink, industrial and medicinal uses, but I prize it for the musk-scented seeds, which are valuable in...
