The Perfume Bee

Strange Invisible Perfumes is a wonderful niche perfumery founded in 2000 by Alexandra Balahoutis. Located in Los Angeles, California, Strange Invisible Perfumes offers a line of completely natural, botanical perfumes that are handcrafted using the finest ingredients. Alexandra uses the gentle process of hydrodistillation to obtain the essential oils from the plants. This procedure maintains the subtle nuances of the oils.

Strange Invisible Perfumes are either

• organic
• wild-crafted
• pesticide-free
• or biodynamically cultivated.

The gentle care combined with the high quality ingredients and Alexandra’s poetic artistry result in very unique and beautiful fragrances. I sampled three of the newest perfumes in the Signature Collection; they launched in 2006.

The first was Moongarden. This lush, heady floral perfume contains notes of tuberose, jasmine, pikake and African resins. The name, Moongarden, evokes the white, night-blooming blossoms which are so opulent. This fragrance was very indolic when I first applied it, but after about 30 minutes it began to bloom into an elegant, rich fragrance. It lasted several hours, and continued to become more delightful as time went by.

The second fragrance, Magazine Street, captures the brazen, romantic energy of New Orleans. Its notes are magnolia, vanilla, patchouli, vetiver and botanical musk. It started out very musty and sweet, with the vetiver and patchouli notes dominating. And then, fifteen minutes later, it turned into a soft, woodsy, floral wonder. Of the three fragrances I sampled, I think this would appeal equally to both men and women.

An added bonus: Eight percent of retail sales from every 1/4 fl. oz. bottle of Magazine Street supports the Katrina relief work of Common Ground Collective, a non-profit organization providing immediate aid and long-term support to sustainably rebuild devastated communities in New Orleans.

The third fragance was Prima Ballerina. It has notes of Egyptian and Turkish roses, Greek sage, lime, and botanical musk. This is a rose-lover’s delight that smells like genuine, old-fashioned, fragrant roses. And this happy, soaring fragrance really does conjure up the graceful image of a Prima Ballerina in Grand jeté, floating above the ground. It is my favorite of the three, one I could easily enjoy wearing on a regular basis.

Cost: 1/4 fl. oz. flacon of perfume can be purchased for $185 at select Barneys New York locations, the Strange Invisible Perfumes boutique and perfumery in Los Angeles (tel. 310-314-1505) or online at www.siperfumes.com. Sample vials can be purchased online for $7.

perfume image source: www.siperfumes.com

Ballerinas: Photographer, Jeff Medaugh, 2006. This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0).

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Vancouver, B.C.-based natural perfumer Ayala Moriel has created an exquisite fragrance in the complex, rich Razala. Released in the fall of 2006, this alluring perfume is perfect for a dressed-up night on the town.

Razala, which is Ayala’s Arabic nickname, is classified as oriental spicy/oriental woody. One of its most interesting notes is the very rare ambergris. Ambergris is a precious, beach-harvested natural product which is renowned for its fixative qualities. It contributes to the lovely lasting-power of this fragrance. Other notes include:

• Top notes: Blood Orange, Pink Pepper, Saffron Crocuses
• Heart notes: Rose, Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Magnolia
• Base notes: Ambergris, Myrrh, Patchouli, Oud

I was immediately struck by the elegance of this perfume. The warm, spicy top notes warmly meld with the beautiful rose and jasmine floral notes. The woody, resiny base notes, with the inimitable ambergris, lend it a remarkable depth of character. I found myself repeatedly smelling my wrist and inhaling deeply as the scent changed and deepened on my skin.

This is an evening fragrance, to be worn when you are looking for something seductive and exotic.

And you can feel good about wearing it. Perfumer Ayala describes her natural perfume philosophy (via Ayala Moriel Parfums):

We use only top quality essential oils, absolutes, CO2 extractions and concretes, all derived directly from their botanical origins. These precious botanical essences retain the original qualities of the plants they were extracted from. What remains is the true scent of the plant, as well as its therapeutic qualities and all the trace elements found in the living plant. This enables the authentic beauty of the natural plant to shine through in all of our perfumes, and adds depth and dimension to our perfume creations.

We do not use any synthetic chemical derivatives, nor do we use synthetic, petroleum based chemicals. We also banish animal-derived aromas, except for honey, beeswax and beach-harvested ambergris, and do not perform any sort of animal testing.

Razala can be purchased online at Ayala Moriel Parfums. It is available in parfum extrait, 9ml parfum flacon for $99.99; as a flacon + 15ml refill bottle for $179.99; perfumed pendant (creme parfum) $149.99; and as a 1-ml sample, $5.99.

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As I delve more deeply into the world of natural perfumery, I am continually amazed by the richness, complexity and vibrancy of natural perfumes currently available. Today I’d like to share with you two lovely, natural fragrances from Jo Wood Organics, based in the U.K.

The first is called Amka. This fragrance is an orange-water based, energizing scent:

With a romantic heart of Iranian rose otto, Egyptian jasmine and bright fresh top notes of neroli and bergamot, Amka is a fragrance of energy and spontaneity. Green mandarin and sweet orange add a fresh, vibrant layer, and the whole combination is grounded in a soft, spicy base of cedarwood.

The second fragrance is Usiku:

A warm and sensual fragrance with a fresh, vibrant edge, Usiku combines top notes of rosemary and pineneedle with a spicy hit of cardamom and hot ginger. A complex heart of coriander, clove and clary sage give way to the woody aromas of Moroccan cedarwood, patchouli and vetiver. Earthy and sophisticated, this is a scent for men and women alike.

Both fragrances are available in a line of body care products, including organic body lotion, organic body soap, organic body dew, and natural soy wax candles. I tried the body dews and found both fragrances to be delightful and uplifting. Amka is bright and sparkling, with a light hesperidic twinkle. Usiku is warm and woodsy with a sense of comfort, like a favorite cashmere sweater. One could consider Amka to be the yin to Usiku’s yang!

Founder Jo Wood (who is married to Ronnie, the Rolling Stone) is passionate about organic living. These products reflect her passion for being “green.” I quote her words here because I find them inspirational and because they are proof that beautiful fragrances can also be part of a sustainable culture:

We have great respect for the incredible properties of nature so we’re committed to making the purest, most natural products possible using only the highest grade of essential oils and plant extracts.

Our range contains the highest possible percentage of organic ingredients and we make sure they’re from accredited and audited sources. We’re dedicated to finding organic alternatives for widely used natural ingredients, working with suppliers to boost the production of accredited organic crops.

Nothing but nature
We never use the following in any of our products: animal ingredients, artificial colours, artificial fragrances, GM ingredients, petroleum derivatives, mineral oil, sodium laureth sulphates, phthalates, parabens, chemically derived active ingredients. Everything in our range is suitable for vegetarians.

Our products comply with European and FDA safety regulations. They’re made in Devon in the UK, and of course they are not tested on animals.

We’ve used glass for our bottles because it’s naturally derived and is recyclable. Glass is the best material to protect the precious contents, but because we don’t use chemical sunscreens you should keep your products out of sunlight and use them within 9 months of opening.

Jo Wood Oganics are available at Jo Wood Organics.
In the US, they can be purchased at Bergdorf Goodman, C.O. Bigelow Chemists and beautyhabit.com.

Amka Organic Body Dew: £45.00 ($85) 100 ml 3.4 fl oz
Usiku Organic Body Dew: £45.00 ($85) 100 ml 3.4 fl oz

image source: Jo Wood Organics.

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