Recently I was asked if I wanted to test an Aera home scenting device with fragrances that were created by top perfumers such as Christophe Laudamiel, Annie Buzantian, Sabine de Tscharner, Raymond Matts, and Brian Wilcheck. Some of my readers might be interested in this unit and my testing results, so I’m posting a review. The…
I saw this article a while back and haven’t had time to post a link until now, but I wanted to include it in our series of posts on the genetic variance in the sense of smell (other posts on this topic can be found in the Olfaction category and have the tag “genetics” )….
It’s been quite a while since I’ve checked in on the blog. I’m still working on the two new scents and will post about them when they are ready for sampling. I thought I’d share a few pictures from this spring. I’ve been working to improve the garden drip system because our mineral-rich well water…
A recent article in Inside Science describes more evidence that people experience scents differently. (Perfume In Progress has followed this research topic for a number of years; you can find a series of posts about it by searching for the #genetics tag on our posts.) In this experiment, researchers broke the common smell of potato chips into three main aromatic…
I’m working on mods for two scents that are both close to being done; one is the chocolate gourmand that I’ve mentioned before, and one is the floral that I worked on last summer with orange blossom, mimosa, and jasmine. I’m very close to posting a link to the webpage for the gourmand. Sadly, I gave…
The Perfumed Plume Awards just announced the 2017 finalists for their fragrance journalism awards, and the Perfume In Progress post What Goes Into Running An Artisan Perfume Business? was named one of the 10 finalists in the digital category. (Note: The Perfume In Progress blog became The Artisan Insider in 2019.) The winners in all categories…
I wanted to explain a change that I have made to the bottle size options. I have removed the 3 ml and 5 ml and replaced them, at least for now, with 4 ml travel sprays. The new 4 ml are midway in price between the 3 ml and 5 ml. Offering one small spray…
Wishing everyone a wonderful 2017! I’m very grateful to be part of the fragrance community and hope 2017 treats us well! I took the photo above from my deck a few days before Christmas. The oak trees are bare now and look sculptural against the blue sky and puffy clouds. I’m looking forward to…
I just put Lieu de Reves back on the Mixed Media Collection page where it can be purchased, and I moved Rose Musc into the Archive for now. I do still have some Rose Musc left that can be purchased from the Archive page, and I can make more when I run out (but I probably won’t…
Happy holidays! Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend with friends and family. My brother and his family will be up to visit with us next weekend for New Year’s. This last week my assistant and I batched Winter Woods and Fireside Intense while listening to Christmas music, which seemed appropriate. 🙂 Now that holiday…
Concern has been growing over the last few years that natural perfumery oils could be regulated out of existence because natural oils are complex mixtures of aroma chemicals and often contain chemicals that are limited by safety rules. A recent Perfumer & Flavorist article about a possible new way to safety test natural ingredients caught my eye, partly…
I made a batch of Lieu de Reves and plan to add it to the site for New Year’s Day. I just made a small batch this time, but it came out well and I can make more if needed. I will probably move it from the Archive back out to the Mixed Media page (for…
Equestrian was included in Fragrantica’s Best of 2016 post, which was a wonderful surprise for me on Thursday morning. The post includes picks from many Fragrantica editors and also features photos of the editors in fun holiday-themed poses. The end-of-year posts always inspire me to buy samples of the scents I have missed during the year….
Lieu de Reves and Cameo are currently out of stock in the archive, and I’ve received a number of email requests to make a batch of one or both. I’m trying to gauge how much interest there would be so that I can decide how much to make. If you’d like to express interest, you could…
Have you dreamed of creating your own perfume brand? Or wondered what keeps artisan perfumers busy behind the scenes? Maybe you have taken classes and developed some formulas, and now your friends say that they want to buy your fragrances. Should perfumery remain a hobby or should you take it to the next level? I often receive emails from people who request advice about…
Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful day spent with friends and family. Samples and 5 ml sizes have been back on the site for a few weeks, and I just made the larger bottle sizes available as of last night, so we’re up and running again. I still have two new scents…
I’m working on several new scents and hope to release one of them before the end of the year. I’m going to keep the cart down for a few more weeks, but I will put samples back up for sale by early November and bottles by mid November. I’ll use the remaining few weeks of…
I’ve been taking a fall break to catch up on some things and to work on a new floral formula that I began quite a few months ago. The notes include bergamot, mimosa, jasmine, orange blossom, lily of the valley, beeswax, greens, amber, cedar, patchouli, and moss. My back has been bothering me the last…
Many thanks to Ida for her beautifully written review of the new SSS Equestrian on Fragrantica! I loved reading her memories of barns and horses, as well as her experience with the scent.
For several years, Taste TV has sponsored an annual awards program for artisan perfumers. I have not entered before, but I submitted three entries for 2016 (you are allowed to enter 1 to 3 entries each year, and they can be any scent that you have not entered before). Entries were due before the new…