Happy 6th Anniversary to SSS!
The month of February is the anniversary of the Sonoma Scent Studio website — we’ve been online for 6 years now. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and becoming friends with many wonderful people over those years and have enjoyed the way the site connects me to fragrance lovers all over the world. I have been trying to grow the line into a collection of fragrances that are the best I can produce, with interesting, beautiful ingredients sourced from an ever-expanding list of supplier companies. I love the way that being a small indie company keeps me in contact with customers and allows me to offer them personal attention, and I appreciate that the internet (plus our mail service!) allows us to connect even over long distances. Lots more to do on my agenda, but I’m making steady progress.
I’d like to do a little sample give-away on the blog to celebrate our anniversary, but I thought it’d be fun to wait until ET is ready and offer ET samples in the drawing. I know I can’t send testers out to everyone who wants one, so I thought a drawing would give a few more people a chance for a freebie sample even if they’ve not been involved in testing. And ET will of course be available for purchasing samples on the website as soon as it is ready. I’ll wait a bit longer to do the drawing in hopes that ET is done (I’m just waiting for tester feedback now). If it takes too long I could do a drawing for a free choice of samples to the winners and do another later for ET. At any rate, I wanted to acknowledge the anniversary month before it is over!
I have more ET testers to send but am holding off a few days in case I have BB testers soon too. I’m working on BB a little bit each day.
Happy anniversary! 🙂
I’m already hoping one of those samples finds its way to me. 😉
Congratulations, Laurie! I love your blog. It’s fascinating to read about your progress as you develop and refine new fragrances.
I remember the first time I ordered samples from you, you enclosed a handwritten note. I was so surprised! I felt like I had gotten an autograph from a celebrity. 🙂
I’m looking forward to trying ET. Do you consider it a fragrance that can be worn in warmer weather? Not that we’re having warm weather in Maine yet.
Thanks!
Ann C.
Happy Anniversary, Laurie! I’ll wear Champagne de Bois today in honor of your celebration (and because I luurve it!). 🙂
Hi Ines, I hope so too! As soon as it’s ready I’ll organize a sample give-away.
Hi Ann, thank you! I remember Nancy of the now closed Fishbone Fragrances decant service saying that she thought about each person as she was wrapping up the packages and she sent each one out with good wishes and hopes it would bring some pleasure. I really know what she meant because it does feel that way when you are still small enough to handle each package yourself. I probably wouldn’t reach for ET on a really hot summer day, but when we’re not having our 100+ degree heat waves I’d wear it any time of year. It’s not as heavy in terms of sillage as some incense scents and it’s not heavily vanillic, but it is woodsy from the sandal/cedar and resinous from the labdanum/cistus/incense. Sounds like you will be looking forward to spring out there!
Hi Suzanne, thank you so much! I’ll wear BB testers today!
Happy Anniversary, SSS!!
I would have worn Opal today (my fave of yours), but am drenched in four hyacinth fragrances instead.
Thanks for the good wishes flittersniffer! You must be enjoying a touch of spring with your hyacinth fest today (at least in spirit if not in weather)!
I received the package of samples yesterday. I dabbed all of them all over my hands and arms (not the greatest idea, but I was home alone and bored hehe) but the two versions of ET, which I’m keeping for the weekend to give a thorough test.
I have found a couple more favorites to add to my “to buy” list: Fireside Intense and Ambre Noir.
Fireside Intense reminds me of my childhood spent at my great grandmother’s house. She had an old, drafty home in rural New Hampshire. She warmed her house and cooked with a wood stove. The dry-down mellows out quite nicely!
Ambre Noir – now this might sound strange – but it made me conjure an image from the Lord of the Rings movies. The part where the large orcs were born out of the soil. Dark and earthy is what I think this is all about! I’ve never seen mitti as a note before and I’m wondering if that adds to the earthiness? I have no idea what it smells like by itself. I know the vetiver and oak moss are playing their respective roles well in this concoction.
Tabac Aurea – Sadly, this didn’t fit what I am looking for in a tobacco fragrance at this time. I love dry and resinous but I like my tobaccos sweet and straight-up with more of a flavored pipe tobacco feel than a tobacco leaves drying in a barn feel. Maybe with a touch of honey absolute in a mild wood base. That honey-hay thing is what I’m looking for and I’m currently searching all over for that perfect one.
Hi Pinchy, glad you’re having fun w/ the samples! The temptation to try a bunch at once is always futile to resist, lol. Glad you like Fireside Intense and Ambre Noir. Mitti really does smell earthy! Patchouli has earthy notes but to me mitti has more of a true baked earth smell while patch is more herbal earthy.
You might try DSH Parfum de Luxe for your rich, honeyed tobacco scent. You’d like the soft honeyed note but it probably doesn’t have the prominent hay part that you’re looking for. For honey/tobacco you might also try SL Fumerie Turque and Chergui, though those don’t quite fit your description either. Neither one is straight-up tobacco — both are complex and may have a few more notes than you’d prefer (FT has rose, which I love but you may not) and both have ambery bases. FT is smoky. Chergui has both the hay (coumarin) and honey notes you are looking for so might be one to try if you’ve not yet.
I’ll be curious what you think of the ET samples but worry since you liked the original so much. It’ll be hard because it’s quite different, but hope you like it. I think I prefer the one w/out tonka of those two.
Laurie – Happy anniversary to SSS!
I really am enjoying your work and am very greatful to be let in on the artistic process. Thank you for sharing.
All the best wishes for continued success.
Ann 🙂
Hi AnnYM,
I’m very grateful for the feedback I get on testers during the development process because I learn a lot about how things work for other people and how much a scent can vary from one person to the next. It’s a great learning process on both sides! Thanks so much for the good wishes!
Laurie,
Just wanted to wish SSS a happy anniversary and thank you for your blog. I find the tweaking process you let us peek into fascinating. The new ET I would love to compare to the original, which I have a sample of.
Amy
Hi Amy,
Thanks for anniversary wishes! I’m hoping most people who liked the original will still like the new ET — it’s still dry with prominent frankincense and sandalwood, but it’s smoother and more refined to me. Three previous ET lovers tested it so far (in various stages) and they approved, and a few people who found the original too strong like the new better. I’ll see how it does when samples get out to more people. Hope you enjoy comparing the two!
Congratulations Laurie! I knew you could do it 🙂
Many happy years to come, for sure!
Thanks so much for the good wishes Cheryl!
Congratulations, Laurie, on SSS’s anniversary, and keep making your beautiful perfumes!
I’m wearing my just-received Femme Jolie today, and really enjoying it. I’m also crazy about Tabac Aurea. Congrats on your anniversary, and I wish you many years of success. I look forward to sniffing many more of your high-quality fragrances!
Happy anniversary!
I love my SSS perfumes!
Hi Jess, Patty, and Kristen! Thanks so much for stopping by with good wishes! I really appreciate it. 🙂
Late, but only because I’ve just begun “travelling” the intertubes again after some time away…which is to explain why I’m only now saying…
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I am not surprised you have been in business this long, passing both the magical 3 year and 5 year mark. The combination a well done product with such wonderful customer contact is a winner. 🙂
Well done, Laurie, and here’s to many many more.
SS
Hi ScentScelf, thank you so much for the very sweet comments and good wishes! 🙂