Must Read: Visions of Fall and Winter - Parts 2 & 3

Visit The Scented Salamander to read the rest of her series about visions of fall and winter according to North American independent perfumers. Part 2 featuring Candice Jurko of CJ Scents, Anya McCoy of Anya's Garden, Fabienne Christenson of Possets Perfume, and Christopher Brosius of CB I Hate Perfume; and Part 3, where you can read more from the previous artists and closes with the interview with me.

P.s. Click here if you missed Part 1

New Online: Poison Rings and Solid Perfumes

I've just added poison rings to AyalaMoriel.com, in the new Poison Rings section in the store.
Also added are the various other colours of pendants that were especially made, in limited edition, besides our signature blue opal pendants. The one in the photo below is an ethnic Indian Moonstone one, filled with Moon Breath solid perfume.


If you love Solid Perfumes - check out the new section, with vintage pillboxes containing larger amount of solid perfume (up to 1/4oz). The picture above has beautiful bird illustration on its porcelain lid, and is filled with Kinmokusei solid perfume.

Other perfumed jewelry items of interest will be added as I go and find more interesting vintage and ethnic pieces. I'm always on the hunt of vessels that can contain perfume!

More poison rings can also be found on Etsy.

Body Oil Poll

While I try to get better with bitter Chinese herbs, here's something for you to think about: since the highest votes in the last poll went for adding body oils to my product line, help me decide which scent would be the first in my body oil line (these will be semi-dry-oils, with a base of fast absorbing frationated coconut oil as the main component).

Back issues...

A wake-up call early Monday morning from my injured back caught me in the middle of a feature article about tobacco in perfumery. Unable to sit and type for any prolonged amount of time this and any other blog posts will have to be postponed until my back allows me to function again. Until than, I can be found with acupuncture needles and Chinese herbs or in the hot tub chasing off the pain.

Katie Puckrick Smells Avery Gilbert

Katie Puckrick interviews sensory psychologist Dr. Avery Gilbert (author of "What The Nose Knows") on her YouTube channel. They discuss bod chemistry, pheromones, indoles and other fascinating scent-related anecdotes and myths.

The Countdown Begins...

Only one more month left till the online launch of The Purple Dress...
You can order samples already, and also pre-order it (only 12 bottles were made).

To RSVP for the launch party click here.

Poll: Which Scented Products Are You Craving?

Tobacco Bouquet

Any old weed will do, originally uploaded by aussiegall.

Trust Ineke to find a place for bright florals even in a dusky leathery-tobacco. Field Notes from Paris is a study of the tobacco concept from head to toe, leaves and flowers included. This take gives it more of an American character, which is the origin of the plant, no matter how much of it is smoked in Parisian cafes… To me, it illustrates the life of the plant from growing in the sunshine, being harvested, hanging the leaves to cure and flavour, and finally enjoyed as a guilty pleasure once burnt and smoked to the last puff from a fragrant cigar.

Orange blossom is the star of the show at first, bright and with lavender and rosewood side-kicks it’s almost squeaky clean and with a strong masculine reference. Crushed coriander seeds notes are effervescent and floral but add a hint of dirty woodsy spiciness along with roasted coffee nuances. There is also a distinct fruitiness right from the beginning that smells like davana to me, even though it is not listed in the notes. It could very well be the tobacco flower note, which I can't recall ever smelling - but is described by the expert (Stephen Arctander) as having a scent "somewhat similar to carnation with a fresher note, almost fruity".

As Field Notes from Paris develops on the skin, it becomes more warm, woodsy, full bodied and little tannin with notes of dry cedarwood and patchouli, polished by pollen-like beeswax absolute and the pipe-tobacco flavouring note of tonka bean. The tannins become more apparent in the final dry down, as the cure tobacco leaf, leather and patchouli notes take over, sweetened and softened by vanilla bean and the powderiness of the tonka.

Previous post about Field Notes from Paris includes information about the perfume's inspiration and notes. I would only add that this is the most warm and complex fragrance from the line so far, even more than Evening Edged in Gold and it is my favourite next to After My Own Heart. But there are still a few more letters in the alphabet to cover before we get to know Ineke's full potential...

The scent is available directly via Ineke's website.

Burning Tobacco, Sans the Smoke

Un jour d'août au champs de tabac, originally uploaded by pfala.

Burning tobacco without the smoke is made possible via Bohem, Gabriel's Aunt scented soywax candle. While it isn't in the least smoky, it has the unique effect of tobacco absolute, smelling simultaneously fresh and deep, warm and woody. It's a rather simple candle yet smells sophisticated because of the unusual choice of notes: tabac blond absolute, patchouli, vetiver and davana, which adds a curiously fruity and herbaceous-freshness to the mix.

Bohem reminds me of a gypsy or a voodoo dance rather than a bohemian smoking den. The raw and unrefined qualities of the materials and the relative simplicity of their orchestration creates an unfamiliar experience that is curiously appealing.

But Bohem is not only a candle. It began as a perfume, and it is the first of Nikki Sherrit's candles to reflect her natural perfume collection. The perfume is more sophisticated, with the fruitiness of the davana even more pronounced. It plays on the contrast between that wine-like fruitiness and the dryness of tobacco, amplified with the other woody notes which later on evolve into a smooth, chocolatey tobacco dry down. Both the candle and the perfume represent the cured tobacco leaf rather than any tobacco product (i.e.: cigars, cigarettes or pipe tobacco); a choice that makes Bohem stand out in this genre. While there are leathery qualities, an inevitable aspect of the tobacco leaf, there is none of the smokiness or imposed sweetness that happens when you light a match to flavoured tobacco.

Notes: Vetiver, Virginia Cedarwood, Patchouli, Tobacco, Allspice, Cassie and Davana.