Gift Packaging and Sample Sets

People often ask me if I sell sample sets and I usually file the idea away as something I should really get around to and then I just get back to whatever I was doing and forget about it.  This past winter while hibernating I had a little bit of fun with creating gift packaging and sample sets.

 I have boxes of three quarter ounce vials of some of the extracts I've been making such as the Tea Collection, the Citrus Collection and the Toasted Nut Collection.  They come tucked in a brown velvet pouch nestled in a matte gold gift box.  To finish it's tied with a slender velvet ribbon.  I think it'll make a nice gift for the foodies out there.

 The same packaging works beautifully with my four latest perfumes - Midnight Garden, Sol de la Foret, Flora and Foret de la Mer. To make them a bit more special I've chosen a millinery flower for each perfume and tucked them in the box.

I've also made sets of samples of eight of my perfumes: Aloft, Tourmaline, Midnight Garden, Moonrise, Sol de la Foret, Flora, Foret de la Mer and Garden Walk.

 Playing with silk, paper and velvet flowers, pretty boxes and ribbons reminded me so much of projects I would have worked on in my youth.  In fact I've been doing this kind of thing for as long as I can remember, so I'm pleased to be offering work that comes from my heart.  I have more ideas for packaged sets of perfumes so expect to see more. Thanks for looking!


Ready to gift in a matte gold box with a slender brown velvet ribbon.


Set of three citrus extracts from the stormy winter of 2015; Tangerine, Meyer Lemon and Blood Orange.
Foret de la Mer packaged with millinery golden champaca flowers.

Fougere Workshop

Create the scent of the forrest floor.
There has been some interest amongst a small group of students in doing another Fougere Workshop.  I'm so happy to teach this class again on Sunday, April 12th, 1-4pm.

Fougere is a fragrance family that came into fashion towards the end of the 19th C.  The word means fern, which makes it a fantasy category seeing how ferns don't really have a fragrance.  Fougere's are meant to smell like the forrest floor and, to my understanding, must have three ingredients:  lavender, oakmoss and a coumarin note (found in tonka bean, hay, sweet clover, etc.).  Often herbs like geranium, linalool rich rosewood and more assertive notes like patchouli are added but it's the careful consideration of the other ingredients that makes the fougere your own.

In class we'll explore the genre and sample many perfumes including the original Fougere Royale and Jicky - the vanguards of the classification -  along with samples from some of the best natural perfumers working today. You'll be choosing from materials like tonka bean, sweet clover, concretes of lavender, geranium and clary sage, several lavender absolutes and essential oils, cedarmoss, cassia and ho wood.  You'll have the opportunity to create two perfumes.  $25 extra to make a third, time considering.

Sunday, April 12th, 1-4pm.  You can register here.

You can see the coumarin crystals forming on these tonka beans.
Once oakmoss is harvested it rests for seven years to develop it's wet forrest scent.
Clover also contain coumarins.
Lavender, one of the key ingredients in a fougere, also contains coumarins.

Capturing the Fragrance and Flavor of Winter

Nut Extracts
The spring thaw is upon us.  The icebergs are melting, the sidewalks are passable again and the smell of thawing earth and sap rising are in the air. This time of year is always a little melancholy for me. I love winter, no matter the cold and snow, I love it. I'm a big fan of warm and cozy.  I love the holidays, love snow days, thick blankets, warm stews and soft cashmere sweaters (and socks, cashmere socks are the best). I'm going to miss it in the long warm, muggy, glaring, big, fat summer ahead.  Most people talk about capturing the flavors of summer to be used during the cold, lean months.  I do my share of that, mostly so that I can enjoy the winter that much more, but just to turn things on their ear I've been trying to capture the flavors and fragrance of winter to be enjoyed during the summer.

What are the flavors I love most in winter?  That's easy.  Juicy, fresh citrus fruits, roasted nuts, and cups and cups and cups of milky black tea.  So that's what I've attempted to capture. I've made extracts of tangerine, blood orange, meyer lemon, vanilla/orange, toasted almond, hazelnut and pistachio and peach, blackcurrant and vanilla black tea.  Thinking ahead to chocolate ice cream with blood orange extract, or pistachio ice cream amped up with a bit of extract and glasses of cold seltzer with carbonated bubbles popping peach tea extract.

Drying orange zest
I've also started zesting my citrus before I peel them and drying the zest.  It's nice to have home cured rinds for recipes.  You can zest any type of orange, lemon or lime - or anything else you can get your hands on like yuzu or buddah's hand.  I lay them on parchment covered wicker trays but even laid out evenly on a dinner plate works. Leave them at least a week, depending on humidity, before you put them in a jar to keep. Make sure they're absolutely dry before you do, any hidden moisture could cause your rinds to mold.  On the other hand don't leave them out too long or they'll lose their potency. Don't forget to label them, you'll want to remember which is tangerine and which is blood orange, especially as they dry and their flavor concentrates.

Straining Meyer Lemon Extract
So, while it's still winter take advantage of the fruits of the season and keep them for the warm seasons to come.  If preparing them seems too mind-boggling and time consuming check out the selection of extracts in my Etsy store.  Everything is made in small batches so there is a limited supply. I love to tinker and experiment so expect some new arrivals.

To read more about making extracts at home look here.

Tea Extracts
Nut Extracts Sample Set
Tangerine Extract


New Perfume! Foret de la Mer, a Fougere for Men

Fougere's have been my passion for the past couple of years and the last time I was in California I was inspired to create one based on the expansive coastline rimmed with forests. This is a bolder and more voluptuous fragrance than I normally create but I was so moved by the drama of the natural surroundings that I wanted to try to capture it in a bottle. I became haunted by the smokey, maritime essence of choya nak, a destructive distillation of roasted seashells, and was compelled to use it in the base which gave it a definite masculine feel. I personally love men's fragrances and have been wanting to make one for some time. The result, Foret de la Mer (Forest of the Sea) is a mossy, maritime fragrance with luscious florals and fresh citruses.  It's more bracing than what I normally go for, and sometimes the smokey seashell seems nearly too much, but I'm always glad I stayed with it.  It really changes in the drydown and that smokiness turns sweeter.  It's weird, and that's partly what appeals to me about it.

The traditional fougere ingredients, tonka and oakmoss, sit at the bottom with ambrette seed and choya nak. Champaca absolute and orange blossom concrete mingle with French lavender absolute to create a sumptuous floral heart. Wild lavender essential oil blends beautifully with bergamot and wild sweet lavender to greet the nose in a tangy floral welcome.  It's bracing at first but gives way to sexy champaca and a surprisingly sweet dry down.
Foret de la Mer

Top notes: bergamot, wild sweet orange, wild lavender
Heart notes: champaca absolute, orange blossom concrete, lavender absolute
Base notes: tonka bean, oakmoss, ambrette, choya nak
5ml, 1/4 ounce, 15ml and sample sizes available.

March Studio Classes

Natural Perfume Blending Workshops 

Coming in March 

I've been thoroughly enjoying teaching out of my home studio. The classes are more intimate and I have all of my materials at hand for every need.  
Saturday, March 7th
1 - 4pm
In this first workshop we will take a closer look at the artisanal art of natural perfumery. Students will gain a basic understanding of the sense of smell, the history of perfume, the advent of synthetic ingredients and the return to naturals.  Perfume ingredients and formulation will be explored and each participant will leave with two bottles of their own bespoke perfume.
Saturday, March 14th
1 - 4pm
For those students who have taken the first Natural Perfume Blending course and would like to study further I'm now offering Perfume Blending, Part Two. The original kit of 50 or so oils will be added to with some rare and precious oils such as hay absolute, magnolia flower, yuzu and pink pepper. A more in depth look at formulation and structure and becoming more intimate with your materials will be explored and there will be specific assignments to deepen your understanding of blending and perfume creation, as well as sharpen your sense of smell. 

 To register visit herbalalchemy.net
Fougere Workshop

There has been some interest from a small group of students in doing another Fougere Workshop. You'll be choosing from tonka bean, sweet clover, concretes of lavender, geranium and clary sage, several lavender absolutes and essential oils, cedar moss, cassia and ho wood.  I also have samples of many perfumes in that category, including the original Fougere Royale and Jicky, along with many samples from some of the best natural perfumers working today.  We'll discuss the genre and explore the new materials and you'll create two perfumes.  $25 extra to make a third, time considering.

 If you're interested email me at info@herbalalchemy.net.  The price will be $150.  If there's enough of us we can pick a date that works for everyone.  I could do it either Saturday, the 21st or 28th of March.  I hope it comes together, it's such a fun class.  Smells amazing, too.

Nice Write Up in Crain's New York

I've been remiss in posting this lovely article about myself and my perfume business in Crain's New York.  I was lucky enough to be contacted by the magazine for the interview.  They sent over a photographer with more equipment than I thought would fit into my studio or that he and his assistant could possibly use.  They used every bit of it!

It's a Good Thing: A Little Mention in Martha Stewart Weddings

This put a smile on my face!  A few months ago I got an email from someone at MS Weddings asking me for information about fragrance parties for brides.  They were writing a feature about alternatives to traditional bachelorette parties and wanted to include ideas for classes.  It's really a great idea.  I'd much prefer making jewelry, cheese, perfume or pretty much just about anything than drink too much and watch some smarmy guy undress!

To learn more or book a party click here.


Midnight Garden

My newest perfume, Midnight Garden, is the joint creation of the lovely women of The Robert Allen Group and myself.  The Group has designed a new line of fabrics inspired by hanging orchids, twisting vines and hidden temples.  What they described to me was a rainforest, with orchids hanging in the trees, thick with fragrance in the night air.  Wild sweet orange, petitgrain and coriander CO2 greet the nose, sitting on top of a jasmine, neroli and honey heart.  At the bottom of this sultry midnight perfume is the vanilla orchid with peru balsam and oakmoss to finish.

Midnight Garden


Perfume Organs

A perfume organ is how a perfumer organizes her fragrant materials. separating the oils between top, middle and bottom.

I've recently revamped my organ, creating a new inventory and labeling everything more clearly.  In the process I researched and looked at photos of many organs for inspiration.  Considering the limited space of a New York apartment I'm very happy with mine but desperately wish for a larger and more expansive version.

I've had the great privilege of taking courses with the fabulously talented Mandy Aftel and creating perfumes from her fantastic scent organ.  Where I might have a mere 1/8 of an ounce of a rare and precious oil, Mandy has a large ground glass stoppered bottle full!  It's really something to aspire to.

I also fell in love with a few other images of perfume organs that I found online.  Some are more extensive with room for lots of perfume ingredients.  Others are more up my alley, making do with a small space - and having to be creative in how the space is used.  I love the images and long for room to grow and create.  In the meantime I'm happy with my collection, it's where I create new formulas and do consultations with clients, enabling them to create their own custom perfume.  It's my happy place.

I particularly like this creative use of space

This is a photo I took of the organ at the Fragonard Museum in Paris.




The Bitters Experiment

After macerating for over six weeks I finally decanted my bitters and have been enjoying them in seltzer and cocktails.  I recently had a delicious Manhattan using Woodland Bitters, the brew adding a woodsy complexity to the libation.  I think the Cherry Hazelnut are my favorite and I look forward to another Manhattan using it.

Cherry Hazelnut Bitters

1/2 cup lightly toasted and skinned hazelnuts
1/2 cup dried tart or sour cherries
2 tablespoons devil's club root
1/2 teaspoon schizandra berries
1/2 teaspoon wild cherry bark
1/2 teaspoon cinchona bark
1/2 teaspoon cassia chips
1/4 teaspoon chopped dried orange peel
3 star anise
2 cups 101-proof bourbon, or more as needed

Macerate six weeks and decant.   The original recipe (taken from Brad Thomas Parsons wonderful book, "Bitters") suggests decanting after two weeks and retaining the solids to be boiled in one cup of water over high heat and returning the filtered water into the original brew.  He also suggests adding 2 tablespoons of rich syrup.  I found these extra steps tedious so just left it to macerate longer and I'm quite happy with the results.

Natural Perfume Blending with Mandy Aftel

I don't know if I can say more about how wonderful it is to arrive at Mandy Aftel's beautiful studio in Berkeley, California.  For a woman who loves the raw materials of perfumery it's the closest thing to heaven.  I'm proud of my collection of oils and absolutes that I've assembled, but it pales in comparison to the quantity, quality and desirability of Mandy's scent organ.  What a joy to use the finest (and sometimes rarest) materials in their ground glass stoppered bottles and jars. 

Mandy collects antique oils as well and displays their original bottles in the window with the gorgeous California light streaming through.  It was a visual feast as well as olfactory.

Questions answered, curiosity piqued, inspiration fired up I return to my studio to get to work on new creations.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity and for another chance to get to know Mandy a little better.  I'm a fan!



Mandy also sells a collection of oils.  Let her do the work for you tracking down the best possible materials.   Visit her website at aftelier.com.

Making Bitters

Edible Brooklyn, in their recent alcohol issue, said that everyone in Brooklyn has to make bitters, it's one of the rules.  It's true that I know an inordinate amount of people who make bitters (and beer, mead, hot sauce, play the ukelele, the accordion, etc.).  Bitters are a Very Big Thing in these parts and they're taken very seriously.

Traditionally they're considered medicine and used as a digestive tonic for the occasional upset of overeating.  In the Victorian era they found their way into cocktails.  Once the Manhattan was invented they were assured their place in every bartender's arsenal.

After doing a bit of research online I found a few recipes I wanted to try.  I was recommended to try the Dandelion Botanical Company for my bittering herbs and flavoring agents (I would also recommend Mountain Rose Herbs).  My intention was to follow a few recipes and then continue to experiment on my own.  The primary bittering herb is gentian root, the stuff that made Angostura so famous.  I also purchased chinchona bark, the principal ingredient in creating tonic water (another experiment for later), sarasparilla, devil's club root, black walnut leaf and wild cherry bark.  (The catalog had other things I just couldn't resist ordering including sandalwood powder, patchouli leaf and osmanthus flowers - yet another project).

The recipe I settled on, amongst others, was Woodland Bitters.  I loved the idea of the earthy devil's club root with wild cherry bark and toasted nuts.  I also made a classic Angostura style bitters as well as Cherry Hazelnut Bitters.  If I didn't think I'd be inundated with bitters for the rest of my life I'd be experimenting with many variations (figs, citrus, cranberry, wormwood, etc.), and it's nowhere near Christmas where I could at least hand them out as presents.

              Woodland Bitters
  1. 2 cups overproof bourbon (such as Wild Turkey 101)
  2. 1 cup pecans, toasted
  3. 1 cup walnuts, toasted
  4. 4 cloves
  5. Two 3-inch cinnamon sticks
  6. 1 whole nutmeg, cracked
  7. 1 vanilla bean, split
  8. 2 tablespoons devil's club root
  9. 1 tablespoon cinchona bark
  10. 1 tablespoon chopped black walnut leaf
  11. 1 tablespoon wild cherry bark
  12. 1/2 teaspoon cassia chips
  13. 1/2 teaspoon gentian root
  14. 1/2 teaspoon sarsaparilla root
  15. 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  1. In a 1-quart glass jar, combine all of the ingredients except the syrup. Cover and shake well. Let stand in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks, shaking the jar daily.
  2. Strain the infused alcohol into a clean 1-quart glass jar through a cheesecloth-lined funnel. Squeeze any infused alcohol from the cheesecloth into the jar; reserve the solids. Strain the infused alcohol again through new cheesecloth into another clean jar to remove any remaining sediment. Cover the jar and set aside for 1 week.
  3. Meanwhile, transfer the solids to a small saucepan. Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes; let cool completely. Pour the liquid and solids into a clean 1-quart glass jar. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 week, shaking the jar once daily.
  4. Strain the water mixture through a cheesecloth-lined funnel set over a clean 1-quart glass jar; discard the solids. If necessary, strain again to remove any remaining sediment. Add the infused alcohol and the syrup. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 3 days. Pour the bitters through a cheesecloth-lined funnel or strainer and transfer to glass dasher bottles. Cover and keep in a cool, dark place.
So far my bitters have been aging for a little over four weeks.  I think I'll skip parts 3 and 4 and just let them macerate for four weeks and strain thoroughly before adding a bit of water and maple syrup.

Acorn Shortbread

Back in October I wrote about the laborious process of making acorn flour.  I only was able to process three batches before my acorns deemed too wormy to continue.  My scant cup and a half of flour has been waiting in my 'fridge since then for a recipe worthy of my efforts.  Friends have had scads of ideas but all of them included lots of added flavor.  For all of my hard work I wanted the subtle nutty acorn-ness of the flour to come through.  Finally I decided on a simple shortbread.

All of my cookies start out, usually, with the original Betty Crocker Cookie Book.  It's where I learned to bake back in the 70's and it never fails.  The original shortbread recipe has been slightly altered to allow for my handcrafted flour (and my tendencies towards whole and organic foods).  At one time in my early adulthood I used to collect cookie cutters.  I still have them and to my delight there was an acorn leaf shape.  Perfection!

Acorn Shortbread

3/4 cup unsalted organic butter
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 cup acorn flour
1 and 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 t salt
fleur de sel

Mix butter and sugar thoroughly.  Work in flour and salt with hands.  Chill dough for at least one hour.  Heat oven to 350.  Roll dough out to 1/3 to 1/2" thick.  Cut to desired shape.  Sprinkle with fleur de sel.  Place on ungreased baking sheet for 20 to 25 minutes.  Allow to cool before removing from pan or cookies will crack.

More Cologne Experiments

I had such a great time making colognes this summer, and the results were so successful, that I tried my hand at a couple more.  The new brews, Fresh Mown Hay and Bay Rum, did not disappoint.

Fresh Mown Hay is a maceration of sweet woodruff (which is left to rest after harvesting in order to bring out it's distinctive hay like scent), orris root, benzoin, roses, vanilla, lemon verbena, linden blossoms and jasmine flowers.  The woodruff not only gives it it's signature scent but also considerable tenacity.  It is a rich, lush fragrance with an almost edible quality to it and conjures images of rolling in meadows.

Bay Rum was definitely inspired by the vast bay bushes lining most of the coastal areas in the New York area. I've been gathering them and cooking with them for many years and finally came around to making a fragrance. Over the summer I gathered leaves and dried them (I read they yield a better fragrance dried) and did my research on formulary and then started to experiment. Using the rinds of some mandarin oranges and freshly ground cinnamon, allspice and cloves I was able to replicate and expand on the traditional scent.


A Nice Review of my Perfume Blending Class

A young woman approached me after my last Natural Perfume Blending class at 3rd Ward who had been sent to take the class from Brooklyn Magazine.  She had a few of questions and we exchanged contact info.  I was so incredibly delighted to read the review she sent me today from their blog.

I was most pleased to read that "Everyone in the class was really engaged and took notes and participated in the class in a way that was, frankly, really fun to be a part of", and that she though of me as "a lively, informative presence during the class, which she starts off with a history of perfume that manages to be both comprehensive and easy-to-follow for the novice.".  What I hope most about my classes is that they're informative and fun.  It's nice to receive some validation that I'm getting it right.



Natural Perfume Blending Workshop, Part Two

This coming Saturday I'll be teaching part two of my perfumery course.  The class is for students who have taken the first class in Natural Perfume Blending but want to further their blending skills. The original kit of 50 or so oils will be added to with some rare and precious oils such as ambrette, hay absolute, tuberose, yuzu and pink pepper. The concepts of locking and burying will be explored and there will be specific assignments to deepen your understanding of blending and perfume creation, as well as sharpen your sense of smell.



Saturday, November 10th
1:30 to 4:30
3rd Ward
195 Morgan Ave.
Brooklyn, NY

Acorn Flour

Last year a good friend went through the laborious process of making acorn flour.  I was intrigued, being the urban forager that I am, but definitely put off by the amount of work.  Then she showed up one day with a slice of bread she'd made and I've been determined to try making it ever since.  The flavor was so intense, rich and flavorful so I was surprised that she only used a third of a cup of the flour along with a melange of unbleached white and whole wheat.

It's acorn season and I've been getting an education in oak trees.  I've learned to identify white oaks, which apparently are some of the sweetest acorns to find.  They're also a substantial size making them worth shucking.  I've collected a couple of pounds from three trees up in Prospect Park and am planning to go back for more.  I can already tell that this hefty bag of acorns is only going to make a small amount of flour, so as long as I'm putting in the time I might as well go all the way and collect more.

I've gotten a lot of information on how to do this from Hank Shaw of Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.  His biggest piece of advice on collecting them was to look for little worm holes and discard those.   Acorns are bitter from their high tannin content and the tannin has to be leached out.  I've seen a lot of different versions on how to do this but his cold water leaching method seems to be the most reasonable.

First you have to shuck the acorns - under water!  With the pointed end facing up I used a hammer to crack the acorns and then threw them into a pan of water.  The hulls are kind of elastic so some come off the nut quite easily while others need to be wrestled with.  Then I threw them in a blender filled with a couple of cups of water.  When I had about two cups of acorns in there I blended them up to make what looks like a coffee milkshake.  The sludge was then transferred into a large jar and filled with more water and put in the refrigerator.  Every day I poured off the water and added more, shook it up and placed it back in the 'fridge.  I did this for a week and then lined a colander with cheesecloth and poured the whole mess through.  Pulling the edges of the cheesecloth together I gently squeezed out as much water as I could.

Now the goal is to dry out the mass.  Spread it evenly on a cookie sheet (preferably one with sides) and set the oven on low.  Mine doesn't have a low setting so I warmed it to the lowest temperature and then turned it off and set the cookie sheet inside.  You don't want to bake the acorns, just dry them out so keep your eye on them.  It took a couple of hours of turning the oven on and off and checking periodically before it was ready.  I used a coffee grinder free of coffee residue to grind the dried mass into flour.  I have a separate one I use for spices so this worked perfectly.  In small batches try to grind the flour as fine as possible.

It's a lot of work for a small amount of flour, that's for sure.  While the first batch was drying in the oven I started shucking the second batch.  I figure I have three more trials to go and I'm hoping to be done in time for holiday baking.  I'll let you know how it goes, and whether it's worth the labor.  If it's as delicious as I remember I'll be thoroughly gratified.  Hank Shaw also has some delicious sounding recipes on his blog which you can find here.

Park Perfumes Review

The online gardening magazine Soiled and Seeded, dedicated to cultivating a garden culture, has been so kind as to review my trio of Park Perfumes.  This is some of my earliest work and includes some synthetic oils that I couldn't get in nature.  I'm in the process of revising those perfumes using only natural oils and utilizing some of the skills and experience I've accumulated over the past ten years.  The first to be finished is The Ambergill which formerly used a synthetic amber note.

After extensively researching amber I discovered that there is no real amber oil extracted from a plant. There is a pine tree in India that exudes a sap that a lot of it starts from, but then many processes occur and a proprietary blend of oils and macerations are added to create amber in many forms. Some are crystalized in beezwax so a mere touch melts on the fingertips.  These blends are closely guarded secret formulas.

I've had a bottle of amber oil for many years that I bought from the Persian perfume vendors on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. I knew that it was probably adulterated with synthetic materials but I liked that warm velvety chord and couldn't be deprived. This year I made my own proprietary blend with absolutes and essential oils. I'm happy to have come up with a blend I can use in my perfumes without resorting to it's synthetic counterpart.  From that I've created a scented Amber Oil.

Now that I had an amber chord to work with I went ahead and recreated The Ambergill, a perfume inspired by the beautiful Ambergill ravine and falls in the Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY. A gill is a narrow stream-filled glen, which feeds a grotto known as the Amergill Pool, whose banks are populated by green herons, columbine, wild roses & blackberries. Amber, oakmoss & neroli are the peak notes of this warm perfume.

Cologne Experiment Results

The results are in!  My experiments macerating dried flowers, roost, rinds and herbs are completed and I have detailed notes on the results.  After a month's time the liquor was strained off and clarified and then some were matched with hydrosols.  Certain recipes didn't work at all and were discarded but most of them yielded results.  I was really surprised by the tenacity of the different brews, some of them will last days on a tester strip. 

Summer Splash came as a real surprise.  The floral note that resulted from roses and lavender macerating with vetiver, sweet annie and orange peel was astonishing.  It was blended with lemon balm hydrosol to create a summery splash.  This one changes over time in a most interesting way.

Florida Water epitomizes summer for me. There is a large Latino community intermingled in my Brooklyn neighborhood and a lot of the pharmacies cater to this clientelle so are stocked with Florida Water. I have memories of my first years in Brooklyn discovering the pleasures of an evening shower followed with a splash of Florida Water. Orange blossom and clove are the distinctive notes in the cologne so I decided orange blossom hydrosol would be used with a maceration of meyer lemon rind, sweet woodruff, lavender, benzoin, cinnamon and clove. The results smell surprisingly like the water I used all those years ago, and I think it could be considered suitable for men as well as women.

Verbena Water is the result of macerating fresh lemon verbena and sweet woodruff from my garden, dried jasmine, linden blossoms and vanilla pods and then mixed with verbena hydrosol.  It's as fresh as it sounds, the softness of the woodruff and vanilla pared with lemon verbena counterbalance each other beautifully.

Rose Garden is a blend of dried roses, angelica root, jasmine, vanilla pods and lemon verbena which was then mixed with rosewater to create a veritable rose garden in a bottle.

Violet Water is the result of orris root, sweet woodruff, benzoin and jasmine marrying beautifully to create a woodland violet sort of fragrance which was then blended with cornflower water.  Violets contain a chemical called ionones which give them their characteristic fragrance.  Orris root, the dried and aged rhizome of the Iris pallida, also contains ionones but also has a woodland quality to it.  There are no violets in this blend so the name is merely a suggestion.

Each cologne is bottled in a one of a kind vintage glass bottle collected from the beaches of Brooklyn, NY. They've been scrubbed clean and sterilized but they're old and scratched to different degrees. Expect some wear from tumbling in the ocean for who knows how long.