A recent review of Providence Perfume Co. featured on Now Smell This

Providence Perfume Co.'s Tabac Citron, Cocoa Tuberose and Indolice eau de parfums were recently reviewed by Robin at Now Smell This!  Click on the link to read the review:

http://www.nstperfume.com/2011/03/31/three-from-providence-perfume-co-perfume-reviews/

Botanical of the Day: Violet Leaf

I've noticed lots of fragrance blogs have a SOTD (Scent of the day) so I thought it would be fitting to have a BOTD (Botanical of the day) based on whatever natural perfumery oil I was "feeling."  I find I tend to become fixated with particular scents for periods of time.  All right, truth be told maybe I get a little obsessed.  There were the weeks, nay months devoted to creating the perfect Rose Oud perfume.  Bottles and bottles of mods labelled "Rose Oud #11" etc. I had a few that were good, however I decided I needed to let them age before drawing any conclusions.  Then as quickly as the obsession arrived, it departed.  Mentally erased and replaced with the "orris addiction" that persisted throughout autumn.


Now that Spring has arrived here in New England, I feel the need for GREEN.  This winter was one of the longest I can remember, snow storm, after ice storm after freezing rain.  It was a long cold winter.  Just now the crocus flowers are pushing their yellow and purple heads through partially frozen earth.  I crave grass, sunlight and the smell of all things green beginning to sprout.  I'm drawn to mimosa, galbanum and violet leaf.  These fresh green watery essences become essential components in my recent blends.  I can't get enough of the green, almost vegetal aromas.


According to lore, the heart shaped violet leaf has been said to possesses magical properties.  One worn in the shoe for seven days was said to bring a new lover into the wearer's life.  If a violet leaf worn in the shoe can conjure a lover imagine the romantic power of a violet leaf perfume!

Violet leaf (not to be confused with violet flowers) has a green freshly mown grass aroma.  Sometimes traces of mineral or leather notes can be found.  The absolute is a very dark green liquid that sometimes contains traces of sediment.  The dark color of the violet leaf absolute adds a beautiful green hue to perfumes.  It blends well with cassie, oakmoss, cedarwood, linden blossom, rose, mimosa, many indolic florals such as jasmine and orange blossom and lime.  The zesty green aroma seems to tame the indolic aroma of florals adding freshness and lift.  It is an essential component of many fougère perfumes.  Violet leaf can easily overtake a perfume, so adding in minute quantities and aging is best to determine it's effect on fragrances.


I have purchased a few violet leaf absolutes over the years from different suppliers and not noticed much difference between them.  This is interesting to note as typically there are big differences between botanicals depending on supplier.  Most violet leaf absolute is distilled in France or Egypt.  According to Biolandes the shelf life of violet leaf absolute is about two years, so purchasing in small quantities would be preferable to the home perfumer.

March Perfume Newsletter

My recently published Spring Newsletter is here! Click below to read all the news that's fit to print.

March Perfume Newsletter

Cocoa Tuberose perfume receives accolades!

Cocoa Tuberose Perfume by Providence Perfume Co.

A recent review of my Cocoa Tuberose eau de parfum was recently posted on cafleurebon perfume website.  Senior Editor Ida Meister wrote the most wonderful things about me and oh yes . . . my perfume!  A hearty thank you Ida.  I am so pleased and flattered!  Cocoa Tuberose contains notes of exotic wormwood, pink grapefruit, buttery tuberose, dark cocoa and tonka.  Smooth and sensuous, decadent and delicious.  Check out the full article here: http://www.cafleurebon.com/providence-perfumes-cocoa-tuberose

Sometimes Perfumery Isn't As Glamorous As You May Think

We've seen all the glossy perfume ads in magazines and television.  A scantily clad 14 year old girl grasping a bottle of perfume declares lustily she wears "Insert perfume X, Y or X."  Never mind the perfume seems to be targeted toward a much older demographic.  Or that most 14 year old girls cannot afford such an expensive perfume.

While it's usually the marketing concept and the models that are glamorous perfumers are becoming recognized, dare I say even famous now, and rightfully so.  I devour articles and interviews with perfumers, noting the snapshots of their stark white laboratories or immense perfume organs.  I enjoy reading about their inspirations, the elaborate stories of connections to royalty or the rich and famous, the exotic premise behind the creation of million dollar perfumes.  I control my eye rolling as these articles often include the requisite quote from a starlet describing how "involved" she was with the creation of their new signature fragrance.  Ha!


There's obviously a large difference between creating commercial perfumes for say Chanel, and creating perfumes for your own small niche perfumery--no doubt.  But I have a sneaking suspicion, if we were to lift the curtain behind all the marketing madness and money some basic things remain the same.  The actual art of blending and creating a perfume.  Yes, commercial perfumes use synthetic chemicals and I do not, however the very basic art of creating a scent, blending, noting nuance, creating modifications remains somewhat the same.  What does not remain the same, is the number of hats worn.  The roles one must play.  Commercial large scale perfumers are the nose.  Small scale perfumers and business owners have a few more balls to juggle.

I am a perfumer, director of marketing, IT advisor, web designer, PR agent, publisher, shipping and packing coordinator, creative director, industrial designer, social media expert and occasional blogger.  Whew.  The only things I don't do are photography and graphic design.  I know where my weaknesses lie.  I leave that to my extraordinarily talented friend Daniel Gagnon.  I cannot recommend him highly enough.  He has designed my labels, and photographed my perfume which is no small job.  He even photographed me--which I hate more than anything in the world--and through his careful positioning made me look much better than I really do.  Here is a photographer that is used to working with the aforementioned 14 year old fashion models, that patiently took photo after photo while I wailed, "I'm so uncomfortable!  You're not putting my body in the pictures are you?" etc. ad naseum.  He also took beautiful photos of my perfumes and listened to me carefully when designing my logo and labels.  Muchas Gracias Dan!  If interested in Daniel's services, here is his website with contact info www.danielgagnonphoto.com

These other hats we wear as small business owners are decidedly less glamorous.  Personally I find nothing glamorous about blending perfume, at best it could be science nerd chic, but others seem to disagree.  Publications coo over a photo of me in a low cut sweater and pearls (!) mock casually sniffing perfume strips.  Farcical!  In no way is the photo of me a realistic representation of how I work.  It is a (hopefully) glamorized version of my chosen profession.  No hippie oils here folks!  We have pearls.  Normally you'd find me in jeans, a scowl and bedhead.

Uncomfortable Me

Now my days are spent packing and shipping orders, negotiating with printers, patiently explaining it's simply not feasible for me to order 5,000 labels at a time, unjamming the fax machine, filling perfume bottles, corresponding with bloggers and editors, tracking orders, fielding emails, contacting my bottle supplier to inquire why every perfume bottle I use appears to be out of stock, filing sales tax forms and other assorted tasks.  Lately I've been so busy with the mundane day to day tasks I've had little time to actually blend perfume.  This bothers me greatly.  Make no mistake, I'm happy that my business is growing and I'm incredibly grateful to have orders to fill.  I've been working very hard.  BUT, creating perfumes is my passion and an art that needs to be practiced.  In my case, a lot.  Over and over.  Repeatedly.  Am I spending so much time trying to source bubble mailers at the best price that I have forgotten what rose smells like?  


And so it's back to the studio for me.  I need to make friends with sandalwood again.  Network with my tinctures.  Rub shoulders with the creme de la creme of the perfume set . . . the botanicals.  The glorious natural ingredients.  It's not glamorous.  It's work, and I love it.

Mint in Perfumes. Like it or Loathe it?

It is a long cold winter here in New England.  The air is still, gray and cold.  When looking out the window all I see is white.  Frozen snow and ice.  Did I mention cold?  Ice?  The outdoor light is harsh and unforgiving bouncing off the reflective ice.  When I catch my reflection in the rearview mirror I note a myriad of wrinkles around my eyes that seem to have popped up overnight.  This displeases me and causes me to scowl, causing even more pronounced crows feet.  I try to relax and concentrate on the precarious driving conditions. 

The snow is close to four feet high where left untouched and covered with a thick layer of smooth clear ice.  On the rare occasion that the pale sun shines, the smooth frozen snow appears glasslike.  The large winter storm that delivered snow, then sleet, then hail followed by rain has finally moved out to sea.  As an ode to Mother Nature, I found it fitting to watch one of my favorite movies The Ice Storm yesterday.  This omnipresent coldness is numbing in every way.  The shocking feeling of opening the front door and taking a deep breath of chilling winter air makes me think of icy blasts of peppermint.  Insert York Peppermint Patty commercial here:  "When I bite into a York Peppermint Patty, I get the sensation of . . . "

I've been blending various perfumes mods with mints: peppermint, spearmint, and mint absolute.  Mint is tricky.  A light hand is needed.  Mint tends to overpower all others and I believe it's an acquired taste in perfumes.  I find mint absolute the most friendly, followed by spearmint.  Peppermint is difficult and not my favorite.  Mint also seems to have a sort of "sneak attack" on perfumes.  I smell the perfume as I'm blending and I find I cannot detect the mint.  I try a tiny drop more, still no mint.  Apply to skin, inhale and still not a trace of the "cold" note I'm seeking. One drop more . . . oh no!  It's suddenly mouthwash. 

I recently created a solid perfume with notes of spearmint, violet leaf, rose, and orris to name a few.  I'm not sure I like it, despite numerous revisions.  I feel cranky and petulant and am sure I'm suffering from cabin fever or seasonal affective disorder.  The mint is stronger than I'd like, drowning the bergamot and lime which are swallowed by the solid perfume.  The rose seems non-existent despite the exorbitant amount of otto and absolute used.  The costly and beautiful orris is faint and appears much later on the skin as a powder cool sigh.  Perhaps I've created an unsuccessful and expensive mistake.  Irritation abounds.  I ask my partner what he thinks of the scent, rubbing the balm on his hand with a challenging look in my eye.  "Mmmm, it's ahh . . . minty?  He asks this nervously, eyes darting hoping his comment is what I'm looking for.  Have I mentioned I'm a tad bit cranky? 


My predicamint (sorry people--bad humor abounds when it's 1 degree outside--that's right, I said 1 degree.) The solid perfume is pretty and green.  Interesting and original, but do people really want to smell minty?

Send warmth and sunshine.

To Perfumery and Beyond - Ten Things I've learned in 2010

What a crazy, stressful, exciting year!  I "officially" launched my small natural perfumery business after spending years explaining to others why I couldn't.  I finally realized I could.  A now or never type of revelation.  Of course I made a ton of mistakes along the way.  I laughed, I cried, I drank gin, I blended perfume . . . not neccesarily in this order.  I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and compiled a list.  Here is a brief synopsis of what I've discovered this year.

freefoto.com

1. Jasmine is amazing and blends with everything.  I challenge you to find something jasmine does not blend well with!  Sambac, grandiflorum, or articulum--I love you all.  You bring beauty and light to everything you touch.  I feel a deep sense of sadness for those who do not enjoy you.  Something is wrong with these people.
2. Quickbooks is your friend.  Seriously.
3. Never underestimate the importance of having a good photo of yourself at hand.  You will need this photo to send out to everyone and anyone while trying to get your name out there.  You will wish your photographer friend took you seriously when you requested that he " . . . photoshop the hell out of me--make me look like Cindy Crawford's baby sister." You were not joking.
4. Photoshop cannot work miracles.
5. If you find packaging you like, try and buy in excess.  You may find your supplier no longer carries the particular bottle, box, label etc. when you try and re-order.  You will then have to source new packaging, and have new pictures taken of your product.  Expensive and irritating.
6. Sample as many different essential oils and absolutes from as many different suppliers as you can. If you find something you like, try and order a larger quantity as soon as possible.  You may find the French Rose de Mai you loved in September when you ordered a sample has been replaced with a new weak listless Rose de Mai in December.
7. Some critics will never like your perfume.  Not a single one.  Deal with it.  Unfortunately, the inverse is not true.  Some critics who like your perfume will NOT always like it.  Deal with it.  If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times: gin is not the answer.  Neither is chocolate.
8. You are allowed to silently rejoice when you land a magazine article highlighting your perfumes.  Awesome!  You worked hard girl! You are allowed to rejoice slightly less when you discover the magazine is targeted solely for female Episcopalian ministers living in Alaska.
9. Other people will become annoyed by your freakishly sensitive nose.  Especially when dramatically commenting on being assaulted by mysterious smells ranging from wet dog mixed with corn chips.  Others are not amused, nor can they small what you are painfully describing.
10. Trust yourself.  It's easy to second guess yourself and let self-doubt reign free.  You got here by trusting your gut.  It's important to value others opinions and educate yourself, however when it comes down to it--Just Trust Yourself.