Saturday, December 5, 2015

ABCs of Essential Oils - Kewda

I started this entry forever ago, or really the end of September, but that feels so long ago, doesn't it? Anyway, life gets in the way, and I suppose I might write about that some day, but for now, here is kewda.

Pandanus odoratissimus

"K" was a little difficult to fill, since while there are some oils that begin with "k," I either haven't sniffed them or they're used primarily for aromatherapy. But then I remembered kewda (sometimes called kewra), a rare essential oil with an odd odor. And by odd odor, I mean it's like someone punched you in the nose.

I'm honestly not sure if anyone else feels that way about kewda, since most of the descriptions are much more polite, calling it "strong" or "penetrating." It's not a bad odor, but it is intense. Calling it ethereal is rather apt- according to Arctander, it is around 75% Methyl-beta-phenylethyl Ether. Interpret that as you will. Arctander describes it as "...intensely sharp, very powerful and diffusive, but also very sweet, hyacinth-honeylike..." and recommends evaluating it at 1% or less.

You may also find kewda attar, which includes sandalwood. The soft scent of sandalwood may help you appreciate the scent of kewda better, provided that you appreciate sandalwood to begin with (I love it, but not everyone does).

Distilled or extracted from the large flower spikes of a small tree in India, kewda is a rare essence, but is worth seeking out for those interested in composing unique floral fragrances.

Previously:
Jasmine
Immortelle
Ho Wood
Ginger
Frankincense

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Jasmine

Jasmine or juniper, juniper or jasmine? I've been going back and forth on the issue, and while juniper berry is an awesome oil, and I recommend that you buy some, I will write about jasmine, since that's what "j" is really all about. As Arctander writes, jasmine is "one of the most important, if not the most important natural perfume raw material."

One of the main reasons for writing about jasmine is that I get to write about indole, a molecule present in jasmine absolute that is also found in your poop. Indole adds a dirtiness to jasmine, along with other white flowers. It might sound gross, but don't let it scare you off. It's part of what makes jasmine complex and beautiful. Indole is also available as an aromachemical, and if too much is used, it could make your perfume gross. But the small amount in jasmine makes it interesting.

You will usually find jasmine in the form of an absolute, though jasmine wax and concrete are also available. The absolute is extracted from the concrete, leaving the wax behind. Carbon dioxide extractions are becoming more readily available, and are very lovely. I have not tried any, but jasmine ruhs are available, and these are hydrodistilled instead of solvent extracted. While rare, jasmine enfleurage oil is still produced, but it is very pricy. Each extraction method results in a different odor profile, and you may wish to try a different form if the one you're using isn't quite right for your blend.

Oh, and if you want jasmine and sandalwood in one bottle, look into attars.

If you're already overwhelmed enough by these options, you might want to stop reading. There are different varieties of jasmine available, though grandiflorum and sambac are the two most common. You can also find jasmine auriculatum in some of the above extractions, and I have also see flexile as an absolute and polyanthum enfleurage.

Country of origin can also impact an oil's odor, along with factors like the weather that year. Some oils are better than others, and you also need to be on the lookout for places that might sell adulterated oils (the adulteration can happen before they receive it).

So where to start? Buy samples of grandiflorum and sambac absolutes from a few places, pacing yourself if need be due to the expense. The samples might even be large enough for you to try them out in your blends, since you don't necessarily need much. Some places offer dilutions in jojoba or fractionated coconut oil, and these can be a great way to try jasmine for less money. If you make your perfumes in alcohol though, buy the pure stuff. Jasmine blends well with many essential oils, so don't be afraid to add a little to a fragrance you're working on. Jasmine with rose is a classic, and will add a beautiful floral note to your middle.

While nothing can replace jasmine, if you're looking for other white florals, consider ylang ylang, champaca, tuberose, and orange flower absolute.

Previously:
Immortelle
Ho Wood
Ginger
Frankincense




Tuesday, August 25, 2015

ABCs of Essential Oils: Immortelle

Helichrysum italicum

Helichrysum is another one of those amazing and healing aromatherapy essential oils. There are different species besides Helichrysum italcum, and you should also consider the country of origin when purchasing an oil. This post is about the absolute, which is for perfumery, not aromatherapy. Absolutes are solvent extracted, so they're generally not used for aromatherapeutic applications. While you can use the essential oil in perfumes, the absolute is usually cheaper. If you have the essential oil and want to use it for its fragrance, keep in mind that other species can have different odor profiles.

Known as immortelle or everlasting, the absolute catches your attention with it's poetic name before you even open the bottle.  The scent is sweet and honey-like, with tobacco and hay nuances. Arctander mentions it's fixative effect (though also mentioning you're unlikely to use it enough to really work as a fixative), as well as it's value in "rounding off and 'bouquetting' a fragrance which may need life and naturalness."

Consider adding immortelle to bring some sweetness to a blend. I can picture using it in a meadow-type fragrance, along with some herbal and floral essences. I would reserve this material for perfumery, since it might not mix into whatever else it is you make. When you do use it for perfumes, you might need to heat it up gently (warm/hot water bath) before and/or after adding it to your alcohol or oil. This method is useful to keep in mind with other thick materials. The essential oil will blend easier into different bases, so if you have the money for a helichrysum soap or want to add it to a lotion, the EO is a better choice.

Similar odors (per Arctander):
Broom or Genet Absolute (Spartium junceum)
German Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
Roman Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis)
Flouve Absolute (Anthoxanthum Odoratum)
Hay Absolute (Foin coupe)

Previously:
Ho Wood
Ginger
Frankincense

Monday, August 17, 2015

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I lost this recipe on my computer awhile back, and recently found it again. I'm not sure about the original recipe, since I saved it as document with all my changes.

Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Muffins 

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
⅔ cup all purpose flour
⅔ cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp salt
2-3 medium bananas
2 ½ tbsp ground flax seed
5 tbsp water
¼ canola oil
¼ soy milk or other nondairy milk
1 tsp vanilla
⅓ cup mini chocolate chips
⅓ cup regular chocolate chips
Topping
1 tbsp maple sugar
⅛ tsp pumpkin pie spice

*Heat oven to 375°F. Spray a regular-size muffin cup pan with cooking spray, or line with paper baking cups.
*In large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
*In a blender, blend the bananas, flax and water, oil, soy milk and vanilla until smooth. Stir into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Gently stir in chocolate chips. Don't over mix. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
*In small bowl, mix the maple sugar and ⅛ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Sprinkle evenly over batter in cups.
*Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until light golden brown and toothpick or knife inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove muffins from pan to cooling rack.

Notes:
If you don't have whole wheat pastry flour, you can replace it with more all purpose flour. You can also use all whole wheat pastry flour.

I buy pre-ground flax seed, since I use it a lot and don't want to grind it each time. If you have whole flax seed, grind it in the blender first by itself, and then add the other ingredients.

You can use all regular chocolate chips if you don't have the mini ones. I love using a mix of both, but it's not necessary.

Maple sugar is a granulated form of maple, kind of like regular sugar but with extra tastiness. It's expensive, so if you don't have it and don't want to buy it, use your regular sugar.

You can also beat together the wet ingredients (bananas through vanilla) if you have ground flax seed, but the blender makes it fast and easy.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Ho Wood

Cinnamomum camphora

"H" has some good woods, like hiba and hinoki, but ho wood is easier to find and cheaper to buy. There's also helichrysum, an amazing aromatherapy essential oil, but I'm not an aromatherapist. Ho wood isn't one of those essential oils you should run out and buy, but it's a good oil for explaining some aspects of EOs.

First, ho wood oil might also refer to what is actually ho leaf oil. When buying essential oils, look to see what material it is distilled from, such as the wood, bark, branches, twigs, and/or leaves. I know it as ho wood, so that's how I'll refer to it here. There are three chemotypes of ho you can find, and as the Latin binomial suggests, camphor is one of them. Ravintsara is the cineole chemotype of ho leaf oil, and it is often confused with ravensara. Not only do they have similar names, but they're both distilled from trees in Madagascar. It's like someone was messing with us naming them.

The third chemotype, and the one I'm most familiar with, is linalool. You can also fractionate the camphor off from the camphor-type, leaving you with linalool and small amounts of other constituents. You might recognize linalool (aka linalol) from ingredient lists, where it's listed because Europe requires certain known allergens to be declared in the ingredients, whether they come from natural or synthetic sources. It's scent is a sweet, spicy, and woody floral present in many essential oils, with ho leaf ct. linalool leading the way. Linalool is one of the numbers in Lavender 40-42 essential oil, the other being linayl acetate.  There's also quite a bit in coriander seed essential oil. If you have that EO, give it a sniff and try detecting a rosy-floral note to it.

Rosewood (aka bois de rose) is also comprised mainly of linalool, and some consider ho wood oil a substitute for it. I think it could work ok as a substitute in some products, like soap, for fine perfumery, rosewood has a much finer scent compared to the ho wood oils I've sniffed. The problem with rosewood is that it is listed as an endangered species, per CITES. Listed under Appendix II, it does not currently face extinction, but might some day. When shopping for rosewood essential oil, look for sustainable oils distilled from twigs, branches, and leaves. Also buy from a reputable buyer, since rosewood is easy to adulterate. Consider alternatives, such as ho wood or the aromachemical linalool. 

Other Ho/Rosewood Notes:
Linaloe wood and seed oil (Bursera delpechiana)

Friday, July 31, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Ginger

Zingiber officinale

Geranium or ginger, geranium or ginger. I've had such a hard time time deciding between the two. My head says go with geranium, since it's so incredibly useful in perfumery, but my heart says go with ginger. Ginger is useful in natural perfumery as well, but you can't use it to boost your rose scent.

The most important thing about ginger essential oil: buy fresh ginger oil. If it doesn't say fresh, it probably won't have that sparkling brightness you want. I think CO2s might be okay, but sample first to make sure it's nice enough.

Ginger pairs well with many essential oils. For bath and body products, start by thinking of how you eat it, and try combining it with chocolate or vanilla, plus any of the sweet spices. Add it to a chai fragrance. And it is wonderful paired with lemon or lime, and the combination produces a dazzling brightness. When working on a perfume, consider the above, but go beyond the food notes and use ginger as a top note for various fragrances. Ginger pairs nicely with florals, and you can use it to lighten up earthier scents, like patchouli. It could also work in any fresh or spicy fragrances, such as colognes and oriental perfumes.

In addition to the essential oil and CO2, ginger is also available as an absolute and oleoresin, though these are less common.

Other gingery notes:
Curcuma (Curcuma longa) Note: This might also be sold as turmeric oil, but curcuma should be distilled from the dried rhizome, per Arctander.
Fingerroot (Boesenbergia pandurata)
Galangal (Alpinia officinarum, Alpinia galanga, Kaempferia galanga)
Zedoaria (Curcuma zedoaria)

Previously:
Frankincense

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Frankincense

F:
Frankincense (Boswellia)

If you talk to me about essential oils, you'll likely hear me say "that's one of my favorites" so many times it seems to lose meaning. But I really do love many of them, and it would be hard to limit the number of favorites that I have. That said, frankincense really is one of my favorites, and I would place it somewhere in my top ten (but please don't ask me what the other 9 are!).

I could write a lot about frankincense - not only does it have a long history, but it also is amazing for aromatherapy. I'll stick to a few bits of information, and include my thoughts on using it as a scent.

Frankincense starts as a resin, the tears from tree. It is formed in the bark of the various Boswellia species, and for production purposes, incisions are made in trees, and the exudate collected. This is also how we get myrrh, frankincense's buddy. The tears can be used as incense, or processed to form materials for perfumery or aromatherapy. In addition to the tears, I have the absolute, essential oil, and CO2. 

Frankincense & myrrh tears.


Like all essential oils, frankincense will vary based on the exact species, its origin, age, and extraction method. Boswellia carterii is the most commonly available, based on what I've seen. Most species of frankincense come from Africa and the Middle East, including Somalia, Oman, Ethiopia, and Kenya. The essential oil might be produced in the country of origin, or the resin can be shipped to another country. Boswellia serrata is from India, and it is usually the cheapest. 

Frankincense by itself is beautiful, and to me it is the scent of sunshine. I find it bright and clean with a lot of depth. Arctander describes it as "...strongly diffusive, fresh-terpeney, almost green-lemon-like or reminiscent of green, unripe apples...A certain pepperiness is mellowed with a rich, sweet-woody, balsamic undertone." He continues to describe it as "more or less tenacious with an almost cistus-like, ambre-type, balsamic note," depending on its distillation circumstances. (FYI - cistus isn't a typo, it's the essential oil of rock rose, with labdanum as its absolute.) I agree with Arctander's assessment, with caveat that the scent will vary.

As a base note, frankincense is a great base note for citrusy fragrances, keeping it light and fresh. In oriental perfumes it's peppery notes will go nicely with the spices, while it's balsamic notes will add depth to the base notes. For products, use it on its own or blend it with a few other notes. Combining it with myrrh for the holidays is popular, but try blending it with a citrus note, lavender, cardamom, or an evergreen. If price is no object, try it with rose. 

Additional species:
Boswellia neglecta
Boswellia frereana
Boswellia rivae
Boswellia sacra

Previously:

Friday, July 17, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Eucalyptus

E:

Eucalyptus

If you're brand new to essential oils, you might be most familiar with eucalyptus through a vapor rub used when you have a cough. Eucalyptus, camphor, and menthol are the active ingredients in VapoRub, giving it that medicinal odor. Eucalyptus is more of an aromatherapy essential oil than a perfumery one- who wants to smell like a medicine cabinet?

That said, there's more to fragrance creation than just making perfumes, and it's useful to know how to use all sorts of materials. If you decide to make something like soap, you'll start to realize you're limited partly on the chemistry of the product. Cold process soaps can alter your scent, and some scents might not be strong enough to be worth putting in them. Hot process involves flash points, since an oil with a low flash point might not survive the heat, meaning you wasted that oil (I actually got into anise when playing around with hot process). Liquid soap (the kind made with oils and potassium hydroxide) can also react in weird ways with different essential oils. Different scents can thicken it or thin it out, some can cloud it, and others might clump up weird. So if you're interested in essential oil blending for products, there's definitely a lot more going on than just figuring out what smells nice together.

I haven't used eucalyptus in soaps, but there are a lot of products you might want to use it, especially if you're feeling kind of sick. You don't want to smell like eucalyptus all day, so you could try it in a salt or sugar scrub, or perhaps put it in a shower fizzy tab so it releases the scent into the steam. Try mixing it with peppermint to make it fresher, or try some lemon for a sunnier scent. Use eucalyptus in your home made cleaning products for an aromatherapy boost.

Since I am mentioning the aromatherapeutic uses, I would like to note that it's advised not to use this oil for children under ten, including sniffing it out of the bottle or from an aromatherapy inhaler. Because there are many different eucalypti, some may be safer for children than others.

And if you really want it in your perfume? Try finding eucalyptus absolute from the stores below for a less medicinal fragrance.

Hermitage Oils
Aftelier

There are a lot of eucalypti out there, and if you can't stand the odor of one, you might want to try another. I've listed some below that I've seen before. There are many more, but this list includes some common ones plus a few that have a bit of a fragrant twist.

Eucalyptus globulus
Eucalyptus radiata
Eucalyptus smithii
Eucalyptus macarthurii - rosy, Arctander notes that it's a eucalyptus for perfumers
Eucalyptus dives - minty
Eucalyptus citriodora- citronella-like
Eucalptus staigeriana - lemony

Other eucalyptus notes:
Cajeput (Melaleuca cajupti or Melaleuca leucadendron)
Niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia)

Previously:
Davana
Coffee
Bergamot
Anise

Friday, July 10, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Davana

D:

Davana (Artemisia pallens)

Davana is an odd bird. There aren't many choices for the letter "D" though, so davana it will be. Douglas fir feels kind of like cheating, and deertongue is impossible to find (no deer were harmed, it comes from a plant). I'm not sure if I've sniffed dill essential oil (the seed or weed), but I worry it would remind me too much of pickles.

Davana has a strong odor, described as fruity, herbal, wine-like, sweet. Arctander describes it as "...sharp, penetrating,  bitter-green, foliage-like and powerfully herbaceous with a sweet-balsamic, tenacious undertone," in Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin. It is usually steam distilled from the aerial parts of the plant (as opposed to the roots). It was a fairly new material at that time, and he doesn't write much about it.

Arctander recommends using it in a chypre or fougere, partly because those already have dark colors, so the a dark davana oil won't matter. It would be a nice modifier in a chypre, connecting the loamy oakmoss to the sparkling bergamot. I picture the green and sweet aspects blending well into a fougere scent as well.

Other forms of davana you might find include a CO2 extract or perhaps an attar. I have listed a few other artemisia varieties below- please look into safety issues when using any of these (including davana).

Owyhee/White Sagebrush- Artemisia ludoviciana
White wormwood- Artemisia alba 
Wormwood- Artemisia absinthium 
Sweet Wormwood/Sweet Annie- Artemisia annua
Tarragon/Estragon- Artemisia dracunculus 

Previously:
Coffee
Bergamot
Anise

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Coffee

C:

Coffee (Coffea arabica L.)

There are so many good essential oils that begin with C, it's hard to choose just one. Cinnamon, cardamom, and clove are wonderful spice notes. Cedarwood, be it Virginian, Atlas, or Himalayan, is a great addition to any perfumer's tool box. And then there are cocoa absolute, cypress, and clary sage (or would that be under S, for sage, clary?). I would recommend most of these to a beginning perfumer over coffee.

So why coffee?

Because it demonstrates the importance of sampling oils.

Chances are you know the scent of coffee, whether you like to drink it or not. And many people who don't like to drink it do like the scent. For me, coffee has many positive associations and memories. Getting my first coffee in high school (and by coffee I mean something with a bit of coffee and a lot of calories) and going to Starbucks somewhat regularly by the time I graduated. In college I spent some time volunteering at a late night coffee bar, where I learned to make a few drinks. On my honeymoon, my husband and I visited Seattle and tried coffee from as many places as we could. I eventually learned to drink my coffee black, and now I enjoy all its subtle nuances. And trying all the fussy coffee machines at my previous job, and learning which floors had better coffee.

The day before my wedding I got coffee with my friends. Coffee=Happy Memories

The problem with coffee essential oil? It's often pretty lousy. Essential oils often don't smell exactly like plant, but the problem with coffee EO is that it smells kind of like coffee, just not coffee that you'd want to drink. Sometimes I'll see it sold as coffee oil, a fixed (or carrier) oil pressed from green or roasted coffee beans.  Fortunately, coffee is also available as an absolute and CO2 extract, which gives you more options.

While I recommend sampling before buying large amounts of any essential oil, sometimes the difference in cost between a sample and an ounce is small, it seems worth it to buy the larger size. But with coffee, it is important to sample, because having a bottle of unusable essential oil is sad. Try purchasing samples of each type (essential oil, CO2, absolute) so you can compare how they smell. Buy the one you like best, or that best suits your needs.

What do you do with coffee? It's great in bath and body products, including lip balms. Add it to a soap or body scrub with some coffee grounds. It's easy to blend it with other foody scents, but experiment with other essential oils as well. Before mixing it in the bottle with something unusual, take a blotter with your coffee and one with the other scent and smell them together. Some oils are stronger than others, so build up the notes slowly. In perfumery you can use small amounts to modify the perfume without creating a coffee fragrance. A drop of coffee can dirty up a blend and add some interest to an otherwise bland floral.

And if you do end up with a bad coffee oil? Mix it with a few other essential oils and make a big batch of soap.

Previously:
Bergamot
Anise

Monday, July 6, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Bergamot

B:

Bergamot (Citrus bergamia)

It's convenient how the Latin names for most citrus notes start Citrus. Think of them as a good place to start learning binomial nomenclature.

Bergamot is a very common perfumery ingredient, and it's a note in an absurd number of both male and female fragrances. That's because it goes with just about everything. Not sure what to put at the top? Bergamot to the rescue!

You might be familiar with the odor from Earl Grey tea. You won't find bergamot at the store to eat, but the essence of the peel is used as a flavor. The scent won't overpower your blends, and will add a nice citrus note. I find it has a light floral aspect to it. Arctander describes its top notes as sweet and fresh, with an oily-herbaceous and slightly balsamic body. This is an exciting oil, and it won't cost you hundreds of dollars.

Like many citrus oils, the essential oil is produced via cold pressing of the peel. I have found a steam-distilled bergamot at Stillpoint Aromatics, but I haven't tried it myself. I'm mostly curious as to whether the steam distillation removes the photo-sensitizing elements of bergamot oil, like it does for lemon and lime. While I said in the first post that I wouldn't write about safety, bergamot oil is strong photo-sensitizer, and should be used with caution in leave on products. If you would like to use it in a leave on product, either dilute heavily or look into bergaptene free or FCF (furanocoumarin free) oils.

Fresh bergamot oil should be green or greenish-yellow. Bergamot doesn't get better with age, so unless you know you need a lot, start with small bottles so you know that you have a fresh oil.

Other oils with a bergamot note:
Bergamot Mint (Mentha citrata)
Bee Balm/Monarda/Wild Bergamot (Monarda Fistulosa)

Previously:
Anise

Friday, July 3, 2015

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Anise

I love scrolling through alphabetical lists of essential oils, and have often thought of featuring an essential oil for each letter. This series will include one oil for each letter, and will primarily include information on the scent and aromatic uses of the oil. Please note that I am not an aromatherapist, and don't intend to write about any health benefits or safety precautions. If you are interested in those issues, I recommend reading Robert Tisserand's and Rodney Young's book Essential Oil Safety, 2nd edition.

A:

Anise, including aniseed (Pimpinella anisum) and star anise (Illicium verum)


Star anise in potpourri.
The main constituent of star anise and aniseed (anise seed) is anethole, which gives them their characteristic "black licorice" odor. Interestingly enough, licorice does not smell like anise in its natural state, but it is flavored with anise.

Anise is great for soap- it's inexpensive for an essential oil, and it has high odor intensity, making it a cost effective choice. A high flash point means that it works well in hot process, too. Some use aniseed to make a "fisherman's soap," because it's supposed to hide the human odor so you catch more fish. I cannot personally vouch for that, but it'd be nice if washing with aniseed soap before scuba diving or snorkeling meant that you could get closer to the fishies. Not that I've been scuba diving or snorkeling either.

In Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, Arctander primarily writes about both types of anise in terms of flavor, though he notes anise seed oil is good at masking noxious odors. I like blending anise with lavender, and it also blends well with a variety of citrus oils. I also like it blended with cocoa absolute for a gourmand scent. Small amounts in an amber or fougere fragrances. If you want to try it in a perfume blend, start with just one drop (a good practice with any EO, really).

Other EOs with an anise note:
Aniseed Myrtle (Backhousia anisata)
Sweet Fennel (Foeniculum vulage)
Basil, Methyl Chavicol chemotype (Ocimum basilicum ct methyl chavicol)

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Product Development and New Brand

I've got a new brand in the works. I want Ivre de Fleurs to be about fragrance, so I'll be creating a new brand for all the other things. And by "all the other things," I'm currently thinking of pretty much everything, but of course, one thing at a time. I'll be announcing the new brand once I have more ready for it. So far it has a name and not much else. Except for some ingredients for me to experiment with. Plant sterols, anyone?

I will keep lip balms, hair oils, and a few other things where fragrance is a key part of the product for Ivre de Fleurs. I'm doing some stability testing for a new lip balm formula to make sure it doesn't turn grainy over time. Grainy lip balm is safe to use, but having a nice smooth one to put on is much better. I am also testing a new hair oil blend with new packaging.

I'm testing perfume bottles out as well!

I also contacted a school about what classes I would need to meet their admission requirements. That was terrifying for me, since it was the first step towards going back to school. And I must say, community colleges are bargains- why don't we all just do 2 years at those before moving on the expensive schools? I think living is all about reminding myself of all the mistakes I made when I was younger. Like going to an overpriced school for four years. And yes, most schools are overpriced. I really wish my alumni association would send me checks, rather than begging me to write one.



Monday, May 11, 2015

An Artist in a Laboratory

Sagarin, Edward, The Science and Art of Perfumery, New York, NY: Greenberg, 1955. 

The post title is the chapter title from The Science and Art of Perfumery, a book that captures how I feel about fragrance. The book was rebound into a blue, dull cover, and when I picked it up from the library, I didn't expect much from it. But it is one of my favorite overviews on the subject, covering a wide array of topics in a short and enjoyable read. I really liked Sagarin's writing style, often beautiful but never flowery, and filled with quote from poetry and prose.

The book starts with the history of fragrance, followed by a few chapters on the materials. When Sagarin discusses musk, it is sounds so tragic. The hunters lure the musk deer out by playing on flutes, leading these poor creatures to their deaths. I don't know if that's how it really worked, but it creates such a sad image to me.

From the natural materials Sagarin moves on to the creation of the early synthetics, first their attempts to duplicate, and then their attempts to create brand new aromachemicals. "An Artist in a Laboratory" is the first chapter on fragrance creation, and that, along with a chapter on flavors, tries to capture the odd nature of this work. On the one hand you're surrounded by the tools of a chemist, but on the other you're exploring the delicate nuances of a scent.

Sagarin breaks down the elements of a sample formula, covering the essential oils and molecules used. There are also chapters on odor description, marketing, business, and medicine. Despite the numerous topics, everything ties together nicely, with the rich history of perfume holding it all together. Even at the end of the book, instead of a bibliography, there is a historical overview of perfumery literature.

On the surface perfumery may seem simple, but a single fragrance can involve millions of considerations. Do you use this jasmine or that one? Even if they're pretty close, at a molecular level, they might have differences that can change the feeling of a scent. Should you use materials from endangered species? For me, it's easy to say I want to avoid the animal ingredients, but what about rosewood and sandalwood? Is it better to use synthetic materials instead with the hope of limiting environmental destruction? You need to consider the toxicity and allergenicity of the materials used, regardless of how they're derived. You need to make sure it smell good in the final product- fragrances used for laundry detergents have different considerations than personal fragrances. 

And then there's what you want to say with the fragrance you're creating. Even with all the science that goes into it, in the end you want a piece of art that speaks not only to you, but hopefully to someone else as well.

Rose Science- The scent and color of rose varies widely depending on the exact species and the type of extraction.


"And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —
(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”)
My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,
My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin —
(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time

For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."


-T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Intoxication- Walking Under the Influence (of Jasmine)



I haven't enjoyed moving to Mountain View, but when I'm walking here and there, I can at least enjoy the abundance of flowers here. For a few moments, the fragrance takes me away from where I am. Long stretches of jasmine, large and fragrant roses, and the blossoming trees stop me in my tracks, and all is right and beautiful. I move on sadly, looking forward to the next moment when the scent of flowers fills the air.

I spent several years trying to figure out what to do with my life. I knew I wanted to start my own business at some point, but it took awhile to figure it out. When I started studying perfumery, I knew that I wanted to work with these captivating materials. I feel intoxicated after spending a day in a room full of essential oils, absolutes, and other aromatics. Sometimes it will make me giddy, excited, and just happier. Other times it's so intense and I need to step out for fresh air.

When I started Ivre de Fleurs, I knew I wanted to focus on natural fragrance. Knowing that not everyone likes or wears perfumes, I decided to include bath and body products, like lip balms, hair oils, etc. These would let me share the fragrances with a wider group of people, and allow me to work with different mediums as well.

As time went by and I developed the brand, my mind was pulled this way and that. The products I made and the direction of my brand have led me to a point where I look at what I have, and I'm not excited by it. I've barely blogged the past few months, and without Instagram, I would have barely done anything with social media. I'm not a real fan of social media - I'm more of a keep to myself kind of person - but I keep hearing how important it is for business.

I've spent the time experimenting and studying the past few months, and also figuring out where I want my brand to head. Along the way I pondered so many possibilities, each tempting, but they would take away from what I really want to do. And that is create beautiful and strange fragrances. I'm going to refocus my creative energies on scent creation. I'm going to make lip balms, hair oils, and a few other products, but for now at least, I won't be making soap.

Ivre de Fleurs translates to "drunk with flowers," but so far I've aimed for a more restrained, quiet brand. I hope to breathe life into it with the passion I feel for the materials, and the wild beauty I strive to capture.

"In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

And indeed there will be time
For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,
Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;
There will be time, there will be time
To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;
There will be time to murder and create,
And time for all the works and days of hands
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

In the room the women come and go
Talking of Michelangelo."

-T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Friday, May 1, 2015

Some Essentials on Essential Fatty Acids

Once vilified, fats and oils are now celebrated. Hardly a day goes by without me seeing a post about the top ten uses for coconut oil or such. Honestly, I think the best part about virgin coconut oil is that it smells and tastes like coconuts. And refined coconut oil? It's a good cheap oil for soap, bringing lots of lather to your recipe. It's a good source of medium-chain fatty acids and has a good shelf life. However, it only has a small amount of Linoleic acid, one of the essential fatty acids (EFAs).

I recently finished reading Susan M. Parker's Power of the Seed, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn moreIt's a pretty awful title, but it's a good book. It covers the chemistry and components of oils, plus it includes a lot of profiles (about 90, I believe) of various oils. There are several appendices that help present the information on the oils in various ways, including a saponification value chart, if you make soap). There are few recipes if you don't know where to start with all the oils.

A Little Science

There are two essential fatty acids- Linoleic Acid (LA) and alpha-Linolenic acid (LNA). They are called such because your body doesn't produce them, so you need to get them from other sources. They're both polyunsaturated fatty acids, meaning they have two or more double bonds in their carbon chains. Saturated fatty acids don't have double bonds and are less susceptible to oxidation. LA has 2 double bonds, and LNA has 3, so LNA has the shorter shelf life of the two.

LA is an omega-6 fatty acid, and LNA is omega-3. You've probably heard of omega-3, and maybe omega-6 and omega-9. All unsaturated fatty acids have omega names, and the number refers to the first double bond in from the free end (the omega) of the chain. For omega-3, this means means your first double bond occurs at the third carbon in the chain,counting in from the omega. Saturated fats do not have omega names, which probably makes them sad.

Eating Your Omega-3

It's not my place to give medical advice, so I'm going to discuss sources rather than health benefits. It's easier to get enough linoleic acid in your diet, but fewer foods have high percentages of LNA.  You'll often see omega-3 supplements, sometimes in pill form or as a straight oil.

You might think of fish when you hear omega-3, and most of the supplements for omega-3 fatty acids are various of fish oils. Other than a brief time when I was four years old, I never liked fish, plus I went vegetarian when I was a teenager. So I do not recommend fish, because I think they're gross as a food and they belong swimming merrily in the water. And if you're an omnivore who doesn't like fish but is considering fish oil supplements, I have two words for you- fish burp. Some will claim not to cause fish burps, but do you really want to risk it?

If want to consume your omega-3 fatty acids through whole foods, there are a few plant sources that are high in LNA. Chia and flax seeds are excellent sources. You should store both in the refrigerator, and grind the flax before using. Hemp seed and walnuts also provide a fair amount of LNA. Several berry and fruit seed oils have a decent amount, but it'd be hard to eat enough fruit to get the proper amount of fat.

If you want to supplement, flax and chia seed oils are available in pill form. If you're vegetarian, check the ingredients, since some of the supplements use gelatin. While your body can produce DHA and EPA (more omega-3 fatty acids), it's not always very efficient, so there are supplements for those two fatty acids as well. DHA and EPA typically come from fish oil, but there are some vegan supplements out there. I think they're derived from algae. The best sources for GLA (an omega-6) are borage, evening primrose, and black currant seed oils. These also come in pill form, and again check the ingredients if you're vegetarian.

Omega-6 for Your Skin

In addition to eating LA and LNA, you should consider using oils with these fatty acids on your skin. Dry, damaged, or acneic skin often have low-levels of linoleic acid, so using oils rich in LA might help balance the skin. If you're not using a single oil, look for oil blends or lotions that contain LA-rich oils. Since they are more likely oxidize quickly, a blend will probably help with shelf life.

A few good oils with high percentages of LA include evening primrose, grape seed, hemp, walnut, and wheat germ. Safflower and sunflower are also good sources, but only if they're not the high-oleic hybrids. Popular skincare oils argan, rose hip seed, rice bran, and sea buckthorn also have decent amounts. The oils have different properties, so some may be better for your particular skin type.

Susan M. Parker, Power of the Seed: A Guide to Oils for Health & Beauty, Port Townsend, WA: 2014, Process Media. ISBN: 978-1-934170-54-0

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Chemistry and Poetry

I remember at my job interview for my library assistant position I was asked, "What brings you joy?" It was probably just a throw away question, one meant to be easy. The interviewer, an HR assistant, said it's fine to answer with money, that's what some people answer. Oh, if money was all I needed for joy- at least it is tangible. A lot of things make me happy- cats, the scent of jasmine in the air, the people I love...But this happiness is a fleeting feeling, not a sustained feeling of contentedness.

I answered that finishing something brings me joy. Like putting the finishing touches on something I created, or getting to the end of a difficult book. I do read plenty of books more for knowledge than entertainment, so sometimes just getting through them feels like an accomplishment.

I think I did horribly with that job interview, even ignoring that question, but I got the job anyway. I guess there weren't many other people interested in it, plus I was able to temp while they were deciding. I'm more impressive working than interviewing. During my time there, I learned that there is never an end to anything- assignments from years ago would rise from the dead. Never knowing if something was truly over, I couldn't enjoy anything. I worked there for over eight years, and by the time I quit I was bored and frustrated at the lack of opportunity to advance. The only interesting work left was for me to head down to our "technical books" section and find specifics on semiconductors, 802.11, programming, etc. (By the way, isn't OOPSLA the most fun name for a conference? I just love it.)

I love learning. I've been studying cosmetic chemistry kind of casually since I started the business, but I've been delving deeper into it lately. I listen to chemistry lectures instead of music while working. I read books with funny squiggly carbon chains. Those carbon diagrams used to confuse me, but now I enjoy them. And so I start wondering if I should go back to school and get my master's in cosmetic chemistry.

Oh, but how I hate formal education! I feel like I've learned so much more on my own than I did in school. I did well in school, but it all just felt like part of what I had to do. Go to school, get good grades, go to college, and then join the workforce. Back in high school I assumed after getting my bachelor's, I'd go on to graduate school, but I was disenchanted after four years of college. Screw the talk about college being the best years of your life- it was four years of misery for me. Just thinking about it makes me melodramatic. I worry going back to school would hurt me more than help me.

How much would I never learn if I do go back to school? Would I have time to study art, poetry, literature? After all, I seek poetry for comfort, not skeletal formulas (yes, skeletal formulas are a real term, I'm not just trying to make them sound cold and lifeless). I want to capture the art and beauty in scent. A fragrance is more than just the sum of its molecules- for me it's capturing an idea in a bottle. The thought of translating the abstract into a scent fascinates me. Stretching the imagination this way and that leaves me restless, wondering how far it can go before it snaps.

I wish I had time to study everything that interests me- all of the above, plus so much more. I would take this knowledge and blow it up like a giant balloon so close to popping. And then I would ever so gently paint a flower on that balloon.

"Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question...
Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?'
Let us go and make our visit."

-T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Monday, January 26, 2015

Moving Sale



On Sale for $15-20.
I will be moving from San Francisco to Mountain View at the end of February. To minimize the amount of products I have to move, I have marked many things down, including everything with my old logo on it. In addition to a clearance section, I have also added $2, $3, $4, and $5 sections for lower priced items. These includes regular and clearance priced items.

Other promotions on Etsy- receive a free ladder-style soap dish when you purchase two or more regular priced soaps. Purchase 4 or more regular priced soaps and receive a free hemp shower sponge.

 If you want to stock up or splurge, use code MOVING50 on Etsy for free shipping on purchases of $50 or more.

Everything on the Ivre de Fleurs website is on sale right now as well, with free shipping on all purchases.

I'm sad to be leaving San Francisco, even though I'll still be relatively close. I have my reasons for moving to Mountain View though, and I hope I'll like living there.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Witch Hazel and Hydrosols

While lots of ingredients in a product aren't necessarily a bad thing, it does make it harder to scrutinize the product. I personally dislike squinting over a label in the store, scanning for any ingredients I want to avoid. I love hydrosols, including witch hazel, for my face, since there shouldn't be too much in it, and they offer various skin benefits.

Hydrosols are often a by-product of essential oil distillation, though better hydrosols are produced just for their own sake. They're much cheaper than essential oils, and you can even find hydrosols for plants that don't produce an essential oil.

Witch hazel is a cheap and natural astringent, and you should be able to find it easily in grocery stores and drugstores. It's good for oily and acne-prone skin, as well as dry, sensitive and inflamed skin. It usually contains alcohol as a preservative- look for one that's 86% witch hazel distillate and 14% alcohol. The alcohol should be some sort of ethanol/ethyl alcohol, not isopropyl alcohol. If you want to find an alcohol free witch hazel, you will need to use one with a different preservative, since unpreserved witch hazel is not available.

Other popular hydrosols include rose water, orange flower water, and lavender water. While there are many hydrosols out there, these three tend to smell nice to most people. You can use them as toners if you don't like witch haze. I love spraying my face with hydrosols when I'm feeling warm to help cool myself down. They also work as a light, pretty fragrance when you don't want to wear a heavier perfume. When purchasing hydrosols, check the label to make sure there are no added fragrances or dyes.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Guide to Grocery Store Beauty Oils

One of the advantages of using oils for beauty care are that they are often readily available, possibly even sitting there in your kitchen cabinet right now. They don't need preservatives (though added antioxidants extend their shelf-life with no harm to you), and you only need a small amount at a time. They're best to use when you get out of the shower or after you wash your face, since they don't have water built into them like lotions and creams do. They're one of the easiest ways to simplify your beauty routine, and you don't have to read through long lists of ingredients, or figure out which of those many ingredients is the one bothering you. There are also many other beauty oils out there, but these are ones you might come by more readily.

When using oils, make sure to start with just a tiny amount, so you don't end up feeling greasy. I'm concentrating mostly on the face here, since your it's mostly likely to have problems that can take awhile to clear up- namely in the form of acne. If your skin is dry and not likely to breakout, you can experiment with different oils to see which ones work best for you. Transfer some oil into a small bottle, preferably one with a dispensing cap, so you can keep your cooking oils separate from you beauty oils. Jars would work better for coconut oil and solid butters. When buying oils, look for ones labeled "cold pressed."

Some popular grocery store oils that you can use on your hair and skin include olive, coconut, and avocado. I wouldn't use coconut oil on your face unless you're not at all prone to break outs. It does have a long shelf life, so it could to stock up if you like it for your hair and body. Olive oil seems to have different comedogenic ratings depending on where I looked, so you might want to skip that one as well. Avocado has a low-medium comedogenicity rating, so it could be suitable for most people. It does have a shorter shelf life though, so buy small amounts and keep what you're not using in the refrigerator.

If you can find them, jojoba oil and hemp seed oil are non-comedogenic. Jojoba has an indefinite shelf life, so you don't have to worry about it going rancid, but it is pricey. Trader Joe's sometimes has small bottles, so it might be worth picking up if you see it to see how you like it. Hemp seed oil has a short shelf life, so this is another one to keep the main bottle in the refrigerator.

If you see shea butter in the beauty section, it's also non-comedogenic and great for your skin and hair. Make sure it's just shea butter, though some added essential oils or vitamin E are fine. Look for unrefined shea to get the maximum benefits from it- it might have more of an odor and color to it, but it will be better for you. Cocoa butter has a high melting point, so it's not so easy to use, plus it's highly comedogenic, so unless you really want that chocolaty odor, you might want to look elsewhere.

If you suffer from oily skin, hazelnut oil is the one for you- it is slightly comedogenic, so patch test before smearing it all over your face. Putting oil on oily skin might sound silly, but it is slightly astringent, balancing your skin instead of stripping it of those excess oils. This one might be harder to find, but fancier grocery stores might stock it.


Thursday, January 1, 2015

2015 Beauty Resolutions

The new year is a perfect time to clean out your beauty products. Having gone through my collection of various beauty products (I was addicted to sample boxes for awhile, so I had a lot of stuff to go through), I'll offer up some tips for going through your own.

If you have any that you don't use regularly, check the expiration dates and get rid of those first. Ingredients do break down, and any preservatives might not no longer be working, so you don't want to risk putting those things on your skin.If a product is purely oil based, you can probably tell if it's gone rancid by giving it a quick sniff- if it smells fine, it's probably fine to use.

I like to go through the ingredient lists and make sure there's nothing in there that I don't want. Fragrance, dyes, and sulfates are on the top of my list of things to avoid. If these things don't bother your skin, then it's fine to use them, but they don't add any benefits to the end products. When essential oils are used for fragrance, they can offer various beauty benefits, but when a product just lists "parfum" or "fragrance", you have no idea what you're using.

Getting rid of old make up is a good idea too, since it probably harbors bacteria from previous applications. Mascara should be swapped out regularly (about every three months), especially since it goes near your eyes and the wand and tube design make it hard to keep it germ free. Clean your brushes while you're at it, and try to clean them on a regular basis if you don't already.

I'll be posting again soon with ideas on simple beauty products to add into your routine without breaking the bank.