Charity Roses

Charity Roses is a collection of four very special roses with $1/ml sold going to the International Rescue Committee, San Jose office.I started working on this a few months ago, and finally have everything up and listed on Etsy. 

Afghan Rose

Forbidden Rose

French Rose

Rose Bourbonia

Choose 2 Samples

Each rose is available as a 1ml sample or 4ml full size roll on, diluted in organic jojoba at 5-10%. These roses are unique and hard to come by, and I might not be able to get more when I run out.

Pictured are the sampler tins, with two oils of your choice of two samples in a tin decorated with a vintage Japanese cabochon.

I decided on a refugee charity, because in addition to losing their homes and facing all the obstacles associated with that, refugees are likely to experience hate and other difficulties for being different. While I try to avoid politics in my business, I feel that is un-American to turn our backs on refugees, and I feel that this is one way I can show my support.

The ABCs of Essential Oils: Patchouli

Pogostemon cablin

Patchouli is one of those things you probably love or hate. And while I've met those who adore patchouli, it feels like the general public is wary of the scent. If you want to make perfumes, trying to find a way to use the oils you don't like is invaluable.

Patchouli has a reputation as a "dirty hippy" scent, and with its earthy odor, that might feel apt the first time you sniff it. It does have a strong scent, and if your first reaction is to wrinkle your nose up, try diluting it. A lot of essential oils are too strong in their pure state, so diluting it will help you appreciate it better. If you're still thinking "ew" after diluting it, don't give up hope.

Like other oils, you can find patchouli as an essential oil, CO2 extract, and absolute. I am a huge fan of CO2s and absolutes, which often have odor profiles quite different than the essential oil. While I haven't sniffed patchouli absolute (at least not too recently), the CO2 has a fresher scent that you might find more appealing than the essential oils. For the essential oils, you can seek out different distillation methods. I've seen double distilled, which removes parts of the essential oil, such as iron. "Light" patchouli, which is distilled in stainless steel, has not only a lighter color than dark patchouli, but a lighter scent as well. And then you can also explore aged patchoulis, with their richer, deeper scents.

Still not feeling the patchouli love? Time to move on to blending it. Add a small amount to a different single oil, like rose, and evaluate what it does to the rose scent. Split a blend in half, add a drop or two of patchouli to one of them, and leave the other aside. Go back a day later and sniff out the differences.

Arctander says, "Patchouli oil is used so extensively that it is hardly possible to specify its field of application," and goes on to list as "an important ingredient in Oriental bases, woody bases, fougeres, chypres, opoponax bases, powder-type perfumes, etc." As such, anyone who wants to work with fragrances beyond narrow subsets should learn go appreciate this oil. While you don't need to love it, rise above the hate, and expand your creative potential.

Previously:
Orange Blossom
Nutmeg
Mandarin
Lavender
Kewda
Jasmine
Immortelle
Ho Wood
Ginger
Frankincense

Eucalyptus

Davana

Coffee

Bergamot

Anise

One Dozen Roses Sale & Update

First, the exciting news (for those who want to buy some rose oils, at least): I am selling the 4ml roll-ons at 50% off while supplies last. I will be switching from plastic to glass roll-ons, so all plastic roll-ons are on sale. Quite a few are gone already (4, 5, 9, 11, and 12), and some are low stock, so if you've been waiting to buy any of the scents, now is the time.

My last complete set of One Dozen Roses sold in December, and while looking to restock some of the oils, I noticed a few were no longer available for purchase. The following 5 scents will no longer be included in the set:

1. Ruh Gulab Monsoon- Rosa Damascena- India- Ruh

2. White Rose Otto- Rosa Alba- Bulgaria Essential Oil

3. Rose Enfleurage- South America- Enfleurage

4. Russian Rose Otto- Rosa Damascena- Russia- Essential Oil

6. Chinese Tea Rose- Rosa Odorata- China- Essential Oil

I personally love some of these, and hope to bring them on as additions so those who haven't experienced them yet will get a chance to in the future. I also have my eye on some rare and precious roses that might not work for the set, but would be available separately as limited editions.

These will be making a return in the set, along with sample vials and 4ml roll-ons available to purchase separately.
5. Rose Gallica- Rosa Gallica- Moldova- Essential Oil

7. Rose Apothecary- Rosa Gallica- Russia Absolute

8. Rose de Mai- Rosa Centifolia- Egypt- Organic Extract

9. Rose de Mai Absolute- Rosa Centifolia- Egypt- Absolute

10. White Rose- Rosa Alba- Bulgaria- CO2

11. Moroccan Rose- Rosa Damascena- Morocco- Absolute

12. Rose Anatolian- Rosa Damascena- Turkey- Absolute

I will be adding the following to the One Dozen Roses set:
Rose Damascena - Bulgaria - CO2
Rosa Alba - Bulgaria - Absolute
Rosa Damascena - Bulgaria - Essential Oil
Rosa Rugosa - China - Essential Oil
Rosa Centifolia - Russia - Absolute

I hope to have new sets available within a few weeks, so you can treat yourself or someone you love to One Dozen Roses for Valentine's Day.

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

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

Book Reviews

I can't wait to review the book I'm reading now. Oh, I love it so much.

But for now, I'll write a bit about two other books I recently finished reading.

Ellena, Jean-Claude, Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent, New York, NY: Arcade Publishing, 2011. ISBN: 9781611453300

Burr, Chandler, The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York, New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2007. ISBN: 9780805080377 HD9999.P932B87 2008

I included the LoC call number on the second citation because it was in the book, and I used to add those to a list of books we had collected at my old job. It can help you learn what a book is about by looking at those, and while it might seem obvious for many books, that isn't always the case.

I would definitely recommend The Perfect Scent to anyone interested in fragrances and the perfume industry. It covers many of the aspects of fragrance creation, from the scent itself to the bottles and marketing. Naturals vs. synthetics comes up, and most fragrance companies don't want you to realize their scents aren't all natural. All natural fragrance is really a niche, though some of the larger companies do use large amount of naturals in their perfumes.

I also thought it funny that fashion designers want the public to believe they make the scents themselves. It never occurred to me that they would have, though I didn't know much about who did create them until a few years ago. The Perfect Scent delves even deeper into this, revealing how much goes into one single scent.

I don't really recommend Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent unless you're obsessed with Jean-Claude Ellena. It's not that it's a bad book per se, but it covers a lot of the same ground as the The Perfect Scent. One of the two fragrances featured by Burr was created by Ellena, and he does a better job of capturing Ellena's thoughts and creative process better than Ellena does. Of course Burr is primarily a writer and Ellena primarily a perfumer, so it's probably proper that Burr would write the better book. Ellena does have another book that I haven't read yet, so perhaps that one will prove better.

Cocoa Absolute

Cocoa absolute has a great scent- rich and chocolatey. You can use a little to modify a fragrance, making it a little dirty and a little sweet, without going full out gourmand. With The Lab #7 Cocoa, I didn't add just a little, I added a lot.

I spent a long time figuring out this fragrance. Starting with the base notes, I added patchouli and vetiver for their earthiness. And then let it sit. Added some labdanum to complete the base notes- I love labdanum and its ambery odor. I added some ylang ylang for the middle, and went uh oh- the chocolate brought out the banana notes in ylang ylang. I did not want to create a chocolate covered banana fragrance, though I'm sure there's a market for that.

I let it sit again. Then, to adjust the chocolate-banana middle, I added some clary sage and pimento berry (aka- allspice). I finished it up with spice up at the top, with a good blast of fresh ginger, and dash of woodsy petitgrain.

One problem with chocolate absolute- it does not work well in oils. I let this fragrance sit around for awhile so the chocolate scent could permeate it, and then filtered it before bottling. A lot of the thick brown absolute still made it's way into many of the bottles, and it would be best to shake them to disperse it before applying. I pulled aside the one with the most cocoa absolute hanging around, and it didn't stain or color my pale skin, so that shouldn't worry you. I wouldn't rub the fragrance into your clothes though, since it might stain those. Plus you shouldn't be covering your clothes in oil.

The Lab #7 Cocoa is available from Ivre de Fleurs and Etsy for $10 for a 4ml roller ball.

The Lab # 5 Lavender

This started out as an idea for a lip balm flavor- lavender, anise, and vanilla. When I did my flavor tester (I made a zillion of those), I wasn't impressed. I took the scent blend and put it in some soap, which was rather lovely. It did make the soap turn dark due to the vanilla in it, so it wasn't the prettiest soap, but it did smell nice.

This scent is an expansion of that idea- vanilla at the base, lavender at the middle and top (lavender absolute and essential oil), and anise at the top. Vetiver, patchouli, and clary sage bring some earthiness to it, and black pepper spices up the top. I also added some yuzu absolute to brighten it up- that stuff is hard to find and rather pricy for a citrus note, so once this fragrance is sold out, there will be no more of it. Perhaps a slightly different version, but unless I can get my hands on some more yuzu absolute, I won't be able to make any more.

The Lab #5 Lavender is available at Ivre de Fleurs and Etsy for $15.

Davana

Davana is an odd scent. Kind of fruity, and to me, kind of boozy. It reminds me a bit of cough syrup sometimes. It is also a bit of a chameleon, and can smell differently on different people. Of course that's true of all (or at least many) fragrances, but when creating this scent, I couldn't stand it in the bottle, but liked it on my skin.

I wanted to emphasize the fruitiness of davana, so I added Roman chamomile. Frankincense and Peru balsam at the base added additional sweetness and some citrus. At this point, it seemed like it could be a sugarbomb of a fragrance, and while there is a market for that, I don't want that to be the end result.

Back to the middle notes, I added rose geranium and ylang ylang. This probably didn't help with the sweetness, but adds a small touch of floral. For the top notes I went with spice (black pepper and juniper berry) and some floral woods- petitgrain and rosewood. The scent definitely isn't a fruity floral- the floral aspect is pretty quiet.

Lab #4 Davana is available from Etsy and Ivre de Fleurs for $10.

Also new on Etsy are blended floral balms. There are currently three different blends- Trio Blend, which leans towards jasmine but with hints of rose and tuberose; White Flowers, a blend with jasmine, neroli, and tuberose; and Mimosa Neroli, a honeyed scent with an orange flower twist. These are $10 for each .15 ounce jar.

Vanilla and More

New Gardenia and Sandalwood Fragrance

Before we get to Lab #3 Vanilla, I'd like to introduce Gardenia Sandalwood Natural Fragrance, available in our Etsy Store. The gardenia is infused in apricot kernel oil, and while sweet and beautiful, the scent doesn't last long on the skin. I added some sandalwood so there would be something there once the gardenia was faded, and it provides soft, lingering back up to the gardenia.

On to the vanilla. When I first started studying fragrance, I loved vanilla. It's a nice scent after all. But as I continued, I started using a greater variety at base notes, and at times I didn't even have any vanilla absolute or CO2 on hand. Once I realized I wanted to make something with vanilla but didn't have any, I made sure to get some. Plain it may be, but it's still useful to have around.

This fragrance starts with a vanilla infusion, with vanilla CO2 added for more depth. Peru balsam, which has some vanilla notes to it, was then added. At that point I left it alone for a long time, and wasn't sure what else to do with it. One day after sniffing it, I decided it needed some wood notes, and so I added Himalayan cedarwood and some sandalwood. As with the Neroli Rose, this fragrance has no top notes. It is available through the Ivre de Fleurs store for $15 for a 4ml roll-on bottle.

The Lab #2- Neroli Rose

Neroli Rose is another simple blend- middle notes of neroli and rose absolute, with sandalwood for some longevity. I skipped a top note for this fragrance. I understand their importance, but I wanted the focus to be on these two flowers. Sandalwood blends seamlessly into it, quietly sitting in the background.

I don't think I'll build off this fragrance in the future, though it's likely I'll create a blend at some point with all three oils. There are so many ways this scent can go that it's hardly a starting point. This would be a good scent to layer with your favorite perfumes, to add some floral notes.

This scent is only available through the Ivre de Fleurs website, with only three bottles available. Samples will be available soon on Etsy.

New Limited Edition Fragrances!

Fragrances #1-#5

The Lab fragrances are limited edition perfume that explore different ideas in scent. Each silver roller ball holds 4ml and costs between $10-20, depending on the essences used. Each perfume is naturally scented, including some with rare and expensive oils. All of them will be available through the Ivre de Fleurs website, and #4-#7 will be posted to Etsy soon. I will also add sample sizes for sale on Etsy.

I will be writing about each of the fragrances in separate posts, starting with #1 today.

The Lab #1- Wood
When I started making perfume, I loved all the florals- rose, jasmine, neroli. I still love them, but over time I have come to appreciate pretty much all of the scents out there. Except for clary sage, but I do like blending with that one. I just don't like it alone.

I love the various wood scents out there, in particular rosewood and sandalwood. Sadly, these face endangerment, but I hope with increased attention, there will be a way to protect these trees and obtain their beautiful oils. I know for rosewood that some distillers use the branches, and I've seen it distilled from the leaves as well.

 Virginian cedarwood is pretty far down my list of woods. It turns out it's not even from a cedar tree, but from a juniper tree (Juniperus virginiana). It has a scent like a pencil, which can still be nice and useful, but it's not my preferred cedar. For this fragrance, I decided to use Himalayan cedarwood, a real cedar (Cedrus deodora). It creates a nice bridge between the top note rosewood and the base note sandalwood.

In the future I might build off of this fragrance- I thought about adding agarwood, but that stuff is expensive, and I wanted to keep these relatively affordable.

Learning About Lotions Part 5 - The Results

A few weeks ago I made a batch of lotions to try out the "natural" preservatives along with the olive-based emulsifier. I do think with further trials and adjusting the formula it could all be made to work fine. This would involve quite a bit more studying, money, and time, and so in the end I will not be pursuing lotions.

I had split one batch into two, adding Synercide Asian Fusion to one half (Water, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Wasabi Root Extract, Ginger Root Extract, Garlic Bulb Extract), and Leucidal (Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate) to the other. Before splitting the lotion I had added a few preservative extracts (elderberry, aspen bark, and willow bark.) I also included helichrysum extract, which isn't a preservative, but does help with preserving. So far both batches have held up, but it's too early to tell if the preservative systems are working properly. And without challenge testing, I won't know for sure how safe they are.

I had hoped to test each preservative separately (with the exception of the helichrysum extract, which is not a preservative), but I realized I didn't have enough appropriate containers to do so. I'm also unsure if splitting the batch in two is better than creating two separate batches for testing.

I used Olivem 1000 (Cetearyl Olivate and Sorbitan Olivate) for the emulsifier with Oliwax (Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Olive Oil, Olive Oil Unsaponifiables) to help stabilize the emulsion. Using xanthan gum instead of the Oliwax might have worked better, but I really wanted to try the Oliwax. One of the biggest issues I had was melting the Olivem. If I use it again, I'll need to find a better way to melt it, since my pathetic double boiler set up did not work well.

I'm not sure if the emulsifier hadn't melted properly or wasn't properly blended in, but the Synercide half did not emulsify well. This was the bottom half of the mixture, with the Leucidal half being poured off into another container. The lotion with Synercide is thin and runny, and the water separates out to the bottom when sitting for awhile. I just shake it and use it, but it is gross looking at it when it has separated. The Leucidal lotion has not experienced any of the separation and has a thicker consistency.

Learning About Lotions Part 4 - Other Ingredients

I've concentrated on preservatives and emulsifiers, since those two are key ingredients that are to find in a natural and effective form. After those two ingredients, it should be easy to find everything else as close to natural as you care for it to be.

Water- The simplest choice is distilled water (not purified or tap, since those might introduce things to your lotion you don't want). You can also try hydrosols and aloe vera juice, plus some other things I'm sure I'm not thinking about. Some hydrosols and aloe do include preservatives, so you might want to consider that when choosing your liquid.

I wonder if you could use wine or beer in a lotion, like you can with a soap. Though you might end up smelling like you've been at a bar all night and had too much to drink.

Oils- So many kinds, including the butters like cocoa, butter, and shea. I use strictly plant based oils, but there are animal oils (lanolin, emu, etc.) that are available. Looking at some suppliers, I'm surprised to see all the oils I never knew existed!

Humectants- Humectants draw in water or help to retain it, making the lotion a better moisturizer for your skin. Glycerin is a well known natural humectant, with the disadvantage that it can be kind of sticky. I've taken to using sodium lactate instead of glycerin, since I think it feels better, and it also can be added to soaps help them harden. Sodium lactate is derived from the fermentation of sugars, usually from corn or beet. Since I began looking into lotions, I've become interested in Honeyquat, a conditioning humectant derived from honey.

Antioxidants- Use these to extend your oils so they don't rancid too quickly. Rosemary oleoresin extract (ROE) and Vitamin E T-50 are both good choices- I often use one or both in my oil based products.

Additional Additives- There are a lot of additional things you can put in lotions- waxes, thickeners (like xanthan gum), and extracts, plus other ingredients depending on your goal. If you want to add a little color to your lotion, you can add a bit (not too much, since you don't want to color your skin!). Use essential oils for a natural scent or fragrance oils if you're fine with using those. For colors and fragrance oils, make sure you're only using things that are safe for the skin.

Learning About Lotions Part 3- Emulsifiers

Water + Oil + Sodium Hydroxide = Soap
Water + Oil + Emulsifier = Lotion
That's if all goes well, and there's obviously more to both of them than that. When I learned about lotions a few years ago, I heard about emulsifying wax (sometimes called E-Wax). It's a popular emulsifier for homemade lotions and it works well. Melting the wax and blending it in while still hot to your oils and waters creates your lotion.

A bit later I read about BTMS 50 (INCI: Behentrimonium Methosulfate (and) Cetearyl Alcohol), a conditioning emulsifier. It works well in conditioners, and when used it lotions it can give a powdery feel to the skin. This is a cationic emulsifier, so some preservatives might not work with it.

Some makers use beeswax and borax to create a natural emulsifier, but it doesn't create a stable emulsion. These will need to be shaken to mix the water and oils back together. I find separated lotions kind of gross, and usually toss any I have once they do separate. These lotions were using different emulsifiers and took a couple of years to separate. I'd be disappointed if I had one breaking down so soon.

In my recent experiments I am trying Olivem 1000 (INCI: Cetearyl Olivate (and) Sorbitan Olivate). An olive derived emulsifier sounded cool, plus it emulsifies by forming liquid crystals. But it does have some issues with stability. Adding a thickener like xanthan gum or a co-emulsifier helps stabilize it.

There are a lot of other emulsifiers out there, but these are the three I've tried. I haven't tried (or been tempted to try) the beeswax and borax method.

I'm not particularly interested in emulsifiers, but here are a few things you might want to look into if you are:
Use of silicones
Types of emulsion: Water in Oil, Oil in Water, Water in Silicone
Cold Emulsions
Self-emulsifiers (you don't need to add additional oils to some of these)
Type of product (lotion, conditioner, spray, etc.)
Cationic/non-ionic/anionic
Co-emulsifiers
Stabilizers

Learning about Lotions Part 1- Preservatives

I've started researching preservatives and other lotion ingredients, and soon I will start experimenting with making lotions again. I don't know if I'll sell lotions- it depends on how the experiments work out. I'll be writing about the various elements of lotions as I go. These are general thoughts, not in depth information on any one item. I find researching lotion making very exciting, and I want to share that knowledge with people who might not know what goes into making lotions. I think it's important to know what is going into the products you use, why they're there, and how they work.

I have made lotions and creams in the past, but I haven't made any to sell. If I were to sell any, I couldn't market my brand as preservative free, because there's no way I'm selling a lotion without something to keep it safe. Recently I've started to feel like calling Ivre de Fleurs a preservative brand is causing me to be a part of the scaremongering against preservatives, and I don't want that. I want to make products as naturally as I can, but I also don't want to be limited to using only ingredients that the average person can pronounce.

I'm starting with some natural preservatives in my experiments. It sounds like they don't work well for the most part, but maybe I can get them to work somehow. The ones I'm trying now are various fermentations and extracts, and some offer additional benefits beyond preserving. If they don't work, I'll start looking into other preservatives. A broad-spectrum preservative system is important to keep your water-based products free from bacteria, yeast, mold, and fungus out there. I've got a little kit to test for preservative efficacy, so I should be able to determine some things quickly, but then you have to make sure it works over time (no separating, no mold or fungus, no other nasty things). If I have a good recipe, I'd need to send it off for challenge testing, to make sure it's verified safe.

Parabens are one of the preservatives that you hear most often about, and usually not in a good way. Parabens are actually really good at preserving products, they are used at very small percentages, and I'm not convinced they'll lead me to a long and painful death. While a lot of people don't bother to check the labels of their beauty products, those that do often don't want parabens in them, so I'll be skipping them.

By the way, honeysuckle extract has a molecule that acts like a paraben. I've only read a little into it, and I'm not sure if it's effective as parabens are, but if you are avoiding parabens, you might want to add honeysuckle extract to your list of ingredients to avoid. Grapefruit seed extract might also have parabens in it- the parabens are being used to preserve the extract, and are then helping to preserve the final product. It seems like there's a lot of controversy on grapefruit seed extract, so I don't want to go there.

Formaldehyde donors are another type of preservative, but I haven't read too much into them yet. I have no plans to use them, but I'd still like to read up on them some more.

There are a few preservatives that can be listed as "parfum" or "fragrance" on a label. If a product claims to be preservative free but lists fragrance, they may or may not be using that fragrance to preserve the product. I've read of two- one that has a rosy scent, and another that's more vanilla/almond. I'm slightly confused as to why fragrance would be preferable to preservatives, but I guess it depends on why you're avoiding an ingredient.

Hydrosols

Lately I've been researching hydrosols- water that has been used to distill a plant for its essential oil. While they are usually a byproduct of essential oil distillation,  sometimes the distillation is done specifically for creating the hydrosol. They are often cheaper than the essential oil, perhaps always, but I haven't looked too much into it yet. The scent is lighter, and often quite different than the fragrance of the essential oil.

Witch hazel is one of the most common hydrosols, and you can often find it at your drugstore, mixed with 14% alcohol as a preservative. You can sometimes find rose or orange blossom waters in the baking section.

The problem with hydrosols is that since they do contain water, they can go bad. If you're buying small amounts for personal use, it's probably safe to keep it in your refrigerator and use them quickly.While looking into hydrosols, I also started looking into preservatives, since I wouldn't want to sell anything that could go bad easily. While I didn't want to use preservatives in my products at first, after doing some research, I've found some that I would be comfortable using in my products. If the tests turn out well, I might have some hydrosol products available for sale soon. There is also alcohol- a good amount of high proof alcohol also acts as a preservative (see witch hazel, above).

I have bought several small bottles of hydrosols, and while I plan on moving forward with using some of them, others were not so appealing. Yarrow is almost gag-inducing. There are also some fruit hydrosols out there, which can be used to create natural fragrances with strawberry, apple, and other fruity scents.

Ideas (perhaps too many)

I've had a hard time falling asleep lately. No matter how tired I am, as I try to sleep my brain runs wild with ideas for things to make. I've had issues with insomnia in the past, though I think it's mostly that I'm a night owl living in an early bird world.

The problem is that I have too many product ideas- probably more than I can ever make. I'm inspired by all sorts of things. Some ideas start as making unique versions of products that already exist (such as hair oils). A lot of ideas start with a single ingredient though- I read about something, and then I have to see how it works. I had read broccoli seed oil is good for the hair, but I haven't seen many people selling it. So I bought some broccoli seed oil, and Broccoli Shine Hair Oil was created. This created some interesting design problems- namely, how to mask the scent of the broccoli seed oil. I used some of the same oils I add to my other hair oils, and then added some powerful essential oils. The end result is a product that helps your hair and does not smell like broccoli.

The Everywhere Oils are a result of my testing several oils for how they feel- I wanted to find ones that you can put on without feeling greasy. Camellia seed oil works great, and I started using it regularly on my face and hair. I wanted to keep the product simple, so I used only one essential oil for each variety- lavender, rose, and ylang ylang. 

I have several new products I need to add to my store. I also need to figure out which ideas in my head are worth pursuing. I am so easily intrigued by the various ingredients out there, and I need to stop myself from buying and trying all of them.

Rose Balm Giveaway!

I am currently hosting a giveaway of one .25 oz Rose Perfume Balm. This product uses only the natural fragrance of rose- rose wax and rose absolute.

If you hate the scent of roses (real roses, fresh from the garden) you might like one of other scents better. Ivre de Fleurs has perfume balms in Jasmine, Mimosa, Orange Blossom (Neroli), Plumeria, and Tuberose.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Reviews- Perfumes: The A-Z Guide & Cult Perfumes: The World's Most Exclusive Perfumeries

Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, Turin, Luca and Tania Sanchez, New York, NY: Penguin Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-14-311501-4

Cult Perfumes: The World's Most Exclusive Perfumeries, Williams, Tessa, New York, NY: Merrell, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-8589-4577-4

Two books on perfume- Perfumes gives short reviews of hundreds of perfumes, while Cult Perfumes is a coffee table book full of pictures and the stories behind several perfumeries. I liked them both, but Perfumes: The A-Z Guide is probably more helpful to most people. Of course, Cult Perfumes is nicer to look at.

Perfumes: The A-Z Guide covers a wide variety of perfumes, many that you've probably heard of, and some you probably haven't. I enjoyed the writing styles of both Turin and Sanchez, and often found myself laughing at their reviews. The reviews of bad perfumes are usually funnier, though I'm not sure that would take the sting out of a one star review. The reviews are alphabetical by fragrance, with an index by star rating and brand in the back. After the name of the fragrance, they give the brand name, star rating (1-5), two word synopsis, and pricing (1-4 dollar signs). Price and stars don't always correlate- there are good cheap perfumes and bad expensive perfumes. They're a bit dismissive of all natural perfumes, though there are some good reviews of natural fragrances. Some brands have both 5 star perfumes and 1 star, though the reverse is definitely not true. While I read this cover to cover, I think it could be a nice book to just pick up every now and then and read a review for fun- even if you're not interested in perfumes.

Cult Perfumes: The World's Most Exclusive Perfumeries is probably best for those that truly love fragrance. It has pictures of bottles, advertisements, showrooms, and items of historical interest. It goes over the history and fragrances of 27 perfume houses, from the few that are centuries old to the relatively new. Prices put some of the fragrances out of reach for most people, including some that are $1000+ and bespoke perfumes that have waiting lists on top of exorbitant prices. The book doesn't go much into pricing, but there are some fragrances in here that do cost significantly less than $1000 (diptyque has some for less than $100). Some perfumeries strictly control distribution of their fragrances, making them hard to find. Serge Lutens has many available worldwide, but has a collection of fragrances that are only available in Paris, for example.While this is a lovely book, it wouldn't be a good choice for helping you find a new scent. In addition to the issues above, the lack of criticism in this book makes it hard to determine which of the exclusive scents are better than the others. If any sound intriguing to you, check out Perfumes: The A-Z Guide before going any great lengths to pursue the perfume.