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.

Product Spotlight: Monoi Lotion & Massage Bars

Spotlighting a discontinued item might seem strange, but I want to call attention to these wonderful little bars while they're still available. They won't ship well over the summer- there's a good chance they'll melt if they're left on someone's hot doorstep or if they spend a long time in a hot USPS truck. I might bring them back next fall, but with a few changes to the formula and possibly in tube of some sort, for easier usage.

So what is a lotion/massage bar? It's a combination of oils, butters, and waxes melted together and poured into a mold. The result is a solid bar that melts with your body heat- I find it easier to use my hands to get it to melt, but it can also be rubbed directly into the desired areas. When used as a lotion, the ultra rich formula is great for dry skin, and is best used right after you towel off from your bath or shower. This will help lock in the moisture. The oil it produces can also be used like a massage oil- since it's in solid form, you don't have to worry about oil spills like you would with traditional massage oils.

I started with Monoi de Tahiti- coconut oil that has had tiare (gardenia) blossoms steeped in it. A lot of Monoi de Tahiti on the market has added synthetic fragrance to it, since the natural scent isn't very strong. The one I use has no perceptible floral scent to it, so each one is scented with natural essential oils. As some of you may know, coconut oil has a low melting temperature- it can be solid or liquid depending on the temperature of the room it's in.

Shorea butter and mango butter firm the bar up a bit, and add moisturizing qualities. Rice bran wax, which maintains some of the benefits of rice bran, keeps it solid. Each one is scented with a single note or a blend of essential oils.

Our Monoi Lotion & Massage Bars can be found in our Etsy shop sales section, along with a few other items.

Product Spotlight: Floral Perfume Balms

Neroli Balm, 1 ounce Size, available in all but Plumeria.

The floral balms I make are probably my most unique product. Both highly fragrant and moisturizing, they can work like a solid perfume, or as a balm for cuticles or other rough skin. My Etsy shop has all sizes of the floral balms available. You can also purchase the quarter ounce jars directly from the Ivre de Fleurs website, where I offer free shipping on all orders.

Floral Balms from Etsy

Quarter Ounce Jars from Ivre de Fleurs Website

The balms are centered around the floral waxes. These are made when the respective flower is washed with a solvent,creating the concrete- the fragrant materials and waxes of the flowers. The concrete is washed with alcohol to make the absolute, leaving behind behind the wax. 

The floral balms combine the wax of the flower, shorea butter, various oils, and a little bit of extra scent from the  to match complete the scent of the wax- for example, the Neroli Balm pictured above uses orange flower wax, and has a little bit of neroli (orange flower) essential oil for a more rounded scent.

.25 ounce jars of all varieties.

I've tracked down as many floral waxes as I can- I've seen lotus and champaca before, but not in stock. I have rose, tuberose, orange blossom (neroli), mimosa, plumeria (frangipani), and jasmine. The jasmine uses two varieties for both the wax and absolute- Jasmine Sambac and Jasmine Grandiflorum. 

All six are available as a set on Etsy for a reduced price.

Minis! Each lasts for awhile. Available in all but rose. 

Try three minis!

Try five minis!

So how to use these unusual beauties? I use them mostly as cuticle balms- a little goes a long way, and I get to enjoy the scent while doing something I find tedious. While it probably wouldn't work as an all over body moisturizer, rub some into particularly rough spots, like elbows. 

They would also work as a moisturizing solid perfume, either using one or layering a few to create a custom fragrance. Please note that since they are natural, the scents won't last as long as commercial perfumes. You can also apply it before putting on your favorite fragrance, giving it a scent unique to you.