Natural Perfumery Guild Projects
The Natural Perfumers Guild represents artisan, independent natural perfumers who use only botanical extracts and natural animal essences to create luxury perfumes as well as suppliers of these ingredients and natural perfume enthusiasts. Perfumes created by professional perfumers in the Guild represent the best of perfume creation in both ancient and modern traditions with a little bit of alchemy as well. To further awareness of such perfumes and the artists that work in this medium, the Guild has organized and promoted four internet projects by reaching out to bloggers and Guild perfumers to create amazing scents within a particular framework or concept. Elise Pearlstine, nose of Bellyflowers and Guild Manager, has been inspired by these projects and has created four noteworthy perfumes.
Mystery of Musk July 2010
Perfumers in the Natural Perfumers Guild worked together on an internet project defined by all natural musks. Musk is immensely popular and somewhat mysterious. Musks provide life, depth and smoothness to a perfume and are highly sought after. All-natural musks can provide an amazing uplift to perfumes that accents just about any ingredient. Cruelty free animal musks include ambergris, beeswax, hyraceum and tinctures such as goat hair. Botanical sources include ambrette seed, angelica root, musk rose, black currant and other more familiar ingredients like sandalwood, vanilla, and jasmine sambac. For this project, Bellyflowers nose Elise took on a green musky and verdant scent and created Verdigris.
Verdigris
Verdigris, created for the Natural Perfumer's Guild Mystery of Musk perfume project, is a green, fresh and musky perfume that highlights such lovely botanicals as clary sage, lavender and violet leaf. Starting with a unique herbal/fir note it quickly develops a smooth, green pheromonal note that evolves as it ages on the skin to a sweet, resinous, green musk. Perfumery bloggers have praised the completely unique scent and used adjectives such as newly-cut grass, sexy and rich. Verdigris is inspired by fertile, verdant vegetation and the erotic smells of life.
Outlaw Perfumes November 2010
The Natural Perfumers Guild perfumers spoke out for all natural ingredients in the Outlaw Perfumes Project. Natural perfumers regularly use unsanctioned ingredients in their perfumes but they are often ingredients that have been used throughout history. From ancient Egyptians through early 20th century natural ingredients were the framework of many loved and gorgeous perfumes. Recent regulatory excesses have caused a decrease in many natural ingredients such as ylang ylang, jasmine, citrus oils, oakmoss, sandalwood, and others. The Outlaw Perfumers believe reason, understanding of naturals and a simple warning label is enough for these outlaw perfumes and welcome anyone to sample these lovelies. Wear them on your sleeve if not on your skin. Rose of Cimarron is an outlaw perfume containing many banned ingredients, including those in her lush, rosy heart.
Rose of Cimarron
Inspired by a woman who wasn't afraid to love or afraid of danger, Rose of Cimarron is a different kind of outlaw. She has a bright, peppery topnote, a sweet, saucy heart of jasmine and rose, and a soft, earthy, sweet base. Rose of Cimarron is, at heart, a classic rose perfume with a slightly wayward feel to it. It can be worn be men or women, to the office or for a night out. Enjoy and revel in your inner outlaw. Rose of Cimarron contains essential oils of pink pepper, black pepper, pandanus, rose absolute, wild rose absolute, jasmine absolute, labdanum, patchouli, angelica root, ambrette seed, blond tobacco and amyris.
Brave New Scents October 2011
The Natural Perfumers Guild again made perfume history with their third internet project, Brave New Scents, and created perfumes using ingredients newly available to the small, artisan perfumer. The internet and the rising tide of natural perfumery created a natural supply and demand process whereby wonderful traditional and brand new ingredients were incorporated into our perfumery palettes. Many of these glorious aromatics are created by the perfumers themselves through enfleurage, tincturing, distilling and other methods. This project and our perfume, ambre alchemé, won a CaFleureBon Best of Scent 2011 award.
ambre alchemé
Ambre alchemé is a sheer, golden floral with a sweet musky base. It takes its name from the old term for ambergris, ambre gris and from alchemy. The top notes of ambre alchemé lift directly out of the bottle with a lovely mellow green scent. They transition to and lift the heart note of golden boronia and aglaia blended with jasmine. Slight touches of black currant absolute and wild rose keep the florals just a bit earthy and spicy. This perfume is anchored by ambergris absolute in a tincture. Ambergris is paired with two kinds of sandalwood, Vanuatu and Australian. The base is sweetened and extended with orris root and honey.
The 13th Sign - Ophiucus December 2011
For a fun end-of-the-year project, the Natural Perfumers Guild and the people at CaFleureBon took on the 13th sign, Ophiucus, or the sign of the serpent. We created Saffre for this project and enjoyed exploring the serpentine nature of some lovely aromatics.
Saffre
Saffre is an oil-based perfume created for the 13th Astrological Sign, Ophiucus, named after the snake which represents healing and re-birth. This perfume combines the concepts of ancient healing and the serpent. Topnotes of Saffre include fresh ginger and lavender - both herbs long used in healing. Saffron blended with orange flower essences provides a lovely heart note, unusual and as smooth as snakeskin. Vetiver essential oil from the roots, the low-growing patchouli, musky ambrette seed and the traditional medicinal resins of myrrh and frankincense complete the base notes. You get the impression that a snake has just passed through the grasses, woods and herbs leaving just a hint of musk behind.
