Illuminated Perfume website
I love natural perfumes for the infinitive possibilities of fragrances that one single note can offer. A 100% pure bergamot oil is per si a perfume, because natural chemistry is very complex. Each natural oil has a stunning smell which I happen to know very well because studied aromatherapy for a long time and I still make my own blends.
But in the end of day, I also agreed with my favorite perfumer, Mr. Ellena. perfumes are not only recreations of nature, they are also creations of new realities.
I love the smell of a frozen cherry, a smoked tea, a solar note, a rosy note with fresh raindrops on it, sweaty stone washed jeans notes combined with flowers, metals, rusty metals or burned rubber ...realities you can create only in the Lab.
So I will never enter the fight between Sandalwood (natural essential oil) X Javanol (synthetic sandalwood note with creamy aspects and rosy shades patented by Givaudan). Like I will also not engage in a fight against Niche versus Big Brands.
There is a special place for all of them in my heart, as all of them are considered in the end FRAGRANCES - my passion.
I felt somehow that I wasn't giving natural perfumes a proper attention, although I have them linked already.
So here it is, in this special month of December, an special article about natural perfumery, botanical perfumes and also a perfumer that has a talent that should be remember while making a X-mas shopping list!!!!
Natural perfumery, according to The Guild, is a creative art of using natural aromatic raw materials to produce aromatic products, including perfumes. Also according to them, Natural perfumes (also called Botanical Perfumes) are created and blended using the basic classic perfumery techniques and processes, but using only natural aromatic raw materials. And this is the reason why many people are drawn to natural perfumes.
The charming part of the development of natural perfumes is the fact that the natural perfumer conducts his business in a very personal level, using the artisan model. Usually they offer a personal signature fragrance, being created and developed with exclusivity for the client.There is also the fact that natural perfumery does not harm the environment or use products derived from endangered species, such as musk oil. The scent of musk is naturally copied by using natural sources such as ambrette seeds.
Of course there are many natural perfumes brands and perfumers nowadays, but I could not think of someone more special than Roxana Villa.
Sierra Solid Gold perfume
Roxana is a natural perfumer working in her studio in the Santa Monica mountains, USA. Although she was born in Argentina (and here I must add: the Argentineans are very warm, happy people and beautifully devoted to their values.), she moved to the USA at the age of 4 and grew up in Los Angeles, California. She is an alchemist, an artist, an artisan perfumer and a very nice lady.
Antique compact - BeBee in white
I found out about her in Andy Tauer’s blog, and since than I have been reading her journal to follow her work at close range. Specially because she is a conceptual artist with a very exquisite taste. Her work indulges many senses. Visually, the perfume bottles are cristal windows to scented journeys, secretly hidden in handmade crochet pouches. The combination of colors carefully chosen is presented in her products, her website, her drawings and even in the photo productions of her brand. It also combines many textures, from crochet, to fine papers, from the wavy touch of antique compact finishing to the silky touch of her solids. The name of her brand is called Roxana Illuminated Perfume and she is for sure an illuminated soul, who turns into beauty everthing she touches.
And her beauties come in a number of eight fragrances called:
Q - a fragrance combining the potential of the universe with the strength of the earth, with natural ingredients combining tinctured Coastal Live Oak Leaves, Italian Bergamot, Resin and a woody accord.
Chaparral - Tradition of the wild west with an aromatic spirit, created with Fresh Herbs and Woods.
Vera - an Ojai expression with an herbaceous bouquet of Lavender, Orange blossom and fresh mown hay.
Sierra - Fresh Citrus notes, entering a Conifer Forest with an earth bed.
Aurora - very feminine fragrance with Spicy Floral notes of Carnation.
Vespertina - inspired by the storytelling art. It is devotional and epic, with notes of Orange woven with Florals, grounded by earth.
Lyra - inspired by an effervescent twilight at seashore. Amber base, Tropical Flowers and Sparkkling Citrus notes.
Rosa - earthy warm, a Woodsy Rose that blossom on the skin, with Leathery accords, Vetiver and Agarwood. Inspired by a wild california rose called Rosa Californica.
Gorgeous gift set & Packaging
And if you are looking for a fragrance, developed just for you, according to your body chemistry, and so unique that only you will posses, Roxana will interview you for about 60-90 minutes, to get to know you and your scent pallet and with all these personal details she will design what I call - you personal briefing. With this inspiration in mind, she will develop 3 different samples for you to explore, and choose one you really loved. Or redesign another one, as a complementary option.
Roxana keeps every client´s personal formulae for refills or other applications such as bath salts, lotions, etc...
What I think it is incredible about these projects is that the fragrance will really be a result of your scent experiences and memories, printed in our most deeper unconscious thoughts, and it will express our personality in form of a perfume beautifully bottled. (We can ask Dr. Avery Gilbert to explain to us why we love certain smells and just hate others!)
There is something else that I found out about this marvelous perfumer, she cherishes the land where she planted and developed her roots. Her fragrances, from the carlifornica series cherishes the nature and the people of California.
She respects nature by incorporating the concept of sustainability and donating part of her profits to the California Oak Foundation.
Roxana - an Argentinean perfumer
with the free spirit of California
All pictures included were previously authorized to be cropped and show here by the owner, the perfumer herself. So, if you wish to use them too, please contact her and do as I did, ask for her consent!
You can read more about Roxana in her website (linked above), her journal (also linked above) and in her artistic blog Roxana Villa - Visual Artist and at Etsy.
Check also the review of Vespertina in Fragrance Bouquet.
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