Boots and Stuff

From time to time I check out the perfume links here on this blog. Perfume Posse I think it was March, and her picture of boots today had me thinking about my own boot fantasy. Beverly Feldman’s “Tart” Boot in black. There is a picture of them in the current issue of Cincinnati Magazine, and I am tempted to go get me some. They are very bikerish, lots of buckles and sturdy, but sexy. Very sexy. And then I am thinking about this new Oud  (agarwood oil) that I have been playing around with. It is very sexy too. And from how I have been feeling about Ouds in general, I know that Oudh Lacquer is just the beginning. And yes, I realize that there are a lot of them out there, and yes I know that some houses have made their reputation on this one note, and no I really don’t care about all that. I just want to follow my feelings and let the muse take me in whatever direction it pleases.

I am still working on our website updates and glad that no one had bets on how long it would take me to get it all done. I guess going in I didn’t realize that there was so much to do. And I am hungry! Day three of my vegan diet and although I am eating like a horse, I still get hungry quicker. But am going to make a big pot of veggie soup tomorrow.

An old acquaintance of mine passed recently and his wife called today. Mortality isn’t something that I think a lot about, particularly since I am faced with it all the time. With animal rescue, I have seen a lot of death. I have lost quite a few people as well. It doesn’t scare me that I will someday die. I have come to terms with it. The thought though of being the one left behind is not all that comforting. I would not be good at it. But then I never have been. I carry everyone with me, just beneath the surface. When my father died sixteen years ago I felt  completely numb for the longest time. I have been feeling that way a lot lately. The ripple effect of transcending energies.

Peace & Blessings ZZ…….

Soivohle’ Weekend

Still at it. Work, work , work….I will get some of our updated web pages up today, and start working on the newsletter. It seems that early holiday shopping has begun, as we have gift wrapped several orders this past week. I even ran out of gift wrap this a.m.. A basic white. I will have to go out for a small roll, while I wait for the new shop roll to arrive from our supplier. I am also waiting on the last two boxes. The one for our Tub Tea in the glass jar, and the one for our creams. I also ran out of dropper bottles for the essential oil blends that we have in the boutique. I know I said it before, but by this time next week everything should be in place.

As the year winds down I think of all that happened this year. I turned down more projects than I accepted, and am still being quite picky about who sells our perfumes. We have had a lot more press/interest in our perfumes from around the world. As well as several great reviews of our new perfumes.  I have read recently some nice interviews with commercial perfumers on Fragrantica, and am amazed actually by the bodies of work.  Of course this is work they do for other people, but still turning out a lot of perfumes, some of them quite good. This has been our most productive year. And when it is over  we will have released three new original scents. Oudh Lacquer, Bottleneck Blues and Cumberland TI. Everything else was a reformulation of a former scent, including the new Love Speaks Primeval that will be released next week. The first version of that scent I created for myself years ago, it was called Chanteuse. All of the original wedding scents in our boutique collection were reformulations, and  two are now available online. Acoustic Flower and Daybreak Violin. I also have a scent, not a wedding scent, but a trial scent that I started for a client that I would like to finish for our Studio Collection. I have dozens of these sketch formulas, and would love to do something with them, but for practical reasons must keep the collection manageable. If I released every scent that I created I would have a collection that numbered into the hundreds, if not more. This year I tried to focus on things that are close to my heart. The Oudh Lacquer was a three year project. Cumberland TI took more than a year to develop, Bottleneck Blues grew out of a series of songs that I wrote awhile back and the new Love Speaks Primeval is updated from a 1980’s original.

I have not checked the sales records yet, but can say from the frequency in which we ship them out. Oudh Lacquer, Pink Praline, Tobacco & Tulle, Grand Canyon and Underworld are the most popular naturals. In the Moderne and Studio Collections, Daybreak Violin, Violets & Rainwater, Green Oakmoss, Domino Viole’,  Sonoran Leather, Raspberries & Black Pepper and Cassis et Violette are the current best sellers. Although we have not  had regular hours in the boutique that much over the summer our best sellers in house are Ankhara and Writing Lyrical Poetry.

So with all of the rush to get ready for the local shopping I have pushed back the new hours until I can get our body products on the shelves. Once we do open it will be daily until the end of the year. Crazy, yes it is… Be back soon with the final draft…

Peace & Blessings ZZ……..

 

Building Blocks

I am getting ready to restock the shelves in the boutique. Have been batching out some perfumes and in general pretty much on schedule. So I am down in the lab this morning. Mr Z. flips the breaker switches to turn off the light in the up stairs foyer. I think, great the breaker blew, leaving me in the dark, so I go switch it back on. Mr. Z gets a shock. oops!… He could have told me that he was turning off the lights. Men..#$%$#$^&%$$….

I have all but a couple of web pages updated, and decided that I would make a packaging change to our tub teas (sachets). Instead of  the oversized tea bags that I had been using I am going with a loose tea in a jar. A bit more upscale and at the same time making it more appealing for gift giving. I am also going to do the same with some of our salt blends. In the meantime waiting to get my lights back down in the lab so I can get my work done. I do not like being interrupted in the middle of something.

 

Soivohle’ Holiday Shopping Guide

It seems to me that our holiday season (online) has already begun. I am trying to keep up and at the same time have yet to add our new web pages or send out the holiday newsletter. We will be adding back our body line, as well as a new natural parfum. Over the next few days I will try to get all of the updates finished and hopefully the newsletter by the end of next week. Some of our outside projects have been put on hold, and boy am I glad that I said no to a few folks. Otherwise I would have no idea which end was up.

I ALSO HAVE A LITTLE SURPRISE FOR SOME – As we were getting settled into our larger lab space, I found (while moving) two boxes of bottled perfumes. The Limited Edition Oils. I remember thinking back in the summer that I was short a few things, but in all of the craziness, assumed that we had sold them. I will be offering these final bottles, and will post a list of what is available as soon as I sort them out.

I am adding to our website a special page for Limited Editions, Special Projects and Studio Exclusives. Not everything that I create is part of a collection, nor is it something that will go on and on. Particularly where exceptional materials are concerned. If I create a scent using an enfleurage or tincture of a particular years flowers from my garden, I can’t very well offer an unlimited supply. These things are what they are. Everything doesn’t need to be predictable or fit into a neat little box. So for those fleeting out of the box adventures, they will soon have their own room.

I sent along the final (I hope) images for the inclusion of our Oudh Lacquer in the debut issue of AYN  fashion and lifestyle magazine based in Qatar. We have had several  press inquiries in the past weeks, one that didn’t pan out. We were actually cut from the piece in a Fall/Winter issue, where we were led to believe that it would be featuring fall/winter scents (which is what, (by request) we sent them). In the end they chose to showcase a selection of spring/summer scents, which made no sense at all. Go figure.

So, as I get back to work, know that by this time next week everything should be in motion for our final offerings of the year. I know I have not answered everyone’s email, but hopefully the newsletter will take care of that.

Peace & Blessings, ZZ…….

 

 

 

Life Is A Jar of Cold Cream

It is cool this a.m. and I am getting ready to go make cold cream. I set my work space up last night so all I have to do is piece it all together. Cold Cream is one of those retro things that people do not use much these days, or at least not as much as they did when I was a kid and every woman had a jar of it on her night table.. When I decided to create a new version of this old school product, I spent a lot of time looking at the labels of what is currently on the market. Same old… And not surprising. The main ingredients are still Water and Mineral (petroleum) oil. I remember years ago as a young girl laying out in the sun in the summer, slathering my body with baby oil, another product then made with mineral oil. I also remember one of my neighbors, a hip young mother telling me that mineral oil was not good for the skin because it clogged the pores. I later did some research on mineral oil and indeed clogging the pores was one of its negative raps. It is made from petroleum, and unlike botanical oils, is not readily absorbed into human skin. Rather it sits on-top of the skin (like petroleum jelly) creating a barrier. This would be a good thing to apply I suppose if one were on their way to the football game on a below freezing day. Just apply a layer to exposed skin to protect it from the elements.

So as I was doing my research, I began to wonder why no one had bothered to make a really luxurious version of cold cream. The way it is made does lend itself to interpretation. A simple Borax and Beeswax emulsion today, based on the original oil, water and wax (then olive oil) formula created in the second century by Galen. In some parts of the world cold cream is called Galens Wax.

Traditionally (recent history) Cold Cream has been used to take off makeup. In my formulation I wanted it to be a good make up remover, but one with a lot of added benefits for the skin. It was also important to me that it be a stand alone cream for use on dry, chapped and sensitive skin. This is why I chose to use rose water instead of plain water. A plant based oil instead of a petroleum product and a carefully selected synergy of essential oils. It may be surprising to some folks, but much of the new breakthrough technology and ingredients in anti-aging etc. touted by the big cosmetics companies, can also be found in nature. Natural oils, herbal extracts etc, can offer comparable benefits. Some of the very same chemical compounds that are being sold to the public as new are also found in nature. Of course it takes a lot of time, reading and researching to piece it all together and most people are not interested in connecting the dots. I however live for connecting dots. I should put it down on my resume as job title: Connector of dots.

I am off to make up a killer  brunch for my people, and then to work. Hope everyone has a lovely day.

Peace & Blessings, ZZ……

Soivohle Weekend

It is raining here, not cold, but dark. At least the pretty colored leaves are still on the trees, and I can see them outside my window. As I mentioned in my morning tweet, we took the kittens to the vet today for their nip tucks. It seems strange when a fairly sizable chunk of energy is missing from the house. I wonder how it feels to them  when they are alone in the house and us humans have gone out for the day.

Now that I am finally caught up on shipping, I have no energy to do the other things that I had planned for the day. I have a sample of the new Symvanil on my work bench down in the lab. It is a natural vanillin made from rice. It is a bit yellowish, a powder and smells yeasty. Traditional vanillin natural and synthetic is white, and of  a light fluffy crystalline consistency. It has no yeasty odor, but is a very clean smelling vanilla. I finally got some numbers from the company on how to dilute it (symvanil), best materials to use for dilution etc.  So when I get my groove back on I will go make up the dilutions. Beyond that I am waiting for a few materials to arrive so that I can finish out the body products for fall and winter. I was low on several of the essential oils for the body and bath oils, as well as some key materials for use in my body cream. I am also going to try out a few vegetable (vegan) waxes, and will likely offer my balms in both bees wax and the alternative. Personally I don’t have a problem with bee products. I have known several bee keepers and when he was still living my next door neighbor kept bees. Right against the fence line by my veggie garden. Never were my harvests more bountiful than when the bees were near by. It was a beautiful relationship between man and nature, bees, and beans. I remember vividly three different occasions  when wild swarms would  congregate in our pine tree just on the other side of the neighbors bee boxes. The queen I suppose would land in the tree and all of the other bees would pile on around her creating a funnel shaped cone that would trail down to just a couple of bees at the end. I remember once they called in a professional crew to capture the renegade hive. I sat out there all day watching them move the hive from the tree to the boxes. I have photos somewhere and will try and remember to look for them. But anyway, it was way cool, and I miss the bees.

I rarely get a chance to just hang out, so while I am waiting for my supplies I will be doing just that. Puttering around, but not getting in a big hurry about it. Monday comes so fast, it is nice to have a few hours to myself from time to time.

Peace & Blessings, ZZ….

Like Baking A Cake

I spent some time yesterday tweaking my formula for a basic body cream. At first I wanted to switch out one emulsifier for another, but found that I needed to do a lot more than just switch them out, so will leave that for another (new) formula. The original formula is a no frills cream, and to make it more interesting as well as nourishing to the skin, I have been adding different plant extracts to see how it holds up. Make a batch and part it out, adding in the extracts to each part. Some things react differently in a formulation so it is important to test everything, and make adjustments based on the individual results. I have been making my own creams and lotions for a long time. One of my all time favorites is the one provided by the well known herbalist Rosemary Gladstar in her book: Family Herbal. This is a cream that you can make at home, I have always used rose hydrosol in this formula. For a cream to add to our line of retail products, the formula must be a bit more sophisticated. I have tried some of the pre made bases thinking that I could use them for our brand, but have never found them to be to my liking. So finally took the time to develope my own formula.

When it comes to creams and lotions, I have not had the best experience. Commercial brands have too much crap in them. I have yet to find one that doesn’t cause my skin  to turn red and itchy. And eye creams, forget it. Ever wake up in the morning with your eyes swollen shut because your eye cream went all postal on you.

So making creams and lotions is a lot like baking a cake. It requires a sound recipe. Each ingredient must be measured precisely for it to work properly, Which is why everything in formulary is measured in grams. A good gram scale is a must. Otherwise you end up with a less than acceptable product. As I am adding in more liquid by way of plant extracts, I must adjust the other ingredients to compensate. particularly the emulsion part. I am currently working to add both a Green Tea and Chamomile Extract to my formula. Now that I have the expanded work space next to my lab, I can spend more time on the body products, and offer most of them year round.  We are almost ready to add back the body oils, and will try and keep them available online. This is really a seasonal item, not too many people by bath and body oils in the summer. So we will see how it goes.

Peace & Blessings ZZ……

LZP-Soivohle’ Weekend

Bringing in some of the plant’s today, before the cold gets them. Continuing to move things down to my new space. Not to mention trying to remember where I am putting them. Had all of the Cologne Suite’  perfumes in a big box (packaged singles and samplers) and could not find them. Kept going back over and over, until poof! there they were right in front of me, and the box was marked too… Still organizing the studio/boutique for the holidays.

Area News – The girls at Cincy Chic are hosting a fall showcase (fashion show) on Nov. 7 at the Phoenix. We were invited, but at too late notice. sounds like fun. Maybe next time. Saturdays are our big day during holiday hours and we will be in full swing on the 7th.

Also of note: Oudh Lacquer will be featured in an article on Ouds in a middle eastern magazine. I am hoping to get a copy sent to us. Just to have it would be awesome. Aside from newstand fare, have never seen an arabic language magazine. So looking to expand my horizons.

Reviews: Having a hard time keeping up with it all. Scent Hive, Nathan Branch (two posts), Perfume Posse, Fashion Tribes, Uptown Social (uptown magazine) and Specktra.net have all written positive reviews of Oudh Lacquer. Perfume Posse also featured a very cool review of Bottleneck Blues. Thank You! everyone for your support.

Everyday this week has been a late night packing orders and boxing perfumes. Trying to get a few things boxed ahead for the holiday rush, as well as bottling up some of the new oils.  Which is what is on the agenda for later today. Also the new Soivohle’ natural parfum: Love Speaks Primeval, will make it’s debut soon. I ran out of bottles last night so it is out to storage to bring in a box of mini parfum bottles. I will also be bottling JoJo and Sunset Rider parfum. Since adding the Grand Canyon in parfum back to the collection we have almost sold out, so batching that as well. I had not worn Grand Canyon in such a long time, I poured myself a small bottle and have been wearing it at night. Like March from Perfume Posse wrote in a story last year, it is a perfect scent for wearing to bed at night.

Our new brand has a dragonfly theme, and I have been looking for a mini charm, so far no luck. There are lots of them available but none that I really like. I have also looked at some perfume bottles with dragonfly designs, but still nothing is popping. Will keep looking. The parfums in the collection will be available in a roll on, but at the same time I would like to be able to offer a slightly more concentrated version of each scent in a nice flacon. Will keep searching… (notice I spelled it flacon instead of falcon) I misspell that word more often than anything else I think, and spell check doesn’t catch it, and if I am too lazy to double check, well you know how it goes. People send me emails all the time pointing out spelling mistakes, so here’s to all of you proof readers out there. Me and my dyslexic fingers thank you for your time and diligence.

Off to work now, have a dinner meeting later so will cram in as much work as possible before heading out. Have a great weekend and stay warm all you folks in the cooler regions.

Peace & Blessings ZZ…..

Soivohle’ Blog Tuesday

Three day weekends can be deceiving, causing one to think that there is more time to not do things.
Up early today getting all of the weekend packages ready for the mail, only to find that the in-box was filled with new orders. We will be on a three to four day turn around during the fall/winter season. So if ordering for gifts, please allow for the extra time.
Seems a new review posted yesterday or this morning. Perfume Posse: Soivohle’ Bottleneck Blues. With all of the attention that Oudh Lacquer has been getting, the other new release Bottleneck Blues was not getting as much attention. Now they both seem to be on the radar. I have received quite a few positive e-mails about Bottleneck Blues, and am glad that people are also enjoying this parfum. I have been wearing it a lot lately.
I also (this morning) made up a few samples of the new natural chypre parfum: Love Speaks Primeval. I have a little on the back of my hand and can’t help notice how much the apple note has come to the front in the mid-heart. Maybe it is a hormone thing with me, but I do not remember it being so dominant in my earlier trials, and I tested it a lot. Curious to see how it works for others. I will write more about it later. It is coming out in November and will wrap up the new Soivohle’ releases until next spring. I missed my window on the other floral that was ready to go this year. It is more spring/summer, so it will be released next spring.
In the meantime I am going to be in the lab batching out more of the oils. And trying to stay stocked up on samples of the new fumes.
Peace & Blessings ZZ……

LZP – Weekend

It is beginning to look a lot like winter, and I still have several plants to bring in. I will leave the Jasmine and Stephanotis out a little longer to harden them off and then move them to the spare bedroom upstairs for the eastern light. Nathan Branch has written a follow-up to his original post on Oudh Lacquer, and Anita at Perfume Posse wrote a fun article on layering which mentions a classic chypre (historical) scent that I created. I took it with me to Chicago last year for the perfume event that Anita coordinated, but do not have a lot of it. So to all of the inquiries, I may do something with it at a later date, but it will never be in our line, perhaps a special order. I do historical recreations sometimes, but do not offer them as my own. And although I do not teach, I like to have different examples of historical scents in my studio for people to experience. I am particularly fond of the period that runs from the late 19th into the early 20th century. I am continuing between all of the soivohle work to batch out and bottle some of the new oils. There was a little boo boo made on our original TM application and we are getting all of the kinks worked out. Otherwise the website has been up for some time now and the link from lzp is now active. I am finally getting to recycle my purple theme. The color scheme for ZZ’s Petals, the original name of my studio was purple and green. I am dropping the green for now and going with several shades of purple. The whole line has a different feel and focus,  yet is still very personal and heart felt. It has never been just about the perfume for me, and I incorporate family and day to day life into it where ever I can. Keeping it real as they say. One of the scents is called Anniebelles Rose, named after our oldest cat Anniebelle. A real feisty full spectrum rose, just like her. That’s it for now. Thanks to everyone who has been so generous to us, and taken the time to write about or comment on our Oudh Lacquer among other things.

Sending Peace & Blessings all around. ZZ………