Thoughts on Mother’s Day

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iris bouquetMy older son went to an iris farm outside of Portland yesterday. He had a sleepover at a friend’s house, and in the morning his buddy’s dad drove them to Salem and I’m assuming they went here. When I woke up this morning, this enchanting bouquet awaited me at breakfast and their delicate but delightful aroma warmed my heart almost as much as my boys’ hugs and excitement.

But this post is not a humblebrag about my charmed life as a mom. I wasn’t going to post at all actually. After I read Anne Lamott’s piece about Mother’s Day on Salon.com (thank you to IndiePerfumes for posting it on FB) I started to think more about all of the expectations around the day. Ones that aren’t met, either by us or for us. I thought about those who have lost their mothers literally or figuratively. Those who have lost children, or who have had difficulty in having children. As a midwife, I have to break the devastating news to women and couples quite frequently that the pregnancy they have been nurturing is no longer viable. I just had to tell a couple this last week. It’s a lot to bear on this day. This is a day that carries a lot of weight.

These irises look like they carry a lot of weight too. Their petals appear worn and seem like they’ve lived a thousand lives. The light pink ones look like stained vintage silk and the dark burgundy ones take on the appearance of old thick velvet. And for all of their beauty, there’s a sadness to them that’s apropos for Mother’s Day, which for me, holds a bit of both in its hand today.

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Vetiver Racinettes Soap by Ayala Moriel Parfums

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Ayala Soap

Ayala Moriel Parfums has begun offering bar soaps, which I am so happy about since they are my favorite delivery mechanism of getting suds to skin. Ayala sent me Vetiver Racinettes, along with a couple other goodies that I will soon review, as a thank you for hosting her and her lovely daughter in our home about a month ago. The pleasure was all ours, as we (my boys, husband and I) had such a terrific time getting to know them and showing them a little bit of Portland during their short visit.

It should go without saying, but I will say it anyway, that I do not feel compelled to write good things about this new soap because it was a gift from Ayala, nor do I feel that is the reason she gave it to me. I am writing this review because I LOVE THIS SOAP! It is truly wonderful. Its slip is silky and its lather is luxurious. It is non-drying and smells just like the listed notes, a perfect balance of vetiver, ginger, cardamom (a favorite of mine) and coffee. It’s of special interest to me as well, that Ayala is working with Open Source Soap of Oregon in creating these all natural, handcrafted soap bars. And for those Film Noir fans out there, the bar form of this fragrance will be released next!

Ayala Soap 2Ayala 3

Vetiver Racinettes Soap Bar available at AyalaMoriel.com $12 for 4.5oz bar

All photographs are mine.

Gracing the Dawn by Roxana Villa, revisited

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Gracing the Dawn

Last July, Roxana Villa sent me a sample of what was then a new release, the solid version of Gracing the Dawn. We had just moved back into our newly remodeled home, and I was still on my blogging hiatus, so I tucked it away in my “special scent” drawer, and didn’t open it until just a few days ago.

I don’t have my sample of the liquid version anymore, but smelling the solid fragrance on my skin brings its memory right back to life. Gracing the Dawn is a glorious chypre redolent  of oakmoss and leather, but the solid downplays the chypre aspect and lighter florals swirl in the foreground. Orange blossoms and mimosa flutter about, along with blades of grass, and subtle herbs, showing off their brightness. Richer flowers like jasmine, rose, and narcissus are present, but dwell subtly with the oakmoss, all the while providing a chypre foundation by bolstering Gracing the Dawn’s fullness and feeling of abundance.

Gracing the Dawn 2

In my review of the liquid version of Gracing the Dawn, I focused on its vintage kinship which is not the case with the perfume solid. There is a quiet nod to the past of course, it is a chypre after all, but it does not harken to the past like the liquid did for me. The solid has more warmth and I don’t recall such a delicious buzz from the orange blossoms and a flurry of leafy-hay in the heart.

Like all of Roxana Illuminated Perfumes’ fragrances, Gracing the Dawn is 100% all natural, and her solid perfumes are in a base of organic jojoba oil with beeswax from her own bees or other bee keepers in her area.

Gracing the Dawn Locket

Gracing the Dawn is available in a locket at the Roxana Illuminated Perfume etsy site for $35. (See above photo from Roxana’s site). Other sizes available.

Gracing the Dawn Lookbook: here

The top two photographs were taken by me. Bottom photo courtesy of Roxana Illuminated Perfume.

Discovering Phoenix Botanicals, again.

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Saffron Veil Close UpPhoenix Botanicals caught my eye nearly two years ago when I bought their terrific Wild Rose Lip Balm on a whim, but I was unaware that fragrances had become a part of their repertoire as well. Irina Adam, creator of Phoenix Botanicals contacted me recently, and asked if I would like to sample some of her all natural perfume oils. Having been impressed by her lip balm, I decided to take her up on her generous offer, and I am so glad I did.
Saffron VeilTo begin with, the presentation of her perfume oil is simply charming. I adore the silk ribbon around the top of the vial as if it were a bow on the forehead of a pretty flapper from the 1920′s. In fact, Saffron Veil, Irina’s latest fragrance, smells like it could be straight from that era as it sings with a smoky violet voice that’s so deep it’s inky without a trace of sweetness. Freshly puffed smoke hangs in the air, as does tobacco resin from old pipes.

Saffron Veil, as the name suggests, is not all darkness as the opaque opening gives way to a lighter heart of boronia that’s tannic, but also fruity. A gentle wafting of tuberose joins the party at this point, and is also the last one to leave. The tuberose doesn’t make much of a scene though, this is a subtle one that’s happy to linger in the background, only to be noticed if you draw her in closely.

And that’s how it goes with most all natural perfume oils. Phoenix Botanicals’ fragrances are in a base of organic jojoba oil, wear very close to the skin, and on me, last just under a few hours.

Phoenix BotanicalsIrina also sent me samples of Bonfire Rose, Meadow & Fir, and Amber & Blues. While I found Saffron Veil interesting, Bonfire Rose left me the most impressed. Like Saffron Veil, its top notes are shadowy and smoky, and I enjoy those initial moments of secretive intrigue which contrast against the lighter and brighter top notes of many other perfumes. Bonfire Rose takes a minty, resinous turn that’s mildly rosy, but not what I would call overly floral in the slightest. It brushes up against charred sage and lingers around camphorous leaves, evoking memories of woodland strolls and crackling campfires.
Phoenix Alchemy Samples

Amber & Blues and Meadow & Fir both reside squarely in the amber family. The prevailing amber triad of vanilla, labdanum, and benzoin oversees these two fragrances in a lovely manner. Meadow & Fir has fir of course, but it also has a jammy quality that reminds me a touch of Aftelier’s Fig. Amber & Blues is more of a straight-up amber, with a very pillowy,  woody-vanilla drydown, not unlike Roxana Illuminated Perfume’s Lyra. I do think Fig and Lyra are more nuanced and more complex fragrances, but Phoenix Botanicals has a price point more people can afford which broadens the natural perfume community and keeps us smelling beautiful.

Leave a comment and I will enter you in a drawing for my Saffron Veil (minus the ribbon and a some dabs by me for the purposes of this review). US addresses only. I apologize to my international readers. The winner has been chosen.

There are other fragrances to explore at the Phoenix Botanicals etsy site. $24 for 1/8oz vial. Other sizes and samples available.

All photographs were taken by me.

Inflorescence by Byredo

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Laura-Gurton_128

Upon first sniffing Byredo’s Inflorescence, I thought silently to myself how perfectly this perfume had been named. I immediately associated that lyrical word with phosphorescence since the fragrance radiates day glow pinks, yellows and every other bright color of spring.Thankfully I remained quiet with my inner dialogue, as I was heading down the wrong path. Inflorescence as I have come to learn, is a group or cluster of flowers on a stem, which as it turns out, truly is the perfect name for this perfume.

inflorescense-byredo

I was at Barney’s in Scottsdale when I spotted the bottle lurking behind the counter. It’s not available yet, and no samples were to be had, so I went back the next day to get spritzed again because I fell in love with this unabashedly, hyperfloral, anti-depressant of a perfume. As listed, the notes are rose and freesia at the top, magnolia and muguet in the middle and jasmine at the base. But let’s call Inflorescence what it truly is, a freesia soliflore almost to the extent of Antonia’s Flowers (which has the same notes save for the rose), but dialed down and more contemporary. For those of you who might be gasping because you despise the “bug spray” note in Antonia’s Flowers, rest assured, it’s not in Inflorescence. This freesia is smoothed out by a creamier magnolia (but it’s not a creamy fragrance per se) and the muguet has enough of a presence to lend a squeeze of citrus, some leafy greenness and rich florals.

I don’t get a sense of the rose, or the jasmine from Inflorescence. There’s the subtlest suggestion of musk that emerges in the heart and remains throughout the drydown, which bestows a tenderness upon Inflorescence where Antonia’s Flowers becomes cold and aloof. This veil of musk, which I’m assuming is synthetic, has an air of ambrette seed to it, allowing for an organic quality to the peppery freshness of its freesia, making it more dewy and even greener.

freesia

I am so happy to now have inflorescence in my vocabulary. I finally have a word to describe what I have long admired about freesia. Its inflorescence has always mesmerized me with sparse blossoms protruding brightly, yet precariously from a slender stem. I am also immensely happy to have Inflorescence on my perfume wishlist. Most of you know that my perfume preferences are on the natural side of the spectrum, but I’ve been having fun exploring the other side in recent days, and Inflorescence is a wonderful discovery.

Image by Laura Gurton from the Unknown Species Series #49
Stock image from Byredo
Botanical image from plantillustrations.com

Available at Byredo.com and soon to come at Barney’s. $220 for 100ml, $145 for 50ml.