Notes From The Universe...

7.21.2012

Wow!

Wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW!! The fabulous and lovely Coco at Snooty Rose just put up THE most amazing review on her blog for my new A Murder of Crows perfume oil, as well as Artorius. I'm absolutely beyond flattered and thrilled that she loved them so much.

Be sure to stop by and visit her blog, her reviews are so much fun to read - she has quite a way with words! 

Thanks, Coco!  You made my entire weekend!  

XOXO, 
Tina

7.16.2012

Fresh From My Humble Little Formulary...

Four brand new blends are up on the website and in the Etsy shop!  You can place orders through either place, but sample orders are easier to place through the Etsy shop.  Just a head's up. 

Plus, sneak peeks at releases that are on the horizon...


So - here are the brand spankin' new ones:



Feather, feather, light as a feather...

After many, many requests from clients, I've finally decided to offer a simple white musk accord. This is soft, understated, wears close to the body and seems to really "bloom" on the skin. If you're looking for a musk scent with a powerful throw, this is not the one for you. This is light and whispery on the skin, clean, fresh, and each individual's unique body chemistry will make this scent their own. In spite of it's soft nature, this does have quite a bit of tenacity on me.


 Epona... Epona, which means "Great Mare" in the Gaulish language, was revered and worshiped by the ancient Celtic people as a loving protector of horses, donkeys and other animals. Common representations of her are a horse figure, a mare and foal or as a woman on horseback. She was also a goddess of fertility, re-birth and abundance. Although originally a Celtic goddess, she was eventually widely accepted by the Romans, who viewed her as a protector of their cavalry.

Epona's scent is rich and wild...a hillside meadow in the summer sun. Notes of sweet bulgarian rose come together with fruity jasmine sambac, warmed with fragrant hay and the earthy sweetness of beeswax absolute. A gorgeous floral lavender absolute rounds it out a bit, and smoky amyris and sweet benzoin resin anchor it all.

Comprised of all-natural essences, absolutes, and essential oils. No synthetics. Due to the expense of the materials used in this blend, it is a little pricier than many of my others, but oh so worth it.


Eidolon – Apparition, phantom, shade….  This is a rich, earthy floral scent that will whisper along your skin, enveloping you in a dreamy shroud of redolent bliss. This is not a sweet floral, nor a headache-inducing synthetic floral… this is true, rich, Bulgarian rose absolute – the finest in the world - grounded with a trio of earthy sandalwoods and faintly sweetened with creamy orange blossom.

Again, this one is a little pricier due to the cost of rose absolute and sandalwood, but very worth it.

Thanks so much to Liam at FromOldBooks for the images used above.



 Who hath constructed the elements
And their atoms' configuration?
Who hath designed every molecule
And shapes their chemical formation?

~ From Master of The Universe by Udiah


A Veil of Stars... White musk with honey, peaches and apples fresh from the trees, Moroccan rose, Madagascar vanilla, and beeswax absolute. Creamy orange blossom rounds it out and Frankincense and myrrh ground this sweet, fresh, uplifting scent. This scent has fabulous tenacity on my skin.

And I PROMISE... actual photos of labels with the newest listings (Persephone Undone, Hesperides, Feather, Epona, Eidolon, A Veil of Stars) are coming soon!  My camera took a nosedive a few weeks ago when it was on the tripod and I've been trying to decide whether to spend the money to have it repaired or to purchase a new camera.  This camera is a very nice, very expensive camera that I've had for about eight years now.  In the meantime, I've been trying to get the hang of working with hubby's little digital camera and figuring it out and how to get the best photos of my products with it.  Figuring out the right settings is a bit of a learning curve, I knew my old camera inside and out.  This one, not so much.


And now, sneak peeks at what is currently in the formulary and in the final "tweaking" stages....

A Murder of Crows - Deep, smoky amyris sandalwood with an infusion of cocao absolute, honey, a splash of coconut milk, a whisper of carnation and a light, fresh patchouli note.

Wahini -  Sweet vanilla and white musk with coconut milk, plumeria, gardenia, and fig.  Palm fronds and teak ground it, while the faintest whisper of fresh ginger gives it lift.

Lothario - Deep, earthy patchouli balanced with the freshness of cedar and vetiver.  Ginger gives it a spicy kick, and Madagascar vanilla helps smooth it all out.  For the gents (and broads!) who like themselves some serious patchouli!

Chatelaine - Lilac and deep rose besmirched by ebony musk.  Black tea brings a faintly earthy note, while black pepper and carnation lend a pleasantly fiery kick.  This is a deeply sexy, floral scent and you can really smell the lilac on the drydown.



Later, dahlings!

XOXO,
Tina

7.09.2012

New Releases...

Alright, sweet tarts, I have a couple of new blends up in the shop at Etsy and on the website.  Well, they aren't technically *new* - they are re-releases of scents from deep within the Midnight Gypsy Luxe vault.  MGL was the bath and body shop a friend and I had together on Etsy for awhile, before closing it down due to time constraints between the two of us at the time. 

Persephone Undone and Hesperides both were well-received in the other shop.   Persephone Undone is the same formula (for those of you that may happen to be familiar with it from its original release), but Hesperides has been reformulated.  One of the original components was discontinued, and try as I may I could never quite duplicate it closely enough to be happy with it.  I'm happy to report that I daresay this most recently tweaked version may be better than the original! 

So, with no further ado...


Prayer to Persephone

Be to her, Persephone,
All the things I might not be:
Take her head upon your knee.
She that was so proud and wild,
Flippant, arrogant and free,
She that had no need of me,
Is a little lonely child
Lost in Hell,—Persephone,
Take her head upon your knee:
Say to her, "My dear, my dear,
It is not so dreadful here."

~Edna St. Vincent Millay

Persephone Undone.... A rich, fruity floral that is most assuredly not an innocent fragrance, this one is all decadent, ripe, voluptuous woman. Notes of tart pomegranate, apple and black raspberry layered over a delicate musk, with a base of amber, vanilla and sandalwood. At the heart you'll find notes of jasmine, neroli, lilac and the tiniest breath of lavender.




Glinting golden through the trees,
Apples of Hesperides!
Through the moon-pierced warp of night
Shoot pale shafts of yellow light,
Swaying to the kissing breeze
Swings the treasure, golden-gleaming,
Apples of Hesperides!

From Apples of Hesperides, by Amy Lowell (1874-1925)


In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are the evening nymphs who were tasked with guarding the tree that bore Hera's golden apples, located in a lush garden in the Arcadian Mountains. My personal interpretation of them is a golden, lusty not-so-innocent elixir. After all, these nymphs were anything but innocent, as they couldn't resist the very apples they were tasked with guarding. As a result, they were promptly relieved of their duties, which were then delegated to the fearsome Ladon, the ever watchful dragon who is said to never sleep.

Honeysuckle, sweet pea, and apple enveloped in a rich base of amber, vanilla, and cedar. I've rounded it out with subtle nuances of sandalwood and champa, and then anchored it with a deep animalic musk - but just a whisper!

This blend, on the skin, truly IS the embodiment of a decadent, golden nectar - golden apples, indeed! It dries down with a rich, creamy, almost powdery note with plenty of tenacity.


 Next up will be Epona and Fleur Orange.... watch for them later in the week,  but that's all for today.  Time to get busy packing and shipping that stack of orders on my workbench! 

XOXO,
Tina


7.06.2012

Party Time!

YES! YES! YES! Our DSL issue is finally resolved. Today was the 21st day I've been without internet access from my PC until literally about 10 minutes ago. I am so relieved I could cry. This has been a nightmare for me! With ALL of my business being run online through my website and my Etsy shop, along with printing my postage and labels from PayPal, it has seriously slowed down my production time. I'm just thankful I had internet access through my phone so I could stay on top of everything, even if it was at a snail's pace and having to hand write labels and make trips to the post office every day.

Party time!! Use coupon code PARTY20 for 20% off everything in the shop for the next 48 hours in celebration! Woohoo!

Now I can get those new blends listed in the shops!