Voluptuous Vanilla

Synthetically produced vanillin can never compete in flavor and/or fragrance with genuine, prime quality vanilla. Once, an aromatic commodity of nearly untouchable cost, vanilla beans, in recent years, have become rather inexpensive. We can now use vanilla beans to create gourmet food and artisan aromatics liberally without guilt!

To extract the the odorous air of this orchard pod, split vanilla beans may be infused in a high proof alcohol or a fatty oil with a long shelf life (such as fractionated coconut, jojoba, etc ..). It is deliciously decedent when infused in Organic Virgin Coconut Oil.

For those who desire a very strong vanilla note in their aromatic blends, Vanilla Absolute is your answer. The variety we have in stock now is strong, gorgeous and full-bodied! Produced by the Old World method for perfumery with undenatured sugar cane alcohol. It took years of searching for a vanilla of this aromatic quality. This is an essential item for the pallet of any aromatic artisan.

Enjoy your weekend, and may every day be as wonderful as vanilla!

Iceland phasing out fossil fuels for clean energy

The article from CNN

And we've got the "powers that be" that say the USA can't do this ...

ve-rac-i-ty

My friend did this piece of me for his book entitled Ve-rac-i-ty



You can see more of his work by clicking here:
http://www.myspace.com/delbertentertainment

On Holiday!

This is pretty much the first vacation, away, I've taken in 4 years.

I am quickly realizing how important it is, especially in this day and age of technology and instant access to people (and work) at all times, to go on holiday and truly enjoy the essence of being on holiday!

While I might seem hypocritical at this moment, posting a blog about not working while on vacation, while I am on vacation, I am relaxed and this is not working :)

I am simply taking less than 5 minutes to share a few images of one of my homes (Colorado) with family and friends while my mom gives the kiddos a bath (aww, how sweet, I just heard Grandma ask the kids which soap they want to wash with and the kids just said "Mommy's soap". I love those cornball moments :)

I hope everyone realizes how important it is to take their vacations, truly enjoy some time off and most important of all, enjoy their loved ones.

Have a great week everyone!

Keep natural aromatics accessable!

Before you read the latest message from Cropwatch below, I cannot stress enough the importance of what Tony Burfield and his Cropwatch organization are doing FOR US ALL.

If you enjoy aromatherapy, naturally scented toiletries, natural body care and natural perfumes, you'll want to pay attention to this issue very closely as your access to natural aromatics is in danger!

Let's put the power and beauty of our numbers to work! Please volunteer to help him if you have any expertise in the areas he's asking for assistance with, or perhaps you're just a great researcher and can track down the information despite not having these issues in your area of expertise.

If you're shy, you can still contribute to the natural perfumery world, so
please contact Tony at tony@tonyburfield.co.uk

His latest message:

Dear All,

As we approach critical mass, we have some choices to make.

Perfumery used to be about history, art & culture. Now it seems to be
mainly about the (often nonsensical) regulation of ingredients driven
by a form of imposed & unchallengeable legislatory 'Toxicological
Imperialism'.

This itself is held in place by fear-culture amongst perfume buyers, who are terrified of media exposure/litigation over supposedly harmful fragrance ingredients. Interest in herbal medicine used to include your right to self-dosing, using traditional active plant extracts. A program of their removal from shop-shelves is the result of back-door lobbying, via pharmaceutical concerns.

Our age-old usage of aromatic plants & essential oils for their useful properties - as biocides, antiseptics etc. etc., is similarly curtailed by this flawed system of Hyperbureaucratic Technocracy within Europe, which is being carbon-copied by authorities in Canada, the US and other countries.

How much longer do we have to put up with this sorry state of affairs where natural ingredient use is often so affected by negligible &* *unquantified risk, before everyone sees that in reality this is an "Emperors New Clothes" situation? The revolution for common sense in aromatic regulation starts here. We are getting ever bigger! Join us!

Please read Cropwatch's August 2007 Newsletter.
http://naturalperfumersguild.com/news.htm

Tony Burfield of Cropwatch
http://www.cropwatch.org

P.S. Volunteers are needed to help examine the following areas...

1. Furanocoumarins. Academics & industrialists are helping us construct
a massive data-base, which we will make publicly available, so we can
all see the issues for ourselves. But we need more help.

2. Methyl eugenol carcinogenicity - challenges to the present accepted &
outdated view.

3. Dimethyl & diethyl phthalates - ignored data & any associated
industry conspiracy issues (thanks to the Perfume Foundation for this lead).

4. Sensitisers - ignored contrary evidence to the '26 Sensitisers' issue
& new policy initiatives.

5. Issues of transparency & secrecy, freedom of information & the
withholding of safety data from the public domain within professional
trade & research organisations. This area includes how regulatory
bodies have processed scientific evidence, & examining records of how
scientific decisions were made.

We have limited evidence from a number of academics that an 'expert' EU advisory committee has not properly dealt with (or perhaps have not properly understood) submitted evidence in particular cases; these need public exposure, & we need to establish a more robust code of practice.

Floral Waxes

Always wanted to use real jasmine but thought it was way too expensive? Try the floral wax!

For years this fragrant by-product of the absolute making process was mostly discarded!

Then, not long ago, floral waxes became more widely discovered to be a wonderful resource for fragrancing. Scent wise 1 oz of the floral wax is equivalent to 1/2 oz of the corresponding absolute at an INCREDIBLE saving!

For example - currently 1/2 oz of Tuberose Absolute costs about $170 retail. Meanwhile, 1 oz of tuberose floral wax is currently on sale at my site for $10.

That certainly makes creating a fine soap, candle, cream or solid perfume scented with the lovely natural fragrance of tuberose much more affordable!

Currently we have available and ON SALE - Clary Sage Floral Wax, Helichrysum Everlasting Floral Wax, Jasmine Grandiflorum Floral Wax, Jasmine Sambac Floral Wax, Lavender Floral Wax, Tuberose Floral Wax, Violet Leaf Floral Wax & Wild Chamomile Floral Wax.

Rose Floral Wax, Frangipani Floral Wax & Pink Lotus Blossom Floral Wax all will be coming back into stock this Autumn.

With such precious, natural, exotic aromatics at prices like these why wait any longer to indulge? Click here to experience and enjoy these affordable olfactory delights now! http://alittleolfactory.com/waxes.htm

20th Century Plastic Attitudes - Can we fix it? Yes we can!

I've contacted several of the bottles suppliers many of us smaller toiletry business owners know about, to request they get in this new line of high end, gorgeous 100% Post Consumer Recycled heavy walled PET Plastic bottles, that are FDA approved and are easily as stunning as Virgin PET packaging (no sacrifice in quality here).

Well, I'm sorry to report that so far the ones I've gotten responses from are ho'ing and humming and dragging their feet and either won't do it or say there is no demand for it! This outdated mentality is far too widely accepted.

I find it hard to believe that I am the only business owner/consumer out there that wants more eco-friendly packaging options available, but isn't into aluminum and can't use glass (glass + shower/bathing areas = safety hazard ;)!

Did you realize that only 5% of ALL PET plastic is actually recycled in this country? Did you also realize that currently almost every plastic bottle you use, whether it is as a manufacturer, or as consumer, comes from new (virgin) plastic? This Plastic Attitude is so 20th century!

I will borrow a phrase from the show Bob the Builder (loved by my 4 yr old) - Can we fix it? Yes we can!

It is up to us, and our responsibility, as the business owners and as the consumers of goods supplied to us by other business owners, to start doing the right thing and demand the same from our suppliers.

It is negligent of businesses to not step up and make the positive and necessary changes that would make HUGE differences in the waste put out by our industries. ESPECIALLY if we claim ourselves (as consumers or businesses) to be "green" and "natural" and 'concerned for the environment", etc ...

If you're reading this and you truly care about making a difference when it comes to things like the waste level in this world, write to your bottle suppliers and tell them you want to have access to recycled plastic bottles. Tell your shampoo and lotion makers (little or large) to use recycled plastic bottles, etc ...

Let them know the demand is not only here for more eco-friendly packaging made from recycled plastic, but that it is huge AND it is the wave of the future, here today !!!

Read more about these great bottles (4th paragraph) :
http://www.cpcpkg.com/magazine/07_03_odplastic_bottles.php


Click Here to buy some PCR PET bottles now!

Rose Petal Jam

When I first introduced my husband to rose petal jam while we were dating, he was quite skeptical about trying it. Now he can't live without a jar of it in the house at all times. My sons are just as adoring of it. It has become a staple on our breakfast table, just as it is in the Mediterranean region.

It tastes and smells like Rose Otto, as it is made from petals gathered in the same fields of damascena roses that give us that lovely and precious essential oil of rose and the perfumery oil called Rose Absolute.

Served spread on pancakes, toast, waffles or muffins, rose petal jam is absolutely delicious! It can also be used in making syrup, cookies, cakes, pastries, bakery goods, candies and even savory marinades and sauces. You are limited only by your own epicurean imagination.

We carry varieties from both Turkey and Bulgaria, just like our rose oils and rose hydrosols. They are each an equally luscious treat.

Click here to order

My Sweet Alba Rose

During my visit to Isparta, Turkey several years ago, while touring the damascena rose fields in full bloom, I had the intoxicating opportunity to experience a generous splash of rose hydrosol on my face , warm and fresh from the stills. I was immediately hooked and am always on a quest for the finest that is available each year.

Several weeks ago we brought in an absolutely lovely Alba Rose Hydrosol from Bulgaria. I am really excited to have this most precious and rare NOP certified organic rosy treat.

Alba Roses are hybrids whose antiquity may go back further than the Roman Empire. They are believed to have originated as a cross between the thornless single white R. canina and R. damascena. Pliny the Elder, who lived from 23-79 A.D., mentioned white roses in his writing, entitled Natural History. Many botanists believe these roses may have been Albas.

This exotic treat of is produced by one of the most respected family owned distilleries in Bulgaria, whose rose oils have been featured in famous Fifi award winning perfumes.

Click here to order