Tag Archives: botanical perfume

News, Perfume

Farishta – New Botanical Perfume

Posted on by Fehmida
botanical perfume

The perfume Farishta acquires its name from the Persian word ‘angel’ or ‘divine messenger’. It has a gentle floral breeze that whispers an odour of elapsed memories, of past monuments, and of unearthed images of native flora and aromatic herbs interlaced with stories of untamed resins, kept clandestine and immersed by the transient Near East desert sands.

My new scent Farishta is herbaceous, floral and resinous. Not cloying or overpowering, I wanted to create a scent that was ethereal but earthly, with a character of true flowers, herbs and resins that were mentioned in ancient manuscripts.

The soul of this scent, delicately interweaves Angelica archangelica and Egyptian lotus flower, both renowned and revered by the ancients. Ensuing notes of Champaca unfolds to create a trio of soft fluttery florals, that lie on a herbaceous bed of dill, myrtle and tarragon, evoking a sense of elevated awareness, heightened by cardamon and clove, and then tempered with vanilla and mellowed with saffron. The Resinous final layer is a merging of Amber, Labdanum, and the sweet balsamic notes of Gurjun.

News, Perfume

Wilder Land Botanical Perfume

Posted on by Fehmida
botanical wood and smoke perfume
17
Jan

If you adore the green, the fresh and the verdant, you must also revere the charred and the tainted, and the fallen leaves that lay in decay. Beyond decomposition there is life, there is fire, and there is earth and spirit, and in the land of the wilder, death is a mere whisper of an illusion.

I think this is a scent for darker days and winter nights. It’s one of those scents that you definitely do not smell in the bottle. Once applied, it will alter with the chemistry of your body and pick up particular notes according to the individual’s skin.

This is a scent of ancient woods, crisp winter nights and smoke. It may be cosy to some, more smoky to others and also you may pick up floral woodland too.

Opening notes include, spruce hemlock, black spruce tarragon and bergamot. Spring narcissus and chamomile adds just a trace of a green florals. There is also just a suggestion of my artisan extract of cepes, and more wood from cedar and smoke from birch tar. the enduring notes includes Galbanum and labdamen resin, tobacco, sandalwood and myrrh.

ancient woods natural botanical perfume

botanical perfume

News, Perfume

Neroli Moon Botanical Perfume

Posted on by Fehmida
botanical natural perfume
20
May

Come and witness the alchemy of the night, where lightness fades and the bitterness is sweet, and where Neroli blooms are bathed in moonlight.

My new scent for spring and summer is Herbaceous, light floral and green.
Opening notes are Sicilian Bergamot, Mandarin, Grapefruit and Lime, and Chamomile offers a hint of herbal aromatics. There is a suggestion of Narcissus and a hint of Jasmine, but the dominant scent is the honeyed citrusy green of Neroli. Sage adds an unusual herbaceous note, and Galbanum a little grass. Cardamom lifts, and then there is Cedar and Sandalwood, the earthy warmth of Benzoin resin. And finally Ambrette seeds add musk.

I found Neroli Moon to be a joyful scent, perfectly at home in a spring floral garden, dotted with a border of herbs.

News, Perfume

New Perfume ‘Island Muse’

Posted on by Fehmida

Beyond daydreams are island musings, of sunlit moments that span across the Atlantic Ocean. Feet are bare and hearts are full. The air is odorous and consumed with the scent of blushed citrus, coconut flesh and the creamy white blossoms of heady flora.

New for September, a tropical, floral, gourmand scent that I have been working on made with macerated and infused notes of Tahitian vanilla and citrus, coconut and Gardenia.

First inhale is citrusy with Sicilian bergamot, Sweet Blood Orange and Lemongrass. Peach extract adds a touch of gourmand and the Peppermint uplifts. The heart is an island of intoxicating Gardenia, balanced with fruity floral Lotus absolute, and Coriander seed. Extract of coconut gives a milky honeyed personality and there is just a hint of tobacco, which is barely noticed. The base has Vetiver and aged Patchouli for a touch of earth, and comforting Vanilla and Benzoin. The sublime muskiness of Ambrette seed enhances the closing moments.

tropical botanical perfume
News, Perfume

Hyacinth Enfleurage Pomade

Posted on by Fehmida

New in the shop, enfleurage pomade made with Hyacinth flowers, using the cold extraction method. This process was definately a labour of love. I spent two months diligently recharging hyacinth flower on to a layer of organic shea butter. Each flower exhales its scent which gets absorbed in to the fat. The scent is delicate and true. The character notes are floral, green and buttery. Works well as a delicate solid perfume.

What is enfleurage?
Enfleurage is a beautiful ancient technique of extracting fragrance from delicate flowers. The botanical is placed on to a layer of fat that absorbs the scent of the fresh breathing flower. The flowers are replaced every day for an extensive period of time, until the scent is captured. The base that absorbs the flower scented molecules is called a ‘pomade’.
This method was devised in 18th century France using animal fat, and then the fat was further distilled with alcohol.
However, I stop at the ‘pomade’ stage, so NO alcohol is used, and the fat I use is organic and 100% plant based. Pomade was also historically made in ancient Egypt and the Near East, using the same technique of applying flowers to a base of fat.

My enfleurage pomade is mindfully made in very small batches, when the botanical is in season (the Hyacinth are grown in my garden). It really is labour intensive, but also a labour of love. The scent is subtle and true.

News, Perfume

New Vintage Chai Botanical Perfume

Posted on by Fehmida
botanical chai perfume
10
Jan

Sunrise over the haveli, awakened with the cries of an old fashioned chai walla, welcoming the haze of the morning mist with a daily ritual of black malty tea, dark spices, steamed milk and traces of saffron and jasmine.

New for 2020 is Vintage Chai botanical perfume. Malty black Assam tea is infused for a couple of months to give the base. Added to this is a number of chai spices such as Cloves, Cardamom, Star Anise, Nutmeg, Pepper and Coriander infusions. There are floral notes from Jasmine Sambac, Osmanthus and infused Saffron. The base notes are heavy with musky Ambrette seed, Labdanum, Sandalwood and warm comforting notes from Benzoin and ethically sourced Tahitian vanilla which I extracted myself. The character is gourmand, spicy, floral, oriental and incense like.

News, Perfume

New Botanical Perfume ‘Birdsong’

Posted on by Fehmida
birdsong botanical peach perfume
08
Aug

A Midsummer’s day when the light hits the trees, and the branches sway in the colours of a gentle wind. Scattered crushed peaches lay on an orchard floor, accompanied by a sea of iris. Overhead, there is a symphony of tiny winged creatures, and the scent, is that of birdsong.

Birdsong is an earthy grassy gourmand I have been working on for a while. I must admit I have spent months perfecting this scent, made with extract off macerated peaches, essential oils, and plant, seed and bark extracts and all mindfully made with organic, wild crafted or ethically sourced botanicals.

Opening notes are Fresh Oranges, Bergamot and Elemi merged with herbaceous Pettitgrain. Galbanum adds the scent of grass, helped along with the extracts of Green tea. This leads to a heart of crushed peaches, merged with iris root, evoking a hint of violets. Osmanthus is fruity and narcotic and then there is a subtle mention of Gardenia. The base ends with Sandalwood and the golden warmth of Amber, Vanilla and Benzoin. Labdamen is also incorporated and juxtaposed with the earthy scent of Vetiver.

News, Perfume

The Nature Of Botanical Perfume

Posted on by Fehmida

When it comes to botanical perfume, it has a completely different nature compared to synthetic perfumes that are mass produced and created in labs.

The colour
Botanical perfumes take on the hue of the botanical ingredients. Perfumes with a high percentage of darker materials such as Oakmoss, Oud or Labdanum will give a darker colour. Perfumes with a larger percentage of light coloured botanicals will have a lighter hue.

Sediment
My perfume making methods are motivated by ancient civilisations. The Egyptians, Greeks and Arabs used botanicals and oils to produce their scents. The ingredients come from plant, seeds, spices, flowers, bark and resins and are obtained through tinctures, infusions, essential oils and absolutes of these plant materials. As a result, my perfumes may have some sediment from the raw natural ingredients. This does not effect the scent in any way, just shake the bottle before application.

Slight variation in scent
As with anything in nature, botanicals vary from season to season, depending on their environment. I think this is the beauty of a botanical perfume as you capture the true essence of the plant in a bottle, as opposed to chemically formulated identical perfumes.

Longevity
With botanical perfume, the durability depends on the alchemy between the botanical ingredients and your body temperature. Therefore it can vary from person to person. Typically a scent can last anything between 3 – 6 hours. Main stream synthetic perfumes have a chemical fixatives that keep the scent at an intrusive level and makes it lasts longer. As there are no chemicals in my perfume, I use plants that are natural fixatives to help lengthen the sillage of the perfume. These can include Sandalwood, Vetiver, Cedarwood, Ambrette seed, Violet leaf, Vanilla and many more wonderful botanicals.