Dear Fragrant Friends,

Blessings for the upcoming Jewish New Year! May the coming year be a good year of health, love and peace and may it be filled with sweet scents :-)

Hope you all had a wonderful summer! Here at the studio things have been in high gear for the entire summer (except for my daily evening swim in the Pacific ocean) – which is why I haven’t sent any newsletters in a while… There are lots of things I want to tell you about that kept me so busy the past 3 months!

But there is one most pressing matter, which I urge you to pay attention to the most in this newsletter. If you have only time to read one item, please make sure it’s the 1st one on the list: The threat that the SCA (Safe Cosmetics Act) will pass in the USA. This will mean the end of everything for my suppliers (which are mostly in the USA), and as a result the end of my business and many similar small-businesses, not to mention all the growers and distillers that produce the wonderul natural raw materials we love so much!!!

So, if you live in the USA or are a USA citizen, please do all that is in your power to stop this bill from passing. Read on for suggestions about how you can change the future and ensure that we can all continue enjoying natural cosmetics, body products and perfume.

In this newsletter:

1. Oppose SCA!


2. What I Did This Summer
   


3. New: Sugar Scrubs


4. New: Anointing Body Oils


5. Dream Apparel - New Retail Locations in Gastown & Granville Island
   


6. The Velvet Room Boutique in Kerrisdale
   
   
7. Gentille Alouette: New Boutique & Private Label Perfume


8. Upcoming Markets & Trade Shows
   
   
9. Harvest Festival Tea Party October 17th


10. Study Perfumery: Intensive Week September 20-24

1. Oppose SCA!

This will make it very difficult for the growers and distillers of natural raw materials for perfumes and cosmetics to survive, not to mention eliminate the small businesses who will not be able to catch up with such regulations, labeling wise and sourcsing wise. This is similar (but even worse!!!) than the nightmare that has been going on in Europe for the past decade with IFRA regulations and RIFM (the EU regulatory body). It is not too late to stop this from happening! And if we don't, than the entire world will be smelling like calone and artifical fruits, and all we could wear on our skin will be silicone...

Renown aromatherapist Robert Tisserand, who is an expert on the issue of safety of essential oils and understand the threat of this act better than I do, wrote an excellent article which will shed more light on the matter. Here's an exerpt:

"The thinking behind the wording of SCA 2010 is naive because there is an
assumption that substances are either “safe” or “toxic”, and that if we
simply eliminate the toxic ones from personal care products, the world
will be a better place. It may seem like an excellent idea, but once
you start talking about parts per million or lower, it is unnecessary
and unrealistic. Not even foods are regulated to that degree, and our
exposure to foods is far greater than our exposure to cosmetics".


Read the rest of Robert Tisserand's article, and if you live in the USA, please please please act on it and Sign the Oppose SCA Petition, write Congress, write Your Senator, vote "Oppose" on Open Congress, and see your representatives & senators in person during Summer Recess August 9 - September 12. If you are on Twitter, please follow the #OpposeSCA hashtag.
to oppose this bill, which is draconian and ridiculous and will only
ensure that we will all be only using synthetics that are manufactured
by large corporations and are supposedly safe, rather than plants and
oils that were used for thousands of years. It will do nothing for
improving safety in cosmetics.

Other relevant links:

Oppose SCA

Indie Business Blog

Essential U

Personal Care Truth

2.What I Did This Summer

Also, thanks to the untiring work of my cheerful publicist I’ve been getting a lot of press, including a wonderful interview for the Georgia Straight, which got me exactly the local exposure that I needed, and resulted in a studio full of guests and more journalists the entire summer – all keen to try my perfumes and tell their friends about what I do. And as if this wasn’t wonderful already – I also got invited to sell my perfumes in 4 beautiful boutiques in Vancouver! I’m so thrilled to get all this love back after 12 years of living here and over 9 years of running my little perfumery. The hard work pays off!

3. New: Sugar Scrubs!

4.New:Anointing Body Oils

The anointing body oils were inspired by the ancient customs in the Middle East of anointing the body with fragrant oils for both religious rituals and for seduction. These original, hand-blended formulas will leave your skin smoothly nourished and adorned with a beautiful perfume. Apply as a moisturizer after bathing to clean and damp skin, or use as a massage oil. A few drops can also be added to a bath for scent and to nourish the skin.

6. The Velvet Room: Boutique in Kerrisdale

2248 West 41st Ave Vancouver (Kerrisdale) 604-264-8664
Mon-Sat 10:30 am-5:30 pm and Sunday 12-4pm

The boutique carries Bon Zai, Roses et Chocolat and Tamya.

The Velvet Room exclusively showcases Canadian designers. All products are designed AND manufactured in Canada!

I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I am to have my perfumes displayed at the same location as some of my local fashion herose whose designs I adore and wear all the time.

7.Gentille Alouette: Boutique + Private Label Perfume

boutique (227 Carrall street @ Cordova in Gastown, Vancouver). The
perfumes offered at Gentille Alouette are Rainforest, Song of Songs and Zohar.

The boutique, with an intimate setting reminiscent of your grandmother's
closet, carries indie designers, wearable art and unique jewelry pieces,
and is owned and operated by fashion designer and die-hard perfumista
Eliza Lau.

Eliza's life-long dream has been to create her own
custom scent, and she has picked me of all perfumers to help her realize
this fantasy. Every Thursday I will be at her shop until we complete the process
of hand-picking the most gorgeous essences to scent the feather of this
gentle sparrow...

8. Upcoming Markets & Trade Shows

My summer hiatus from markets and shows has come to an end, and I’m excited to come back to my first Portobello West Art +

9. Harvest Festival Tea Party October 17th

10. Study Perfumery: Intensive Week September 20-24