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Goats and Lavender


Lavender bokeh, originally uploaded by borealnz.

While Pan perfume takes its inspiration from the fascinating tale of Pan as it’s told over the magical pages of Jitterbug Perfume – the fragrance itself is not as inspirational as it could have been. If the perfume in Jitterbug was designed to mask the carnal, throaty aroma of the goat god with beet blossoms, citron and patchouli - in Pan it is an extract from that exact animal itself that lends the perfume a glimpse of a godly nature.

Pan can be credited to be the first perfume to employ goat-hair tincture (a cruelty-free animal note). Aside from that, it is a straight-forward ambery-fougere, employing the berry-like Seville lavender absolute as an anchoring note, and the required oakmoss absolute as the base to create a fougere reaction. Other notes include cedar, white lotus, beeswax, patchouli and labdanum, and create a smooth ambery-fougere with hints of suede-like leatheriness, mostly resulting from the presence of the above mentioned Seville lavender and labdanum.

Pan is a rather simple, yet very pleasing natural fougere. Aside from the animalic herding-goat note, there are no surprises or turning points within its evolution. This is precisely why it provides a redeeming point from the tropical clutter of Fairchild or the muddy vanilla-citrus of Riverside (now discontinued) from the same perfume house. In the end, it must be its goaty charm that appeals to me the most – growing in the countryside amongst herding goats gave me no option but to take into liking anything remotely goatly. And now only one question remains: will goat hair tincture become a staple on the natural perfumer's organ? And even if it doesn't - what else can be achieved using this unusual raw material?

To read other reviews and opinions of Pan, visit:
Anya's Garden
Perfume Shrine

The Psychadellic Earthiness of Fairchild


Chihuly Pond of Glass, originally uploaded by tomalu.

Inspired by the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Florida, Anya’s Garden perfume by the same name from presents the most unusual array of notes in the line. Full of exotic tropical aromas from both land and sea, it is a boisterous earthy explosion of hot and moist notes. I have never been to Florida, but after experiencing Fairchild I can imagine how intoxicating the humid tropical air must be, hosting such intense polarities.

Fairchild perfume is exotic and disturbing – you will smell here scents that you probably never smelled before: opening with the heady, unusual peppery-floral-horseradish notes of pandanus (kewda) and the bright, more familiar hesperidious notes of pink grapefruit and sweet clementine, Fairchild’s pungent opening will wake you up immediately and grab your attention with intrigue and puzzlement. Than notes champaca, magnolia and various jasmines rein the heart; though I personally feel the pandanus notes lingers longer than all and overshadows the presence of these glorious flowers. From the tree tops bearing tropical flowers and fruit, Fairchild goes deeper, and explores the moist soil and the luscious vegetation, with air-exposed roots intertwining amongst moss and seashells and ponds. The notes of beach-harvested ambergris and the toasted seashells are very muted and barely noticeable (the latter were also used in Tango by Aftelier in a larger amount), adding complexity to the base that is at times overbearingly earthy. Fairchild smells wet, hot and tropical and the contrast between the pungent and unusual kewda jutaxposed with moss and roots creates a peculiarly psychedelic earthy feel.

According to Anya’s Garden website, Fairchild includes notes of pandanus, champaca (gold and white), a few different types of jasmine, citrus notes (grapefruit, clementine), ylang ylang, and base notes of ambergris, oakmoss, seaweed, toasted seashells, hedychium roots and spicy galangal.

Anya McCoy is one of the pioneers of Natural Perfumery, and being a Landscape Architect, she has appropriately chosen to dedicate each perfume in her line to famous botanical gardens around the world such as Fairchild and Riverside (a citrus-ambery perfume which was recently discontinued) as well as imaginary/mythical ones, like her goat-haired fougere fragrance, Pan. Anya is also the queen of tincturing rare tropical flowers that she grows in her garden, and which do not submit their essences to any form of distillation. The tinctures give a certain depth and complexity as well as a vivid aura – as if the perfume is breathing with life.

Fairchild can be had via Anya's Garden webstore, in parfum Extrait (3.5ml for $40), Eau de Parfum (15ml for $80) or in sample spray size (2ml for $20). A smaller size sample, for one or two application is also available for $5.

To read other opinions of Fairchild, visit:
The Perfume Bee
Perfume Shrine
Noteworthy Fragrances

Artisan Natural Perfumers' Guild Press Release re IFRA's 40th Amendment

-Boycott Called to Halt Adoption of International Fragrance Association’s (IFRA) 40th Amendment by UK-based Watchdog Organization Cropwatch Gains Momentum with Online Poll and Petition. Poll by Perfumer and Flavorist newsletter P&Fnow shows a landslide for Cropwatch with 85.1% of the vote.

-USA- based Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild joins in effort to Demand Opening the Process Up for Public Input and Review of the Process before thousands of small perfumery and toiletry businesses are adversely affected by restrictive, unfair compliance standards.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MIAMI SHORES, Fla./February 8, 2007. On February 7, 2007, fragrance and flavor trade magazine Perfumer & Flavorist released the results of an online poll showing 85.1% of readers in favor of boycotting proposed fragrance industry guidelines that will heavily limit the use of natural essential oils in perfumes and cosmetics.

Compliance with these guidelines (the IFRA 40th Amendment) requires that listed essential oils and naturally occurring constituents be kept to certain minimal levels in consumer products. At the core of the Amendment are safety issues in regard to skin reactions. The ANPG and Cropwatch fully support sensible safety guidelines to protect the consumer, but do not believe IFRA has proved that many of the essential oils affected present the supposed risk, nor have they allowed input from the impacted concerns, especially small businesses.

Although IFRA guidelines are only mandatory for their members, they have become the industry norm globally. Consequently, the livelihood of many small businesses is being threatened by an organization that does not represent them. Adhering to the complex measures not only requires sophisticated computer software, which most small natural products businesses do not possess, it also unfairly targets natural ingredients. Without a level playing field, these small businesses cannot be expected to compete. Approximately 200 essential oils will be controlled by IFRA if their 40th amendment is ratified.

Previous IFRA guidelines have been responsible for the reformulation of many classic perfumes, essentially destroying works of art that existed in liquid form. It is asserted that perhaps a warning label would have sufficed in allowing the original perfume, scent intact, to remain on shelves. Just as demand for natural toiletries and fragrances is growing worldwide, the 40th Amendment could do damage from the level of growers, distillers, up to suppliers and manufacturers. The end result may be the destruction of businesses and the absence of genuine naturally scented shampoos, creams, lotions, perfumes and soaps from store shelves.

To illustrate how the existing and proposed regulations from IFRA do not make sense, ANPG President Anya McCoy recently blogged on Peanuts vs. Perfume. Peanuts can kill susceptible people, yet their sales are unrestricted: Some perfumes may cause a rash, yet the International Fragrance Association’s (IFRA) 40th Amendment wants to severely limit the public’s access to them. Consumers are allowed to make informed decisions about peanut products, yet with IFRA and EU (see the related FAQ) guidelines and regulations in place, consumers will no longer have the freedom to make informed decisions about which scented products they wish to use. Access to aromatherapy essential oils may also be limited.
The ANPG believes the amendment may be unreasonable because the measures are based on questionable scientific premises, and they are decided behind closed doors without any possibility of public discussion or debate. Since the call for a boycott was proposed two weeks ago by little-guy Cropwatch, 549 people have signed an online petition, backing the challenge to the Goliath IFRA. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ifra40/signatures.html

Therefore, the ANPG joins Cropwatch in asking for a moratorium on the IFRA 40th amendment, until these issues have been fully addressed. We ask that a review of the scientific methodologies that were used in the original determinations of skin sensitization be examined, that the compliance requirements be reviewed, and that warning labels on products be considered in place of prohibition or restriction. Guild Founder, noted natural perfumer and author Mandy Aftel, and Guild President, perfumer Anya McCoy will be working with others in the industry to challenge the IFRA stance and open the amendment adoption process to the public.

For more information, you may download a detailed FAQ from: http://artisannaturalperfumers.org/cropwatch_ifra.htm

CONTACT:
Anya McCoy, President
Artisan Natural Perfumers Guild
P.O. Box 245
Miami Shores, FL 33153
PHONE. 305-756-0065
Website: http://artisannaturalperfumers.org

email: http://artisannaturalperfumers.org/contact.htm
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