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Musk Malabi Fundraising Campaign for Syrian Refugees


Musk Malabi, my fundraiser perfume to support Syrian Refugees, was launched a couple of years ago. There was only marginal interest in the cause, unfortunately, so I was unable to make any substantial contribution to this cause. 

Now that the refugee crisis has come to the forefront of the media - I hope you can help me raise enough funds to help sponsor refugees who are arriving to Canada in these tough times. For every 15mL bottle sold, $50 will be donated to a community-sponsored family; and from each mini bottle, $20 will be donated.

If you are in Canada, I urge you to find a community-sponsorship as well, or initiate one yourself in your community or workplace. According to Canadian law around sponsorship of immigrants, groups such as religious community associations (i.e.: non-profit NGOs) and community based organizations (i.e.: mosques, churches, synagogues, etc.) but also corporations can sponsor refugees, and any group of 5 or more Canadians that can provide a feasible settlement plan for the refugees. That is one way to guarantee the safe asylum of a family fleeing the horrors of the Syrian civil war, and much more meaningful way to invest smaller amounts of charitable money than to support a huge organization in which whatever contribution I could make will just be a drop in the bucket.

Of course, if you wish to donate to larger organizations - there are some that are more effective than others and which will utilize your donations more efficiently. Do your research first. For example, charities that are recommended for maximum help in the ground zero of the Syrian refugee crisis and that have a minimum administrative costs are listed in Charity Intelligence (Canada) and Charity Watchdog (USA).





Below is an excerpt from the original press release (March 2014) and the updates regarding pricing and donations policy.

Inspiring Peace & Harmony with Musk Malabi’s Olfactory Love Triangle
Vancouver, Canada, March 5th, 2014. Get caught in a love triangle with Musk Malabi Ayala Moriel’s newest limited-edition perfume Musk Malabi. Released to coincide with the spring equinox and Persian New Year, Musk Malabi is an intoxicating floral confection. Unabashedly feminine, subtly exotic and hopelessly romantic - the fragrance evokes the sensory experience of a passionate love affair.
Inspired by the traditional Middle Eastern dessert of the same name, Musk Malabi centers itself around rich, milky musk. Having grown up in Israel, the sights, sounds, and smells of the Mediterranean have always been a source of inspiration for Ayala Moriel, the company’s in-house perfumer. “What has always captured my imagination about malabi is its soft, evocative sounding name, and its unique fragrant combination of rosewater and neroli water”, explains Ayala. “Rose and orange blossom are such noble flowers yet oh so different.”

At the heart of the fragrance, neroli and rose come unexpectedly together with musk to create an unusual and mesmerizing triad. Musk plays cupid, pulling all the strings in between and drawing the lovers (rose and neroli) together. Designed to smell as close as possible to deer musk, the botanical musk brings an effortless fluidity to this magnetic fragrance. A company that prides itself on being all-natural and free of animal cruelty, all of Ayala’s fragrances are created using botanical essences.
With spicy notes of cardamom and coriander as the opening act for voluptuous rose and prudent neroli, the top and heart notes rest on a silky bed of atlas cedarwood, botanical musk and Tahitian vanilla. Light-hearted yet mysterious, Musk Malabi is a fragrance unlike any other and will transport one effortlessly to the exotic Middle-East, jet-lag free.
Top notes: Bitter Orange, Cardamom, Coriander, Blood Orange
Heart notes: Turkish Rose, Bulgarian Rose, Tunisian Neroli, Egyptian Orange Blossom
Base notes: Atlas Cedarwood, Botanical Musk Accord, Tahitian Vanilla

Available in eau de parfum 4ml ($69) and 15ml ($180) via www.ayalamoriel.com. For every 15mL bottle sold, $50 will be donated to a community-sponsored family; and from each mini bottle, $20 will be donated. 





Save Bloedel Floral Conservatory


Plumeria (Frangipani), originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

"It was one of those indecisive April days, alternating between cloudy and warm, and pouring rain. For a while, we sought refuge inside the glass dome that housed tropical birds & flowers. There, near the pink parrot that refused to have his pictures taken, I met a blooming frangipanni tree in Vancouver for the first time. You can imagine my happiness: frangipanni is one of my favourite flowers and I have many fond memories associated with its scent. I took with me this single blooming flower that fell off the tree, and savoured it for hours afterward, analyzing its aroma in my head, making notes in my journal as to how to capture its scent. The result is Frangipanni Gloves: a perfume that layers a whiff of frangipanni flowers with the leathery-powdery undertones of suede perfumed gloves of Victorian era. This tropical white floral perfume has an intoxicating yet delicate aroma, sweet and humid, underlined with suede-leather nuances and a hint of spice". (read the rest of the story behind Frangipanni Gloves here)

Proceeds go to the Bloedel Floral Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. It is thanks to this wonderful tropical gem at the heart of our raincity that I was able to find a real, living frangipanni flower for reference. Unfortunately, the City of Vancouver has cut its funding to sustain the conservatory and it is scheduled to close March 1st, 2010. This will leave tens of tropical birds and plants homeless, and is a huge loss for the people of Vancouver!

When you purchase Frangipanni Gloves, you are also helping this cause. Frangipannin Gloves is offered for a limited time only, until March 1st, which is the scheduled date for closing Bloedel Floral Conservatory. For every bottle sold, $50 is donated to Bloedel Floral Conservatory in order to prevent its scheduled shut-down March 1st, 2010. ($30 for mini bottles).
If the fundraiser succeeds, and it will not close - Frangiapnni Gloves will remain in our regular collection and I will continue to donate money to Bloedel, so that we can continue to enjoy the scent of real living frangipanni flowers!
It can be purchased on Etsy or via Ayala Moriel Parfums.

Other ways you can help the Bloedel Floral Conservatory:

There are three ways to donate:

1. Make a donation at any Royal Bank of Canada branch by quoting our name "Friends of the Bloedel Association" and account number 06080 003 1006428.

2. Mail a cheque payable to the Friends of the Bloedel Association

mail to: Friends of the Bloedel Association
3948 West 23rd Avenue
Vancouver, BC
V6S 1L2

3. Use our secure PayPal FundRazr page on Facebook by clicking here: http://bit.ly/6GsZWt. If you are a member of Facebook, please publish your comment and donation to your stream. This will help us spread the word about our important cause.


Attend the Rumble in the Jungle Gala, January 30th, 2010

Sign this petition

Join Friends of Bloedel

Vetiver for Haiti: Online Relief Effort

Haiti was always one of those magical places that when I hear about it, I feel like I have a connection with it even if I haven't been there yet. From paintings of Gaugin to working with one of it most important essential oils: Haitian vetiver. Not to mention the legendary Tiare flower and Monoi de Tahiti. I feel as if I have bonded with this island olfacatorily from a long distance... One of my students went for a visit there last year and told me so much about just one grapefruit she ate and how fragrant and flavourful it was. It may seem weird to be so obsessed about a grapefruit but it must have been something special. And it must also have something with the soil of this volcanic island. Which of course comes at a very heavy price. A tragedy that we have now witnessed all around the world through the internet, television, radio and newspapers.

The Examiner and Now Public have published its resources and recommendations for which charities are most trustworthy to donate to that will immediately and directly help the aggressive earthquake (7.0 on the Richter scale) that shattered the island of Haiti January 12th, 2010. These two publications have also made a promise to match the amount donated by their team of writers around the world; and being among them makes me even more motivated to contribute to the effort - knowing that it will be raising an even greater sum of money to bring some hope and relief to this tragic moment in human history.

What I am proposing is this: for every bottle that you order that contains Haitian Vetiver, I will contribute 45% of the retail price (up to $75 depending on size of bottle purchased) to Doctors Without Borders. Because we are pressed for time, the sooner we get this money out, the better. So I am extending this offer until Monday only - and than I'm going to see what else I can do to lend my (very little) hand to help out.

Participating fragrances:
Hanami
Sabotage
Vetiver Racinettes
Bon Zai
Coralle
l'Herbe Rouge
Megumi

The organizations that are supposed to be trustworthy and effective for this tragic event - to which you can send your donation or contribution on your own ASAP are:

Charity/Organization What you can do More info
Red Cross Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 RedCross.org
Doctors Without Borders Donate to help medical aid workers DoctorsWithoutBorders.org
CARE Donate miles for food distributors Care.org
Partners in Health Donate to support their field hospitals PIH.org
Salvation Army Help send boxes of rice, soy, vitamins SalvationArmy.org
World Vision Send supplies: blankets, tarps, etc. WorldVision.org
Oxfam Donate to help stationed volunteers OxFamAmerica.org
UNICEF Help children in Haiti UnicefUSA.org
IRD Help supply sanitation, medicine, etc. IRD.org
Yéle Foundation Text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 Yele.org
Soles 4 Souls Donate your shoes to Haiti victims Soles4Souls.org

P.s. I couldn't bring myself to post a picture of the earthquake here on this blog. It's devastating beyond belief. I'm sure you've seen the pictures already, but if not you can click here.

Blogala Ending

Thanks to all of you who have commented and participated in our Autism Blogala this month - We raised $51 that will be donated to Autism Community Training in BC. Although this is less than I was hoping to raise, I have a feeling that I contributed by sharing my thoughts and stories with you, and help other parents and individuals with autism to feel more comfortable sharing their experiences.

We will have another autism Blogala in October 2007. In the meantime, you are invited to visit our Pumpkin Blog.
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