One of the perfumes I unearthed from my very bottom drawer of abandoned creations is this number I titled "Sandal Tree" in Hebrew back in my very first perfumer's notebook of my very first year of 2001, when it all began.

This perfume was created after I ordered kewda attar for the first time, from Enfleurage in New York. It arrived in a half-full vial, and cost me dearly. I was equally repelled and intnrigued by kewda, and thought it would make a very pretty addition to a floral sandalwood perfume.

Discovering a formula written by a novice ten years later is fascinating. Especially when the novice have become a little less of the novice. There is the element of excitement reeking from the page of the formula: discovering a new art and medium for expression. Exploring fragrant raw materials that were never experienced before. This enthusiasm comes through the formula in the way that the essences were combined. When I'm looking at my own formula from the perspective of a perfumer with almost 10 years of experience, and who have taught perfume for the past 3 years, I feel as though it was a completely different person creating this perfume - someone who was a fearless dreamer and to whom I'm deeply thankful, as if it wasn't for that bold passion and determination, I wouldn't be a perfumer right now.

What surprises me in retrospect is, I suppose, that I chose ingredients that are what I would consider now as difficult to work with and harmonize. And I'm glad that I was not afraid of blending them even though they were rare and expensive. I think that's what taught me the most - that slight disregard to price when I initially started working with essences. Just trusting my instincts, rather than dwelling on whether it's going to work or not, and if the experiment is going to cost me dearly or not. I think I've become a lot more cautious since 2001 though...

Sandal Tree was created with the abovementnioned kewda attar - a heady, sharp flower from India that has a very East Indian personality. It does not smell like anything you would smell elsewhere. It is very volatile, so the sandalwood base of the attar actually helps to fix it as a raw material. It smells like hyacinths with an apple cider vinegar sharpness. There is a fair amount of kewda there (twice as much as I used later on in either Charisma or Gigi). There is mimosa absolute and cardamom oil at the top. Neither is a tame essence, but the magically decided to get along here. Than there is also heady ylang ylang and voluptuous jasmine, leading into the creamy, smooth sandalwood base with hints of vanilla and tonka bean (I was an avid Guerlain groopie when I started, and still am...). It wears very floral and light and exotic and has a diffusive sillage. In the new vat when I re-blended it last week, I used some of the stash of East Indian sandalwood oil I have left, and also sustainable sandalwood oils from Vanuatu and Australia (the Australian one is organically grown).

Sandal Tree was the title on the bottle and in the formula book (in Hebrew) and I finally decided it was best to keep the name that way, only in English. I am making only 4 bottles of this, which will be only available directly through me at the studio and at the One of a Kind Show, December 9-12.

Immortal Rose is a new one of a kind perfume that I've just added to the website yesterday afternoon. It's a beautiful and unusual combination between two very bold notes: immortelle absolute and rose geranium absolute.
How this perfume came about is interesting: when I was working on my Immortelle l'Amour back in 2007, I asked for feedback from one of my long time customers, and a fellow perfumista who's known to many of you as FiveoaksBouquet on Perfume of Life forum.
The reason why FiveoaksBouquet was the perfect person to ask opinion about was because she loves immortelle so much, and is a huge fan of Annick Goutal's Sables, which she kindly sent me a sample of, since it is no available in Vancouver. She even sent me a handful of beautiful immortelle potpourri made over 20 years ago by Caswell-Massey.
One of her suggestions was to add rose to my 1st mod, and so I did. Neither of us was too smitted with the result, and 4 mods later, the Immortelle l'Amour that you all learned to known and love is non other than the very first mod that I created...
However, the idea of immortelle and rose note appeals to me, and 3 years later, when I have at my disposal a bold and beautiful geranium absolute, I decided to play with this perfume again. I feel that the rose geranium (both oil and absolute), in addition to some rose absolute creates the desired effect that I was hoping to find originally. Gernaium has the "rosier than rose" quality, and although it's not as fine and complex as rose absolute, it is exactly that quality that makes it so suitable for the dark, dusky and earthy maple tonalities of immortelle absolute.
I have decided to offer this perfume as a one of a kind perfume because I think it takes a very unique personality to pull such a perfume off. It is very sweet, with an overdose of vanilla like my original formula; yet earthy and rosy as well, with fresh notes from the geranium and orange that balance it well. And 3 years in it is also beautifully matured into a very smooth elixir.

And last but not least - here's a one-of-a-kind perfume that is especially appropriate for today: Champaca Chai. The fantasy of this perfume encompasses both the hiking, chai and smoky components that seem to save my mundane life from total disaster... It speaks to my fantasy of an outdoorsy tea ritual, preferably after a long hike on the mountains, and has a soothing milkiness to go with its rustic smoky surroundings. I also find the essence of champaca flower, with its complexity and fruitiness, to be reminiscent of Kyphi.

Top notes:
Ginger, Nutmeg, Mace, Cardamom, Fennel, Caraway

Heart notes:
Champaca, Jasmine, Coconut, Honey

Base notes:
Black Tea, Budhawood, Clove bud, Tonka bean