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Get Seduced into Winter By Sahleb Perfume & Roses et Chocolat Tea


Dear Fragrant Friends,

Fall and Winter 2008/2009 holds many delicious surprises at Ayala Moriel Parfums!

There is Sahleb, a smooth iris perfume inspired by the winter pudding-beverage in the Middle East; Roses et Chocolat Tea - yes, it's as good as it sounds if not better! - and two new candles to light those dark nights and add some fragrant spark to your home.

Please read on for all the full scoop:

Sahleb: Orchid, Pudding and now also a New Perfume





Ayala Moriel is proud to introduce: Sahleb - the perfume version of a Middle Eastern winter favourite. This scrumptious pudding beverage, flavoured with rosewater and crushed mastic resin is offered by street vendors straight from a copper caldron throughout the cooler seasons across the Middle East. Served warm and topped with coconut, pistachio and cardamom, Sahleb has become an essential part of winter and a way to make even the gloomiest street corners cozy and home-like.

The creamiest orris root from Italy was used to create the smooth texture of this starchy and soothing pudding-beverage. A hint of the finest rose otto from Turkey, coconut and butter essence and crushed mastic resin complete the exotic flavour, and finished with a hint of vanilla and nutty ambrette seed Sahleb is ready to seduce you into winter!

Top Notes: Coriander Seed, Rosewood, Mastic Resin

Heart Notes: Orris, Rose Otto, Butter

Base Notes: Ambrette Seed, Coconut, Vanilla Absolute



Sahleb is an exclusive and extremely limited edition – only 11 bottles were made, two of which are already taken! I hope that with your support we will be able to find and obtain more of that special orris butter to make more in the near future.

We are almost sold out of samples (only 2 left). Each bottle of 9ml parfum extrait contains 20% orris butter with 15% irone (the molecule that makes it smell so creamy, dreamy and violet-like), retailing for $160.

Available on AyalaMoriel.com and for limited time only also on b-glowing.com.

Click here to read “Orchid, Pudding, Perfume” - behind the scents with Sahleb perfume.

Update: We are completely sold out of samples for Sahleb, but still have 9 bottles in stock!

Tea Time with Roses et Chocolat





 Some of you were fortunate enough to have a sip of Roses et Chocolat tea with me at the Portobello West Art + Fashion Market in September. Now the tea is ready and packed in a cute tin and tied with a hot pink ribbon – the best gift you can give yourself this fall!

Roses et Chocolat tea is made of two specialty black teas from China: Fu Hao, and Rose Congou, flavoured with organic damask rose, vanilla, anise, and, of course – chocolate!

The chocolate flavour comes from real and pure organic cacao nibs – which are cracked cacao beans. They are sugar free and full of nutrients – and as Newport Yoga Blog notes, this tea is an excellent way to get your chocolate kick but without the side-kicks to badly influence you or your figure...!

Roses et Chocolat gained immediate following at a unique High-Tea event last Sunday hosted by the High-Tea Girls Heather & Moj. I can easily attest to it’s beauty by the fact that it’s not even a month on my tea-counter, and my personal 2oz tin is nearly empty…

Roses et Chocolate Perfumed Tea - Ingredient List:
Special Grade Premium Fu Hao Black Tea (China)
Premium Rose Congou Black Tea (China)
Raw Cacao Nibs, certified organic (Peru)
Damask Rose Petals, certified organic (France)
Vanilla Pod, certified organic (Madagascar)
Anise Seed, certified organic (Turkey)

Roses et Chocolat is the 4th collaboration with Inner Alchemy Tea Co. - a Vancouver Based company that specializes in high-quality, wildcrafted and organic teas and herbs.

For more information and serving suggestion, visit SmellyBlog.

Light the Night with Two New Candles




The past year at Ayala Moriel was dedicated to one secret mission: turning some of our most haunting perfumes into candles and teas!

It all started with Bois d’Hiver last winter. Nikki Sherritt and I started working on the candle than, and took a little break in the summer to bring to you the citrusy sunshine of ArbitRary candle. So it wasn’t till NOW that we finally have what we wanted: a beautifully burning winter candle with a touch of fir absolute and orange blossom floral wax. Bois d’Hiver is everything the perfume is about – in a candle form. Imagine stepping into a cabin after a walk in the snowy forest – your hair is messy with fragrant coniferous needles and inside there is a warm spicy brew burning on the fireplace, and the room is filled with the scent of incense and myrrh yet with no smoke to burn your eyes. This is Bois d’Hiver – foresty, spicy and incensey in the best possible way. I was so excited to light it yesterday night, it filled an entire floor with a magical scent of outdoorsy coziness.

Another candle that was in the making since the summer is White Potion – a tuberose-centred creamy white floral candle that is made of a combination of precious tuberose floral wax, ylang ylang, virgin coconut oil and tonka bean. To call it an aphrodisiac would be an understatement.


A fourth candle in the collaboration with Garbriel's Aunt will launch later this winter. Stay tuned to hear all the details… For now, I’ll just keep you on your toes…

Body + Soul Magazine Features Gaucho Perfume




Body + Soul Magazine's November 2008 issue features Gaucho perfume. You can click here to read Beauty Basics: Pure Perfumes by Courtney Humphries - or search for it in the glossy magazine that will be out on newsstands shortly before October runs out.

As a gesture to our Body + Soul readers, with every order of Gaucho, you will receive a complemetary Gaucho Tea in our gift-wrapped 1oz tins (while quantities last).

* Gaucho is the little rectangle green-juiced flacon on the very top left of the photo (the bottle looks different from the rest of my line).

New Retail Location: Spa*Habitat



Ayala Moriel Parfums are now availabe in Spa
Habitat's beautiful new location in West Village in uptown Dallas, Texas. This upscale organic spa has a full range of beauty and relaxation services in two location (Plano and Dallas). The new Dallas location offers a unique all-natural and organic Scent-Bar, featuring five of Ayala's original natural perfumes: ArbitRary, Espionage, Finjan, Tamya & White Potion. In addition, you can also scent your home with our beautiful ArbitRary soywax candles and get treated with some Immortelle l'Amour perfumed tea while you shop.

Gift Making Workshops at the Studio




During the fall and winter, I invite you to join me at the studio for a series of inspiring workshops that will help you get ready for the holidays with unique hand-scented gifts and holiday menus and recipes.

You will leave each workshop with gifts ready to go under the tree, that you have made yourself and smell wonderful!

The workshops offered include, among others:
Can’t make it for your desired workshop on our calendar?
- Contact us to book your own private workshop with a group of friends (up to 6 people). (778) 863-0806. We’ll do our best to accommodate your schedule and help you get ready for the holidays in a fun, relaxed & inspiring way!

Workshops can be booked in advance online here.

Chocolate Truffles are back!




At least there is one known advantage for the cooler weather: the chocolate won’t melt!

This is the time of year when chocolate truffles can be easily shipped across the country without getting spoiled.

Pick your flavour and we will make a special batch for you of 40-50 truffles at a time of a flavour of your choice. These can be either served at your home or business for holiday parties or wrapped individually in gift boxes to pass on to special friends and colleagues. All flavours are sold for $60 a batch.

Holiday Party & Open House December 21st




Come celebrate the holiday season and light the first Hannukah candle with Ayala.

Perfumed teas and truffles will served in abundance (naturally) as well as other aromatic and seasonal treats, including, of course – the infamous Sahleb pudding-drink!

This party is a wonderful opportunity and a cozy environment for you to meet other local perfume lovers who shares your passion of natural perfumery, and experience our new line of candles, Sahleb perfume, and more.

When: December 21st, 6pm-10pm
Where: #314-1230 Haro Street, Buzz #295
RSVP by December 15th or call (778) 863-0806

Hope to see you all soon!

Warm regards,

Ayala
Ayala Moriel Parfums
AyalaMoriel.com
My SmellyBlog: SmellyBlog.com
Tel.: (778) 863-0806
Address: 1230 Haro Street, Buzz #295,Vancouver, BC
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:00pm; Sundays & evenings by appointment only
Address: PO Box 93589 Nelson Park, Vancouver, BC, V6E 4L7

Upcoming Workshops at Ayala Moriel Parfums

Starting June 2007, Ayala Moriel Parfums will be offering a series of workshop related to natural perfumery and fragrance appreciation. The series will take place once weekly, every Thursday evening between 5:30-8:00pm.

A detailed calendar will be published shortly, with the curriculum for each workshop. Each class is self-contained, and fees include materials. You will come out of each class with a wonderful smelling (or tasting!) product, that you made all by yourself!

Here are some details on our very first workshop – The Scented Chocolate Truffles Workshop!

When:
Thursday, June 7th
5:30-8:00pm

Where:
#314-1230 Haro Street (Buzz #295)

What:
In this fun and interactive workshop, you will learn how to make exquisite chocolate truffles and flavour them with fine floral essences. We will be making two flavours of truffles, and you will take them home with you!

How much: $15 per participant (materials included).

PLEASE RSVP (778) 863-0806 or ayala@ayalamoriel.com as space is extremely limited!

NOTE ABOUT UPCOMING PERFUME PARTIES:
We will also be holding a monthly perfume party, usually in the middle of the month, when you can come in to the studio, meet the perfumer and receive your personal free fragrance consultation. Chocolate truffles and beverages are compliment of the house, and we will sometimes have special guests and special program for the night too…

Our next party: Saturday, June 16th 7-10pm
We will celebrate the launch Ayala Moriel’s new soliflore perfume, Tirzah, which is a linden blossom single-note with fresh woody accents. Linden blossoms bloom in June and that's why Tirzah will be launched next month!

Hope to see you all here - Vancouverites as well as visitors!

:)

Ayala

The Distrubing Truth about Truffle Oils


"I can't taste the potion!", originally uploaded by oatmeal2000.

Well, you might be able to taste that potion, but it's not the real thing: Apparently, the truffle oils in the market have very little to do with truffles. They are made of olive oil "infused" with 2,4-dithiapentane, according to Daniel Patterson's article in the New York Times.

If you find this puzzling and unsettling, you are not alone. Truffle oil was mentioned many times in Daniel Patterson's and Mandy Aftel's book Aroma (about using essential oils in the kitchen, which included recipes for both food and perfumes). I am sure it took a lot of guts as well as a good healthy dose of honesty, modesty and integrity for Patterson to publish this article. After all, he wrote the above mentioned book, with a whole chapter dedicated to recipes using truffle oils (p. 134-139).

I felt very awkward about this discovery. I have just published here a couple of recipes of my own using truffle oils. I am going to need to "take them back" in the sense that I cannot stand behind this material as a natural one (unless you choose to infuse the truffles yourself, which is what I am planning on doing from now on for my personal use).

This got to show us how deep the aroma chemical industry has penetrated our culture. We can't even know for sure if what we use in our food is natural or not?!

The truffle oil I got was not particularly cheap either, at $16.95 per a 1.8oz (55ml) bottle. There is a slight difference in the labeling between the white and the black ones though:

Black Truffle Oil is called "Fine Olive Oil with Black Winter Truffle Essences" and the ingredients lists "Olive oil, black winter truffles aroma (Tuber Melanosporum vitt)."

The White Truffle Oil is labeled similarly as "Fine Olive Oil with White Truffle Oil" yet the ingredients do not specify the Latin name of the species. It reads "Olive oil, white truffless aroma".

Above the ingredient list for each of the bottles, they say "Olive Oil Infused with Black/White Truffles", which to me would imply that the truffles were steeped in the oil to infuse it with their aroma... According to Patterson, this is a lie and a true truffle oil is not available. It is simply olive oil "infused" with man-made aromachemicals. Both oils that I have were made in Italy, and the brand is URBANI TARTUFI.

We are getting deeper into issues of truth in labeling, and the ability of consumers to make a truly informed decisions about what they spend their money on, what they put into their food, and what enters their bodies. In a time where perfume manufacturers are required to list all suspected allergens on the packaging, it is more than alarming that the same standards would not go the other way - making clear labeling when the flavour materials are in fact completely synthetic!

Artisan Chocolate Truffles & A Chocolate Contest

What can be better than chocolate? A hand-made chocolate!
The following are two original, artisanal chocolatiers, one is a Vancouver based chocolatier, who makes some of the best chocolate truffles, as well as other sweets; the other is a perfumer who dares to pour some of her fragrant ideas into a base of chocolate, with some stunning results!


Bad Girl with a Good Taste
Some of the best chocolate I’ve ever had come from a little company called Bad Girl Chocolates. These artisanal chocolate truffles are all handcrafted by one lady, Kelly Boyd, and are just amazing. My favourites are the Gianduja Pyramids, and I love both the dark and the milk chocolates ones. The dark one has a hint of coffee flavour and the hazelnuts are a tad crunchier, while the milk one is smooth and creamy… The pomegranate truffles are to die for with their contrast of dark chocolate against a smooth filling of tart pomegranate. There are a few new falvours which I haven’t tried thouhg, such as the Hot Chocolate Truffle (heart shaped and with edible gold leaf) and the Fleur de Sel Caramel Truffle, with the infamous French salt for as an added nuance. These are very reasonably priced for their quality and artistry, and are worth every penny. They can be shipped to anywhere in Canada, or be picked up if you live in Vancouver.

Desire in Sunlight's Perfumed Chocolates
Isabelle Aurel is a student of Mandy Aftel, and her line features many interesting solid and liquid perfume. But perhaps the most romantic of all are her edible perfumed chocolates: Chocolate ganache infused with precious essential oils – jasmine absolute, blue lotus, tuberose and many more. These could make the most romantic and sensual desert dinner – by pairing the gently melted ganache with an array of exotic fruits and nuts. Isabelle recommends dipping figs in the jasmine chocolate - the ultimate aphrodisiac treat!

Isabelle also makes chocolate truffles, which come in three flavours:
Sweetheart Tuberose
Spirit Blue Lotus
Seductive Jasmine

Share your favourite artisanal chocolatiers from your own town, and be one of the two lucky winners to receive a 2ml miniature of one of my liquid chocolate parfums - Guilt or Film Noir.

Next: My very own recipe for red-hot-chocolate, plus a very sexy surprise!
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