Illuminated Perfume

This evening marks the epic day, seven years ago, when I arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico after selling my sweet
woodland home in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The adventure has been quite grand, beautiful and challenging. There have been many doorways revealing a bounty of new
friendships and opportunities graciously unfolding.

I am humbled and grateful to the land, plants and all beings here in this enchanting place that has both held and molded me
into a deeper expression of who I am.

Photo of the work area in the lab of the perfumery during formulation, controlled chaos.

This past weekend, during all the events here at the perfumery, I had someone ask to take a photo. I answered, “Really, but it's so messy?” She said, “No, it’s like a mad scientist was here!”

More an alchemistic, than a scientist.
⚗️💫

⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣

👉🏻

In 2007 I "formerly" launched Illuminated Perfume with seven fragrances.

Fast forward, seventeen years, I finally have elegant packaging for my solid perfumes.

William Blake wrote that "to create a little flower is the labor of ages." For me, to create a beautiful little box was a labor of seventeen years.

All the elements have not yet been completed, expect them to start rolling out online in the next few weeks.

Some of the boxes will be available at the various events starting this Thursday.

See my story, or head to my website and scroll to the bottom.

Liquid or solid?

1. Consider how you like to wear fragrance
2. The liquids, perfume extract & spray, contain more range of notes.

For dry climates and skin, layering both the solid & liquid is helpful for longevity.

Alchemically, Monday is Moon day, associated with the metal and color silver. I correspond artemisia with the moon for its silvery foliage, watery scent and cooling properties. I work with Artemisia californica in California, nicknamed California sagebrush and the one here in New Mexico Artemisia tridentata that is called Basin sage or Big sage brush, even though they are not sages.

Photos->
Artemisia Tridentata
and
Me in the Santa Monica Mountains mindfully foraging
Foraging & infusing Artemisia californica

La Dame Blanche solid jar is back

This fragrance was commissioned by perfume blogger Beth Schreibman Gehring and inspired by Claire, the heroine of the Outlander book series.

La Dame Blanche is a gentle, heart centered, blossoming floral. This is a balm of pleasure blooming with a floral hum and the steadfastness strength of a woodland stag.

🌹🪵🦌💙
👉🏻https://www.illuminatedperfume.com/products/la-dame-blanche-solid-natural-perfume-round-jar

Hello, and Happy Venus Day!

Alchemy is called The Royal Art because it is believed to encompass all the arts, which is probably why I feel such a strong affinity with it. In both the study of alchemy, visual art and perfume making with plants, we pay attention to patterns.

Since today is my birthday I thought I'd share some interesting observations, do they actually "mean" anything, I'm not sure, but it's super fun.

I was born on 8-16-1962. Today I turn 62, which is also the number of my birth year. 6+2 equals 8, my birth day, 8+8 equals 16, the number of my birth day. The number 8, to me, represents the alchemical axiom "As above. so below", and on its side is the infinity symbol.
♾

Another auspicious element to this story is that I am about to enter a twenty year Venus cycle. If you don't know, Venus is a very much about the arts, beauty & pleasure, especially pleasure shared with someone else, or others.

Venus concerns itself with love, romance and harmony in our emotional attachments and unions (like business partnerships

A strong sense of the aesthetic is within the realm of Venus, and she invites us to indulge our senses and revel in the beauty of our world.

I invite you to be part of this new cycle, lets create some extra ordinary beauty together!

Painting: The Birth of Venus by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1879)

Over at Wandering the Wonderland I’ve written a piece that provides some insights into how Page 47 incarnated.
🌞🏖🤍🐚🌸Head on over, link jump in bio.

The day has regrettably arrived come when I am no longer able to order more of these super elegant little
spray bottles from Japan. I know that ultimately there will be a silver lining with this, but in the meantime
the Eau de Parfum sprays are available in limited quantities. Thus, I recommend that if you have purchased
one in the past you save it, and I can provide refills.

At some point I will discover a new spray bottle that works for the brand, but first new packaging for the solid perfumes
will be arriving soon, that I am absolutely beyond the moon with.

Photos are Page 47 Eau de Pafum (Spray), which I only have two bottles of, and I am working on a post about, since both its solar return and mine are around the corner.

Speaking of solar returns, love and creativity, just posted this
👉🏻

Venus moving through Leo is really stirring things up, bringing out the best in love, creativity, and personal expression.

It’s the perfect time to explore and show off what makes you unique. Plus, if you’re looking to get those creative juices flowing, there’s no better time than now.

This energy is all about big, heartfelt gestures and living your truth in the boldest way possible.

Follow for more astrological inspiration💗

👈🏻

Perfume is more than a commodity, it is a form of transending from one state of being to another.

Consider how the word perfume comes from per fumum, meaning through smoke, referencing how matter is transformed through fire and then becomes an elevating, fragrant substance.

Since my background is in the realm of visual art, I have come to view my glass droppers as brushes and essential oils as the palette I work with.

Inspiration is abundant, most often derived from seeking unity with nature including plants, honey bees, and old world tales.

Ancient civilizations show us how human beings have used plants for medicine, scent and food, and in some cases used one word to mean all three uses.

The subtle energies found in plants and in the land combine with ancient stories of empowerment capture my imagination.

In October of 2018, I drove up to Taos to distill a gardenia pomade Im that had been sitting in a high proof alcohol for many years.
It was very well marinated, just waiting for the perfect low temperature still. The result was a very dark and viscous gardenia extract that took many days beginning in Taos and finishing in my Santa Fe studio just before the grand
opening. Second image is the alcohol that came over during the process.

One day, when I am able to stretch time, I will make a perfume with this exotic extract and the alcohol. In the meantime
I have a few jars left of the Spring 2023 gardenia enfleurage to enjoy, expect the 2024 edition sometime in September.

I’ve been working on some rose-centric perfumes for a few clients as well as one for the illuminated line.

The “illuminated” will mark the entry point of a twenty year Venus planetary period in my Vedic astrology chart.

Jyotish astrologer is providing her expertise on the subject for the special new fragrance to debut at the end of August.

🌹💫

Solid perfume discovery set. These are made with my own hands in Santa Fe, NM using mindfully gathered beeswax, organic jojoba oil and essential oils distilled by people.
✋🏻🌱🌸🐝
Support small and indie businesses that support other small and indie makers.

Keep the circle going
💫💛

Happy Moon Day

In alchemy the moon corresponds to imagination, clairvoyance, intuition, wisdom and peace of mind. The metal associated with the moon is like its light -> silver, and thus many plant associations are those which reflect the light of the moon such as artemisia and the salvias.

Intending yesterdays full moon illuminated some shadows for you, and that we can move forward as a collective in our inner knowing.

Verde que te quiero verde.
Verde viento.Verdes ramas
El barco sobre la mar
y el caballo en la montaña
~ Federico García Lorca

The greenest note in the palette of the botanical perfumer is obtained from galbanum, available as an essential oil, C02 extract and an absolute. GreenWitch, the Green Knight, Gracing the Dawn and Hedera helix perfumes all contain galbanum. It's a note that requires mindfulness because of it has a very strong and strong vital character.
🌱🌿🍃⚡️

Moving from Page 47 to Figure 1: Noir

🐚
At the scent bar the fragrances begin with Page 47, a soft, resiny floral. As you progress in smelling, the florals deepen, then the scent family shifts to fresh floral with Gracing the down then herbaceous with Vera, progressing to various shades of green and woods, resins and ending with Figure 1: Noir which anchors the light in its rooty, dark merlot persona.
🍷🖤

Page 47 and Figure 1; Noir are like the duality of this earthly experience. Duality, most often viewed outwardly as -> expansion, contraction, dark, light, peace. chaos...and the cycle of duality goes on, and on, and on.

✨🌑⚪️✨

During this pressure cooker of a time, it appears that duality is a strong trigger to pull us off center.
🙏🏻

Connect to nature, each other and please remember LOVE.

⚗️💓

When anointing, and invoking an intention, re-mind/heart your self to stay in the center, and by doing so you become empowered to affect what is happening in the exterior landscape.

Be like a tree, rooted, present and reaching up toward the stars.

As above,
so within,
as below,
so without

⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣

👉🏻

👈🏻

Did you hear, a rare white buffalo was born in Yellow Stone on June 4th, heralding in the Lakota prophecy of White Buffalo Woman.

“The prophecy of the White Buffalo Calf Woman says we are at the crossroads and it’s up to each and every one of us to make it happen. For the future of our children, we must come together and bring that good energy back.” - Chief Arvol Looking Horse

🤍🦬💫

Anoint your self with B for Bison, to facilitate a connection with the eternal flame of harmony and reverence for nature, including your own essential nature.
🙏🏻

If you have visited the upstairs lab at the perfumery, then perhaps you have noticed the image of
Natalie of Alabama Chanin on one of the inspiration boards. And, perhaps you have head me tell her story and praise her.

Well, this Saturday, Natalie, the creatress of this brand, will be here in Santa Fe at the giving a presentation!!!!!

A dream come true to meet and listen to her speak in person. Come join in the magic and celebration of handmade here in Santa Fe.

🌱🌸🪡🧵💙

Scent School
ROOTS

Relating to the base chakra, roots anchor us and facilitate a sense of security. Most of the roots we use in
making plant fragrance have an earthy scent, like vetiver. Osha is warm, balsamic and spicy where as orris has soft, buttery, violet notes. Meanwhile valerian root, not pictured, is a bit pungent and funky.

Inspired by an incense making class I did earlier today for a lovely family, I thought I’d share a an important part of the history of making scents with plants.

The word perfume comes from the latin, per “through” and fumum “smoke”, thus “through smoke." Aromatic, sweet smelling smoke is a ritual we observe throughout so many traditions, and a practice used as a means to transport our intent to the heavens.

It’s all about PLANTS & INTENTION.

The main Illuminated Perfumes with incense notes include:
👉🏻 Aumbre (currently available as a spray and liquid)
👉🏻 Q
and
👉🏻 Figure 5: Bois

Seventeen years ago, June 2007, I "officially" launched Illuminated Perfume at the Ojai Valley Lavender Festival. It began with an invitation from Sandy Messori to be a presenter at the event. I felt extremely honored, considering some of the other speakers were luminaries in the aromatherapy community.

It was an auspicious time since I had just started coming out of my shell as a "perfumer", even though I had already been teaching, creating aromatherapy products, botanical perfumes and custom fragrances for clients. The invite provided the impetus to get my branding and a website together, which launched on the day of the festival, June 16, 2007.

For the event I formulate a special perfume, composed of a variety of flora grown and distilled in Ojai. I also incorporated infusions of lavender and sage from California.

🌸🌿🍊🐚🌞

Vera is a talisman of Ojai, containing within one whiff, the scent of sea breezes, sunbaked lavender fields, sage buzzing with honey bees and the sweetness of orange flowers.

Happy Solstice to each of you. Take time and a deep breath to acknowledge this portal that is about to peak. Feel deep peace and extend it out from your heart
🌞💛💫

ART: I am the Sun, a new Limited Edition Print Series for Summer Solstice by
🌞
I Am The Sun- Redux I, II, III, available until June 23

The season for capturing the exquisite essences of flowers has expanded.

As you may have noticed in my stories, I started the daily harvest of calendulas and now heavenly gardenias!

Do you ever "listen" to a scent, or see its hues?

To Bee takes us inside a thriving hive of honey bees, rich with notes of propolis conjure healing. Perfume notes include spice, wood, resin and honey.

Hearing perceptions of this scent is usually fascinating, the impressions depend on peoples scent associations.

If you listen to the scent, you might hear the Ohm-chant of the hive, with all the girls
working their various "jobs" while humming a collective tune.
🌞🌼🐝

Hello from the upstairs part of the perfumery, where my lab is located

Since it's Sun day 🌞💫
I thought I'd post a few images of what is referred
to as the Dendera stone from the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, it is also called the
Zodiac of Dendera. An inscription states that the temple was built according to the plans of Imhotep, which would place the building of the original temple at about 2650 BC.

The large carved stone slab depicts the constellations of the zodiac on the ceiling of
a chapel located within the Temple of Hathor.

As part of the French army's expedition to Egypt, commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte between 1798 and 1801
Vivant Denon discovered a large circular zodiac in January of 1799. He published
the first drawing of the Zodiac in his Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Égypte in 1802.

Shortly afterwards a wave of the engineer-archaeologists arrived on the scene, and thus we have a much more detailed rendering by Jollois and Devilliers published in a volume of Antiquités.

The zodiac became of great interest to the European community since it accurately depicted the positions of the constellations in ancient times making the Dendera zodiac one of the most
important surviving documents of antiquity at the time.

In 1822 Claude Lelorrain, an antiquities thief, used explosives to remove the Zodiac and bring
it back to France, where it was purchased by the King. Today it can be viewed at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣

👉🏻

👈🏻

Refresh, revive and hydrate with the hydrosol of the enchanting little white flower called Motia in India, and often referred to as Arabian Jasmine.

I have just listed this beautiful plant water obtained from Jasmine sambac, Jasminum sambac at the site, it is also available by appointment at the perfumery.

🌸💦

⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣
⁣

👉🏻

👈🏻

Happy New Moon
🌙🌼🐝

It’s swarm season, bee aware if a swarm arrives to you. Call a holistic bee guardian to get the swarm safely relocated, ideally to a hive on your roof or property.

Honey bees represent the Queen-dom, the supreme bee-ings, working with nature while creating a golden elixir.

That is why I chose her as the mascot for Illuminated Perfume

💜🐝

ROSA is my scent tribute to the wild rose of California, which also happens to occur here in New Mexico.

This perfume is both named after the rose and my great grandmother Rosita, from my the matriarchal side of my family.

Rosa was released in 2008, the scent is a wild and deep, with full bodied rose petals paired with wood and oud.

Since it’s Venus day and we could all use more grounding into the heart, I am working on having more Rosa available as soon as possible. The extensive amount of rose in the fragrance paired with earthy woods and oud makes it so perfect for getting our self aligned with love.

The photo one of my great grandmother postcards sent to her by a family member.

Other rose-centric pure fumes in the illuminated line are 👇🏻

VESPERTINA begins with a once upon an epic tale of a young mystic featuring a rich floral triad of rose, jasmine and a white lotus reclining on a bed of ancient resin and wood. 2007

☥ TERRESTRE, "of the Earth" was begun during Earth hour and then released on Earth Day. I used essences that embody the rich aroma of the earth and are considered grounding combined with rose for love.
2009

SOVEREIGNTY is my most recent addition to this bouquet of roses. She is strong, full bodied and voluptuous with feminine softness as a spray, where as the solid grounds the rose with precious wood, resins and smoke.
2023

Hello, I am back from the underworld, so happy to have arrived at the perfumery to blooming roses 🌹🤍💗

I am slowly re-acclimating myself and re-activating product. If there’s something specific you are looking for send me a note.

Here’s an interesting story from my adventures in MatrixLand

I went to the local post office around the corner from my moms house to send back some Meyer lemons and sage. I walked in at 5pm and everything was closed up, except for a fellow working a little side counter. I said to him, “Can you help me with sending these out today?” He said “Sure!” I answered “Thank you SO MUCH! It’s amazing that this post office closes earlier than my post office in tiny Santa Fe, NM!” The lady he was helping turns to me and says “I use to live in Santa Fe.” I answered, “Really, wow, how auspicious. I use to live here!” She said “I moved because Santa Fe got to big for me.”

That answer struck me so odd that I was dumb struck, and said nothing, all I could think is...Wow, why are you living in the Matrix here in LA then?
🤪