Up Your Nose

Ruh Khus Vetiver

2011-04-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

*sigh* Unbeknownst to me my 2 bottles of Ruh Khus Vetiver spilled and now the thick, delicious, ooey, gooeyness of it is unable to be saved.

I think I'll have to go throw myself on the floor and have a horrid fit.

Magic at the Scented Djinn

2011-04-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

The djinn goes on about how it's a magical being, and as such, asks-- shouldn't there be something a bit more magical in the apothecary than beautiful perfumes and a smattering of lusciously blended soaps and butters?

The Third Eye Meditation Unguent was created at the first motion of the full moon waning, the beginning of movement toward the dark moon, a time of meditation, reflection and a building up of psychic powers.

Made with certified organic hemp seed oil, unrefined golden beeswax, and scented with boswellia carterii absolute (frankincense), saffron absolute, rosa damascena absolute, jasmine auriculatum absolute, and night queen absolute, the meditation unguent is meant to be READ MORE HERE

The Human Scent Strip

2011-04-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

The very loverly Kedra Hart & Tiger Powers from Opus Oils get a fabulous visit from Brian Badonde.......lol

Possible New Aromatherapy Blend

2011-03-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Whineeze - for when your children are making you want to poke your ear drums out with a red-hot-poker due to their endless whining.

Surprised by the Haus of Waft!

2011-03-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

Squeee! I actually looked at my stats on my Artfire store and found through a listing of referring links that Crushed Velvet & Roses had been mentioned on Haus of Waft in a posting titled: 'The Fragrant Court of Natural Perfumers.'

" I found this little gem on artfire, they are small, but they are all natural. The perfumes have awesome names like “Lulu Honey Vamp” and “Crazy Bitch Aromatherapy Stress Relief Oil”. Don’t underestimate them because they are small, with the ingredients they use, their products pack a wallop of fragrance."

I've been looking for a sign to continue pushing forward and making perfumes and potions - maybe I should start actually paying attention! Check the posting out, there are a lot of fab perfumers listed, some I even know ; )

Rosa Damascena for Grief

2011-03-09T10:38:00.000-08:00

"Dat Rosa Mel Apibus - The Rose Gives Bees Honey"

Engraving (possibly) by Johann Thedore deBry (d. 1598)

The Queen of Flowers, quite possibly the Queen Flower of Heaven, angelic, joyful, anti-depressive, dreamy, spiritual, comforting, euphoric Rosa Damascena. A rose is not a rose unless it is the Damascena. The quintessential oil for women next to Spikenard, which of course is next to Rosa Damascena.

I have a very small amount of this oil, just enough for me, myself and I. Would I share it with you? Let me think. Um, depends on who is asking. lol

I've been relying on the Rosa Damascena more than usual, after losing one of my life-long best friends suddenly in January. Inhlation mainly and massage with rice-bran oil occasionally - because sometimes the scent can transport you into realms outside the grip of grief. I'd rather be outside grief's castle than being locked inside the dungeon unable to see the light of day.

Grief is a real pain in the ass, you know? It interferes with all sorts of things - physically, emotionally, mentally. I can be fine one minute and the next I'm an emotional trainwreck. While the oil is not a cure-all it does help to calm my anxiety/melancholy/sense of loss (is that the right way to phrase it? No I don't think so but let's say it puts me in a better state of mind.) Dealing with the "if only she....." or "why didn't I see/hear/sense......." scenarios over and over again really could make one go quite mad. So instead of going mad I try to sew my broken heart back together.

Anger is another tentacle of grief I can do without. Try as it may - the rose oil just doesn't cut it sometimes and I find myself incredibly angry with her at times. I hope she doesn't think she can come fluttering by me with freshly made spun sugar wings and not expect me to throw on my Docs and kick her angelic ass for leaving me and everyone else. I mean, REALLY! She's the one who is supposed to be cooking for all of us girls, bossing us around and making sure there's someone to change our Depends when we're all old bats, with wrinkles down to our ear lobes or eyebrows lifted up to our hairlines with that stunned, permanent look of surprise. You all know who you are...lol.

Rose lets you laugh and dance with angels, soothes your senses, lifts you up when you don't think you can get up on your own. Perhaps I'll blend it up with a bit of Spikenard and of course, Patchouli. Talk about something sacred and profound -it doesn't get much better than that.

Jeanne Rose Explains the Copper Distiller

2011-01-28T04:38:00.000-08:00

What Is It?

2011-01-27T19:01:00.000-08:00

‘It is black, smooth, light and porous and differs but little from wood in appearance. The fumes of it, burnt, keep serpents at a distance and dispel hysterical affections... A decoction of this stone
in wine is curative of toothache...’
- Pliny, Natural History, 1st century AD

Find out by reading this fabulous post at Art of Mourning.

Gnarly Bitch Soap

2011-01-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

Indulge yourself in the pure debauchery of Anastasia's crations. Gnarly Bitch has long been a favorite of mine, not only the soap but also the body butter. Patchouli, Vanilla and Cacao - and sometimes Ana throws in something to throw you for a loop....like Neroli! YUM. Visit Anastasia's etsy store HERE.

Smells Like Winter

2010-12-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

Patchouli, Lavenders (Croatian, French & Bulgarian), Clove, Cassia, and Ginger. This is what's scenting Mockingbird Manor on this chilly winter day.

Book Review: Aromatherapy Treatments by Jeanne Rose

2010-12-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

Jeanne Rose, The Grande Dame of AromaHerbalism has released a fabulous compendium of herbal, aromatherapy and other complimentary treatments! The material in the book comes directly from Jeanne Rose’s personal files spanned over the last 40 years. 40 years! There aren’t that many experts in the fields of Aromatherapy and Herbalism who can say they have 40 years of writing, published works, consultations, and experiences behind them. Having seen Ms. Roses’s files myself I am amazed (but not surprised) that she was able to pare it down to 200 invaluable pages.

Written in Ms. Rose’s legendary style you will learn to treat your physical, mental and emotional self as a whole using complimentary therapies through the use of herbs, aromatherapy, hydrosols, diet, nutrition, spa and massage. Recipes for salves, massage oils, baths and more are included as well as an excellent formula for the dreaded Neti Pot. Dreaded on my part that is, but with the formula given it is a much better experience!

Aromatherapy Treatments is different from any of Ms. Rose’s other books in that the ailments covered are done so much more in-depth, sometimes 2 or 3 pages if not more covering a single subject. My favorite part of the book would be the 38 pages devoted to Asthma, the Respiratory System, Allergies, Sinuses and Bronchial treatments. Another favorite would have to be the handy reference charts that are throughout the book as well for a variety of conditions and ailments.

Missing from this book would be information on PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) which seems to be so prevalent these days included in the section for Women. However there are sections on Hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes, both a part of PCOS that I have found to be most helpful.

On a daily basis I find myself referring to Aromatherapy Treatments. If not to re-read it, then to look up treatments for my family or recipes to make preventative salves, sprays and massage oils.

For someone who is advanced in aromatherapy and herbalism Aromatherapy Treatments is a must have reference for your library that you will refer to again and again. For someone who is new to aromatherapy and herbalism this book is not a replacement for the study of essential oils and herbs. It will however, spark your curiosity (and perhaps even awe at the power of AromaHerbalism) to learn more about the use of herbs, essential oils and other complimentary therapies. Who better to learn from than The Grande Dame?

Aromatherapy Treatments by Jeanne Rose $209

To order please visit http://www.jeannerose.net/books.html

Note: I have learned that this will be the first of 3 volumes that are to be released by Ms. Rose. By the time she is finished it will be quite an amazing collective compendium!

Where has the time gone?

2010-10-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

I have been away from my blogs for oh, about the last month! It's been crazier than usual here at Mockingbird Manor and the last two weeks have been filled with sick Oompa Loompas.

Imagine if you will - the madness of not being able to go anywhere except for the grocery store (less than 2 minutes from my house), Walgreens or the elementary school. For 2 full weeks!!

It's not as if I were able to actually get anything done either. Being nurse, maid, mommy and daddy takes it's toll. If it would have gone on a single day more you would have found me sitting in the middle of the road, rocking back and forth singing 'Mary Had a Little Lamb." The experience has left me quite proficient in the 'whineeze' language though.

Anyhoo - needless to say I was reaching quite a bit for my oils. Rose and Frankincense . Oooooh how decadent is that? Jasmine and Clary Sage. Deeevine. Time was also spent sitting and just sniffing different oils. Like Gollum I pulled my special oils out, the ones I kept hidden, with eyes glazed over - whispering to the oil how much I appreciated their gorgeous scent.......opened one up and then inhaled. Scentgasmic I tell you! Spikenard with 1 single drop of Bulgarian Rose oil given to my by Jeanne Rose in 1996. Frankincense from the year my first child was born. Zdravetz, Rose with Cassia, Italian and Neroli given to me by MG. I always go on about vintage Patchouli oil and there is definitely a reason for it.

Wondering how to get your own scentgasmic vintage Patchouli? Well, the truth is my precioussses you must invest some time into it because I am not about to give mine up! Buy yourself a good sized bottle of Patchouli from a reputable source. (CH-Imports is a good place to start.) Take HALF of whatever you buy, put it in another amber or cobalt bottle, LABEL it along with the date, where you bought it from and then put it away. Forget that you even have it! Use the other half of the oil saved for whatever you need it for. Aromatherapy, perfumery, skin care, etc.

Every 6 months or so take a peek and sniff at it. Right down the changes you notice and after a while of doing this you'll have something that still smells like Patchouli, but it's very different than a newly purchased bottle of Patchouli. After years have passed you will find yourself like me. Hoarding it, talking to it, and using it for only very special blends!

Letting certain oils age, especially perfume blends is what most people aren't willing to do. The Pretty Poison: Belladonna perfume potion blend I have is over TEN years old! The older it gets, the deeper, more sultry and sexy it gets. So I've been told ;)

Miz Bella's Bodacious Bitch Balm

2010-09-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Stressed out? Head pounding? Eyeballs ready to pop out of your head? Can you spin your head around 3 times at will?

Then Miz Bella's Bodacious Bitch Balm is just what you need!

The Bodacious Bitch Balm smells fabulous and has a slightly cooling effect. It may help melt away stress, soothe your senses and make whatever it is that’s causing your brain to do the Rumba to stop.

To use: Rub fingers over the balm and then smooth over your forehead, wrists and rub into the back of your neck. Massage into your temples. Rub into your hands and then inhale from your hands. Mmmm mmm!

Miz Bella's Bodacious Bitch Balm is hand-crafted by me and comes packaged in a 1 ounce tin with a screw cap. Yay! No more lost tin caps! Contains: Bulgarian Lavender, Peppermint, Spearmint, Lemongrass, Roman Chamomile and other essential oils that are in a balm base of Rice Bran Oil, Coconut Oil, and Beeswax.

1oz of Miz Bella's Bodacious Bitch Balm is &7.00 with FREE shipping for a limited time. (The free shipping is for a limited time, not the Bitch Balm....lol)

Note: This product is NOT for children.

Just Poured

2010-09-23T22:40:00.000-07:00

Bitch Balm.

(Oh please don't get your pahnteeze all in a bunch over the name. You know we can all be one when pushed.)

My Oompa Loompa assistants, Micah-Vance and Zoe helped me out immensely by writing everything down in my secret book. Something I'm not known for doing....it's usually a little bit of this, a little bit of that....more of this....with the recipe locked inside mah crazee leetle head. Imagine that! I actually have a hard copy formula now! I hope it doesn't make Jeanne Rose faint.

Too tired to do the labeling tonight - so finished pics sometime tomorrow with details about the balm.

Super Harvest Moon

2010-09-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with scent - it's just very cool and it's happening tonight :D

Super Harvest Moon

Essential Oil Inventory

2010-09-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight I'll be taking an inventory of the essential oils that I have. Right now most of them are carefully packed away so it'll be like Christmas opening everything up!

Well, hopefully tonight if those Oompa Loompas would ever fall asleep. If I let them come down into the dungeon with me they'll be wanting to open bottles up and get their hands into everything. I still haven't recovered from the time Oompa Loompa #1 and #2 found my hidden stash of rare and precious oils, some of them gifts from Jeanne Rose and other very special people. The kids were how old....oh, lemme think. #1 was probably 5 and #2 was 3. Seems they decided that they were going to 'blend' oils just like mommy does!

The little darlings blended Spikenard, Zdravetz, Jasmine, Bulgarian Rose, Neroli and a very special Patchouli all over their art table. Oh, the memory of it is going to give me the vapors! Where are my smelling salts?? I can't think about it anymore or I'll end up throwing myself on the floor in a fit and have to surely be admitted to the loony bin to hang out with Baby Jane.

Thankfully I still have an obnoxious amount of essential oils, especially since there are some oils that I hoard. (Yes! Just as I do with my vintage art supplies!) As my grandma and mom would say, "No tienes veruenza! Meaning: You have no shame! Know what? They're right. I don't. ha!

My private reserve Patchouli that is over 10 years old now. mmmm, mmmmm! If you don't know what aged Patchouli smells like - don't expect it to smell like the stereotypical Patchouli scent of wet earth, smelly hippies and bad incense. (Please, no hate mail from those over 60. We all know that you know what I mean!)

Aged Patchouli becomes the part of a perfume that makes you feel as if you've been kissed by an angel's wings and it's sillage keeps you looking for just one more kiss.

Of course, it would be a kiss from a fallen angel.......hehheh! Yeah, good luck trying to get THAT oil from me. Although I do have perfume blends that are made from it, one in particular that is quite wicked indeed.

Jeanne Rose had a mystical, magical, stunning Patchouli that was well over 30 years old. I used to love to open the bottle and sniff/inhale it like a crack fiend who had finally lost their marbles.

Unfortunately - something happened to it during one of Jeanne Rose's fabulous Perfume Workshops and alas! It is no more. Good thing I wasn't at that workshop - I'd have probably *accidently* had to push the offender out of the attic window. . . .

Well it's now 11pm and 2 out of 3 Oompa Loompas are still awake. I suppose the inventory will have to wait until tomorrow morning. I'm sure there will be things to write about after that feat is accomplished! (Maybe even some pictures. Maybe.)

Waiting. Impatiently.

2010-09-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

I am waiting impatiently for packages to arrive.

Tick. Tock.

Always Wild for Wilde

2010-09-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

"And so he would now study perfumes. . . He saw that there was no mood of the mind that had not its counterpart in the sensuous life, and set himself to discover their true relations, wondering what there was in frankincense that made one mystical, and in ambergrise that stirred one's passions, and in violets that woke the memory of dead romances, and in musk that troubled the brain, and in champak that stained the imagination; and seeking often to elaborate a real psychology of perfumes, and to estimate the several influences of sweet-smelling roots, and scented pollen-laden flowers, or aromatic balms, and of dark and fragrant woods, of spikenard that sickens, of hovenia that makes men mad, and of aloes that are said to be able to expel melancholy from the soul." - Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Don't you think that Oscar Wilde would have been so much fun to create a perfume with?

Funny Face Mold

2010-09-17T17:18:00.000-07:00

Imagine opening this up to use.....and even your butter bar is laughing at you. OMG! Is it laughing *at* me? Or at my fat arse? Can it see my cellulite? Why is it laughing at meeeeee? Definitely not for the easily paranoid!

Have been looking around for soap molds that I like (but not for soaps!) and found this one. I can't decide if it's creepy-creepy (but not in a crepeldah sort of way) or if it's just funny. Not sure why it's colored that gross brown either.....and the damn thing has TEETH! just sayin.

OK. It's way creepy.

Synchronicity

2010-09-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today I got dressed as I normally do when I'm going to just schlep around the house, do a little cleaning, and get some long over-due reading done. Of course most of what I accomplished was just obsessing.

Over the last couple of weeks I've received a series of emails from past customers and/or friends of mine who have been asking me to either make them specific products or asking if I still make products. I've also been speaking to fabulous femmes I've trusted and adored for years in the aroma world who have encouraged me in this direction as well.

Which is funny to me. Funny because I have been throwing around the idea in mah purtee leetle head to start making a few products again. Butter Bars and Balms mainly. Screaming Queenie (PMS blend), Bitch Balm (self-explanatory) and a couple of other blends come to mind that I'm keeping to myself, for now. I've even wanted to start writing about aromatherapy once more!

I'm big on 'signs' and gifts from the Universe and thought, hmm. Is all of this a sign? Or am I MAKING it seem like a sign because I've really missed and regret not using the oils?

Today the icing on the cake (aka gift from the Universe!) for me was was a mysterious package that arrived from the Grande Dame Jeanne Rose. I couldn't wait to open it because no matter WHAT the package contained - I knew that it would smell like the House of 1,000 Aromatic Wonders!

Having been missing Jeanne Rose horribly I opened up the package and was immediately transported aromatically to my favorite home in the world. Aaaah, the power of scent never ceases to amaze me! If only I could find my ruby red slippers so that I could click them three times and be home. *sigh* The Oompa Loompas all had to have a turn inhaling directly from the box as well so they could "smell Jeanne Rose's house!"

No I am not willing to divulge what was in the box just yet - but trust me. Once I am ready to tell everyone about it - you'll hear about it here first!

As for making products and getting back into working with the oils again - how can I turn down a direct sign from the Grande Dame herself?

Cape Chamomile For Stress Relief

2010-09-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Stress is awful. It can age you, affect your health, your heart, your well-being in general and stress can do so many more creepy things to you.

So why are we all running around clenching our teeth and periodically reaching up to make sure that our head is not about to fly off into outer space? We over-commit ourselves. We over-commit with our children, with work, with school, with ourselves and with our lives in general. One just isn't doing enough unless one is running around town from this activity to the next. Or perhaps you have a monster of a boss (or you are the monster boss) and then you have to get home and run your children (or yourself) from point A to point B to point Z then back to point A but hey, don't forget to stop at point J before you head back to point B!

Why do we do this? Because gosh-darnit! We're going to stand out, be the head mucky-muck Stepford Wife/Husband Pod, amaze family, friends and those PTA members at the number of feats we can accomplish in one day running on a giant cup of Starbucks coffee and half a bite of whatever was grab-able on the kitchen counter on the race to the car to start our day of insanity!!

Sound familiar?

Or how about this: Your husband works and lives in CA right now and you are home. Alone. In another state, 2,000 miles away. With three children 10 and under whose mission it is (you swear!) is to push you into the mouth of madness on a daily basis OR force you to run screeching into the night like a banshee on crack as you pull at your clothes and rip your hair out piece by piece........

But I digress!

I often find it funny that I am an aromatherapist and can whip up the most fab stress-relief blends for other people but when it comes to myself - ho hum. I'll get to it tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Uh-huh. I've decided to quit waiting until tomorrow and do something about it TODAY.

In conversation I mentioned to Marge Clark of Nature's Gift how stressed out I was and that I thought it was starting to affect my health. She recommended trying out 'Cape Chamomile' (Eriocephalus punctulatus) for stress-relief so I did. Skeptical of it, but I thought hey! I may as well or just keep on clenching those jaws of mine until my teeth crack!

Wow. I was pleasantly surprised at how I could feel the stress just slipping down my neck, over my shoulders, and just sliding off of my back. Inhaling Cape Chamomile works best for me, but I can see making a balm out of it as well or mixing some up in dead sea salts and taking a long bath in it. In fact - right now it is sitting next to me just open and it's absolutely wonderful. It is also worth having to help calm your mind right before bedtime, something I have a huge problem with between the kids, what's going on the next day, work, art and did I remember to let the dogs back in the house, whose class was I reading to the next day?? My personal opinion is that a bath right before bed with Cape Chamomile will do wonders for anyone!

Take 3-5 drops of Cape Chamomile oil and mix it in with 2 cups of Epsom salts, add to running bath water, step in and relax! How easy is that?

Cape Chamomile is similar to Blue Tansy in scent, but it's not quite the same and if you know the two oils you can detect the difference. *Cape Chamomile is extraordinarily high in esters, over 50%, which account for its sweet fruity aroma. Many of the esters seem to be unique to this delightful oil and it is also high in Linalyl Acetate.

*Read more: http://www.naturesgift.com/essential/Cape-Chamomile.htm#ixzz0zQsb10qR

Up Your Nose - The Beginning. Sort Of.

2010-09-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

'Up Your Nose' will be devoted to the art of scent.

You will find posts and articles relating to the subject of aromatherapy, anointing oils, ritual oils, herbs, and alternative perfumery. Mainly aromatherapy which is my first of the scented passions. Of course I'll have to slip in once-in-a-while when products from Crushed Velvet & Roses (that's me!) are released too ;)

Eventually I would love to include product reviews from some of the most amazing start-up indie scent companies. Or at least one time they were indie, perhaps a bit bigger now but still not too big for their britches ;)

You will find that I do not play politics, which believe me....there are tons of them in the aromatherapy/perfumery/soap worlds. Dirty, dirty I tell you! I never have and am not about to start now.

Positive energy will flow through these posts, and there will be no bickering, pinching, biting, hair-pulling, slapping, fighting, punching or kicking in the legs and running off allowed.

If you need something to read RIGHT NOW and can't wait on me to get things posted - hop on over and check out Jeanne Rose's latest newsletter or go hang out with Miz Permalia Flowerbottom at Oh, True Apothecary!