New For Strange Women perfumes - Seven Strange Companion Blends

I am so excited that my new line of Strange Companion Blends are done and I am in love with these seven combos. I wanted to create something simple in composition yet decadent to wear. My other perfumes are so complex, often with 20+ essences in a single blend, and the packaging is also quite time consuming. Many customers had been asking for smaller sizes at a $20 price point. With some of my botanical essences costing over $400/oz, there were some limitations. But I didn't want the limitations to leave you any less thrilled with the result. So here are my favorites of many combos I played with, some are classic combos and some are strange and unique. Sometimes I throw out ideas if they aren't STRANGE enough but I am sometimes pulled to offer something like Coffee+Cocoa because its JUST SO GOOD. I won't deprive you of sensory brilliance for the sake of branding ;)


So here is the final lineup of Strange Companions. And I'm hoping to have samples available by January.

Tobacco + Leather - A classic masculine combination, the sweetness of tobacco leaf is darkened with a smooth, rich leather accord.

Seashell + Coconut - Thick, buttery coconut pulp is surrounded with a dark veil of dry, roasted seashells

Tangerine + Blossom - This pairs a sweet, delicate citrus with light tropical tree blossoms woven into a delightful yet fleeting blend.

Coffee + Cocoa - This gourmand blend brings the best of these two indulgences together, and if you think you are going to love it, you will.

Rock Rose + Oakwood - A blend that combines a sweet, ambery resinous essence with the warm embrace of the comforting oak.

Lavender + Geranium - A balance of two very strong feminine presences, the variety of each selected in this blend allows them to share a stage with elegance.

Palo Santo + Amyris - Palo Santo, the South American "Holy wood" with sweet overtones and a sharp, spicy heart, is tempered in this blend with a soft whisper of Amyris wood.

Lunar Amulet perfume for the 10-23-14 New Moon: Coconut Macaroon

This moon's scent is inspired by the new coconut pulp natural extract I have been playing with. The first thing to come to mind was to create the scent of a coconut macaroon dipped in chocolate. This perfume is soft and unusual but surprisingly comforting to wear on the skin, and although you will want to eat it it doesn't become too sweet or overwhelming in its gourmand nature. Its the perfect scent for a day of staying home and reveling in all things domestic. There are a few left from this batch (finally!) available in the limited edition section of my shop. <3 p="">

Lunar Amulet Perfume for the 9-24-14 New Moon: IRIS

This is a perfume I have been wanting to make for a long time and I love how it came out. Iris is one of my favorite flowers, and although understated, the scent is amazing. This blend incorporates a heavy dose of iris rhizome with an interpretive accord to imitate the blooms.
Unfortunately there are not any extras this time around again, but I will likely make a little batch of this again someday because I am going to want it for myself as well ;)

Lunar Amulet Perfume for the 7-26-14 New Moon: Southern Veranda

Sorry this post is so late! I was traveling and now am in the process of moving... and you were surely all intrigued by the new lunar amulet refill so here it is ~ Southern Veranda conjures a lazy summer day in the southern US. It opens with a sweet, cold glass of lemonade, evolving to a heart of mimosa and magnolia trees blooming nearby. The wind brings warm hints of these soft blooms to your hammock that hangs from the intricately carved wood surroundings of the veranda. There are two of these leftover from the batch which will be in the limited edition section of the Etsy shop.

Lunar Amulet Perfume for the June 27, 2014 New Moon - ACORN

This perfume was none other than an excuse to play with a delightful extract of Oak wood that I have been obsessed with lately. Oak has an effect on me that is different than other woods. It offers a sense of strength and stability but also an uplifting warmth and comfort. This gorgeous wood is accented with hints of oakmoss, amyris wood, and balsams to enhance the full aroma of walking up to an old growth oak, hugging the trunk, and feeling your energy grounded deep into the earth through its roots. There are only three of these locket refills leftover from this batch and I have claimed one for myself. I hope they find good homes :)

Synesthesia - A Perfume Song - Artosphere 2014 Partner Grant Installation and Workshop

Synesthesia is the cross-sensory perception that transforms our experience of sensory impressions. Sounds, scents, visuals, tastes, and tactile information can cross borders between one another in the brain to create a more complex interpretation of a subject. 

This perfume, blended from nine plant essences, was designed to represent the harmonies and sound qualities of the companion song, also featuring nine instruments. Each element reveals the synesthesia I have experienced with music and perfume creation.

I have been working on this installation and scent workshop since January, and I'm so excited to reveal the project at Artosphere this Friday. I am also teaching a two hour workshop about natural scent which you can get tickets for here if you live in the Fayetteville, AR area. Space is limited!

This song and perfume were created as an installation funded by a partner grant from the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Artosphere 2014 Festival.  

Every note in this perfume blend represents an instrument in this song, composed by Andrew Connor. More information about the process behind this project can be found here.

Bass: Fossilized Amber Resin

Koto: Bergamot Orange Essential Oil

Glockenspiel: Lime Petitgrain Essential Oil

Acoustic Guitar: Rosewood Essential Oil

Piano: Peru Balsam Essential Oil

Vocals: Neroli (Orange Blossom) Essential Oil

Violin: Labdanum (Rose of Sharon) Gum Absolute

Hand Drums: Nutmeg Absolute

Shakers: Black Pepper SCO2 Extract

Fossil - The New For Strange Women Perfume oil

Fossil is inspired by hot limestone, shells, and other sediments baking in the sunlight. Pure essences of roasted seashells and fossilized amber conjure an ancient lakebed filled with remnants of life that existed long ago. The warmth of tonka and vanilla envelop your aura as a powdery musk of dry earth stays close to the skin. An extended dry-down reveals layers of minerals laying in the sun on a rocky, desolate shoreline.

I love that it has found a home in the enchanting Oracle Fine Curiosities shop here in Kansas City. 

Piñon perfume: Lunar Amulet for 4-29-14 New Moon

Last month I visited New Mexico, where Garnet and I worked on new perfume amulet designs in between hiking through sagebrush and Piñon trees! Taos is certainly the land of sage, as you can see in this photo from the last time I was here in 2009. Taos is filled with a spiritual energy that the unaltered landscape holds deep within it. The rest of my time there we spent in Santa Fe, and I was glad to arrive pre-tourist season because as soon as I arrived the world seemed to go back into fast motion, not stand still like in the mountains of Taos. We had a fireplace every night with Piñon logs burning, and Garnet wanted to be able to wear the sweet, uplifting scent of this tree that she had come to associate with her year living in Santa Fe. So we went out for a walk one day to take photos of products while gathering resin that had poured out of abrasions in the tree trunks and dried into incense. I brought the resin home and got to work infusing it into an oil base, then added some essential oil distilled from the wood. This solid Piñon perfume is sweet and mellow, and although it doesn't last long, it is able to do amazing things to my mood and my state of consciousness in the time that it dances across my skin.

Bird Nest perfume - Lunar Amulet for the 3-30-14 New Moon

This new moon's lunar amulet perfume is Bird Nest, blended with pure plant oils and extracts woven into a sweet bouquet of woods, grasses, hay, and leaves. Hints of sweetgrass, lemon myrtle, and vetiver open to a heart of juniper, cedar, and oak twigs, then to dry hay padded with feathers and leaves. 
A tribute to spring. 

I was excited about this perfume and had to put in some beeswax/soy container candles too. These are topped with sweetgrass and labeled with a gorgeous letterpress printed illustration by Kelly Louise Judd of swanbones. 

March 1, 2014 New Moon - Lunar Amulet Perfume: Grapefruit & Basil

This has been the longest, coldest winter EVERRRR! This New Moon, I am focusing my energy on the upcoming arrival of warmer, brighter days, beginning with a burst of Grapefruit and Basil. In this solid perfume, White, Pink, and Red Grapefruit essential oils are bursting from a base of basil EO and absolute. This does not last on the skin for more than an hour, but the scent is full of energy and bright, juicy, hypnotic citrus throughout its life. There are a few left in the Limited Edition section of my Etsy shop, for anyone needing an aromatherapy form of sunshine.

Jasmine Tea - lunar amulet perfume for 1-30-14 new moon

Tonight's moon is a black moon (second new moon in a month) as well as a supermoon as well as the lunar new year. Happy year of the Horse! Be sure to concentrate on your intentions tonight and use the moon's power to enhance, focus, and manifest your visions. The horse may hurry them along faster than expected. ;)

To finish the tea series, this cycle's perfume is Jasmine Tea. A classic scent, a simple blend, and a delight to wear on any skin type. The smooth green tea leaves are infused with fresh Jasmine petals and brewed with honey. It has been quite a winter and I have tea on my mind 24/7. But I promise the next moon will have a drastically different theme for you. (And there are just 2 extra jasmine tea refills...message me if you want one! They won't be listed)

AND, To celebrate the year of the Horse, the 20% off Horse cologne special will continue until February 3rd. 

London Fog - Lunar Amulet Perfume for the 1-1-14 New Moon

Happy New Year AND New Moon! This is a very fresh start ;)

This moon I continued with the tea theme and made my favorite tea into a perfume: London Fog.
A London fog is a concoction of black tea leaves soaked in bergamot peel oil (Earl Gray), brewed in warm milk, and sweetened with a shot of vanilla. I cannot express my love for this beverage deeply enough- it gets me through the winter.

This scent is comforting, mellow, and addictive- I have found myself applying it obsessively. There are nine extra locket refills left from this batch in the limited edition section of my Etsy shop, and yes, I'm saving this recipe just in case I need to come back to it someday :)