From the Etsy Labs: Natural Perfume Blending at 3rd Ward

So no overly witty (or the bad attempts of) titles to this post.  I was just really excited that 3rd ward added a Natural Perfume Blending Class to the roster of creative classes!  Classes are on December 11th from 2:30-5:30pm/ January 19th from 7-10pm/ February 11th from 1:30-4:30pm and are taught by Julianne Zaleta of Herbal Alchemy Apothecary.  I don't know much about her, but it says she studied with Mandy Aftel, who is pretty much the queen mum of the natural perfume making universe. The natural perfume making workshop I took in October with Charna Ethier was not through 3rd Ward, but I took a Textile Print Design class with Francesca Capone, who designs for Coach and has her own accessories line, and the class, not to mention to whole facility rocked, so I'm pretty sure this class is going to kick some boo-tae.  I noticed the classes are only a single session deal, so sounds like just enough to wet your whistle of curiosity and then compel you to buy a dozen books on amazon to further the fire.  Enjoy my fellow potion lovers!

You Smell Real Purdy.....

Whilst at the soap making workshop through the Backporch Soap company, I learned that they were going to have a two night workshop on natural perfume making taught by a natural perfumer named Charna Ethier, the lovely creator of the delicious perfume line Providence Perfume Co.. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I have been obsessed with "potions" and since I was a little girl and LOVE perfume, although I knew very little about natural perfume other than I like the idea of "natural" but am afraid of patchouli and hacky-sak. To be perfectly frank my choices in perfume are totally "old lady"- heavy, cloyingly sweet, musky, scandalous and slightly suspicious scents like Opium, Musc Ravageur, Musc Nomade, and wait for it...yes, Jimmy Choo. What all this says about me??? Intense, immature, nostalgic, and down for a tryst in pre-war Paris maybe? But back to being perfectly Jeanine again....I signed up for the class and it was definitely worth the small investment!

The class is perfectly suited for beginners wanting to know the fundamentals of how to get started- from materials needed to strategies for starting to mix. Although you do get to take a stab at creating your own perfume, the class is really more focused on teaching you how to approach mixing and familiarizing yourself with the ingredients, how the work together and the process as a total, which I felt was really great. Charna shared as many samples of rare scents with her students as possible, as well as share tips on ingredient suppliers, and her own experiences in starting her own business. Charna is a great advocate for the natural perfume movement. It is pretty sad that most of the beautiful perfumes of the past have been so modified by chemical replacements of their original natural ingredients that they are at best vaguely reminiscent of their predecessors, not to mention can sometimes be toxic. I may not be able to put down the bottle of Musc Ravageur any time soon, but in the mean time I will be having fun trying to create my own natural perfume that smells great, is uniquely mine, and is healthy and natural!