Oracle Organics Earth Body Wash

Winners of the Chergui decants are SUZY and ALYSSA! Send me your addresses at scenthive@gmail.com and I’ll send them off ASAP. Congrats!

earth_organic_body_wash1

I have several criteria that need to be met before I fall in love with a body wash. Easy to use packaging. Recyclable packaging. Reasonably priced. Rich and foamy, luxuriously cleansing lather. Wonderful smell. And last but not least, it needs to be made with ingredients I want and nothing I don’t want. Amazingly, Oracle Organics Earth Body Wash meets them all. So yeah, it’s pretty much a perfect match.

Thankfully I read about this little company based outside of Eugene, OR on Fig + Sage’s website. All of their ingredients are either organic, wildharvested or handcrafted without the use of chemicals. Additionally, all of their products are vegan and never tested on animals. Oracle Organics also does not use palm oil as, according to the owner Michelle Gomez, palm oil plantations are responsible for the destruction of Southeast Asia’s rainforests. (You can read more about that here on their website).

After perusing the Oracle Organics website, I knew I had to try a couple of their products. Not only did I appreciate their devotion to the environment, their full disclosure of ingredients as the gals pointed out in their review over at Fig + Sage, but I was also taken in by their lovely scent offerings. When I saw the Earth Body Wash with vetiver, it immediately went into my shopping cart. I was a little leary of the Douglas Fir in the description, but decided to give it a go. I am so glad I did. The vetiver lives up to the wash’s name with its earthy, balsamy scent. While the fir is barely perceptible, (no Christmas potpourri action thank goodness) it’s just enough to give it some green depth. There’s a touch of patchouli, but don’t be scared. Even though we’re talking Eugene, Oregon this is not a hippie scent. The delicate patchouli lends itself beautifully towards this warm earthy scent, and the abundant soapy lather that develops effortlessly.

I also tried the Ginger Lime Sugar Scrub which I will give a rave review for the product, but not so much for the scent. The scent part is really my fault though. I don’t like ginger and I’m not sure why I got it. I think it’s because the product description mentioned it being a “scent of the islands”, but I should have known better. I think I will try the Purify Sugar Scrub with mint and green tea next time because overall, I loved the scrub. The consistency is like a paste and is not messy at all. It’s not too granular, feels great on the skin and is nicely moisturizing.

And I have great news! Not only is Oracle Organics reasonably priced to begin with, ($12 for the wash, $14 for the scrub) everything on the website is 25% off until the end of March. The discount is applied once you add the product to your shopping cart.

Oracle Organics, available at their website.

Posted by ~Trish

Strange Invisible Perfumes: Lyric Rain

22159697_ff2ac9f924

Testament

Oh, let it be a night of lyric rain
And singing breezes, when my bell is tolled.
I have so loved the rain that I would hold
Last in my ears its friendly, dim refraln.
I shall lie cool and quiet, who have lain
Fevered, and watched the book of day unfold.
Death will not see me flinch; the heart is bold
That pain has made incapable of pain.

Kinder the busy worms than ever love;
It will be peace to lie there, empty-eyed,
My bed made secret by the leveling showers,
My breast replenishing the weeds above.
And you will say of me, “Then has she died?
Perhaps I should have sent a spray of flowers.”

Dorothy Parker

I had read that Lyric Rain is an intensely strong patchouli perfume, so when I experienced a saturated stargazer lily quality for the first hour, I was taken aback. It was as if the giant flower were hanging from my neck, like an albatross. For me, stargazer lilies are dead weight in a room. Suffocating in their pungent nature, leaving no room for any other olfactory experience. This association might not make a lot of sense, but that was my intuitive response. One that was probably reacting to the highly potent patchouli and jasmine blend. But as the experience finally settled, or maybe lifted is a better word, the patchouli became more clear and also more soft.

Lyric Rain took on a lovely vintage perfume essence with soothing jasmine flourishes. But keep in mind, this “mellowing” of the patchouli is in comparison to its overbearing beginning. Lyric Rain is a patchouli scent through and through. I’m not sure this would be the fragrance to turn a non-patchouli person into the patchouli lover they want to become. But if you adore patchouli, this glorious gem will evolve on your skin and allow you to experience your beloved patchouli in new ways.

The above Dorothy Parker poem inspired Alexandra Balahoutis, founder and perfumer of Strange Invisible Perfumes, to create Lyric Rain. As an interesting side-note, I read the poem after I had the stargazer lily association. Lilies are so often funeral flowers. The flowers we bring to graves, and this poem clearly is about making peace with death, and one’s own burial. Maybe that is why this perfume is so laden with patchouli. Ms. Balahoutis possibly wanted to stir the wetness of the earth, which patchouli certainly evokes. And jasmine echoes the pungent nature of lilies, and also the vintage nature of Ms. Parker’s poem. The mix of poetry and perfume is intriguing and emotive. For a wonderful exploration of the relationship between poetry and perfume, please take a peek at this blog that is no longer active, but certainly thought provoking and beautiful.

Lyric Rain is available at Strange Invisible Perfumes and only in the parfum concentration.

Strange Invisible Perfumes does not use any synthetically derived chemicals and all of their products are crafted solely from ingredients found in nature. They use organic beverage-grade grape alcohol as the base for their perfumes. 85-100% of their product is organic and they use organic ingredients whenever possible. Please see their site for more on their green mission.

posted by ~Trish

photograph by shteve on flickr

Palas Atena

70775

Palas Atena is the creation of Ayala Sender of Ayala Moriel Parfums. Ayala is an incredibly gifted parfumer who is dedicated to using only natural ingredients in her line. This means that there are no synthetic or petroleum derived ingredients in her perfumes. Her products are also cruelty-free, phthalate-free, and she uses organic and ethically wild crafted essences as much as possible. On Ayala’s website, the notes of Palas Atena are listed as Amber, Champaca, Cinnamon, Jasmine Grandiflorum, Lavender, Neroli, Patchouli, Sandalwood, and Sweet Orange. It is a perfectly blended classic floral-oriental fragrance, along the lines of a subdued Coco. This is a good thing in my opinion, because while I appreciate Chanel’s Coco, I overdid it in the late 80’s and surpassed my threshold sometime around 1996.

Upon first dabbing Palas Atena, my impression is that the notes are very well balanced, amber and patchouli initiating the strongest presence. Yet they are never too much, never over-the-top. It’s very wearable, as I don’t like heavy ambers or heavy patchoulis. Ayala’s mastery of blending shows itself as Palas Atena evolves on the skin. The amber and patchouli settle into their warmth, as the spiciness of the champaca flower and cinnamon approach the foreground. Upon its drydown, the sandalwood and sweet orange become more present. But all the while, every note swirls subtly on the skin, each one complimenting the other. I could see myself wearing this fragrance when I want to feel elegant and “evening.” It’s the perfect option for someone who wants to wear a classic fragrance, but prefers natural perfumes over the more bombastic synthetic aldehydes. I miss wearing Coco from time to time, and Palas Atena will certainly satisfy that longing. But rather than yelling, it will call to me with its strong, yet hushed song.

Palas Atena is available at Ayala Moriel Parfums and Blunda Aromatics

posted by ~Trish

Pallas Athena, 1898 by Franz von Stuck

Strange Invisible Perfumes: Magazine Street

magazine-street-w-box3
Magazine Street, the fragrance, opens with what some have called the medicinal note common to Strange Invisible Perfumes. This is the first Srange Invisible Perfumes fragrance that I have found to have a medicinal quality, but it is ever so fleeting and it is not disagreeable. Rather, it is an introduction to the interplay between the earthiness of the vetiver/patchouli duo and the sweetness of the vanilla/magnolia duo. And while the patchouli offers an herbal mossiness, within this dance, it is the vetiver and vanilla that dominate the floor. The patchouli rests quietly at the base and the magnolia flutters gently like a butterfly. Ultimately, both flit away leaving Magazine Street all about the balsamy green vanilla one might be thrilled to wear instead of the glut of foody, cloyingly vanillic perfumes on the market today.

Having never been to New Orleans, I cannot muse about the city personally or comment on if the namesake perfume does it any specific justice. But I will say this fragrance could easily be worn on a sultry evening; hold its own in a smoky jazz club and last through several rounds of sazeracs, followed by beignets in the morning. It’s an exceptionally stunning perfume, and I whole heartedly recommend Magazine Street to anyone, not just those who seek natural perfumes. This earthy green vanillic scent will delight you if you wear it, and anyone else who nuzzles in close enough to enjoy it on your skin.

Strange Invisible Perfumes creates their fragrances in two strengths, Parfum and Eaux de Parfum (EdP). This review is for the EdP which is less expensive than the very costly Parfum. (Personally I have found the EdPs to last longer than the Parfums anyway). Strange Invisible Perfumes was founded by Alexandra Balahoutis whose shop is in Venice, Ca. Her ingredients are all natural, organic and never synthetic. Please see her website for her comprehensive green mission statement.

Strange Invisible Perfumes are available at Strange Invisible Perfumes and Beautyhabit. Decants of Magazine Street are available from The Perfumed Court.

Posted by ~Trish