What is the Perfume Project?

This blog is a constantly evolving forum for thoughts on perfume, perfume-making, plants (especially orchids and flora of the Pacific Northwest) and life in general. It started out chronicling the adventures of Olympic Orchids Perfumes, established in July 2010, and has expanded in other directions. A big part of the blog is thinking about the ongoing process of learning and experimentation that leads to new perfumes, the exploration of perfumery materials, the theory and practice of perfume making, the challenges of marketing perfumes and other fragrance products, and random observations on philosophy and society. Spam comments will be marked as such and deleted; any comments that go beyond the boundaries of civil discourse will also be deleted. I am grateful to all of you, the readers, who contribute to the blog by commenting and making this a truly interactive perfume project.

Monday, August 11, 2014

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR FALL


If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ll probably have figured out that my store of ideas is far bigger than the time I have to realize them. However, a few of them are actually coming to fruition, and will make their debut on my website this fall.

I already wrote about the Peace-Love-Perfume project. Samples of those went out to my US beta-testers today, and the finished versions will be ready by September. My intention is to offer them in 5-ml sprays and 30-ml sprays, with special prices on the full set of 3 in either size.

The “new wood fence” fragrance is also nearing completion, and will go out to the beta-testers along with the PLP trio. A woody fragrance is perfect for a fall launch, and will be part of the Scents of the Season Autumn 2014 edition. You are invited to suggest a good name for it, and if I end up using it you will win a 30-ml spray bottle of  … whatever it ends up being called.  Just comment here or on my Facebook page with as many potential names as you like.



The other new item is going to be a “Scents of the Season” discovery pack, consisting of five 3-ml spray samples of fragrances that seem especially well-suited to the season and/or any new releases that season. They will be sold individually or as a one-year subscription. I plan to get that up on the website next week because people have seen it in the newsletter and are asking about it. Shipping of the Late Summer/Autumn 2014 set won’t take place until September, but it will be possible to pre-order very soon.

The other thing that I’m putting together is a “Spa Soaps” set with the old familiar Olympic Rainforest, which is wonderful in the shower, along with two others. One is a new western red cedar scent that is reminiscent of a cedar sauna, and the third is a lavender-based scent. That set will probably also appear some time in September.

Starting on August 15, I will be holding a few really nice drawings, so keep your eyes out for them. 

[Wood fence construction photo from Wikimedia, the others are mine from Lopez Island] 

16 comments:

  1. Thanks to those who have submitted potential names for the wood fence scent on Facebook!

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  2. Am I one of your beta-testers, Ellen? If so, let me know and I'll keep close eye on our mailbox. They sound wonderful!

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  3. Hi Ellen,
    Re the new fragrance name: I like your name "Wood Fence" or perhaps other names associated with fences - "Picket" or "Lattice". Also woodcutting and finishing terms like "Rip", "Crosscut" or "Chamfer".
    Gail

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  4. Marla, I know you already got the samples!
    Gail, I actually like the name Crosscut. Rip sounds too much like R.I.P. I just looked at a list of "woodworking terms" and ones that caught my eye are "Heartwood", "Rip Cut", "Sapwood", "Tongue and Groove", "Burl", "Chatoyance", "Heart Shake". There are probably a lot more that would work, too.

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    1. Hi Ellen,
      I vote for "Tongue and Groove" - groovy, sexy, woody all at the same time! Is the name too long? "Heart Shake" and "Crosscut" also work for me. "Heartwood" seems a bit "sappy" (sorry)! HA!
      Gail

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    2. BTW forget to mention...there is a wood supply store in the Industrial District called "Crosscut Lumber". They have an amazing selection of beautiful woods from around the world. A sort of tree graveyard, I guess, but a great smelling place to visit, nonetheless!

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    3. Gail, is the wood supply place in SoDo? That's where I get my bottles printed, so could stop by and check them out next time I'm down there picking up/delivering. It sounds like a museum!

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    4. Yes, they are in SoDo. The last time we were there (five years ago?) they had big slabs of mahogany and purple heart cut for giant corporate office desk tops. They had various tone woods like bubinga as well as gorgeous curly and bird's eye maple and fragrant cedar boards from all over the country.

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  5. Gail, I kind of like Tongue and Groove, too. It's not too long. I'll keep taking suggestions, though.

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    1. I just looked at the potential names on FB. They are all so good! Wish I would have thought of just one of them!

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  6. I am a little late to this party, but how about Bonfire Praline or Bonfire Toffee? Your description of the fence sounded almost like a woody creme brulee (and I may be just a little bit hungry as well).

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  7. Yuki, Thanks for the interesting suggestions! You're right that the fence smelled a little like a woody creme brulee!

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  8. Imagine an early morning in Mexico. When a bronze-winged woodpecker hammers a tree trunk for the breakfast, where Maxillaria variabilis grows, he might smell something like this fragrance. My suggested names inspired by this bird: "Carpintero Alibronceado" (its local name), "Colaptes" (its genus).
    But I prefer a simple name like "Lumber". Other names came to my mind are "Woodchopper's Garden" or "Woodchopper" & "Valla" (wood fence in Spanish).

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  9. I'm happy to know here in the Puget Sound area we have our very own perfumer! I just learned about you and your fragrances while on Fragrantica this past week! Since moving here in 1999, it seems to me that I've hardly met anyone who even likes perfume, let alone has a personal stash of more than 20 bottles. Of course I don't expect anyone to have hoarded as many I have at upwards of 100. :-) I hope to obtain some samples of yours soon.

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    1. therealpaloma54, there are a lot more perfume lovers in the Puget Sound area than you imagine. There's a Facebook group for local perfume lovers, the Seattle Sniff, https://www.facebook.com/groups/176820552450496/, so please check it out and join! We would love to have you.

      When it comes to perfume hoarding, I have you beat, and not just with the stock on my shelves! I have a huge personal collection (never counted!) including literally thousands of samples.

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  10. Farbod, Great suggestions for names! We have huge pileated woodpeckers here that can hammer a dead stump or tree trunk to shreds in no time!

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