Nagarmotha

Yesterday I read about the upcoming release of a new scent for men by Tom Ford, and apparently the press was that it used cypriol for the first time in a scent. Cypriol is a natural ingredient also known as nagarmotha or Cyperus and has been used for ages. I’ve tried it from several sources and it seems to vary a lot.  The nicer stuff has a dry, smoky, resinous, earthy, woodsy smell so I’ve used it in my new Fireside Intense (announced several posts ago).

The essential oil of nagarmotha comes from India and its botanical name is Cyperus scariosus.  The oil is steam distilled from the roots of the Cyperus plant, which is a sedge grass.   The oil is very unusual smelling but quite nice when blended with other woods.  I’m sure lots of other perfumes contain it.  Ford bills it as musky/dirty but it’s more resinous/incense/woods to me.

Here’s a discussion of the new Ford release on Now Smell This blog:

http://tinyurl.com/3dcdxy

No high speed internet yet

Well, the installer tested this morning and they’ll need the stronger antennae here because of the distance.  That antennae is on backorder so I have to wait longer for my high speed internet connection. He didn’t know when that might be. Disappointing.

It was 105 here both yesterday and day before, and is already 103 so far today!  We’re having quite a heat wave.  Makes it harder to blend and test new scents, but I’m still making progress. The garden is suffering a bit in the heat though.

Joining the modern world…

Our rural area does not get high speed internet via DSL or cable — the boundary lines for service stop about 3 miles short of us.   Two satellite companies serve our area, but one is $100/month and the other at $50/month has a huge wait list that I’ve been on for months. 

Another $50/month company just started up and I’m scheduled for installation next Friday!   Whoo-hoo!  Can’t wait.  Hope it works.  My slow dialup can’t access some sites and is extremely slow for many others.  I might be offline for a bit next Friday while we get the kinks out, but I’ll keep  my msn dial-up for backup for a month.

Looking foward to joining the modern internet world!  🙂 

Champagne

I apologize for not posting more regularly.  Last weekend my brother and his family visited for the holiday weekend. Was fun to spend time with them.  My older niece really enjoyed the garden, smelling all the roses and cutting a mixed bouquet.  My Dad had built two swings in the oak trees that they played on for hours; one was a traditional swing and the other a pogo stick swing that gives all kinds of motion options.  All is fun at that age.

The new scent with sandal, cedar, labdanum absolute, jasmine, carnation, frankincense, ambergris, musk, and aldehydes is done and I think I’ll go with the name Champagne de Bois.  Testers have asked where the citrus nuance comes from, and that’s actually from one of the aldehydes rather than from a citrus oil.  It has a sparkling top from the aldehydes but a woodsy base with touches of floral in the heart. 

I have a couple rose versions ready for testing and a really interesting leathery, woodsy scent.  I want to get a few more of these up on the website and then we’ll go ahead and open while I finish going through the scent list.  Might be best to open with a smaller than normal list just to get started again while I keep blending. 

Also testing the new lighter summer lotion and deciding between putting it in jars or bottles.  The 20% Shea Cream is thick enough to be best in jars, but the lighter Body Silk might be best in bottles.  I’ve tested a bunch of lotion pumps and not been happy with them, so I may use the disk tops on squeeze bottles for the Body Silk.

Hope this weekend has been a good one for you.  🙂