April 2013 Newsletter

Greetings Dear Purrfumery Friends!

I strolled into the Perfumer’s garden this morning and spent a few moments in blissful awe. The first weeks of Spring are some of the most delicious for a gardener and perfumer – the garden is absolutely bursting with color, texture and scent! The irises are leggy and graceful and the lilacs are the most gorgeous shade of lavender. Wisteria has created a garland of floating color around the Purrfumery, and our climbing roses are in tight buds. I will try to enfleurage them… I have had great luck with my gardenia enfleurage and am working on a very special eye cream – coming soon! Spring is a time of reinvention and renewal! The bees are buzzing like mad on the borage flowers! Let’s all celebrate and inhale deeply!

Crème Perfumes Make a Splash at San Francisco Salon

In late March, I packed up my perfumes and spent a day at the Taste TV Fragrance Salon in San Francisco. It was so much fun to see my Purrfumery friends and meet some new people, too! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hello! I noticed many new salon visitors gravitated to our line of crème perfumes they are so silky and luxurious and so very convenient, too… it’s easy to take your favorite scent to go, and you never have to worry about it spilling in your purse! Speaking of solids, I created a Black Cat crème perfume for a handful of gorgeous, silver- and gold-plated Scent Charms. These vintage-style lockets hang on a velvet ribbon and make delightful gifts for you or someone you love. Imagine a mouthwatering blend of cocoa, ylang ylang and blood orange with a hint of aniseed myrtle! Perhaps for Mother’s Day? I also have collector edition bottles of Black Cat eau de parfum – they are so cute and fun and I tuck them into a silky pouch with a kitty on it.

Save the Date for the OakCatVidFest!

When I saw this I couldn’t believe my eyes! It’s a kitty video fest from 3-10 p.m. on May 11 in Oakland that benefits the East Bay SPCA! It’s like a dream come true! West Grand between Telegraph and Broadway will be closed to traffic – during the day, kitty lovers can shop for cat crafts, art and pet products; and they can also adopt cats, listen to bands, enjoy local food truck fare and just PLAY! There will even be a kitty beer tent! (Gary can hardly wait.) When the sun sets, we’ll gather in front of the Great Wall to watch the Walker Art Center's collection of Internet cat videos. Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery will be at the crafts market (of course!) so stop by and say hello. I’ll have Black Cat perfumes and eau de parfum lockets for $26 – take home a souvenir from this amazing event celebrating kitty star power! Check out their website for more information and to purchase tickets.

Animal Musk Story Hits the Web

I am also very pleased to announce that after years of research and collaboration, I have completed “Animal Musks: The Dark Secret of Perfume” and posted it to the Purrfumery website. This article follows my journey to raise awareness about the use of animal musk, particularly civet cat musk, in natural and commercial perfumes, and offers ideas for how we can eliminate species-endangering practices that happen every day around the world. I invite you to share your ideas with me after you read this article, my dear Purrfumery friends! Do you know of organizations and publications that might be interested in this article? My goal with the Dark Secret of Perfume is to educate, not berate. I want to get the message out into the word and start a conversation that could lead to positive change. I know it will be a long road – people have captured animals and harvested their musk for generations! But every journey starts with a single step… For me, this article is one of many steps I will take to protect animals from harm.

Beauty Huile Finds “Newest Obsession” in Calliope Body & Bath Oil

Thank you to Nav at Beauty Huile for your review of our delightfully silky and luxurious Calliope Body & Bath Oil! It’s always such a pleasure to hear how others perceive and enjoy our products. Have you tried Calliope, my dear Purrfumery friends? I hand blend vanilla-infused jojoba, marula oil, evening primrose, rose hips, avocado oil… It’s a sumptuous treat for the shower or bath and the delicate scent changes and lingers throughout the day. I’ll let Nav tell you all about it!

The Purrfumery Wins Big at SF Salon

I have one more announcement! We were thrilled to learn that Velvet & Sweet Pea’s Purrfumery captured the imagination of visitors who voted for us in a number of categories at the salon in March. Thank you one and all! We proudly accepted a Gold award for Top Artisan Perfumer. We also took Silver awards for Best Packaging, Best Ingredient Combination, Best Aroma and Most Unique, and Bronze awards for Top All-around Product Line and Best in Salon. We are honored! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Hope to see you soon – call or email me to make an appointment to visit the Purrfumery. We can lounge and enjoy a cup of tea in the garden! Or, I’ll see you in May at the Kitty Video Fest! What could be more fun? Until next time... Peace, love, purrfume, and kitty cats, ~XOXO, Laurie