The Story behind Pangolin Violette Rose!

Greetings, my dear Purrfumery friends! I’m celebrating my birthday this month! I gave myself the ultimate gift last year when I decided to embrace the change that my heart and soul had been calling for. Last year, I decided to focus on conservation and helping endangered animals through my art. It’s been an incredible and creative journey that started with Luminous Lemurs and continues with my latest perfume.

Drumroll, please! I’m delighted to introduce you to Pangolin Violette Rose, my second limited edition perfume dedicated to helping endangered species come back and thrive in the world we all share. Pangolin Violette Rose is absolutely dreamy – it opens with jasmine auriculatum and jasmine sambac and has top notes of candied violet, with a little carnation absolute. The scent blooms into a complex bed of roses, with a jammy Indian Rose Edward and candy-like Persian Rose Otto. As the scent dries down, the roses turn sultry and rich with Bulgarian rose absolute and otto and Turkish rose absolute. Egyptian violet leaf absolute mingles with the roses, bringing them even deeper, and a touch of cocoa absolute adds a little bonbon. The perfume rests on a throne of aged Tamil Nadu and New Caledonia sandalwood. As time passes, the orris absolute and orris concrete linger with a dusting of powdery gorgeousness. I set all these magical, rare natural materials in a base of 20-year aged Tahitian vanilla-infused biodynamic grape alcohol.

Rare and Precious Naturals I love Pangolin Violette Rose and for me, it's a testament to the magic of naturals. The solid is more violet leaf – more deep and green – and the liquid is more rose-powdery. This is the alchemy of working with oil and alcohol, and that's what the violets, irises and roses decided to do! You may decide you like both for different occasions, and indulge in the solid and the liquid. Pangolin Violette Rose is a pinnacle of creativity for me – it is a collector’s item, a gift from the inside out, with packaging that includes my letter-pressed artist statement on the French ribbon, and bottles bedecked with vintage flowers. I hand-blended the liquid parfum in a small batch using the most exquisite and rare materials available, and once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. The solid is a little more plentiful, but not by much…

Here are the details!  30 ml Collector’s Edition Verrieres Brosse flacon in a corsage hatbox: $750 each  8 ml Collector’s Edition Verrieres Brosse flacon in corsage hatbox: $350 each 10 ml Collector’s Edition solid perfume in Violette sterling silver Jewel Box in a lavender silk and rhinestone pouch: $500  10 ml Collector’s Edition solid perfume in Violette porcelain box in a lavender silk and rhinestone pouch: $350 5 ml Starlight solid perfume in velvet pouch with vintage flowers: $95 I donate a generous portion of the proceeds from Pangolin Violette Rose to The Pangolin Crisis Fund. This initiative, led by Paul Thomson, a conservation biologist, raises money and pays for projects that are working to stop the poaching of endangered pangolins, reduce demand for their meat and scales, and raise awareness. The fund is managed by the Wildlife Conservation Fund, a group that I’ve supported for years!  The Pangolin Crisis Fund started with $100,000 in 2019 and has a goal to raise $1.5 million by the end of this year. The kitties and I are on board, and we want to help them make their goal! One thing I like is that they send 100% of all donations directly to the field, without taking any overhead. I love that the Pangolin Crisis Fund supports The Tikki Hywood Foundation, a Zimbabwe-based conservation group with a wildlife rescue center that runs 24 hours a day! Tikki Hywood’s mission is to rescue pangolins from poachers and from illegal bushmeat markets. Once they’ve rescued the pangolins, they rehabilitate them and bring them back to the wild where they belong.  I’m thrilled that the Purrfumery supports these conservation projects!

The Story Behind Pangolin Violette Rose Pangolin Violette Rose bloomed from serendipity. After I created Luminous Lemurs, benefitting Centre ValBio’s work with Madagascar lemurs, I turned my attention to pangolins. Pangolins are native to Asia and Africa, and they are among the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world, poached for their scales and meat. Now, they are in danger of extinction, and they need our help.

I was daydreaming about rose and violet leaf, mixing a perfume with pangolins in mind. Then I heard from artist, writer, curator, and educator Matt Morris and gallery owner Eric Ruschman about The Red Wedding, an art exhibition that opened at Ruschman Gallery in Chicago in May 2021. Matt designed and curated The Red Wedding as an experiential journey through the essence of femininity and he wanted a perfume to be one of the artworks in the show. He said he had been daydreaming about a scent of roses and violets… My heart jumped. This is the scent I was working on! I completed the scent and Emerald, Velvet & Sweet Pea’s amazing designer, created a fan that gallery guests received, each with a spritz of Pangolin Violette Rose.

Matt told me that many people visited The Red Wedding multiple times. Ruschman Gallery is not a very big space, but Eric noticed some visitors would stay for over an hour, just softly circling around the room, perfumed fans in hand. Visitors described the show as feminine, feminist, utopian, comforting, soft, dreamy, lovely, and lots of people would mention that it was like a satisfying dessert course.  The show also sparked conversations around diversity. The Red Wedding included artists working across many different media, and from different age groups, races, genders, sexual orientations and nationalities. Yet despite these differences, the artists collaborated to create an exhibition that was cohesive in vision and touched people deeply.   With this perfume, I am helping animals in need, and I am celebrating the essence of The Red Wedding and the unique expression that each and every one of us make in this world. I invite you to be part of this celebration, my dear Purrfumery friends!

A Gift For You On this birthday occasion, I want to thank you all for being a part of my life, my dear Purrfumery friends! From today until August 29th I will offer 15% off anything in the Purrfumery. Be sure to type VIOLETTE in the discount box. All orders through the end of August will receive a sample of Pangolin Violette Rose too! Maybe it’s time to try something new? If you have questions or need gift ideas, let me know! You can call me at 510-334-8824 or laurie@purrfumery.com.  Enjoy the rest of your summer! Peace, love, purrfume, social justice and kitty cats, XOXO Laurie

Happy Holidays & A Gift From The Purrfumery!

Greetings, dear Purrfumery friends!

The last few months have been so chaotic, haven’t they? Between the election and the dialog that’s followed, I’m channeling my sister more all the time. Gail was an art historian and curator at the Balch Institute for Ethnics Studies in Philadelphia and spent her career educating people through art. She used to say she didn’t like the word “tolerance” because it wasn’t strong enough. It didn’t go far enough. In Gail’s memory, I encourage you to embrace every culture and learn all you can about people who appear to be different than you. I believe you’ll find that we are all the same beneath the surface. Peace on Earth, my dear Purrfumery friends!

The kitties have been busy…

Thank goodness for my top-notch staff! While I was wringing my hands over the news, the kitties were hard at work getting ready for the holiday season. We have some beautiful gifts for you and yours…  

New scents!

Evoke new beginnings with Highway, a warm and winding road of citrus, berries, cedarwood, vanilla, and blue spruce. Get romantic with Rose Encens, a deep, rich scent of rose that mingles with tart Italian blood orange and sacred Frankincense. Or, take a little trip to a faraway place with Eze, the scent of the Mediterranean… it beckons with lavender, rose geranium, myrtle and jasmine.

Scent lockets – so many choices!

Purrfumery scent lockets make beautiful stocking stuffers and gifts, and they come in a range of styles and scents. We have ornate, vintage style lockets, Honey Cat and Pigeon lockets and gorgeous floral lockets. Take a look!

For the man who has everything… and a beard

Don’t forget the beardsmen! Mr. Whisker’s Beard Balms help guys keep their beards neat and smooth and their skin soft. Available in organic Juniper & Cypress Forest, Pinon Desert, and Vetiver Breeze. Banish the bristle and get cozy!

Kittylicious line gets even cuter!

Whew! I told you we’ve been busy! We’ve created a whole new look for our super popular Kittylicious line—check out the darling gold book boxes that shimmer in the light. Perfect size for stocking stuffers, or as a gorgeous gift on its own!

Free Organic Bulgarian Rose hydrosols with your purchase over $50

Who doesn’t love a pick-me-up spritz? Hydrosols are light and lovely and add just a hint of scent. I’ll be including a free  2 ounce rose hydrosol ($25.00 value!) with every purchase of $50 through December 18th. Beautiful, romantic smelling rose-water is traditionally used to ease stress and tension, encourage sensuality and openness, and as a toner for mature skin. It’s my way of saying Happy Holidays, my dear Purrfumery friends!

I’m available for private appointments, so give me a call at 510-528-8040 or drop me an email at laurie@purrfumery.com and let’s get together at the Purrfumery! You can sniff and sample to your heart’s content and find something to soothe your soul… or awaken it. Your choice!

Honoring our precious Luma

On a very sad note… We lost our beloved kitty, Luma this week. She was a really quirky girl and has lived on our kitchen counter for the last year. That’s what she wanted and we respected that. Her adorable face is on our crest and all of our perfume labels. I called her the Velvet & Sweet Pea’s spokesmodel. Here’s a picture of her a few months ago at a lunch I had for some friends. Lisa—Luma’s kitty fairy godmother—folded her napkin on her plate and Luma crawled up and fell asleep. Lisa just ate her Cheese Board pizza on the side and Luma was luminescent and the centerpiece of the soiree. We will deeply miss her.

Until next time…

Peace, love purrfume and kitty cats,

Xoxo, Laurie

Early November Holiday Shopping 20 % discount with over $100 purchase!

Greetings, my dear Purrfumery friends!

The holiday season is on the horizon and I can’t wait—I have so many new, fun scents to share! Are you looking for interesting, locally made holiday gifts for friends and family? Do you want to have all your shopping done by Thanksgiving? You can! And I am going to make it easy for you. Starting today and ending November 12, I’m offering 20% off all orders over $100. Type in grateful in the discount box. Get your holiday shopping done early and save, my dear Purrfumery friends! After November 12, I will begin shipping again on December 1.

The Scent of Winter – at Filoli

Experience the scents of winter at The Garden at Filoli… with the Purrfumery! I’ll be teaching a class from 12:30-2:30 p.m. on November 9 that includes a Perfumery Adventure and an introduction to botanical perfume essences. Come experience some of my aromatic treasures, including Bulgarian Rose Otto and 100-year-old Indian Sandalwood. We will also sniff conifer oils and learn about their anti-viral and aroma-therapeutic effects. Students will leave with their own roll-on bottle of defense against winter colds and an aromatic winter wonderland room/linen spray. Register on the Filoli site. 

Visit the Purrfumery

Remember the Purrfumery when you have out-of-town guests this season! Call me at 510-528-8040 and make an appointment to visit—I’ll welcome you and your guests with a cup of tea and something sweet. All my products, from perfumes to my newest scents, room sprays and Whipped Face & Body Frostings are available to sample. The choices are endless!  I’m happy to help you create the perfect gift and add a touch of whimsy with gorgeous packaging.

Hope to see you soon!

Until next time…

Peace, love purrfume and kitty cats,

XOXO~Laurie

Purrfumery holidays are here! 15% off orders and help animals, too.

Greetings, dear Purrfumery friends!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The kitties and I had a Thanksgiving feast with family and then another magnificent dinner a few days later with friends—we are so grateful for the generosity and love that is all around us! It got me thinking about giving back and how we can all make a difference to the people and charitable organizations in our lives. This is the season for giving and sharing, and I don’t want to get so caught up in the holiday rush that I forget to lend a hand. Here’s what the Purrfumery is doing this season:

Type LEAPINGBUNNY at checkout and receive 15% off your order

You all know that the Purrfumery is certified by Leaping Bunny, right? Leaping Bunny is the organization that ensures none of my ingredients or my suppliers ingredients are tested on animals. When you type LEAPINGBUNNY in the code box at checkout, you will receive 15% off your order through December 15th. And, I’ll be contributing a portion of December sales to two very important organizations: the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS), which seeks humane alternatives to animal testing; and to Kindness Ranch, a Wyoming sanctuary and rehabilitation place for animals who have been used in laboratory research.

I support these organizations in honor of Velvet and Sweet Pea, my two precious cats who I rescued from a life of lab testing. They changed my life forever and paved the way to a new consciousness about the horrors of animal testing and the use of animal musks in perfumes. Ultimately, the lessons Velvet and Sweet Pea taught me became the principles of the Purrfumery. . . and my life! Thank you for being a part of this mission, my dear Purrfumery friends!

Free shipping until Dec. 2

I am offering free shipping for just another 2 days, so save a little extra on your holiday shopping when you place your order by Dec. 2 at midnight.

Free Daphne Face & Body Frosting while supplies last

I made a batch of daphne enfleurage that is just gorgeous! I was enjoying the lovely scent of the daphne when I suddenly caught a whiff of the Chinese osmanthus bush that’s blooming outside the Purrfumery. The scent from its tiny blossoms is glorious this time of year. I blended the daphne enfleurage into a frosting and added osmanthus absolute and aged sandalwood. The result is an incredible Daphne Face & Body Frosting! It’s super moisturizing for winter-chapped skin—I will add a .25 ounce container to orders while supplies last. It’s wonderful for your hands, too.

Shop local—visit the Purrfumery!

Where else can you sink into a plush sofa, sip tea with sweet Purrfumery honey, and nibble neroli blood orange truffles while you shop? I look forward to seeing you—give me a call or send me an email and let’s make an appointment! Come sniff and sample the magic of our natural world! Purrfumery products are $10 and up, and I’m happy to help you find the perfect gift.

Thank you for your love and support!

Until next time. . .

Peace, love, purrfume and kitty cats,

XOXO~Laurie

Fir-ever Young

Fir-ever Young is a limited edition – I couldn’t possibly recreate it the same way again. I added bits and pieces of this and that for the last 10 years. There is nearly every kind of tree in it, so to speak, and these elements will never be the same again. Here’s why: Natural essences have their own terroir. A French word used in winemaking to describe the influences land has on the taste of grapes, in natural perfumery terroir implies that natural elements have a “somewhereness” that you can detect in their scent. For example, the land conditions that existed 10 years ago when I began crafting Fir-ever Young will likely never occur again. Those land conditions influenced the scent as it exists today. And, I have aged this scent, so its natural essences have really softened and mellowed with time.

Naming Fir~ever Young

When I discovered fir absolute 14 years ago, I fell in love with its rich, woodsy scent and decided to use it as a base for a perfume for men and women. For a decade, I added to it, creating a perfume that grew more and more complex and wonderful but was never quite done, because as hard as I tried, I just could not think of a name. I decided to invite my customers to help me name the new scent. I sent out hundreds of samples for inspiration and received more fun, beautiful, moving ideas for names than I could use in a century of perfume-making--suggestions like Forest of My Imaginings, Tree of Life, and Purr. But when I read the entry from Kyoto Jackson of Berkeley, I knew my perfume at last had found its name. Fir~ever Young captures all the elements perfectly for me. Youth, adventure, wildness, cavorting in the woods, celebrating the majesty and power of the ancient forest. The name also connects me to the Bob Dylan song "Forever Young," which spoke to me profoundly when I was a young hippie gazing in awe at the forests of Big Sur and still expresses for me the innocence and hope of that time. For all its sensuality and earthiness, this perfume really does call out a sense of openness and wonder and brings to people that sense of passion we know so deeply when we're young.