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

Earth Day Thoughts and Wishes


Greetings, dear Purrfumery friends!

Happy Earth Day! It’s the 50th anniversary of this very special day when we stop and ask: What can each of us do to protect Mother Earth? While it’s usually a day for festivals and conferences, this year we will celebrate in our own quiet ways. I’ve been enjoying the plants in my garden, and have been harvesting lemon balm (Melissa officianalus) for tea—it helps reduce anxiety—and have been infusing violets in honey—a salve for the respiratory system. I’ll say more about lemon balm a little later.

This note is also my way of celebrating our beautiful world with you!

Winding Path To Awareness

My work in natural perfumery over the last 20 years has been an incredible teacher. Every day I experience how interconnected we are with the natural world. I have studied where and how plants grow, the terroir they draw from the land, and how plants can impact our lives, our moods, and our health. I’ve also learned how to collaborate with the ultimate perfumers: Bees! I use their beeswax to create several of my most beloved scents.

Sadly, there is a dark underbelly to natural perfumery. I have witnessed the promotion of animal musks and secretions that are derived from animals at the cost of horrible suffering. An animal’s suffering begins when they are trapped in the wild. It continues—in some cases for years, as with civet cats—as people harvest their bodies for their musk that will ultimately be sold to perfumers.    

It is this same logic—that wild animals possess something we must take for ourselves—that is at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.

My Earth Day Message: Find a Solution

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of life that has resulted from this pandemic, and the loss of livelihoods from the shelter-in-place. And while I know researchers are still studying the source of the pandemic, I am saddened that there may be a link to animal cruelty and the exploitation of wild animals. Researchers have traced COVID-19 to wet markets, where wild and endangered animals are sold. In these environments, humans and wild animals are close—too close—and diseases can jump from one species to another. We are learning a painful lesson about Mother Earth, where we should tread and where we shouldn’t. 

Taking animals from the wild for our amusement puts us all at risk—can we all see that now? 

But once we acknowledge this, it is not as easy as simply stopping this practice. (Though China did recently ban the trade and consumption of wild animals for food.) There are ramifications to bans because in some countries, animal trafficking is how many people earn a living and feed their families. Finding solutions that sustain local communities and the environment is a much larger conversation that we need to be having. I have explored this in my advocacy of civet cats in the wild—I believe that if people work together, we can phase out these harmful practices. Jane Goodall has been an example to me—she inspires me with her work to help communities find solutions to animal trafficking. Jane Goodall is my hero! She is helping people explore more sustainable ways to earn their livelihoods. Learn more about her message and work!

I agree with Jane Goodall and other conservationists that we must find solutions to animal trafficking that benefit animals AND people. I think that is the only way they are going to work. 

How Can YOU Make A Difference?

I am always asking myself that question! Here in my Purrfumery, I create my scented artworks from natural treasures that are cruelty free. They do not contain even a speck of animal byproducts. I partner with groups that have a voice in the community and around the world, and I try to help them in any way I can. 

Here’s what I am working on now:

Deforestation around the world is another culprit that harms wildlife, the environment and people. I’ve been partnering with Centre ValBio, led by Dr. Patricia Wright, who is working hard to save Madagascar lemurs and help indigenous people through research and education. I created a perfume for their fundraiser—Luminous Lemurs! It is aging now and will be ready in a few months. The proceeds from this perfume will go to helping Centre ValBio build tree corridors for lemurs to live and roam. Purrfumery proceeds also support the exploration of the Lost Rainforest of Crystal Mountain, and help girls from remote villages attend high school, all through Centre ValBio.

And Masks, Lots of Masks!

I am sheltered in place like so many of you, and I have time to help! My dear friend Lisa has been helping me, buying fabrics and elastic, and I have been making masks for those in need, so I have gone back to my sewing roots, which I love. The mask pattern I made is based on this video: Watch the video after it too, for instructions on how to make the jig. Kitty Magic and Truffle love to help, as you can see!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L19YTzgEZ7I&feature=youtu.be

I recommend making it 1’ wider and washing the fabric 3 times in the washer and then the dryer so they won’t shrink. Hope it’s helpful and useful to you and yours. I am also seeing folks selling them on Etsy and NextDoor.

Back to Lemon Balm...And Free Shipping!

I would like to offer free shipping for a month, because I am shipping very sporadically right now. So, free shipping until May 22nd! Type in Violet in the discount box. And I am including a special treat from my garden with each order while supplies last. I have been harvesting and drying lemon balm for tea and would like to share it with you. Enjoy this special gift from the Perfumer’s Garden!

The Constant- Earth Day is My Every Day

The solitude of the shelter in place has given me time to think, which can be a good thing, right? I’ve experienced bursts of creativity, but there have also been hours spent in deep concern for what the future holds. While so much is unclear right now, there is one thing that has never changed:

My respect and love for the natural world and animals, and my commitment to the wellbeing and safety of all living things. I am in awe every day!

Thank you for being part of this journey, my dear Purrfumery friends!

Until next time. . .

Peace, purrfume and kitty cats,

XOXO
Laurie