White Witch Natural Organic Beauty Products solves a quandary

Environmentally conscious men and women are finding themselves in a bit of a quandary. Everyday there are more and more companies jumping on the "natural" and "organic" bandwagon, giving consumers and alternative to artificial & chemically laden products and increasing choices. I suppose it is a step in the right direction but is it really?
My quandary is this: What's the point in buying natural, organic products that are packaged in plastic? We care for our skin and our bodies both inside and out and we care for the planet. We want to make a difference. Somehow we feel comforted by the little recycling symbol on the bottom of out shower gel bottle or water bottle. But do we really know the facts?
What really happens to all those empty plastic bottles? Well, the sad fact is that most of the plastic that is recycled is actually from the factory floor. It is not consumer waste at all, and at that it can only be recycled once, into fence posts, garden furniture or synthetic fleece.

Seriously do you know how much of it is recycled?

• Only 5% of consumer plastic waste is recycled. 
• 80% of consumer plastic waste goes into the landfill! 
• 7% of plastic waste that we throw away gets incinerated!

Now I suppose this is depressing news but it's true and we might as well face the facts.
Another part of my dilemma is the leeching of the polymers into the so called natural products. Polymers need either heat or fat to move them from the plastic into the product. Plastic polymers cause all sorts of upsets in the body. They are related to breast and prostrate and ovarian cancer, diabetes and a host of hormonal related illnesses.
Is there an alternative? Well of course there is but it may not be altogether convenient. You can make your own products at home using natural ingredients. Now you can also buy products that are not packaged in plastic.
Visit White Witch Ireland for an alternative - and for products that work - tried and tested!

From Ireland with Love

Sometimes things just happen...

My Father-in-law came to stay with us. It was a special time, especially so because he came all the way from Kelowna in Canada. I have never met my husbands Aunt's but they always make beautiful gestures that connect our families even though we are on opposite sides of the world. I wanted to show them how much these gestures mean to me. I was thinking that I would make some solid perfume to send back with Sean's Dad. Then I remembered I was waiting for an order of beeswax and was totally out. I recalled an ungent sent to me by Nathaniel Musselman. It had a solid base of whipped coco butter (I think it was coco butter, perhaps it was mango butter but anyhow...) his one had a delectable lemony scent. I found a basic recipe online for something similar and then I made a perfume for it. Being in a hurry, my FIL was already packing his suitcase when I started, I wanted to hit on a winner first time. I knew I had to keep things simple or it could all go horribly wrong. I chose the jasmine concretes I have, jasmine sambac and jasmine grandiflorum. The sambac has a spring-like narcissi note and the grandiflorum is creamy and multi-layered and like a perfume by itself. The base needed something that would make enough of a statement on it's own but that would be liked by all. I steered away from patchouli even though it is such a great base note for it's longevity, and the jasmines begged a base at least as potent as themselves. In the end I used a coco base. I was going to try a lighter and maybe even citrus addition for the head but I decided against it, loving the light floral notes that were already filling the studio.
I put it together and the results were immediately good. I wasn't even worried how it would turn out over time, because I knew it could only get better. Everyone loves it, no, everyone adores it. My son wears it, my daughter is addicted to it. Even my fussy friend thinks it is smashing. I wish there was such a thing as smelly-net because I would love to let you smell it. In fact if you want to email me at ruth@whitewitch.ie I will send you a sample of "From Ireland with Love".

Using plant essences for health and beauty | Greenme: Sustainable Living Blog

Using plant essences for health and beauty | Greenme: Sustainable Living Blog

I just started writing for GreenMe sustainable living website.
Have a look at this for my first blog.
Please leave a short comment on GreenMe to show your support : )

Thank you!

Mixing business with pleasure...whoever said that was a bad idea-think again!

I am running the final tests on a new product line, 100% Natural Scented Bath Crystals.

There are three different perfumes;

• Rain Forest, with notes of Honey Myrtle, Sweet Marjoram and Antique Patchouli.
• Garden of Eden with notes of Neroli, White Lavender and Atlas Cedarwood.
• Temple of Luxor with notes of Coriander, Ginger, Rose and Vanilla.

These are all about the experience of bathing in perfume. It is recommended that the mood is set in the bathroom before hand with candles and music. The bath temperature is important too. Have it just right before you add the Crystals. That way none of the precious perfume is wasted before you are ready to step in.

I want to tell you of my experience with the first in the line:

Rain Forest

I didn't have the luxury of having the music or the lighting but the perfume alone was enough to take me to another world. The honey myrtle top note had the effect of being uplifting and clearing at the same time. I could feel my lungs opening up and my head clearing as though I was breathing in the purest fresh air. The marjoram was deep green and alive and sits on top of the antique patchouli in the same way as the ferns sit on the damp forest floor. The antique patchouli is the best money can buy and it is mellow beyond belief. It was bathing in the perfume of pure life and when I closed my eyes I imagined I could hear the birds and the creatures of the rain forest chirping and chattering. The experience was purely magical.
Rain Forest is a pure celebration of life and being.

So who was it again who said that business and pleasure don't mix well? Because they were wrong. That bath was probably the most pleasurable business I have ever done.

One Lovely Blog Award!

I received a delightful email the other day informing me that I was awarded a One Lovely Blog Award-- by Sheryl Karas who is a spiritual counselor, healer, organic flower essence aromatherapy perfume designer and artist.

Thank you!, Sheryl and, in keeping with the tradition of the One Lovely Blog Award I'm posting the Rules of Blog Award Acceptance:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

So...White Witch Natural Perfumers Journal proudly passes the 'One Lovely Blog Award' on to (I've chosen almost all my favorite perfume blogs).

Sorcery of Scent

Little Flowers

Roxana Illuminated Perfume

GreenMe

Liz Zorn Perfumes

Smelly Blog

Oh True Apothecary

The Aromaconnection Blog

Tea Sympathy and Perfume

Inner Ki Journal

Memory and Desire

Scentzilla

Bois de Jasmine

Now Smell This

Perfume Shrine

Tauer Perfumes

Congratulations to all the 'One Lovely Blog' Award Winners!

Thank you for sharing your words and your art!

If you have a moment, take some time and get to know a few of the Award Winners by clicking on the links and visiting their Blogs & Shops!

Amber and Boronia

Just right for summer.
I know I know a floral amber...how safe.

I started off with the base and used a blend I have used before but I left out the benzoin as I think it holds down the scent a lot and with an oil based perfume that can't be afforded.
I sound like I really know what I am taking about don't I!
Well whatever...
For the base, I used Labdanum, beeswax absolute, vanilla absolute and ambrette seed Co2. I love the result. It is well balanced and perfect for the floral notes I am planning to use in the heart of the perfume. I did use dilutions and I may have to go back and redo it as I don't know what the longevity of the perfume will be like at this point. Without the benzoin to hold it down it might not last though the labdanum is a very good quality absolute and even when it was diluted down to 20% it was still very thick.

The formula I used for the base notes are thus:

• Labdanum absolute 20% dilution 10 drops
• Beeswax absolute 20% dilution 3 drops
• Vanilla absolute 20% dilution 10drops
• Ambrette seed Co2 10% dilution 6 drops

As I say I may have to redo the base.

The heart was the part I was really looking forward to. I had a feeling about rose and boronia and wanted to try them together. The bornia is fresh and floral and wickedly summerish and the rose is warm and soft and sweet. My main challenge was keeping them separate and not having them make a buble gum sort of a thing.

I started with the rose, rose de mai, I added and tested and then added a little more to the base. I wanted to smell the rose over the base notes. Once I had accomplished this I added the boronia. Again I wanted to smell the boronia over the rose and I added a little and then I added some more until I could just smell the brightness of the boronia over the softness of the rose.
I added a tiny amount of jasmine grandiflorum to add another floral layer that had a note in common with both the rose and the boronia.

• Rose de mai 10% dilution 20drops
• Boronia 20% dilution 10 drops
• Jasmine grandiflorum 10 dilution 2 drops

I always seem to get stumped at the top notes. It's as if the only thing I can see to use are citrus oils and there is something about the sharpness of citrus that just doesn't say perfume to me.

I used a blend of corriander, bergamot, rosewood with a tichy bit of violet leaf.

When blending with oil it is not possible to get that lift that happens when alcohol based perfume is applied to the skin or a scent strip. So there needs to be a higher concentration of top notes. I had corriander diluted to 5% and so I added what was equivelant to a half a drop and then I upped it to a full drop. The corriander would hopefully show off the rose in the heart of the perfume.
Then I added bergamot and used a 50% dilution. I added 10 drops in the end after testing and testing. However when applied to my skin the blend had that citrus sharpness that I hate. I added then two drops of violet leaf absolute which was diluted to 10% and that tool away from the sharpness and added an unusual twist that need some sort of modification.
I decided that cardamom would really make the boronia shine and I added 1 drop of full strength cardamom absolute. It really helped to calm the citrus and calm the violet leaf. Then I added one drop of full strength rosewood oil and this seemed to round it all off and there was no more rough edges.
The blend will need some reworking. I would guess that the base will need to be stronger and I know that will change everything. The top notes will definitely need some modifications as well. But I am very happy. What I like the most is that I can pick out the boronia after about 5 minutes and it shines very clearly apart from the rose. It gives the impression of a garden in which boronia flourishes against a backdrop of roses.
I thoughroughly enjoyed the experience and I also enjoyed the way my confidence in blending has increased. I liked knowing what to add to take away the edges and what to add to compliment and add sparkle.

Woman talking to her higher self

my heart feels like it's breaking...
and I didn't even know that a single heart could break so many times.

my heart must be have been splintered into thousands and thousands
of tiny pieces by now.
I would not be able to think of how many times my heart was broken.

and when I was a child I thought it could only happen once.
and by a person called your "true love"...
how wrong was I?
because my heart was never broken by
my true love.

it was broken by love.
why?
because love hurts.
why ?
because it needs to hurt.
why?
so that we can feel the balance of love.
why?
so that we can know the yin and the yang of love.
why?
because otherwise we would not know love.

But my heart hurts so bad.
what if this time it doesn't stick back together
and I always feel this pain?
No! that won't happen.
why not?
because your heart is one...one heart.

so there is no need to be afraid to love?
that's right.