Flash Sale this week!

Visit my Etsy shop this week for 10% off all 5ml perfumes between 29th-31st October, with all profits going to the British Heart Foundation. So you can treat yourself to something beautiful and feel good about doing it! Happy Halloween!

"To me, the smell of fresh made coffee is one of the greatest inventions."

amenic181

Hugh Jackman

I remember reading in a book, many, many years ago, that a home didn't smell like a home unless there was coffee brewing and bacon sizzling. I happen to agree, despite not being a coffee-drinker myself. But there is something so homely and comforting about that smell. My fiance loves unusual-flavoured coffees like banoffee pie and maple sugar, so when he's making himself a pot, I tend to forget I don't like the taste and find myself drooling over that amazing smell.

And that is why you'll find scents like Emily Deer, Noir, and Caramel Macchiato in my shop. That rich, deep coffee smell is one of my favourites in perfumery. And yet, I've not been entirely satisfied with the coffee fragrance oil I've been using up til this point. Oh sure, it's an incredibly tasty, accurate scent, but it lacks the depth and complexity you get from a real coffee essential oil. So when I was finally able to invest in some coffee CO2 extract, I was very excited. This stuff. Let me tell you. This stuff. It smells just like arabica coffee beans - roasted, rich, and exactly what I wanted when I created my coffee perfume oils. I can't wait for you guys to try it!

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be re-working Emily Deer and Noir with this CO2 extract. The original blends will remain available, but expect the new versions to replace the originals in November. So if you're a huge fan of either scent, I advise you to A) stock up now! and B) try a sample of the new versions once they're available. I think you'll be happily surprised at the difference.

Now, onto this week's to-do list!

Perfume Stuff

Finalise Autumn/Winter solid perfumes - they're here! They're here! The solid perfumes are now live in my Etsy shop. I still need to get them up on Folksy and Zibbet, and that will happen asap.

Brainstorm essential oils-only line - my "ideas list" is growing steadily and I'll probably start working on some preliminary blending in the next few weeks. Very excited about creating this new line.

Brainstorm Spring/Summer solid perfumes - as I've been off work sick this week, I've had lots of time to look at pictures of cherry blossoms and hummingbirds, so expect to see those themes pop up in the Spring/Summer colleciton.

Make-over packaging - still a work-in-progress, but I've got a vision that's coming together. I've had some lovely and constructive feedback from one awesome customer that's been very useful, so thank you, that lady!

Christmas scents - next week I'll be blogging about some of the myths and folklore I've been looking into for my Christmas/solstice scents.

Other Stuff

I had a book released this week! I don't want to use my perfume blog to promote my writing, so I shan't go into details, but the promotional aspect of that has taken up a lot of time. Now that's done and dusted and my baby is out in the world, I'm going to put some time into my aromatherapy course and see if I can get the first module done this month.

I sent out a newsletter yesterday featuring an exclusive newsletter-subscribers-only coupon code. What, you hadn't subscribed? Never mind! Sign up for the next one!

"Get happiness out of your work or you may never know what happiness is."

SweetCrisis

Elbert Hubbard

One of the things I like to do on my writerly blog is keep a to-do list. I fell out of the habit for a while, but now I've started again, I'm going to keep one here as well. It's a great way for me to keep track of everything I'm doing in my various walks of life and (hopefully) it gives you guys an insight into what's going on, what's coming up, and why some things may be taking a back seat to others. As indicated above, I'm not just a perfumier; I'm also a starving writer and full-time PA (and a cat-servant and snake-keeper). To-do lists are pretty much essential to me if I'm going to do anything other than sleep all day.

So, without further to-do (sorry), here's this week's list.

Perfume Stuff

Finalise Halloween perfumes - done! And they're available for sale too!

Finalise Autumn/Winter solid perfumes - the scents are ready; I just need to make some up and take photos. Hoping to get that done this week. I was aiming to have them in stock in September, but between family weddings, book edits, and perfume orders, I just ran out of time!

Brainstorm essential oils-only line - this is on the back-burner as I'm not planning to launch the line until 2014. But then again, 2014 isn't that far away anymore...

Brainstorm Spring/Summer solid perfumes - already started. It's not as fun as brainstorming the Autumn/Winter range was yet, but that's probably because Spring feels so far away right now.

Make-over packaging - I've sent some new sample-sized vials to willing guinea pigs to make sure they travel well/don't leak/don't smash in transit. If the feedback is good, I'll be switching from wandcaps to roll-on sample vials this month. The next thing I want to do is get 10ml rollette bottles in stock, hopefully before Christmas.

Christmas scents - now that the Halloween scents are out, it's time to start thinking about the next seasonal batch. I'm doing a ton of research into Christmas and solstice traditions from around the world and throughout history to find some really unique twists on the theme. Stay tuned!

Other Stuff

Last weekend I signed up for a distance-learning aromatherapy course. It's one of those "go at your

Praisaeng

own pace" things, which is great in light of everything else I have to do! I'm really excited about starting and getting some formal training in a subject I've been fascinated by for such a long time. I'm also keen to see how it informs my perfume-making adventures in the future. It may also pave the way for an escape from the Dreaded Day Job *crosses crossables*

So that's the state of things right now. I am planning to send out a newsletter shortly and will aim to make those a quarterly event. If you haven't signed up, you can do so here for news, events, and cute baby animal pictures!