"Winter is Coming"

Claire Louise

George RR Martin

Well, who else was I going to quote for this time of year? My! I have been a neglectful blogger lately. In my defense, I spent most of October being ill so I'm giving myself a pass on that. Still, no excuses now; time to get back to business.

Last time I did a proper blog, I said I was going to talk about some of the inspirations for my Christmas/Winter perfumes. Since those are now in development and will be in the shop very soon, I think that's still a good thing to talk about. In the same way that Autumn really got my creative juices flowing this year, the winter season triggered a great rush of inspiration and excitement. There are so many varied and amazing myths and bits of folklore tied to the solstice, it was hard to settle on just a handful of ideas and not try to make a perfume for every single one. How can you resist the lure of Inti Raymi or Wren Day? 

Well, I had to save some inspiration for next year, so I settled on five scents that take inspiration from five very different, seasonal sources. I'm not going to give them all away here (surprises are fun!), but here's a tiny sneak peek at what's in store...

The Holly King. Traditionally seen as ruler of one half of the year, with the Oak King ruling the other, the Holly King is a neopagan figure who gains strength at the Autumn Equinox and is at his height by Midwinter. A perfect starting point for a good, wintery cologne. My Holly King will contain notes of holly (of course), smooth peru balsam and warm chestnut among other things.

La Befana. This old lady is a charming piece of Italian folklore, visiting children on the Feast of Epiphany to deliver gifts of honey, figs, and dates (unless they were bad children. Then they get coal). I've started with figs and honey, but added a few twists...

Chalet Girl. Well, this one doesn't come from any folklore, but rather from my own fantasy Christmas...a

Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee

ski lodge in the Alps, a mug of cocoa, crisp white snow outside my cosy cabin...Let's just ignore that I've never been ski-ing in my life and would almost certainly break both my ankles the second I tried to do it.

I've also got two new solid perfumes to add to the Autumn/Winter collection and, fingers crossed, they'll be with you in the next week or so! Look out for Nog Nuts and Sticky Toffee Tea.

And of course I'm working on a million other new blends as well, so you can look out for The Expert Dreamer, Waters of Lethe, Capua, and many more over the next few months as we head into 2014. And this seems as good a point as any to check the to-do list...

Perfume Stuff

Brainstorm essential oils-only line - I now have enough ideas to start working with; I just don't seem to have the time! Hopefully over the next couple of weekends, I'll get the preliminary blends for the new line ready.

Brainstorm Spring/Summer solid perfumes - I'm now officially sick of getting up in the dark and coming home from work in the dark, so I'm all about Spring/Summer solids and have more ideas than I can possibly make use of! 

Make-over packaging - Hmm...Still a work-in-progress, but I feel like I'll never be 100% satisfied so I may have to relax a little bit! I am planning to get 10ml roll-on bottles in stock as soon as possible; hopefully before Christmas but no promises at this point!

Other Stuff
Learning anatomy for my aromatherapy course! Science was never my strong point at school, but I think I've just about nailed the fact that we have skeletons and they hold us up, so I feel like I'm learning. A bit.