Sweet Anthem Handmade Perfumes
As Andrews stated, the perfumer's most important organ is not the nose, but the brain, within which he or she must strive to construct an intricate "memory palace" of odours. It is also vital to move away from the notion of 'good' and 'bad' smells and learn to appreciate each ingredient for its own unique effects and characteristics.- Basenotes, Exploring the Science of Scent at the Royal Institution
It's been far too long since I posted a Nose Words edition; things have been busy on the retail front over here since Urban Craft Uprising. I've got A LOT brewing - besides Fall releases - and a lot to get online, but I thought I would leave you with this tidbit in the meantime.
Today I'm working on clearing some of the clutter on the website and getting more orders out the door. I had a fabulous Seattle day yesterday with Karen Ziemkowski, one of my favorite perfume geeks and photographers, and I can't wait to see her photos from Pike Place Market! It's really too bad that we're so far apart from each other, because we had a lot of fun going through perfume samples and being general fragrance nerds together (though really, distance has never kept us apart!).
Holy smokes, this is a big blog post. :) I know I'm kind of terrible about actually blogging and maintaining this web site as of late, but it's so hard for me to sit down at my computer when it's now in the same room as my lab. I'd just much rather be playing with smells if I'm to be working, really. This web site will be getting a slight makeover here this summer (the spring cleaning it so righteously deserved), but alas. That is another post altogether.
I've been promising notes about summer for awhile now. We've got a big release coming, hopefully hitting the site July 12 with 8 new fragrances! That's right. Not just four, but EIGHT including two limited editions. Quite a few of these were inspired by our travels in St. Petersburg (still editing the zillions of photos we took, by the way), two are from the Mrs. Hooligan's Charm School collection, and one is a carbon neutral collaboration with Blue Marble Energy. So without much ado, I give you:
Sweet Anthem's Summer Fragrances
Regular catalog additions:
ANTON
Horseradish vodka, baked apples, cigar smoke, and the salty pops of red caviar. Orchids from the palace apothecary dress the table. Nothing beats a fancy party to bring a little drama into your life.
• Horseradish, Apple, Saffron, Orchid, Black Pepper, Opium, Teak
CATHERINE
Regal sea air wafts through droves of blooming wisteria trees in the summer palace. The Empress mulls over a new space for her shoes while sipping red caravan tea in the Amber room.
• Red Tea, Amber, Wisteria, Violet, Bergamot
EOS
Eos has a new home at Sweet Anthem! Our collaboration with Blue Marble Energy, this fragrance is a symbol of a new dawn in perfumery - Eos contains locally produced oils and carbon neutral aroma chemicals made using beer waste from a local brewery. (Watch the news clip.) Available only in samples and 1 oz edp.
• Apricot, Cognac, Honeysuckle, White Ginger
ERIN
There came to the beach a poor exile of Erin, / The dew on his thin robe was heavy and chill; / For his country he sighed, when at twilight repairing, / To wander alone by the winds beaten hill. / But the sunlight attracted his eyes sad devotion, / For it rose o'er his own native isle of the ocean, / When once in the fire of his youthful emotion, / He sang the loud anthem of Erin-go-Bragh. (18th Century Scottish Ballad)
Erin-Go-Bragh translates to "Ireland Forever". A perfectly green and beachy summer fragrance, fit for any washed-up day in the island sun.
• Anise, Green Tea, Lemongrass, Litsea Cubeba, Pink Pepper, Spearmint
KATHLEEN
Kathleen, the grey dawn is breaking, / The horn of the hunter is heard on the hill; / The lark from her light wing the bright due is shaking, / Oy, Kathleen! what slumbering still?
An absolutely sparkling mix of petit grain and lavender, strewn over a bed of sexy, slumbering woods. Perfect for sleeping in on a hot summer's day.
• Agarwood, Lavender, Kumquat, Petit Grain, Sandalwood, Spearmint, Ylang Ylang
PETER
A black currant-champagne cocktail for the Emperor after a long day out on the hunt, sipped as he daydreams about a certain wooden tallship.
• Black Currant, Leather, Champagne, Lemon, Matcha Tea, Patchouli
Seasonal editions:
HOLGA & HELGA
Sisters Holga and Helga are the matriarchal cooks of the tsar's kitchen. Holga is a champion of savory, herbal dishes from the dutch oven, while Helga keeps charge of sweet truffles and baked strudel. (Samples available, but sold as a set only.)
• Holga: Pear, Spearmint, Cranberry, Rosemary Flower, Labdanum, White Cedarwood, Pine
• Helga: Pomegranate, Nutmeg, Frankincense, Cedarwood, Rosewood, Sugar
I'm really trying to push the boundaries of the way I work with this release. I sought to use a lot of materials I've never worked with, some which seemed like an unending search (red tea, for example, is not an easy-to-come-by oil, and rarely any good as a fragrance oil).
Some of these use my beloved co-distillations to achieve the particular effect I want from an oil (Kathleen, for example, uses both a pure petit grain oil at the top and a petit grain co-distilled with neroli in the heart of the fragrance). And still others are just bizarre combinations I've come across in custom work, combinations that really work (the orchid and wasabi engine of Anton can be blamed entirely on a Carolyn Buss). But I'm really pleased with all of them, and I hope you will find them as surprisingly wonderful as I do.
These will be live July 12, and available for purchase at Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle on July 10-11. We will also have 18 of our other popular perfumes with us in a variety of formats. Please come say hello!
In other news, you can now find some of our classic catalog releases at Sophie Mae by the Bay in Mukilteo, WA, and they're soon coming to Art on the Ridge in the Greenwood neighborhood of our native Seattle.
I would love to hear your thoughts on some of the recent shop changes, some of the summer fragrances, some of the website fixer-uppers that need to happen - some of, well, anything! Leave me a comment or swing by our Facebook fan page to do so! I'll be back soon, hopefully, with photos from our trip abroad.
OK, cheesy title I know. But... we're back! We are officially married and had a fabulous honeymoon. My brain is still on St. Petersburg time, but I promised you all a Big Announcement, didn't I? So, here we go.
We're going to be changing our pricing structure in the coming weeks, hopefully in your benefit. I'm adding two new product sizes as well - 1 oz solid perfumes and 1 oz eau de parfum. Here's what the prices will look like with the update:
| Product | Price |
| Solid Perfume & Perfume Oil Samples | $5.00 |
| Eau de Parfum Samples | $3.00 |
| 1/3 oz Solid Perfumes | $12.50 |
| 1 oz Solid Perfumes | $25.00 |
| 1/3 oz Perfume Oils | $25.00 |
| 1/2 Perfume Oils | $35.00 |
| 1 oz Eau de Parfum Spray | $45.00 |
| 2 oz Eau de Parfum Spray | $65.00 |
At any rate, these changes will be on the Etsy shop and site within the next few weeks (and fully finalized by July 10). And if you do order something before the change has been made, I'll happily refund you the difference, of course.
Next update: we'll talk about summertime! We're launching six new catalog fragrances and two limited edition fragrances, all of which I am terribly excited to show you, plus I have so many photos from Russia and our wedding to post.
As always, let me know if you have any questions, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
In case you were wondering about why I'm closing the shop for the month of June, it is because we are going to Russia on our honeymoon! I am terribly excited; I studied there the summer of my Senior year in college - St. Petersburg, specifically - and have a fairly open love for all things Romanov (see Anastasia if you want a public example).
We got our visas approved today and have booked a cute little apartment just off of Vostannya Ploshad right near the City Center, and will be there for ten days!! We will be gone from June 3rd - June 18th, and I plan to use the last week of June to catch-up and start prepping the shop for our Urban Craft Uprising debut in July.
I truly appreciate all your well wishes and patience with our current turnaround times! We are so busy - mostly thanks to you! - and your kindness really keeps me going!
If you are at all concerned about a current outstanding order, would like to reserve an order for July, or just want to say hello - please don't hesitate to leave a comment or drop me a line. I cannot promise to answer mail while we're away, but I do promise to bring back loads of photos and inspiration.
And by the way, if you're in the Seattle area this weekend, it's beautiful outside. You'll have the perfect weekend to go see lots of fabulous crafters at the Etsy Rain spring show! I plan to show up early for one of those awesome goodie bags! Heck yes!
This image was on my tumblr this morning and it just made me intensely happy. I know, I'm a nerd. I thought you might enjoy a happy image before I give you some bad news, at any rate!
We will be closing shop orders a week earlier than expected because I am just insanely backed up between all of the amazing orders we continue to receive in response to our Spring launch, as well as a lot of things that I owe various members of the press. Not to mention, my stock is quickly dwindling! Yikes!
Please place any orders by May 7th in order to get them before we leave Seattle. Any other orders placed between May 7th and June 21 will not ship until early July.
Speaking of that tumblr, my friend Megan and I have a co-tumblog now at Owls Go, where we're exploring mori fashion - a Japanese trend that is similar to the boho trend in the states but with slightly funkier silhouettes, lots of really fun layers, and the cutest, fairy-like details you've ever seen. I tend to post mori finds on Etsy while she tends to post Japanese mori finds, though we've been collaborating on all fronts really. I just love this style.
P.S. Why yes, we did get in to Urban Craft Uprising. Yay!
