Aromatherapy is the New Perfume

Bayport, NY - I'm very excited! My friend Kally and I are in the VERY early stages of developing a line of mists, lotions and soaps made with real, natural products. 

It seems that until recently - real, natural products haven't been sold in America. I've come from more of the "Irish Spring" Generation of the 1980's when everyone was "Zestfully Clean". 

Me and Kally are makeup girls - we love playing around with scents and seeing what we get. Beyond our desire to create natural products, Kally and I are both perfume junkies. I'm not afraid to admit it - I love perfume. I've always had a love affair with scents. Chanel, Prada, Tokyo Milk, Burberry, Estee Lauder, Yves San Laurent - you name it. 

Too much money on Low Quality Products 

But so many of the perfumes we buy NAME BRAND for TOP DOLLAR and expect TOP QUALITY along with it. Nowadays - this isn't always so. 

In the book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas who is a famous fashion reporter in Paris, France digs deep into the big fashion houses and how they cut corners with fabric, factories, labor and even the OILS, Flowers and scents for perfume. 

But, how could this be? According to Thomas Chanel is one of the last fashion houses to buy top-end flowers for their perfumes. They buy from GRASSE, FRANCE

Grasse, France

When I was in my early 20s I went to visit my best friend Ian White in London, England. He took me on a two day excursion to Grasse, France. I knew nothing about Grasse or even the perfume world at the time. 

Grasse is considered the Capital of Perfume for the World -  to me, that's a heavy hat to hold. The specially selected Grasse employees who are trained to live and work in Grasse as "noses" can distinguish between more than 2,000 different kinds of scent.Once they have apprenticed, they will begin developing fragrances for Grasse and for International Fragrances and Flavors (IFF).

Also important facts about Grasse

• Grasse produces over two-thirds of France's natural aromas - that will flavor food and scent.
• The perfume industry earns a highly debated amount of money per year. Some say more than 600 million euros a year.
• Grasse's warm climate and proximity inland and away from the sea air make it a perfect are for the flower farming industry. 

Now Grasse, France is selling to Aromatherapy Companies who Recognize the Need to be authentic

Aromatherapy Takes Over 

Aromatherapy has seemed to take over where perfume once was and there are so many places to choose from: Do Terra, Aura Cacia, Young Living- just to name a few. Some small companies even bottle the oils themselves but I'm told this isn't always the best method because then we can't tell if the product can be used on our bodies or not. 

60,000 roses to produce 1 ounce of oil

My favorite of all the aromatherapy scents is rose...and yet, I've probably never smelled a real rose because it would be far to expensive. My goal is to afford a small bottle and create great perfumes with Rose one day. Until then, here is this fact. 

1. According to Aura Cacia, a leader in essential oils "It takes about 60,000 roses to produce just 1 ounce of oil, and ten thousand pounds of rose blossoms to produce 1 pound of oil. The extraction of rose absolute with chemical solvents is more efficient than the steam distillation of the essential oil."