Ever since I was young, my appreciation for the ‘real’ things in life were very important to me. I always loved the taste of real butter on my food, real heavy cream in my coffee, natural honey and sugars compared to synthetic alternatives and natural spices, scents of garden herbs and flowers.
As a child I would make concoctions of vanilla and almond extract, crushed cinnamon and clove mixed with oil to apply on my skin. I just loved the sensual nature of these beautiful spices and natural scents!
It only seems right and natural that I would study medicinal plants and Taxonomy as I grew older. I was influenced by the ‘green thumb’ my Father had; The first man who taught me about the value of a garden.
I loved researching the ‘old ways’ during the Victorian times on perfume making. I studied the workings, ideals and information of the wonderful Shaker women and men, also.
Through the years, my long hikes through the Mid-west seasons taught me much about plants and trees.
I dreamed of creating fragrances from the leaf, flower, wood, spice and oil of plant essences; the things that deeply inspired my creative passion as a child.
I have worked very hard on my artistic endeavors, writings, photography of abandoned places, cemeteries and old river towns in the Mid-west and wanted to make my dream of an holistic and artisan fragrance company come true!
Angel Blue Perfume LLC came into being upon years of dreams, passions and delivering a fine product that would be a safe and alternative choice to synthetic, chemical laden perfumes and colognes of today.
The information I could write about on this subject is extremely extensive and I will only focus on a few synthetic variants and chemicals. Especially two of them that I do not have in my formulations.
Angel Blue Perfume LLC does not use any synthetic aldehydes, petro- chemicals or Phthalates (diethyl phthalate).
An aldehyde (alkanal) is known as an organic compound that contains a functional group with a structure – CHO, that consists of a carbonyl center ( a carbon double bonded to oxygen) with the carbon atom also bonded to hydrogen and to an R group, which is, or can be any generic alkyl or side chain. The group not containing the- R – is the aldehyde group, also known as – Formal group.
Aldehydes are very common in organic chemistry. There are many fragrances that contain aldehydes.
This being said many aldehydes are naturally occurring, especially in essential oils, plants, spices etc. The word aldehyde was spoken by Justus Von Liebig, an intelligent scientist who actually invented the first nitrogen-based fertilizer. It is taken from the Latin, Alcohol Dehdrogenatus (dehydrogenated alcohol).
Aldehydes are not always synthetic, it is important to understand this. Nature has produced many natural occurring aldehydes, such as decanal. It can be found in citrus, conifers, some flower oils, coriander and much more. Some of these are very strong in odor, some are pleasant and other are just down right offensive.
Tran-4,5- opoxy- (E)-2 decanal gives a metallic aspect and taste to our blood.
During the early 1900’s many scientists were hard at work to synthesize ‘new’ materials for creating ‘synthetic’ aldehyde fragrances. Aldehydes were heavier compounds, that are often soapy smelling and they are cheaper to synthesize. Most all of the modern perfumes and colognes have synthetic compounds that lengthen the odor or make the fragrances last longer.
Before the early 1900’s perfumes were based on natural products and real substances from flowers, spices, woods, citrus and musk.
Perfumery goes back 5,000 years with the Egyptians who used perfumed oils for religious ceremonies such as the scented gums of myrrh and frankincense.
A fragrance house can supply a manufacturer of scents over 3,000 base ingredients. Diethyl phthalate (DEP), is used as a solvent and fixative in fragrances to make the scent last longer. Diethyl phthalate is a plasticizing agent that was created to make plastic more flexible.
According to the – Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. many of these chemical compounds have been shown to be allergy causing and hormone disruptive. There are several phthalates that have been listed as endocrine disruptors and attention has focused on their potential cumulative effects on woman, men and reproductive health.
There are different ways of making perfumes. In creating natural perfumes it can be an arduous and long process depending on the formulations and process that is chosen to extract the essences from the natural substances.
Some of the processes are a combination of Extraction/Distillation. I mainly use this combination in my creations.
Distillation can involve heating the desired material to a certain temperature and condensing it into a vapor that is collected.
Maceration involves a process of ingredients soaked in water, oil or solvent to draw out the fragrant compounds. This can be difficult and tedious but some essences are best done this way along with other processes.
Expression involves compressing materials and squeezing out the aromatic oils.
Enfleurage is a two step process drawing out fragrances into a fat or oil base and then one must extract it with an alcohol.
It is going to be an exciting year for me and Angel Blue Perfume LLC as I work to create and bring to market some of the finest, natural, sensual perfumes that are oil, leaf, root, flower & spice plant essence inspired perfumes and cologne. They are toxin free, synthetic free and never tested on animals!
I do hope you will follow me on my journey of truly distinctive, niche perfumery at angelblueperfume.com
Live your vision, walk in your light-
XO,
Tommie Flannery Baskis
Angel Blue Perfume LLC
Owner/Perfumer
The excerpt below is from a writing published by Dr. Mercola, a distinguished and reputable osteopathic physician. In 2009 he was named the Top Ultimate Wellness Game Changer.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/11/27/toxic-perfume-chemicals.aspx
I caution against using any synthetic perfume or cologne, or any other synthetically fragranced personal care product, as they’re almost always loaded with synthetic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, reproductive toxicity, allergies, and more.
And although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) actually has direct authority to regulate harmful ingredients in cosmetics and personal care products, it doesn’t exercise it… The Environmental Working Group (EWG) explains:1
“When you see ‘fragrance’ on a personal care product’s label, read it as ‘hidden chemicals.’ A major loophole in FDA’s federal law lets manufacturers of products like shampoo, lotion, and body wash include nearly any ingredient in their products under the name ‘fragrance’ without actually listing the chemical.
Companies that manufacture personal care products are required by law to list the ingredients they use, but fragrances and trade-secret formulas are exempt.”
What does this mean for a health-conscious person like yourself? When you purchase a fragrance, it could contain any number of the 3,100 or so stock chemical ingredients used by the fragrance industry. What blend is in most products you buy, exactly, is virtually impossible to ascertain, aside from testing it in a lab – and this is actually what the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics did…
Angel Blue Perfume LLC 