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News from the Nose

Farewell to Summer...

Dear Fragrant Friends,

Blessings for the upcoming Jewish New Year! May the coming year be a good year of health, love and peace and may it be filled with sweet scents :-)

Hope you all had a wonderful summer! Here at the studio things have been in high gear for the entire summer (except for my daily evening swim in the Pacific ocean) – which is why I haven’t sent any newsletters in a while… There are lots of things I want to tell you about that kept me so busy the past 3 months!

But there is one most pressing matter, which I urge you to pay attention to the most in this newsletter. If you have only time to read one item, please make sure it’s the 1st one on the list: The threat that the SCA (Safe Cosmetics Act) will pass in the USA. This will mean the end of everything for my suppliers (which are mostly in the USA), and as a result the end of my business and many similar small-businesses, not to mention all the growers and distillers that produce the wonderul natural raw materials we love so much!!!

So, if you live in the USA or are a USA citizen, please do all that is in your power to stop this bill from passing. Read on for suggestions about how you can change the future and ensure that we can all continue enjoying natural cosmetics, body products and perfume.

In this newsletter:

Oppose SCA!

What I Did This Summer

New: Sugar Scrubs

New: Anointing Body Oils

Dream Apparel - New Retail Locations in Gastown & Granville Island

Study Perfumery: Intensive Week September 20-24

1. Oppose SCA!

The chances that you in the USA and as a result in all North America will be able to use any natural products, essential oils and natural perfumes included, is in danger. Not to mention the livelihood of many small businesses, due to the "Campaign for Safe Cosmetics" for passing the "Safe Cosmetics Act" (SCA for short).The main problem with this act is that it proposes that all compoments of all ingnredients in cosmetic products will be listed on the label. Considering that most natural products are very complex and contain many, many molecules (for example: rose essential oil contains over 200 identified molecules and still has many trace elements that are yet to be discovered), this will make labeling of natural cosmetics (perfume included) non-realistic. There will simply be no room to put all the ingredients on the label... So what this law will really do is ensure that mostly if not only synthetic mateirals (which are "purely" just one or two molecules) will be used in your skin care and body products!

This will make it very difficult for the growers and distillers of natural raw materials for perfumes and cosmetics to survive, not to mention eliminate the small businesses who will not be able to catch up with such regulations, labeling wise and sourcsing wise. This is similar (but even worse!!!) than the nightmare that has been going on in Europe for the past decade with IFRA regulations and RIFM (the EU regulatory body). It is not too late to stop this from happening! And if we don't, than the entire world will be smelling like calone and artifical fruits, and all we could wear on our skin will be silicone...

Renown aromatherapist Robert Tisserand, who is an expert on the issue of safety of essential oils and understand the threat of this act better than I do, wrote an excellent article which will shed more light on the matter. Here's an exerpt:

"The thinking behind the wording of SCA 2010 is naive because there is an
assumption that substances are either “safe” or “toxic”, and that if we
simply eliminate the toxic ones from personal care products, the world
will be a better place. It may seem like an excellent idea, but once
you start talking about parts per million or lower, it is unnecessary
and unrealistic. Not even foods are regulated to that degree, and our
exposure to foods is far greater than our exposure to cosmetics".

Read the rest of Robert Tisserand's article, and if you live in the USA, please please please act on it and Sign the Oppose SCA Petition, write Congress, write Your Senator, vote "Oppose" on Open Congress, and see your representatives & senators in person during Summer Recess August 9 - September 12. If you are on Twitter, please follow the #OpposeSCA hashtag.
to oppose this bill, which is draconian and ridiculous and will only
ensure that we will all be only using synthetics that are manufactured
by large corporations and are supposedly safe, rather than plants and
oils that were used for thousands of years. It will do nothing for
improving safety in cosmetics.

Other relevant links:

Oppose SCA

Indie Business Blog

Essential U

Personal Care Truth

2.What I Did This Summer

We’ve been blessed with a nice sunny weather (most of the time), and although I did not go away on any special holidays, and worked really hard all day – I made sure I go to the beach every evening for a nice swim. There were lots of adventures awaiting me in the water of English Bay and Sunset Beach – the highlights of which were an encounters with seals (at one time I was swimming right next to one!) and getting giant scratches from an underwater rock when trying to swim from Sunset Beach to English Bay.

Aside from that, the summer went by uneventful and I was mostly buried in my den, with the skylight closed to protect my precious oils from the British Columbian Sun, and was concocting my new line of body products (which I will tell you about shortly). I also hosted a Midsummer Tea Party on August 8th, in which I revealed my body product line for the first time.

Also, thanks to the untiring work of my cheerful publicist I’ve been getting a lot of press, including a wonderful interview for the Georgia Straight, which got me exactly the local exposure that I needed, and resulted in a studio full of guests and more journalists the entire summer – all keen to try my perfumes and tell their friends about what I do. And as if this wasn’t wonderful already – I also got invited to sell my perfumes in 4 beautiful boutiques in Vancouver! I’m so thrilled to get all this love back after 12 years of living here and over 9 years of running my little perfumery. The hard work pays off!

3. New: Sugar Scrubs!

When my studio was not full of guests, I was able to finally spend some time concocting my dream body products: simple, purely natural, nourishing, and of course – scented with inspiring perfumes from my line.

I was also very fortunate to get some help and feedback with the development of the line from my intern from Switzerland: Olivier Biedermann is a cosmetic chemist who now studies for his masters at ISIPCA in Versailles and has a wealth of experience with working with natural raw materials for cosmetics.

You are all familiar with the bath salts. They now also will be available in larger sizes. The new batches will also be improved in a few other ways – by using special salts, including an ancient Canadian sea salt – these are natural sea minerals mined from 3000 feet beneath the great plains in Saskatchewan and will be used in the Spruce bath salts, and also the new Vetiver bath salts, which I have finally blended yesterday and will be soaking in my tub this evening for a relaxing bath…

But the real news belongs to two new types of products that I’m particularly proud of:
Sugar Scrubs and Anointing Body Oils.

Sugar Scrubs are a simple, effective and all natural way to improve the health and the appearance of your skin: the sugar granules scrub away dead skin cells, leaving the skin naturally glowing and the living cells happier because they can breathe better. I created two formulas, in two different fragrances. Both also have the benefits of moisturizing and nourishing the skin because the sugar is carried in a base of vegetable glycerin and very nourishing natural oils such as shea and virgin coconut oil.

Guilt Sugar Scrubs have ground cacao beans for more exfoliation, and more importantly – their delicious scent! And than there is orange blossom, sweet orange peel and juice essences to make it even more addictive.

Finjan Sugar Scrubs have ground espresso beans and cardamom pods, and also have floral notes from rose geranium and jasmine, and a sparkling citrus burst of grapefruit. The grapefruit as well as the caffeine help to smooth and even out cellulite, so there is that extra bonus to using this scrub, besides making your whole bathing experience smell delicious!

4.New:Anointing Body Oils

"... for so were fulfilled the days of their anointing: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with sweet fragrances..." (Megillat Esther, aka Book of Esther, Chapter II, 12)

The anointing body oils were inspired by the ancient customs in the Middle East of anointing the body with fragrant oils for both religious rituals and for seduction. These original, hand-blended formulas will leave your skin smoothly nourished and adorned with a beautiful perfume. Apply as a moisturizer after bathing to clean and damp skin, or use as a massage oil. A few drops can also be added to a bath for scent and to nourish the skin.

The base oil for these anointing oils is slightly different from scent to scent, but they all contain Fractionated Coconut Oil for a non-greasy fast absorbing application. They also have nourishing Jojoba Oil, Avocado Oil or Shea Oil, anti-oxidant Tea Seed Oil, and skin-cell-regenerating Squalane Oil (olive derived) and Vitamin E. The scents for the formulae were chosen for the skin-benefits that some of the essential oils in the original perfume contains.

I’ve created 4 scents and formulations:

Song of Songs Anointing Body Oils with Saffron & Rose, which contains avocado, tea seed and squalane oils.

Megumi Anointing Body Oil with Vetiver & Jasmine, which contains Rice Bran Oil

White Potion Sensual Body Oil with Tuberose, Coconut & Sandalwood, which contains coconut oil and emollient & viscose shea oil.

Tamya Tropical Body Oil with Ylang Ylang & Yuzu, which contains coconut oil and shea oil, and is the lightest – in fact I like spraying it on like a dry oil!

5. Dream Apparel - New Retail Locations in Gastown & Granville Island

Ayala Moriel Parfums are now in two new retail locations at Dream in Vancouver.

Dream Apparel in Gastown
311 Cordova Street West (between Homer & Cambie)
Vancouver, BC V6B 1E5
(604) 683-7326

This location carries Bon Zai, Ayalitta and Tamya.

Little Dream Apparel Articles for People on Granville Island, in the Netloft building
130-1666 Johnston Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3S2
(604) 683-6930

This location carries ArbitRary, Film Noir and White Potion.

Dream showcases local designers of fashion, accessories and jewelry (by the way - the lovely white leather bag in the window is made by my dear and talented friend JolaV). I'm really excited about this new collaboration and having my fragrances in the same space as so many favourite designers whose lovely wares accompanies me on a daily basis. Thank you, Dream, for the first to be realizing my retail dreams in Vancouver, at last!!!

6. The Velvet Room: Boutique in Kerrisdale

I'm excited and proud to announce that Ayala Moriel Parfums are now sold at The Velvet Room.

2248 West 41st Ave Vancouver (Kerrisdale) 604-264-8664
Mon-Sat 10:30 am-5:30 pm and Sunday 12-4pm

The boutique carries Bon Zai, Roses et Chocolat and Tamya.

The Velvet Room exclusively showcases Canadian designers. All products are designed AND manufactured in Canada!

I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I am to have my perfumes displayed at the same location as some of my local fashion herose whose designs I adore and wear all the time.

7.Gentille Alouette: Boutique + Private Label Perfume

Get a whiff of Ayala Moriel Parfums at the adorable Gentille Alouette

boutique (227 Carrall street @ Cordova in Gastown, Vancouver). The
perfumes offered at Gentille Alouette are Rainforest, Song of Songs and Zohar.

The boutique, with an intimate setting reminiscent of your grandmother's
closet, carries indie designers, wearable art and unique jewelry pieces,
and is owned and operated by fashion designer and die-hard perfumista
Eliza Lau.

Eliza's life-long dream has been to create her own
custom scent, and she has picked me of all perfumers to help her realize
this fantasy. Every Thursday I will be at her shop until we complete the process
of hand-picking the most gorgeous essences to scent the feather of this
gentle sparrow...

8. Upcoming Markets & Trade Shows

My summer hiatus from markets and shows has come to an end, and I’m excited to come back to my first Portobello West Art +

Fashion Market this season on Sunday, September 26th, 12-6pm at the Rocky Mountaineer Station as usual!

For those of you who missed my Midsummer Tea Party, this will be your first opportunity to try my new body products I mentioned before. And of course, I will be also rolling some special truffles after a long break from these addictive melt-in-your-mouth treats…

Portobello West Art + Fashion Market happens once a month year-around. The market is open 12-6pm on the last Sunday of every month, at the Rocky Mountaineer Station (1755 Cottrell Street @ Terminal Avenue), Vancouver, BC. Mark your calendar for the following
dates:

I am also very proud to announce our participation in the One Of A Kind Show and Sale
Vancouver at the new convention centre, December 9-12, 2010.

Additional markets, private shopping events and tea parties/soirees throughout Fall/Winter 2010 TBA.

9. Harvest Festival Tea Party October 17th

Mark your calendars: October 17th is my next tea party, and the theme this time is celebrating the harvest season with the abundance of locally grown fresh and fragrant food!

This time, I will be hosting Pedro Villalon of Dao Tea, and together we will be doing a presentation about how scents and aromas in tea and perfume evoke memories and emotions.

Complete menu and program for the afternoon will be emailed in my next newsletter, as well as on my event page on Facebook, but for now you can drool over the Midsummer Tea Party menu I hosted August 8th to get an idea of what the raves are all about...

Spaces are limited to 25 people only for this event, and RSVP's are on a first-come first-serve basis.

Teas:

Tea Tasting with Dao Tea’s Freshly Harvested Teas

Immortelle l’Amour

Homemade Chai

Earl Gray Cream

Cranberry & Hibiscus Iced Tisane

Tier 1: Savoury Appetizers & Canapés

Roasted Beets ****

Mushroom Mini Quiches

Tortilla Cones w/ Guacamole & Black Beans ****

Tier 2: Tea Sandwiches:

Brie & Pear Tea Sandwiches

Carrot & Ginger Tea Sandwiches

Fennel & Tarragon Tea Sandwiches

Tier 3: Scones

Concord Grape + Blue Cheese Scones, served w/ Devonshire Cream & Chardonnay Wine Jelly

Cornbread, served w/ Whipped Butter & honey

Tier 4: Desserts

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Hazelnut Brownies **

Seed Cake Madeleines

Torta di Mele Ampezzana (Apple Cake from Cortina d’Ampezzo)

Tier 5: Truffles & Petitfours

Chai Truffles**

Earl Gray Truffles**

Marzipan & Apricot Pettitfours ****

* Dairy Free (contains eggs)

** Gluten Free

*** Dairy & Gluten Free

**** Vegan & Gluten Free

IMPORTANT: To complete and confirm your RSVP you must buy your tea party tickets ($10 each) on this page.

It will charge you $2 online plus $8 at the checkout for "shipping". You will be reimbursed for the $10 if you

make a purchase at the studio for $10 or more.

10. Study Perfumery: Intensive Week September 20-24

There is still one space left in our intensive week of perfumer studying, September 20-25th. This weeklong course is open to all levels, and will cover the topic of the Oriental fragrance family. More details about the course can be found online.

11. Don't Forget to Oppose SCA!

If you have read so far, you may have forgotten all the important talk at the beginning about opposing the SCA (Safe Cosmetics Act) in the USA, which will pretty much guarnatee I won't be making any perfumes for you ever again. If you want to be able to choose which cosmetics you can use, and have access to natural botanical ingreidents such as essential oils and pure nourishing plant-based oils and extracts, please do at least one of the following 7 simple actions:

1) Educate yourself - Read the rest of 2) If you live in the USA, please please please act on it and

2) Sign the Oppose SCA Petition

3) write Congress

4) write Your Senator

5) vote "Oppose" on Open Congress

6) See your representatives & senators in person during Summer Recess August 9 - September 12.

7) If you are on Twitter, please follow the #OpposeSCA hashtag

to oppose this bill

9) Educate yourself, by reading the following relevant links:

Oppose SCA

Indie Business Blog

Essential U

Personal Care Truth

Robert Tisserand's article

Thank you so much for your support!

Warm regards,

Ayala

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Farewell to Summer Newsletter + Oppose SCA Call for Action