Fabulously Fragrant Travel Guide: Tips for Successful Packing

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine

Summer may mean many different things to different people depending on their past memories, background, and country of origin. It can mean longer days to spend with loved ones, sunny days spent by the water’s edge, and rosewater lemonade on the front porch. Or it can mean that there is finally time within your busy schedule (hopefully busy with a balanced mix of work and play) to travel and explore the world. 

Whether you are planning to fall in love on the Seine River in France, want to swim in Bulgaria’s salty Black Sea, or dream of immersing yourself within the untamed wildlife of an African rainforest; travel nourishes, educates, and frees the heart and soul. It is forever inspiring various art forms, including fragrance.

With this concept in mind we have created a travel guide with tips on how to pack for your trip in a way that ensures you will be prepared, will be able to enjoy yourself to the fullest, and will be able to leave a lasting (and fragrant) impression on the people you meet as they leave a lasting impression on you. Included in this guide are products that are ideal for travelling far and wide, hand-picked for all you world wanderers. After all, summer is the season to travel, whether by plane or perfume.

Many people say that it is not the destination that is the best part of travelling; it is the journey that is the most pleasurable. It is not what you go to see but what you didn’t expect to see and find that remains forever in your heart and mind. This may be true, depending on where you are going (Disneyland versus Estonia: the journey is incredibly different) but one thing that is true regardless of your destination, the pre-journey is always tedious, dull, and more often than not, frustrating as can be. 

Retaking that photo for your expired passport, vaccinating yourself against the elements, sorting things out at the office and packing up for the trip are all important but irritating aspects of travel. When it comes to bagging your journey necessities, the lighter you pack, the less frustration you are going to have pre-vacation. It is just crucial that you pack smartly and appropriately for your journey. With that in mind, here are five rules for packing, to ensure that you are as headache free as possible and that you are able to get as much as you possibly can out of your trip.

Just in case - pack up some essential grooming supplies with you on the plane. You never know- you might get stranded en route to your final destination or need to freshen up before landing. Our body oils, available in 6 unique scents, including the new Zohar Anointing Body oil - are all natural. Their non-greasy formulations will keep your skin smooth and hydrated. And for that frizzy hair from hours of dry airplane air, Orcas Beard Oil can be also used to condition your locks.

Soapy Strategy: Why Bars Are Better Than Bottles

Only bring the toiletries that you need from home that you cannot buy at your destination. The majority of the times, hotels have shampoo and conditioner. It is simply a waste of your precious bag space and time to bring bottled shampoo to the airport. Watching as my bottled hair products were tossed by security and having shampoo leak throughout the inside of my bag are only a couple of the headaches that I have experienced when packing bottled cleansers for travel. For those who aren’t going to be staying in a hotel and who need their own cleansing products – bar cleansers pack well and can last for weeks and weeks. They are versatile, easy to pack and will not offend airport security.

Film Noir Soap Bar will not only scent your skin, but will also keep moths away from your suitcase thanks to dark patchouli. Vetiver Racinettes Soap Bar is refreshing with notes of ginger and pepper. To top it off, both double as shampoo bars! Spoken with the experience of two curly-haired women.

Minimize your Travel Wardrobe: Why Less is Actually More (no really)

You will not wear everything you pack, regardless of what you bring. Even if you strategize every ensemble right down to your knickers, you have varying moods and you are going somewhere new. You will not know what you will really want to wear until you are there, immersed in the culture and weather of your destination. Most people who travel find themselves wearing the same couple of outfits over and over again because they are comfortable and effortless. A way to ensure that you are packing lightly but effectively is to bring six to ten comfortable pieces that can mix and match together, and then express your creativity through jewellery (small and discreet to pack).  Clothes are your canvas and jewellery is your palette. 

Red Jasper Mexican Poison Ring and the Aztec Triple Jade Poison Ring will upgrade your travel attire and are instant conversation pieces: each ring has a secret compartment that opens to reveal a solid perfume within.

Near or Far – Take A Little Bit of Home Wherever You Are

Experiencing the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of a foreign country is enriching and exciting. Nonetheless, travelling to a different country can be like visiting a different world. Customs are completely different and food, drink, and accommodations are often completely unrecognizable in relation to home. No matter how incredible a place is, it is natural and expected for one to experience homesickness while away. To combat this it is a good idea to keep a couple of compact comforts from home stashed in your purse at all times.

Vetiver Racinettes Travel Candle is our newest, cutting edge candle with clean notes of kaffir lime leaf and cooling woody vetiver and fresh ginger roots. You may also choose from our other refreshing summery scents: Bon Zai Travel Candle, with notes of shiso and juniper; and ArbitRary Travel Candle, with lime, basil and jasmine floral wax.

Portable Perfumes: They Just Make Scents

For those who can’t live without their favorite scent (join the club), travel sized roll-ons or compact solid perfumes are your best bets for several reasons. One, larger fragrance bottles are more apt to break/leak in your suitcase. With solids or itty-bitty roll-ons there is no need to carefully pack up any fragile bottles; simply toss in your purse or carry on and go.  

Two, it is highly unlikely that anyone would even be able to make it through a 30-50 ml bottle of perfume while on vacation anyways, so it is simply a waste of suitcase space. Three, they are often thrown out by security when people forget to take them out of their purse or carry-on. 

For those who doubt that this happens, ask my aunt Jackie who has had an entire bottle of Chanel No 5 confiscated and tossed out while going through security at the airport(and that stuff does not come cheap!).  One extra benefit to wearing roll-on or solid perfume is that the potential to over-do your favorite scent is significantly decreased as it is delicately dabbed only on your pulse points.

Parfum-Oil Travel Sized Roll-On now also available in Orcas (to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of this 2012 Indie FiFi Awards nominee) and Purse Parfum for the most precious and exotic offerings such as Treazon, Gigi and Kinmokusei. You may also want to mix & match to create your own Bon Voyage Roll-on Trio, and take advantage of our 15% off!

Leave a Lasting Impression

Just as you are enriched by experiencing the nuances of another culture, the people native to your destination are most likely interested to know about where you come from and friends in foreign places are always beneficial. Packing a small amount of stationary and gender neutral gifts will allow you to leave a positive and lasting impression on the people that you meet while on your journey.

Hanami Sachets are hand-sewn from vintage kimono fabric and are filled with a proprietary blend of precious dried botanicals. Used to scent linens, lingerie and stationary, they make a perfect token for your hosts.

Wishing you a wonderful summer, and safe travels!

Ayala & Alicia

Scentable Rings by Dancing Leaf Design

Noriko of Dancing Leaf Design has created 3 magical snowflake-inspired bouquet rings (see picture above) to go with my last 3 flacons of my favourite winter parfums: Fête d'Hiver, Hinoki and Sandal Tree. These are scentable rings - you can apply scent to the scent-absorbent beads within them, and enjoy your bouquet ring with more than one sense!

These rings + perfumes gift sets will be available exclusively at our holiday soiree December 15th.

We are also hoping to have more beautiful vintage Mexican poison rings from Taxco, including some very rare and stunning designs. They're still enroute but should be here any day now. I promise to let you know (and take photos!) as soon as they arrive.

EauMG's Gift Guide Featuring My Poison Rings

And as if to make matters even better... EauMG has also featured my products in their Holiday Gift Guide today - she picked my poison rings for her 2010 Goth Gift Guide. OMG!

New Arrival: Hematite Poison Ring

First of all, the Labradorite ring I posted yesterday was already sold!

Fortunately, I have a few more interesting rings to share with you, and I'm sure that among my collection you'll find just the right one to store your favourite scents...

Today I want to talk about this special Hematite ring. I always was fascinated by hematite - what looks like both a metal and a stone... For the first time ever, I found a poison ring with that stone, and I'm excited to share it with you!

Hematite in nature looks very much like the rock in the above image. My stepfather found something similar in the Sinai desert and I always thought it was very neat: it looked like a sculpture and no one could tell if it's a rock or metal (it kind of is both...)!

Hematite is, in fact, a mineral - an iron oxide, to be exact. It occurs in reaction to water, and therefore, when it was discovered on Mars in 2001, this was a sign that there was (and perhaps still is) water on that planet.

The name for hematite is from aima, the Greek word for blood ((αἷμα), which is because sometimes hematite is red. Red hematite is what was originally used for lipstick or rouge.

So here is the Hematite ring for you!
Hematite was very popular in Victorian era, and this ring has a bit of both the Victorian and ethnic feel to it. It is brand new, and I think (by the looks and the design, with my relatively short acquaintance with styles of poison rings in the past 3 years of collecting them), it was most likely made in Indonesia.

I am excited to fill it up with a perfume of choice for the one person who buys it (I only have one of each of these rings - each one I consider to be a lucky find!)
I recommend a perfume that feel both cool and strong, especially - Vetiver Racinettes, Palas Atena or l'Herbe Rouge.

New Arrival: Labradorite Poison Ring

labradorite waters of the Columbia, originally uploaded by stephanieleestudios.

Two new arrivals that I just posted on my website today: a Labradorite poison ring and a Hematite poison ring.

These are rare appearances in the poison ring world. I've only found one labradorite poison ring before, and this is my very first hematite ever!

I was reading about these two gemstones today - as it turns out, they are both minerals.
Materials interest me, even if they are not related to perfumery, believe it or not!

Labradorite is Calcium sodium aluminum silicate.
This mineral is an iridescent sea-gray in colour, and can only be truly appreciated in person when particular angle of light touches it and brings it to life. Come to think of it: just like perfume comes to life on the skin. This particular labradorite cobochon is a bit larger than other that I've seen, and it's beauty is magnetic... It reminds me of swimming in the (usually sea-gray) Pacific ocean on a day when the water does not look particularly clear, and the sky is rather cloudy... In a moment of grace, the sun reappears from between the clouds, and her rays flicker on the surface of the choppy water, reflecting hints of gold, blue and sea-green. And to make things even better, I decided to take the liberty and fill this ring with l'Écume des Jours crème parfum, which has seaweed and a breath of waterflowers floating above the coastline.

More on Hematite tomorrow!

New Online: Poison Rings and Solid Perfumes

I've just added poison rings to AyalaMoriel.com, in the new Poison Rings section in the store.
Also added are the various other colours of pendants that were especially made, in limited edition, besides our signature blue opal pendants. The one in the photo below is an ethnic Indian Moonstone one, filled with Moon Breath solid perfume.


If you love Solid Perfumes - check out the new section, with vintage pillboxes containing larger amount of solid perfume (up to 1/4oz). The picture above has beautiful bird illustration on its porcelain lid, and is filled with Kinmokusei solid perfume.

Other perfumed jewelry items of interest will be added as I go and find more interesting vintage and ethnic pieces. I'm always on the hunt of vessels that can contain perfume!

More poison rings can also be found on Etsy.

New Poison Rings

Visit my Etsy shop to view the new poison rings from my collection that are for sale now. There are some true beauties in here, including some that I would rather keep for myself but decided I'll let others enjoy.
Each ring will be filled to order with your choice of a solid perfume from my collection.

New Collectibles

Check out AyalaMoriel.com for the two new collectibles - a carnelian poison ring filled with Palas Atena solid perfume, and a beautiful vintage pillbox with carnation illustration, bearing within the solid perfume version of my new soilflore, InCarnation.

New Poison Ring for Sale

The Tiger's Eye ring was sold in a blink of an eye... I'm now offering another unusual Mexican poison ring. This one has an Onyx stone with a tinge of Tiger-eye at the edges. This is an adjustable poison ring from Mexico.
Unusual, asymmetric design, with an elongated design that flatters the fingers. This has a unqiue character, and is an ideal vessel for a similarly original fragrance. I suggest you choose from the selection below of perfumes that will fit both the colours and shape of this ring. I suggest perfumes such as l'Herbe Rouge, l'Ecume des Jours, Finjan, Film Noir, Epices Sauvage, Schizm or Song of Songs.
Click here for more information or if you want to buy...
And don't forget the perfume collectibles as well - now with gorgeous pillbox filled with Bois d'Hiver!

Below are images of other rings for those interested. All rings are made of sterling silver unless otherwise specified:

Green Agate Poison Ring Size 7.5 - Sterling Silver with Gold Accents

Carnelian Poison Ring Size 10

Blue Opal Poison Ring (Filled with Yasmin solif perfume) - Size 7

Turkmanistan Carnelian Poison Ring Size 10.75 - Silver with some gold tone

Up for Grabs: Two Gorgeous Poison Rings

I've just updated my website to include two new and gorgeous poison rings
- one is a special for October, with the months' unique Birthstone - a Blue Fire Opal Poison Ring with colourful, glittery flames of turquoise, green, yellow and a hint of orange-pink.
The ring works particularly well with our signature pendents, but also makes an amazing stand-alone conversation piece. It is already filled with a solid perfume of Yasmin - our luxurious jasmine soliflore.
This ring is brand new, made of sterling silver and is size 7.

The other piece is a Peridot poison ring, hansomly faceted into a rectangular shape. The compartment is square and roomy - enough to fit quite a bit of solid perfume of your choice. This ring is empty, awaiting your command to fill it with a luxuruious cream perfume. We recommend it to be filled with either Grin, Bon Zai, Charisma, Bois d'Hiver, Indigo, l'Ecume des Jours, Megumi or Viola.

Poison Rings at Ayala Moriel

I have added a new product to AyalaMoriel.com - poison rings from my private collection of perfumeable collectibles. Every two weeks, I will be posting a different item. My collection includes both vintage and new poison rings. The price stated is including the solid perfume which they will be filled with.

Poison rings were historically made to carry poison to kill one's enemy (or yourself if your enemy catches you!). I decided to fill them instead with something less harmful - a beautiful, creamy perfume that will release its scent through the ring's secret compartment to make your day filled with a subtle scent. And if someone ever kneels to kiss your hand, they'll be bound to never forget you!

You can select a scent from the perfumes suggested (for each ring I give a few suggestions of fragrances that will go well with its look and particular character). Or you can ask for a custom made perfume for that, for an additional fee.

We Have Winners!

My unbiased brother has performed the draw tonight, and the lucky winners are:

Congratulations, Monique and Roxana - you both won a copy of PERFUME The Story of a Murderer DVD

Congratulations to Ann, you've won a hand-painted spray bottle of 1oz EDP of your choice ( Epice Sauvage, Lovender, Magnolia Petal, ArbitRary or Rainforest)

Congratulations to Catehrine - you've won the gorgeous vintage Mexican poison ring! I will fill it with a solid perfume of your choice.

Be sure to tune in for more contests and draws - next month there will also be prizes amongst SmellyBlog readres, Portobello West visitors (who sign up to my mailing list!) and of course - those of you who buy online at AyalaMoriel.com!

August Special: Order Online & Win!

During the month of August, all customers placing online orders will be entered into a draw to win one of the following cool prizes:
1) A copy of the new DVD of the movie Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, with the extra feature documentary on the making of the film.
2) 1 oz Eau de Parfum hand-painted spray bottle (the winner will get to choose which scent to pick: Epice Sauvage, Lovender, Magnolia Petal, ArbitRary or Rainforest
3) Poison Ring filled with a creme parfum of your choice (this is a vintage Mexican silver ring with an onyx stone, size is adjustable). See image below.

Readers who left comments on SmellyBlog during August will also be entered into the DVD draw.

Winners will be announced August 30th.

Black Onyx Poison Ring, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel