Eucalyptus is an Australian plant that has successfully adapted to keeping insects away. To prevent its leaves from being chewed and sucked, the plant has evolved to contain chemicals in its leaves and stems to prevent predation.We take advantage of this by distilling...
Evergreen simply refers to any plant that is deciduous and doesn’t lose its leaves in the winter. For this reason the palm trees in Florida are “evergreen.” But in common language it has come to refer to trees in forests in the north that do not lose their leaves in...
Recently we used Benzoin resinoid as a base for the fragrance in our Sweet Seduction Lotion that we produced in a small batch for our February Lotion of the month. So, what is Benzoin resinoid and where does it originate?Natural benzoin is the sap of one of two trees...
Our Lotion this month is Blood Orange Lotion. A lotion of the month is new for us, so we are happy to start by introducing our customers to Blood Orange. So what makes a blood orange different from an ordinary orange? A blood orange (Citrus x sinensis) is very similar...
Amyris balsamifera is an essential oil that I first started using as a fixative in many of my products. A fixative helps keep other essential oils from evaporating. It helps to maintain the fragrance of the essential oils over time. Amyris was originally grown in...
Patchouli, Pogostemon cablin, was introduced to Europeans when cashmere and silk shipped from India was packaged with patchouli laden wrappings to prevent insect damage. It has since been recognized as an essential oil that helps stimulate regeneration of new skin...