Ragna is a Botanical Perfumer
Ragna Rostad- Ruffner wants to warm our darkest days [and longest nights!], and I’d say she’s accomplished just that in her newest perfume- her limited edition seasonal offering, Solstice Rose 11.
Ragna’s vision was to create a comforting, intimate natural perfume that swirled around a vintage rose, cocoa and spices – reminiscent of the winter kitchen.
Complex woods couple with the grassy, silvery, and precious essences which mirror the very marrow of the Solstice: celebration, home, hearth, the primeval forest, and rapt reflection.
Notes:
Head – Italian bergamot, bois de rose, cardamom, pink pepper, cedar, coriander, cocoa.
Heart– Rose de mai, geranium absolute, rose otto, styrax, nutmeg absolute, ylang ylang, cinnamon bark absolute.
Base – Vanuatu sandalwood, Haitian and Indian vetiver, Mysore sandalwood, Buddha wood, orris root, vanilla, labdanum.
Solstice Rose 11’s exquisite top notes are fleeting, and I suspect that some of that is due to an inherent sense of delicacy.
Cocoa overdosed is cocoa overload, and Ragna gives us a more sparkling lift with less.
The heart is chock full of rose, and those essences which love and praise her.
Cinnamon and nutmeg accent the lavish florals, they don’t suffocate them.
Ragna’s put nearly every woody beauty in her base- including that Golden Standard, Queen Mysore.
Orris root feels dirty and silvery, a felicitous accomplice to the vetiver twins.
Labdanum is a given here, but not upstaged by vanilla – who pittypats about in her pantoufles, so as not to awaken you from your sylvan slumbers 😉
On my own skin, Solstice Rose 11 sings predominantly in a woody rosy key.
It lasts approximately 5 hours [the botanicals are nestled in a skin-loving fractionated coconut oil base] and wears subtly within one’s personal space.
It whispers of the Northern Lights to me.
Now, let’s get to the numerology aspect, yes?
Ragna tells us that that the number 11 is the current year, her birthdate, and the number of bottles available….
I had that niggling feeling I often get, so I thought I’d consult some favorite sources: Gary Goldschneider / Joost Elffers’ The Secret Language of Birthdays [all 832 pages of it ;-)], and Adam Rhine/ Louise Temple’s Hebrew Illuminations [an exquisite exploration of the possible interpretations of Hebrew letters / numbers].
Ragna dear- we have good stuff for you!
The Hebrew interpretations are beautifully rendered, both artistically and philosophically.
The union of aleph [the first letter of the alphabet = Number 1] and yud
[tenth letter = Number 10] is rife with possibilities.
Aleph symbolizes the oneness of the Creator..
The Yud is the smallest letter, and much like a seed, is contained in all letters and words. It speaks to the enormous power of ten: Ten Commandments, ten Divine channels, ten plagues, etc.
That’s one gorgeous 11!
Now, my astrological friends offer an equally fascinating take on January 11th.
1/11 is known as the Day of Evaluation.
Individuals born on this day tend to be highly principled and strong-willed, possessed of fine analytical skills and can spot a phony at a glance.
They are generous, kind, and devoted, but may suffer from being overly judgmental.
The 11th card of the Major Arcana is Justice – a serene woman who sits holding the scales in one hand and a sword in the other.
She reminds us that balance and harmony are ours to uphold, if we can maintain discipline and integrity.
Healthwise- January 11th– ers can wear themselves out in service to others.
And they do.
They benefit from regular moderate exercise and a balanced diet
[who doesn’t ? ;-0].
Their psychological rigidity may manifest itself in the lingering nature of joint and skeletal problems, if not duly attended to.
[There, I’m done with my numbers rant; I’ve driven my dear spouse mad with my numerological ravings.]
Do go visit Ragna’s site and explore her works there.
They are delightful.
Senior Editor’s Note: Apologies to all who would have enjoyed more on the numerology part! I had to really condense and truncate it, because Ragna’s perfume should take pride of place 😉
Ragna has offered a 5 ml. bottle to a fortunate reader here at CaFleureBon.Tell us about your relationship to the Winter Solstice, the secrets of birthdays and/ or the number 11. We’d love to hear about it 😉 Draw will close on December 3, 2011.
We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume
–Ida Meister, Natural Perfume and Senior Editor