Book Review: Homemade Perfume By Anya McCoy +Natural Know How Draw

 

Via Flickr©

The growing demand for ‘green’ scents from the discerned consumers is already leading to some worrying supply issues caused by scarcity of raw materials worldwide and prices hitting an all time high. Adding to the confusion caused by the lack of clarity about the term ‘natural’ and the unsettling increase of unethical suppliers compromising on quality, we may wonder about the sustainability and future of natural perfumery and we can relate to the concerns of the eco-consumers.

Gold Champaca by Anya©

What if you could use the plants and flowers from your garden, vertical garden or your backyard to create your own perfumes and scented products? Think not only about alcohol-based perfumes but oil-based scents, home scents, body scents and floral waters (called ‘hydrosols’).

Anya McCoy photo from Anya

Anya McCoy of Anya’s Garden, internationally recognised natural perfumer and one of the world pioneers in the revival of natural perfumery is taking you on an exciting journey to becoming a ‘botanical alchemist’ or ‘perfume gardener’ with her new book Homemade Perfume, released at the end of July 2018.

Recording your impressions of an essential oil or absolute is necessary for creating Scent Memory. Homemade Perfume includes directions for creating charts for the recordkeeping-Anya McCoy©

Homemade Perfume is a rather comprehensive DIY ‘Treatise’’ on the Art of traditional plant extraction methods, taking you through 6 clearly structured chapters, supported by beautiful pictures. Anyone with the slightest interest in the traditional methods of perfume-making will appreciate how easy it is to apply the guidelines that Anya McCoy generously shares thanks to her 40+ years of experience. Many of the methods presented in this book sadly disappeared in mid 20th century because it became impossible for manufacturers to deal with the considerable labour force, costs and length of time needed. Homemade Perfume might well turn out to be a new channel that will inspire many people to revive the lost tradition. The tips and secrets will get the reader comfortable with crafting their own fragrances, by using simple tools from the kitchen and flowers or plants that grow in our gardens or are readily available from numerous botanical sources.

Chapter 1 is a detailed overview of the basic methods of extraction and the essential utensils and materials needed. Importantly, Anya highlights the safety precautions that ‘home alchemists’ need to follow particularly when handling alcohol and sterilising tools.

Vanilla tincture-Isabelle Gelle©

Chapter 2 is an introduction to the two oldest methods for plant extraction: ‘tincturing’ and ‘infusing’, highlighting the differences based on the solvent used (alcohol versus carrier oil). Here we learn, for example, that for perfumery purposes, you should use a lower proof solvent and leave the plant material to macerate for 24 hours rather than for weeks onwards. Anya also describes the method of ‘recharging’ tinctures and infusions by ‘straining the botanical from the solvent and replacing it with more botanicals’.

Basic instructions on steam distillation units (left) and steam- and hydro- combination units are included, with the caveat to obtain specific information on each unit from the seller. Image on left from Heart Magic, unit on right from The Essential Oil Company.-Anya McCoy

Chapter 3 covers distillation which has the benefit of yielding both essential oils and hydrosols. Although you could adapt a pressure cooker, a distillation unit or still is recommended, particularly if you wish to extract essential oils due to yields being usually low. Appendix 3 on page 183 recommends a list of suppliers for these units (and for other materials referred to in this book). Until you invest in such a unit, you can try your hand at the simpler hydrosol distillation.

Pictured left to right, products from enfleurage: scented pomade, alcohol extrait, absolute oil. Anya McCoy

The fourth chapter (also the longest) is the most fascinating one as it explores cold or hot ‘enfleurage’, a traditional method that allows to draw the scent molecules into oil or semi-solid fats from vegetable (e.g. Shea nut butter) or animal origin (e.g. lard) or into powders (e.g. tapioca or cornstarch). Those readers who already have their flower gardens will definitely enjoy the process of enfleurage. The bonus with enfleurage is that it is one the less wasteful methods of extraction. After washing the fat impregnated with the scent with ethanol, Anya explains how to incorporate the semi-solid leftover called ‘pomade’ into body butters, solid perfumes or soaps. With the pomade, you can also obtain a perfume ‘extrait’ that essentially is the scented alcohol separated from the semi-solid pomade. From there on, through evaporating the alcohol of the extrait, ‘absolute’ oil is extracted. Despite the lengthy process, enfleurage will be a most rewarding activity if you are an aficionado of the magic of Nature.

Painting Open Door on a Garden by Konstantin Somov 1934©

In chapter 5, the various extractions can be applied into functional products including perfumes for body, bath and home. After introducing how perfumes are made and how to talk ‘perfumes’, using aromatic descriptive words and images, Anya shares some simple recipes or you may take this opportunity to unleash your creative mind and experiment with the making of scented products, drawing upon the numerous sampling examples and supporting illustrations given in this book.

The Homemade Perfume Project Quick Reference Guide helps the reader quickly figure out which level of project they want to experiment with.

I found chapter 6 very informative as it contains very details briefs about 36 fragrant flowers and plants including growing guidelines, preparation for perfumery with process key charts about the time needed for the extraction of these botanicals depending on the method you decide to choose.

I enjoy Homemade Perfume for the simplicity of explanations and instructions despite the complexity of the various extraction processes cited.It is easy to find the page referring to the process of interest and both imperial and metric measurements are mentioned which facilitates the functional application for those of us who are not familiar with the American imperial system. This book is a rare reference guide that will no doubt inspire all Nature lovers who do not necessarily want to turn their passion for scents into some commercial business or those gardeners who will be able to make use of their seasonal flowers and herbs as scented gifts for themselves, friends and family.

Disclosure: I purchased my copy of the book from Amazon

Isabelle Gellé, Natural Perfumer for Isabelle Gellé Parfums and Parfumeurs de Monde– Guest Contributor

Homemade Perfume Book photo by Isabelle

Thanks to Anya McCoy we have a signed copy of Homemade Perfume for a registered reader anywhere in the world. You must register to be eligible. Please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about Isabelle’s review of Homemade Perfume and if you have wanted to ever create your own Homemade Perfume. Draw closes 8/29/2018

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like ÇaFleureBon and use our blog feed … or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume. 

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24 comments

  • I was always interested in natural ingredients of perfumes. And that would be so exciting to create own homemade perfumes. This book sounds very nicely. Thank you for the draw. I live in Europe.

  • I love this book! I preordered it earlier this year on Amazon and have enjoyed reading it so much. Anya explains processes like enfleurage in detail. A wonderful reference and a fun read. Thank you, Isabelle and CaFleureBon for this in-depth review.

  • Scented Hound says:

    Thank you for the draw of this book offer! Fascinating subject, and it really interests me! I like everything about the review. Since childhood, I have wondered what really goes on in creating a home made scent, especially if you grow most of the flowers or plants yourself! Now this sample of the events involved is intriguing and of course, I would like to know more! Thank you to both Isabelle for the review and Anya for the interesting book! Waving from California! (Gail, with your wonderful garden photos, have you tried to create your own scent as yet?) ;}

  • I like about Isabelle’s review, that she tells us what we can create by reading every chapter. I am always dream I will make a solid perfume for myself sometimes. I live in Europe.
    Thank you,

  • The idea of creating one’s own perfume is an exciting one. How wonderful to get a snapshot from Isabelle’s review. Thanks for the draw. It would be most interesting to own this book. I’m in the USA

  • The education provided by this book would be very beneficial for anyone interested in perfumes. I have had interest in what goes into the making of perfume for years. I have started to take an online course in pufumery. This is more for my education than it is about me wanting to make perfumes, but who knows what the future will bring. Canada.

  • Monica Beaton says:

    I’ve come to love and appreciate natural fragrances, and from this review, it appears that Anya’s book covers all aspects of the processes. I would love to experiment with some notes and perfume making and this book sounds like the perfect companion! I’ve been following the creation of this publication on Facebook, and have been looking forward to it’s release. I live in Australia.

  • Great article.
    I loved the detailed information of what is included in each chapter.
    I do perfume 🙂 and love it.
    Learnt from Anya

  • It’s amazing how some people can generously share their knowledge on things. I love Anya’s passion for her craft and it seems like she has a detailed description for her processes. I’ve been wanting to start on making my own perfume, maybe this book will push me to do it soon. Thanks for giving us an opportunity to get our hands on her book, Isabelle. Ish, USA

  • melody Beswick says:

    I have been waiting for this book for 35 years! I ordered it as soon as it was available for preorder. I LOVE IT! Anya did a spectacular job. I have my Casa Blanca lillies in a large container enfleurage, I am so excited. Only problem now is getting the high proof everclear, but am working on that.
    Thank you so much
    Melody

  • I found out about this book just few weeks ago and the reason I did not purchase it yet was that I had a trip planned and am currently on vacation overseas. I put it in my Amazon cart and saved for later and found out about this wondelful giveaway! Maybe it’s my chance… Anyway, thank you for this gift!

  • mindfulnessjewels says:

    I loved the review as it highlights the detailed information on extraction of raw materials not commonly found in other books. I have always been interested in perfume and have made quite a few creations of my own with essential oils, would love to expand my practice into extracting my own raw materials with instructions from the book!

  • so excited about this book – as soon as I saw it was by Anya I was sold! This lady would have to be one of the top Natural perfumers on the planet and to share this amazing knowledge is gold. I am so excited that I can now prepare an enfleurage of my beautiful Ginger lilly with confidence that I am guided by one of the greats – Bless you Anya and thanks for the comprehensive review Issabelle Gelle and CaFleureBon

  • I love the review and the concept of this book. For anyone (like myself) that has a garden and has always wanted to capture the scents the appear as you work or roam through your garden this sounds like it is the perfect book. Isabelle does a fabulous job of laying out what each chapter looks like and the quick reference guide to quickly get you started. Thanks for the wonderful review, appreciation and Anya for the dedication to create this wonderful sharing.

  • Defninitely a topic I want to learn more about! Very interesting <3 (Not entering the draw because I won some samples recently)

  • I really loved this review as it went into detail about the chapters of the book and it’s concepts! Anya’s experience in natural perfumery is above reproach and her sharing her knowledge is a true gift to those of us wanting to learn. The chapter on enfleurage will be most interesting to me. Thanks for the giveaway and I live in the US! 🙂

  • A very positive informative review. I like the detail chapter review. It has convinced me it deserves a place in my library.

  • Ivan.napoleon says:

    My fav Part “Enjoy Homemade Perfume for the simplicity of explanations and instructions despite the complexity of the various extraction processes cited”
    I have not tried this house so far,Id love to.
    Miami-Florida

  • It would be amazing to know “the Art of traditional plant extraction methods” and try to extract some ingredients from the flowers around us. I’d love to create home perfume one day. I live in Poland

  • It sounds interesting since it also describes ways to make the ingredients yourself, rather than only having to buy the aroma molecules or oils. I’ve wanted to make fragrances, but it seemed complicated and was difficult to find easy recipes. Though I did have a very old book on it in PDF form, which was probably around 100 years old. Most of the recipes sounded more like colognes.
    Im in the US. thanks

  • I appreciate the detailed review of the book’s chapters. I’m certainly looking forward to learning of the pre-20th century methods.

  • I appreciate the detailed and positive review of book’s chapters. I look forward to learning of the pre-20th century extraction methods.

  • I appreciate the detailed and positive review of the book’s chapters. I look forward to learning of the pre-20th century extraction methods.

  • I like how Isabelle describes the organization and easy reference of the book despite the process being complex. I would love to learn this skill for my little girl who has always wanted to wear perfume and has been unable due to extreme chemical sensitivities. Thank you for the article.