Fragrance & the Apothecary - A trip down the rabbit hole of perfumania. Discussing the ancient art of attars, recovering from "smell blindness," and an experiment with lichens as perfume.
Hi Sarah, I was reading your post with great excitement, your work with essential oils, scents, and the mascerating of poplar buds is so similar to my own journey, and I realised I could learn so much from you. And then at the end of your post I was most pleasantly surprised to find my Substack mentioned! How kind and thoughtful of you! Thank you so much. My favourite summer plant is meadowsweet, and last summer I steeped the flowers in oil on a sunny window sill for 6 weeks, one batch with fresh flowers and one after I'd dried them. I used the oil as a facial cleanser and I can't tell you how uplifting it was to get that blast of gentle summer scent every morning as the weather turned colder and moved into winter. Good luck with the poplar buds! Oh, and I love your Bookshelf, what a fabulous resource.💕
Thank you for taking the time to stop by Ali! I've been a fan of yours from afar for a while now, and love immersing myself in the folklore and stories you so evocatively bring to life in your posts. I also adore your photographs, which remind me so much of some of the ancient places here in Cornwall. I'm so very happy to connect with you! What a beautiful way to use meadowsweet! It can be difficult to capture the aroma in oil, but when an experiment works out it's pure joy isn't it? I can't think of a nicer way to begin the day than smothering myself in the scent of summer! Last year I tried (and failed) to capture elderflower. Unfortunately the flowers weren't fully dried, and the slight dampness spoiled the delicate scent. The flowers are just so fragile. I do have a small copper still I'm planning to do a few experiments with this year so I'm crossing my fingers for better success. Thanks for the comments on the bookshelf. I have an ever growing library and love sharing books that have been helpful on this journey. Have a wonderful day!
It's so lovely to connect with you, too. I love the work that you are doing. Elderflower has the most amazing scent, I hope you learn the secret of capturing it this summer. It doesn't grow around here, but I know a beautiful ancient site where it does grow and where I first encountered the berries, I didn't know what plant they were, but I was entranced! Good luck with the copper still, I look forward to reading all about that adventure! Thank you for the kind words, too! 💕
This is a wonderful article. I have read it twice. I am sad to say that I contracted covid 1 1/2 years ago, lost my sense of smell, and have only regained part of it. I can barely taste chocolate, mostly the sweetness of it, although my imagination carries me some of the way. I've noticed that shrimp is only a vague taste, and once again, I find myself imagining the taste as I eat it. Same with some other foods. Since I have been olfactory-dominant in my five senses since birth, it has been distressing to have this valuable sense muted. Through Applied Kinesiology, I have had my vagus nerve worked on, which has helped only minimally. I chew a very minty gum almost daily to remind my brain of intense flavors. As a retired holistic chiropractor, I have hundreds of bottles of fragrance, especially essential oils. I sometimes sniff lemon or rose oil when I'm down, as an upper. Lately, I've been thrilled with spikenard, as it is so earthy. After reading your article, I an encouraged to take daily "doses" of a different fragrance each day to remind my 10th cranial to turn on more. (My chiropractor already told me to do so) Since in my teens, I have been a good cook, but it's hard to be so when one can't taste the food.
I love Ali Isaac's writing, and am thrilled she's back at it with sharing her fabulous articles. She's way too modest about her skills. I told her about you, but she already knew! Great things come out of Ireland. Thank you for this lovely article.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with anosmia Robin. I also lost my sense of smell and taste after Covid, and it took around 6 months to return. I appreciate how distressing this is. Although my senses have mostly returned, I still feel only around 80% healed. There are certain smells which are not as evocative as they once were. I included in this, the more subtle smells from nature such as the smell of damp rain on clothes after a long walk in the woods, or the salty air at the beach. I continue to work on enhancing my olfactory powers and am very grateful for the tips you've shared here. I'm amazed at the fact that despite this being such a widespread issue, it's barely even reported on. In regards to Ali's work - I agree. Just fabulous. One of the things I love most about Substack is the pleasure of discovering other writers with similar interests with whom I can connect and learn from. Wishing you a speedy recovery, and thank you again for going out of your way to read and comment on my post. Have a beautiful day!
Hi Sarah, I was reading your post with great excitement, your work with essential oils, scents, and the mascerating of poplar buds is so similar to my own journey, and I realised I could learn so much from you. And then at the end of your post I was most pleasantly surprised to find my Substack mentioned! How kind and thoughtful of you! Thank you so much. My favourite summer plant is meadowsweet, and last summer I steeped the flowers in oil on a sunny window sill for 6 weeks, one batch with fresh flowers and one after I'd dried them. I used the oil as a facial cleanser and I can't tell you how uplifting it was to get that blast of gentle summer scent every morning as the weather turned colder and moved into winter. Good luck with the poplar buds! Oh, and I love your Bookshelf, what a fabulous resource.💕
Thank you for taking the time to stop by Ali! I've been a fan of yours from afar for a while now, and love immersing myself in the folklore and stories you so evocatively bring to life in your posts. I also adore your photographs, which remind me so much of some of the ancient places here in Cornwall. I'm so very happy to connect with you! What a beautiful way to use meadowsweet! It can be difficult to capture the aroma in oil, but when an experiment works out it's pure joy isn't it? I can't think of a nicer way to begin the day than smothering myself in the scent of summer! Last year I tried (and failed) to capture elderflower. Unfortunately the flowers weren't fully dried, and the slight dampness spoiled the delicate scent. The flowers are just so fragile. I do have a small copper still I'm planning to do a few experiments with this year so I'm crossing my fingers for better success. Thanks for the comments on the bookshelf. I have an ever growing library and love sharing books that have been helpful on this journey. Have a wonderful day!
It's so lovely to connect with you, too. I love the work that you are doing. Elderflower has the most amazing scent, I hope you learn the secret of capturing it this summer. It doesn't grow around here, but I know a beautiful ancient site where it does grow and where I first encountered the berries, I didn't know what plant they were, but I was entranced! Good luck with the copper still, I look forward to reading all about that adventure! Thank you for the kind words, too! 💕
This is a wonderful article. I have read it twice. I am sad to say that I contracted covid 1 1/2 years ago, lost my sense of smell, and have only regained part of it. I can barely taste chocolate, mostly the sweetness of it, although my imagination carries me some of the way. I've noticed that shrimp is only a vague taste, and once again, I find myself imagining the taste as I eat it. Same with some other foods. Since I have been olfactory-dominant in my five senses since birth, it has been distressing to have this valuable sense muted. Through Applied Kinesiology, I have had my vagus nerve worked on, which has helped only minimally. I chew a very minty gum almost daily to remind my brain of intense flavors. As a retired holistic chiropractor, I have hundreds of bottles of fragrance, especially essential oils. I sometimes sniff lemon or rose oil when I'm down, as an upper. Lately, I've been thrilled with spikenard, as it is so earthy. After reading your article, I an encouraged to take daily "doses" of a different fragrance each day to remind my 10th cranial to turn on more. (My chiropractor already told me to do so) Since in my teens, I have been a good cook, but it's hard to be so when one can't taste the food.
I love Ali Isaac's writing, and am thrilled she's back at it with sharing her fabulous articles. She's way too modest about her skills. I told her about you, but she already knew! Great things come out of Ireland. Thank you for this lovely article.
Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with anosmia Robin. I also lost my sense of smell and taste after Covid, and it took around 6 months to return. I appreciate how distressing this is. Although my senses have mostly returned, I still feel only around 80% healed. There are certain smells which are not as evocative as they once were. I included in this, the more subtle smells from nature such as the smell of damp rain on clothes after a long walk in the woods, or the salty air at the beach. I continue to work on enhancing my olfactory powers and am very grateful for the tips you've shared here. I'm amazed at the fact that despite this being such a widespread issue, it's barely even reported on. In regards to Ali's work - I agree. Just fabulous. One of the things I love most about Substack is the pleasure of discovering other writers with similar interests with whom I can connect and learn from. Wishing you a speedy recovery, and thank you again for going out of your way to read and comment on my post. Have a beautiful day!
Here's an idea for a workshop! I would be interested! x
I have a tingly feeling there might be one in the pipeline :)