An exciting, fragrant collaboration!

I'm so very please to announce my collaboration with local perfumer extrordinairre, Ayala Moriel! I've long admired and coveted her hand blended natural aromatics and admit to splurging on myself a few times in the past.

I am the type of lady who very seldom wears scents, as I find I'm sensitive to synthetic aromas. I'm not allergic, I just think they smell fake and full of chemicals. I've researched and dabbled in amature scent blending in my past and therefore have a *wee* bit of knowledge in the area, so I really appreciate it when I come across someone as passionate, pure and professional as Ayala. She uses only natural scented oils from nature, never synthetic!

What's so bad about synthetic fragrances? Most contain petroleum-derived materials, and some even contain phthalates. Read this article for more eye-opening information about that perfume aisle in the drug store.

So when I found the lovely silver plated lockets (above) specifically made to hold perfume, I immediately thought of collaborating with her to create the solid perfume to nestle inside. Each locket has a separate non-reactive pan that sits inside the recess.

We got together one cloudy Vancouver afternoon at her cozy condo in the west end where she crafts her unique aromas. She brewed us some tea, (served in lovely vintage china) and some hand made truffles and bannaa fudge brownies. In addition to blending perfumes, Ayala also makes *the* most exquisite chocolate truffles I have ever had the pleasure of melting on my tongue. My favourite uses an unexpected combination of smoked sea salt and black cardamom. Oh yes. Part of what I love about her scents is that she uses uncommon and surprising combinations with creativity and pizzaz. You can read about her process on her smelly blog. Love that name!


When we got together, we discussed and sniffed over some of the fragrances that would be a good choice for a solid perfume (not all scents work well in a solid form). We decided to go with two of my personal favorites, because if I'm not passionate about it, then why bother? When you purchase one my perfume lockets, you have a choice of;

Antique Amber
Antique Amber is an oriental-ambery perfume with an old-world charm, like an antique wooden dresser filled with treasures: Luxurious amber resin, exotic patchouli-scented shawls, and remnants of jasmine perfume for an extra feminine touch. Borneol camphor and a hint of aniseed add a mysterious, lingering cool/warm intrigue. Antique Amber can be worn alone or can be layered with other perfumes for added depth mystery.

or;

Cabaret
Playful, romantic and zesty! Cabaret is an extremely flirtatious gourmand fragrance, with bergamot and magnolia top notes and a rosy a heart reminiscent of Rahat Loukum (Turkish Delight) and rosewater. A luscious ambery base of dark coconut, musk and vanilla makes it even sexier and sweeter. It will make you want to belly-dance!

Don't those sounds just delicious?! As you may have noticed, my passion in aromas does tend towards the "foodie" side of life!


As I mentioned, the lockets are new, but they have been made from the originals molds from the 1940's, so that is the original floral scroll design on the front. And because I like to have some true vintage element in all my designs, I've created lovely "patchwork" chains for each locket using bits and bobs of both vintage and new chain. Each one is unique! The lockets themselves are about 44x33mm and the chains are about 32 to 34" long.

You can purchase the lockets here. Or if you live in Vancouver, drop me a line (info@buenostyle.com) to arrange a studio visit.