2 Note Botanical Perfumery

Spotlight Minuet

2note — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 23:45:23 +0000

As if it wasn’t exciting enough to have our Sonata perfume get a mention in NY Magazine online, we have been given another nod. A few months ago we were contacted by Ryan Haase, a writer for a fashion blog called refinery29. Ryan was doing some research on perfumes, and requested some information and samples of our work to consider including in his piece. A few emails back and forth, and a few months passed. Yesterday, monday November 24th to be exact, we hit the internet with our first trot down a fashion runway! Ryan surely found his nose in many incredible fragrances, but found our Minuet worthy of being in the line up. We are in great and well known company. We are flattered and honored seeing our Minuet Perfume Oil amidst some of the perfume giants in the industry. Thank you Ryan! You can read the article at http://www.refinery29.com

A Healthy Glow

2note — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:56:02 +0000

Well…It’s that time of year again (at least here in Maine!). While the squirrels scurry about foraging for their winter stash, we’re all pulling on our wool sweaters and dreaming about which soup to make next. We just set the clocks back and it’s pretty dark out by 5 o’clock. This is the time of year when I love to light a candle or two in the evening. The glowing light of a candle adds warmth and light to these cold and darkened days.

When Darcy and I decided we wanted to learn how to make candles we did our research. Since our business philosophy rests on the use of organic, natural and raw ingredients that have ethically sound origins we knew we wanted to make candles that are environmentally friendly. We opted to make our candles with beeswax. Even though soy and palm waxes are environmentally friendly, we found that we could not be sure that these waxes had not been adulterated with paraffin wax (something the consumer would never know). Beeswax has strong and sacred roots. Bees are an invaluable part of our ecosystem, offering many essential gifts, and great care must be taken to protect bees from destructive viruses that threaten their vitality. Thankfully, many beekeepers are making great strides toward keeping bees out of harm’s way by using sustainable methods such as organic and biodynamic practices. All part of a crucial evolution toward a safer world for all of us.

I’d like to let you in on a few amazing secrets about beeswax and why burning a beeswax candle is actually good for you and the environment!

1. Beeswax candles burn longer and cleaner than any other candle wax.

2. Beeswax burns extremely slowly and has the brightest flame, giving off many more hours of glow than paraffin, soy, or palm wax candles.

3. Even though beeswax candles appear more expensive than others, they are actually a better bang for the buck! (refer to 2) Just pay attention to the number of hours posted on a candle label compared to it’s size. Our 3 oz candles burn for approximately 25 hours and our 7 oz candles burn for approximately 70 hours!

4. When you burn a beeswax candle the beeswax emits negative ions (a very positive thing!). Negative ions help to rid the air of toxins (positive ions) such as dust, allergens, odors, pollen, mold, dust mites, and viruses. Isn’t that amazing? Paraffin wax (what most candles are made with) is actually a petroleum by-product, and when you burn a paraffin candle carcinogens are released into the air. Burning one paraffin tea light is about the equivalent of smoking one cigarette!

Here at 2 Note we hand pour our candles. We do not use dyes – the amber glow that a beeswax candle casts when it’s lit is beautiful! We do scent our candles (we are botanical artists, afterall!). Our candles are truly unique in that we scent them with pure, therapeutic grade plant essences. This way of scenting candles is practically unheard of, as it’s much more expensive! We don’t worry about that, because what matters to us is that it’s the better, healthier way.

Here’s to a healthy glow!

Carolyn

The Natural Wonders of 2 Note Botanical Perfumes

2note — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:38:24 +0000

QUALITY INGREDIENTS

We search high and low for ingredients that meet our standards. We are proud to offer products that are truly natural. Our perfumes are free of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, additives, and synthetic fragrance. We ensure that our ingredients are ethically produced and our products are never tested on animals.

Our liquid perfumes are infused in a base of 100% unrefined golden jojoba – a liquid wax containing significant amounts of esters akin to the natural restorative esters found in the sebaceous glands of human skin. jojoba is non-greasy, highly absorbent, and naturally has a long shelf life.

Our solid perfumes are blended with a base of sun bleached beeswax, Shea oil, Jojoba, and rosemary extract.

Our perfume bases are meant to nourish, condition, and protect your skin. 2 NOTE believes that anything we are willing to put on our bodies, we should be able to put in our bodies. We believe it is as much about what we leave out of our perfumes, as it is what we put into them.

We use only therapeutic grade essential oils and absolutes in our perfume compositions. We rely on the base notes to “fix” the perfumes rather than chemical fixatives. Though we create our fragrances for their aesthetic beauty, 2 NOTE perfumes offer the person wearing them, as well as those around them, the therapeutic benefits of plant essences (i.e. aphrodisiac, anti-depressant, calming). We have yet to hear of anyone being allergic to our perfumes, and we notice that people are drawn to a 2 NOTE fragrance, rather than offended by them.

AROMATIC ARTISTRY

2 NOTE perfumes are truly original. Each person’s individual chemistry contributes a signature note to the fragrance. When applied, 2 Note perfumes take on a life of their own. This is where the magic and mystery botanical perfumery lies.

The lasting impression of a 2 NOTE perfume depends both on the individual fragrance and the individual wearing the fragrance. Generally, our perfumes linger for between 2 to 6 hours. We are proud that we don’t use chemicals to increase the potency or wear time of our perfumes. We offer our perfumes in sets – a liquid and a solid perfume. While the liquid perfume offers a blooming start, the solid perfume makes an excellent travel companion and offers a way to refresh a 2 NOTE perfume while you are out and about. When applying a 2 NOTE perfume, we recommend that you put a few drops in your hand, rub your hands together, and then run them through your hair and/or over a sweater or coat – hair and fabric are natural fixatives and will extend the wear time of a botanical perfume.