The Beauty of Natural Essences

Since time immemorial, the transcendent allure of scent has played an important role in the human experience, inspiring the imagination of all societies to craft botanical recipes that enhance mind, body, and spirit. Natural essences have been so highly esteemed and sought after because of the deeply ingrained universal truth that smell and memory are powerfully interwoven. As our olfactory sensations are the roots that ground our memories in precious moments and places, natural ingredients are the essences that create a soulful and direct connection to the earth. They enrich our collective consciousness and provide a blossoming diversity to match every season, mood, and skin chemistry.

Natural perfume, with its delicate and complex, shifting nature, has a powerful and unique capability of immediately connecting us to emotions, memories, and the world around us. The scent of a sprig of French lavender from a bride’s bouquet can immediately transport her back to that beautiful day full of radiant joy. The dewy green scent of moss conjures up a peaceful memory of a barefoot walk down a hidden woodland path, punctuated with the distinct scent of lush growth, lichen, earthy mushrooms, rich soil, and rejuvenating ozone. Knowing this innate transporting power of scent, we can use natural perfume and essences as tools to help us recall memories.

Until the development of synthetics in the late 1800s, natural ingredients were the sole source of all our perfumes, medicine, cosmetics, and culinary delights. In our modern age, with synthetic ingredients increasingly taking over the market, it is important to remember the original natural sources and revisit their benefits and wonderfully multifaceted natures, lest we forget their unique and irreplaceable qualities.

Synthetic ingredients can be useful for their creative, practical, and economical potential, but they are no match for the depth, beauty, and therapeutic synergy of real essences derived from the vastness of the plant world. Synthetic ingredients tend to be quite flat and linear, while a drop of pure, sumptuous, heavenly rose oil is an exquisite unfurling of sensorial delight, with an indulgent richness of depth that is impossible to fully mimic. The aroma of natural rose reminds our collective consciousness of the fine adornments of kings and queens throughout the ages. It is impossible not to feel regal when wearing the incomparable scent of this extraordinary flower.

We can appreciate this luxury all the more when we consider that a rose blossom contains only about 0.02% essential oil. It takes about 60,000 roses to produce just one ounce of oil! In its purest form, just a single drop requires about two and a half dozen roses. It is no surprise, then, that gathering and knowing how to work with these materials requires an intensive amount of focus, dedication, and a long term relationship with the natural wonders of the earth. When we create recipes with exquisite flowers, such as rose, jasmine, and orange blossom neroli, there is no doubt that we are crafting with some of the most treasured of all natural essences – earth’s own beloved, fragrant crown jewels.

Still further, we appreciate the diversity of natural essences and the possibilities for crafting scents to match every seasonal, emotional, and physical uniqueness. Their complexity can be appreciated by observing how their distinct and ephemeral layers move and morph with skin chemistry and time. Our appreciation of scents and natural essences goes well beyond the purely cosmetic and aesthetic. Since the dawn of time, we have revered these ingredients for their spiritual and emotional benefits as well. We worked with botanicals to formulate ointments, cosmetics, herbal remedies, dye, textiles, sacred incense, and perfume—one of the most costly and precious of possessions, a thing of ethereal, mysterious, incomparable, and illusive beauty. Sacred incense of resins, woods, and spices, and ancient temples carved and constructed from fragrant woods like sandalwood remind us of the sacredness and preciousness of nature throughout time. When we appreciate the grounding, earthy, damp darkness of an aged patchouli oil, or meditate upon the fragrant smoke from smoldering tears of frankincense, we are reminded of our connection to the earth, from which we came and will someday return.

While the connection to earth and memory is universal in the human experience, it is important to note there are beautiful differences between varieties. Roses have a natural complexity; their layers of fruit, spice, and sweet floral notes morph dramatically from country to country, each variety imparting a lovely and unique fragrance profile. A rose from Egypt will have a more distinctly robust honeyed scent profile compared with a rose from Morocco, with its sweet fruity spice notes, or Bulgaria, with its lighter, ethereal, floral notes. This diversity allows us to craft blends that match each unique profile. We can create a scent to perfectly complement every mood, season, and ritual in life. When we inhale the scent of an heirloom garden rose and gently nourish our skin with its oil, sip exquisite fine tea perfumed with its petals, or bake with dried flower powder, we are loving that part of ourselves that is as old as time, honoring the synergy of humans, spirit, and nature.

Natural ingredients also have inherently therapeutic and dyeing properties. Juicy blood-orange essential oil, with its tart, plump raspberry notes, brings about feelings of abundant joy and can be especially useful in the bleak cold months of the year. Beets and hibiscus are other useful ingredients beloved for their bold, deep magenta-red color. They work phenomenally as a natural blush, cosmetic stain, and dye for textiles. The delicate little flowers of fragrant lavender exude a powerful herbal presence that is deeply calming to both skin and mind. This multifaceted gem of the plant world is exceptional for everything from perfumery, skin care, and tea to cooking, medicine, and aromatherapeutic use.

There is nothing quite as grounding and fulfilling as creating a recipe that works with your unique chemistry. As long as we work to re-establish equilibrium, honor our unique connection with our earth, the cyclical nature and beauty of the botanical world will unfold in harmony. Creating with natural essences helps us be present in the moment, as well as remember the scent memories of the past, communing with nature as we appreciate its gifts. Let the items you create be reminders to weave layers of meaning into daily existence. Use your creations as tools of romanticism, to simultaneously embrace the present, remember the past, and honor intangible, ephemeral moments in time.

This enchanting photoshoot was brought to life by a dazzling assortment of costumes and botanicals. Costumes featured Meg’s robe by Ashley Rose Couture, moth necklace by Run 2 the Wild, and a custom skirt by Annette Eubank, Caroline’s elaborately sequined embroidered shawl, Eric’s exquisite robe by Dress Art Mystery, and a regal crown by La Camara Del Alquimista.

Lindsey incorporated the use of botanicals throughout the shoot, which included prepping the models with wonderfully fragrant Lumina Noctis Rose Serum, which is excellent for all skin types and adds an ethereal glow to one’s complexion. The models also wore Lumina Noctis all natural blush, which is lovingly crafted from organic beets and flower petals.