A bighank you John Reasinger of Fragarant Footnotes for such a fantastic review of my cannabis perfumes, I'm over the moon with joy! Your descriptions of the scents are so thoughtfully written and describe them beautifully. I am so honored by your prose. Reposted here with permission from John's Facebook page Fragarant Footnotes: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=688290958018151&id=599033073610607
10 January, 2017 Tuesday Weekly Fascination = Cannabis Daily Theme = Something new SPOTLIGHT on Amber Jobin of AetherArts Perfume Reefer Madness (A Narcotic Floral) Burner Perfume No.5: Incense Indica & Holy Hemp!
Dear sniffeurs,
The newest cannabis perfume on the market is by independent artisan perfumer Amber Jobin of AETHER ARTS PERFUME. The name (and theme) of the company is "art in air" and pretty much sums up her work. A conscientious perfumer who cares about the environment concentrates more on what goes IN the bottle than the bottle itself. All her bottles are small, simple and streamlined and are meant to reduce clutter and carbon footprints by having them be recycled rather than end up in a landfill. She gives full disclosure of materials used, percentages of synthetic to natural components and the use of any animalic ingredients. Her scents are all in perfume oil format and most are 45% extrait strength and meld sublimely with skin without the "burn" of alcohol. Reefer Madness, released in 2016, is her fourth cannabis perfume to date and its sublime blending of white florals with cannabis and animal musk notes lives up to its subtitle of "narcotic floral". (Notes: cannabis accord, gardenia, honeysuckle, jasmine absolute and animalic notes *castoreum, civet and musk*) What struck me immediately upon applying this was not so much the cannabis accord (that crept up on me later) but the buttery gardenia. Redolent of floral notes, many smokers actually refer to the bud smoked as "flower". This accord is interwoven so well amongst indolic jasmine and airy honeysuckle that you don't notice it. When it does manifest, it is a delightful mélange of petals resin and herbal facets that slinks effortlessly into the musky dank base notes that maintain their fresh funkiness without seeming urine-soaked or the least bit sweaty. This may sound like a retro-vintage scent but it is truly a rather novel approach to floral green perfumes, unusually augmented as it is with animalic undertones and highlighting herbal aspects without any of the usual suspects. This blends indolic and innocent and (much like the poster for the propaganda movie warns) subverts them with illicit ingenuity and releases the inner animal. The best part? It doesn't reek of smoke or tar...just projects soft smokiness and subtle wisps of floral musk while glowing subtly green for many hours. Delightful debauchery without any guilt!
High on my scale of pot perfumes is Burner Perfume No.5-Incense Indica from 2014. Inspired by the Burning Man theme of Caravansary: The First Information Highway, Amber chose to use materials that were moved and traded along the Silk Road-resins, spices, incense and fine exotic woods and balsams. Her approach was ingenious as she used cannabis (and its beautifully complex resin-rich aroma) as opposed to the usual frankincense; opting for the warmth of cannabis over the cold sharpness of olibanum. The initial application leaves no doubt this is an oriental incense perfume, as choya loban and opoponax coalesce with spicy bud resins and ambery crystals. A decadent heart of honey and the hashish-laced dessert majoun melt into creamy jasmine Sambac warmed with Moroccan myrrh! It is at this point my eyes roll back in my head and I sigh with utter bliss as my nose keeps returning to my skin. The ultimate finish is an amber sprinkled woody delight charred and smoked with even more choya loban. Not only is this one of my favorite scents utilizing marijuana, it's in my top ten incense perfumes ever. An odalisque in a pasha's tent? Indeed, at least with this House there is truth in advertising! Brava, Ms Jobin.
Holy Hemp! Also deserves a mention here as just after the 2015 release, I was sent a sample and I happened to be outside in my yard, not far from where a patch of tulsi (or Holy Basil) was growing in my herb garden. It was a warm midsummer day and my partner was in the lower yard with the dogs and the delightful aroma of his kind bud wafted past me. All I could think about was Holy Hemp and ran inside to roll some on. As I sniffed it and smiled, I realized that our intrepid perfumer had gotten it "just right" as the scent truly mirrored the experience of being in the garden on a warm day with the scent of kind bud floating by on the flowery breeze! (Notes: Cannabis, basil, tulsi basil, cananga or ylang-ylang, curry leaves, galbanum and gurjum balsam) One mean green dreamy perfume.
Both Amber and her mentor (the gifted and prolific Dawn Spencer Hurwitz) have used this gift of the gods for more than just medicine or simple recreation. In their creations it is truly becomes a balm for the soul and aromatherapy at its best and most wondrous level. Buzzing and grooving on a genuine spiritual high, I bid you all peace, love and grooviness... Gypsy Parfumista xo
