*Secret Patchouli* by Justine Crane, Rebel Perfumer…. Lead up to Summer of Patchouli Love 2011, Perfume Pharmer and the Patch Test Bunnies.

Several years ago, when I first began seriously collecting oils for perfumery and soap making, I purchased a kilo of lush aged patchouli from a popular supplier, who shall remain…incognito.

The kilo arrived late in the afternoon on a Friday and I was so exhausted from the long work week that I curbed my natural tendency to rip open the box, tear out the bottle and furiously twist off the cap of the aluminum bottle the patchouli lived within. I saved it for Saturday morning, the day I usually head out to the local farmer’s markets and swap meets….

I set up to decant several ounces of the patchouli into smaller bottles to hand off to friends and lovers of patchouli oil, then began the process of pouring the oil into funnel topped bottles –

-then I got distracted, yawned or scratched behind my ear, something, because the next thing I knew, my hand and sleeve was saturated in over spilled patchouli oil!

I cleaned the mess the best I could, blissfully smearing and smudging the patch wherever I could, surrounding myself with its gorgeous earthy, dusty essence (like wind through a dirty metal screen). Then I went to the swap meet, completely oblivious to the vapor trail of distant memories I left in my wake until I overheard a man nearly 20 feet away say, “Hon! Do you smell that? Smells like patchouli! Reminds me of the Haight. Is there an incense booth around here?”

I swept past him with a smile and a nod to his companion as he searched the horizon, his hand shading his eyes, looking for the ever elusive scent of his past.

Images:

http://sunglasses-info.com/27-sunglasses.htm

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/25/content_11770778.htm

http://festivalagogo.com/?p=612

http://www.myspace.com/526330083

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.