Hello from the perfumery here in Santa Fe, New Mexico where we have a gorgeous, clear, cerulean blue sky today with very warm sunshine! I've been wandering into my mothers past the last few days and finding all sorts of fascinating gems. For example, I knew that when she worked at the knit shop in Beverly Hills, circa 1967-1970 or so, she had quite a star studded clientele who she both hand knit for and taught. One of the new threads in her story, is that she made sweaters for AND taught Rock...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Here we are once more, entering a cycle deemed by the Gregorian calendar as the New Year. Did you know that before our current model of tracking the year, there were others? The one that makes most sense to me, and aligned with the Northern hemisphere seasonal shift and alchemy, begins in March. If you have visited the perfumery recently, perhaps you ascended the stairs to the lab being mindful of the twelve alchemical processes, each one corresponding to a zodiac sign. I'm currently working...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Fall in Santa Fe, New Mexico is my favorite time of the year. Harvests are bountiful, the golden vistas spectacular and the chill in the air highlights the piñon wood smoke note wafting from the earthen hue’d chimneys. My first visit to Santa Fe was in the Autumn of the mid 80’s, the scent of piñon smoke was part of the seduction of this beautiful land. The “smoke” note in perfume goes way back in ancient times, consider the roots of the word perfume -> per fumum, meaning “through smoke”....
8 months ago • 1 min read
August has danced into New Mexico with rain, refreshing temperatures and marvelous thunderheads against vast watercolor skies. As above, so below. I beckon you to mimic the beauty and rhythmic patterns of nature as a path to cultivating inner peace. Roxana 🌸🐝 Join me in a few Venusian* pleasures of charm, grace, refinement and ancient wisdom beginning with the manifestation of a long desired goal. *Venusian refers to the planet Venus, second in size to our sun and represented by a Goddess. In...
8 months ago • 2 min read
“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing. – John Keats One of my very favorite poets is John Keats who wrote often on beauty. The title of this newsletter "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" is from his poem titled Ode on a Grecian Urn. The words suggest that beauty and truth are both interwoven and connected, and implies that the...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
“There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate.” – Linda Grayson Hello, here we are once more on the day attributed to the planet and corresponding Goddess Venus. In harmony with that energetic imprint I have a few items to share. Wafting infinite beams of love from my heart to yours, Roxana 🌸🐝 Cacao photo by Elyse Tesman Photo by my grandpa Victor Giusti MAMA CACAO As is the case for me, especially when I practice being open and in flow, a sequence of...
about 1 year ago • 1 min read
“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” – Buddha Hello, blessings to each one of you as we inch our way toward warmer days and flowers with the inward quality of Luna shifting to the outward expression and vitality of the Sun. I have been meaning to share news since my last message in December, yet I had no worthy words to share. Emerging now, I am here to welcome Spring in the northern hemisphere as it approaches on March 19th with a special ceremony. In...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
Hello, The golden cloak of Autumn has arrived to the high desert heralding in the firelight energy of the season as well as a visit from a mentor and a new presentation. In the Summer of 2005, after attending a Visionary Art workshop in Austria, I decided to begin work on launching a perfume brand. The intention was to focus on the authenticity and art of true plant fragrance, hence the adjective illuminated. While watering seeds of intention and conjuring inner fortitude to manifest this...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Here we are. once more at the turning of the great earth wheel known as the Autumn Equinox, a transition point as we move from the light half of the year into the dark in the Northern hemisphere. This transition point is represented in the balancing of light and dark and the union of opposites. Out of the chaos of formless disorder we are born into the infinite, repeating cycle of natures constant creation and destruction. Wishing each of you balance as we enter this new cycle. Roxana 🌸🐝 The...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read