from the mail bag #1: [angel, buddhism & merchandise]
What started my old perfume line, Lascivious XIII. They've been packed away for years and after much digging have been found.
From the mail bag:
Q: “How do you make your own Angel by Thierry Mugler?”
A: Its very, very difficult to make the scent match perfectly–its so fucking complex. Since everything I do is basically so D.I.Y. it hurts, I used to try and duplicate my own version of Angel oil before I could afford my own. Oil stays on your skin much, much longer than perfume. The alcohol in perfume evaporates quickly so your scent doesn’t last throughout the day. (FYI: As a little tip, buy perfumes labeled eau de parfum rather than eau de toilette as the former is made with a higher concentration of scented oil and will last much longer. “Angel” is an eau de parfum, as are most designer labels.)
For a bit of narcissism/background:
I used to make and bottle my own line of scented oils way back in college under the name Lascivious XIII, which focused on dessert themed scents. I’d sell them for $8 a piece from my Angelfire website (yes, ANGELFIRE) which was less than enough to break even. I “did it for the art” which means I had to give it up after about a year because I was broke between buying the scented oils, blending oils, label supplies, paints and paper for the special edition bottles, the bottling supplies and not to mention the time it took to blend a single scent.
(The lesson here kids is “doing it for the art” sounds awesome, but the reality is you’re probably going to regret it. If you want to keep making art, find ways to fund it. Don’t be afraid to charge your audience a reasonable amount for your product, in my opinion.)
Anyway, Angel is a musky, delicious and complex perfume–groundbreaking in terms of gourmand scents. Since it’s launch in 1992 women the world over have rejoiced at the notion that you don’t have to smell like a fucking bouquet of flowers. Personally I’ve been wearing it for over 6 years.
To replicate takes the following scented oils: (Bottom notes) – dark chocolate, caramel, patchouli, vanilla. (Middle notes) – passion fruit, peach and/or apricot. (Top notes) – bergamot and mandarin. (I used to buy these from a seller on eBay named abippert and the prices were unbeatable.) I used to blend with grape seed oil since it was lighter and absorbed easier than avocado or almond oil. These can usually be found at Bath and Body Works. As far as the ratios go, its trial and error. Sucks I know, but I never wrote down a concrete formula. My organization then, like it is now, was less than stellar. Obviously you want to build from the base up and go easy on the top notes.
For me, making huge batches of oil from the floor of my walk in closet (no lie, my ex-boyfriend at the time used to call me a dwarf) I hurt more batches than I helped. Its difficult to finally find the right ratio and then blow up the measurements. It sounds like it should be simple, but some of the heavier notes, such as patchouli, can’t be raised from 2 to 4 because then they just start overpowering the entire batch. Once that happens you’re basically fucked as no amount of dilution will save something like that or not that I’ve found anyway.
If you manage to scare up something similar to Angel, siphon it into any of a variety of roll on bottles (I bought them for fairly cheap from a seller on eBay named seattlle_4) and you’re good to go.
found these in an old backpack. remnants of days long past.
For even more information that you didn’t ask for:
I used to make little oil limited edition packages in which I’d decorate the bottles by hand and pair it with a matching piece of jewelry. For example I had a small line based on the My Ruin side project called The LVRS, which was scented like dark chocolate covered cherries. I’d pair that with a black wire ring decorated with black beads, garnets and pink quartz. There was also a line I called Agent Orange which smelled like ginger, dark chocolate and tangerine. Those rings were black, gold and cats eye. Etc. Etc. The rings I made were inspired by My Ruin lead singer Tairrie B[M] and her rock candy rings. The necklaces were handmade rosaries and chokers using old war and religious medallions I’d find at thrift stores and catholic shops.
Q: The world is vast and wide. Why do we put on our robes at the sound of a bell?
A: Buddhism is too mild mannered for me. In short: because you get paid to do so.
Q: Ever consider G[&]D t-shirts? Stickers? Spoken word downloads? Podcasts?
A: Yes and yes. I’m considering making a shitload of stickers and sending them out for free with the stipulation they’re put in a public place. Maybe send in a picture and I’ll make a special section dedicated to pictures. (Does this sound good to anyone? Yes? No? Let me know.)
As far as t-shirts, funny enough the [m.o.d.] link on the right is for my modern.orphan.designs. page which I haven’t had a bit of time to launch, though many of the prototypes have been made. At the moment I’ve given many of them away as gifts to test their wearability and market. I’ve been making and deconstructing my own clothing since high school.
As for spoken word I haven’t the gadgets yet to record myself and stick it on the intranets. If there’s a demand for it then I’m all in. The more content the better. It’s all up to the audience.
(If you have a question you’d like to ask, or a comment you’d like to make feel free to email me at julie [at] devilgossip [dot] com! Conversely, I have a background in journalism and interviewing so if you’re an artist (musician, painter, photographer, boutique owner, poet ect. ect.) and would like me to consider you for an interview to appear on this site, shoot me an email (subject: INTERVIEW REQUEST) with your name/website/examples of your work/info. (I research all requests carefully, that way if I do decide to pick you up for an interview I know what I’m attaching my name to. Similar influences and/or a clear agenda help.) I’ve recently interviewed New York based singer/songwriter Jessica Allyn in an article to be posted soon.)
Tags: agent orange skies, angel, buddhism, i love ebay, inspiration, interviews, jessica allyn, lvrs, marketing, media whoring, modern orphan designs, more information than you probably wanted, perfume, promotion, scented oils, thierry mugler
May 13th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I actually still have a bottle of oil you had made me for x-mas one year, I save it for special occassions. The paper writing and all but one rhinstone have survived moving to college, an apt, home, and back to college again! And i beleive there is a “rock candy” ring floating around in a jewelry box somewhere too that if i remember correctly i only quit wearing becasue my fingers became too big
I guess I’m biased but I love the stuff you’ve been making forever. <3
August 28th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
[...] run of my special, secret oil scents you’ll fucking LOVE. (If you don’t remember, I posted a while ago about the line of oils I had years ago called Lascivious XIII – I blended them in my kitchen [...]