I love the Autumn Season….it brings with it a certain inevitability as Summer slips over the horizon. Nights start to draw in as the days get shorter, and carefree summer days become a distant memory.

Trees begin to shed their leaves in a blaze of fire hued glory - the final performance before they bare their souls to the wintry demons that lay in wait just around the corner.

That cold crisp early morning start with the sunrise shimmering just above the horizon. Sunday afternoon strolls inhaling the rich musty smell of the soil, a sweet cloying scent hinting at the decay yet to come - a whiff of woodsmoke or an early afternoon bonfire - the ritual burning of the last of the garden finery.

Iridescent cobwebs bejewelled with the gems of early morning dew, a vague haze of mist forming a make-shift blanket over meadows and streams.

Kicking crisp copper leaves underfoot, hunting for the biggest and best conkers to soak in vinegar overnight. Plump hedgehogs waddling across the back lawn into the rotting undergrowth. Spinning Jennys performing gymnastic displays as they fall to earth, twisting and twirling - the sound of geese honking overhead as they prepare to migrate from one location to another.

As hedgehogs, squirrels, badgers, foxes and bats prepare for their winter hibernation, so too do I. Warm cozy nights in front of a roaring log fire (I wish! It’s gas all the way – but a girl can dream eh?!) with the blinds drawn and a good book. Changing into PJ’s as soon as you get home from work with the odd glass of wine thrown in for good measure. Autumn is a time to take stock, recharge your batteries and plan for new beginnings that only the Spring can bring.

I’d like to share this beautiful poem that I’ve recently found, that sums up the season perfectly

Come Little Leaves

Come little leaves said the wind one day,

Come O’er the meadows with me and play,

Put on your dress of red and gold,

For the Summer is gone and the days grow cold,

Down they came fluttering one and all,

Over the brown fields they danced and flew,

Singing the soft little songs they knew,

Dancing and whirling the little leaves went,

Winter had called them, and they were content,

Soon, fast asleep in their earthly beds,

The snow laid  a coverlet over their heads

…By George Cooper

We have some lovely evocative new fragrances that are suitable for burner oils, candles, soaps and reeds to help you relax and unwind whilst enjoying the scents of the season. If there are any that you would like to try, then please just contact either myself or Helen and we will arrange a small sample for you.

Library 34308

Come on in – sit yourself down and let this enveloping scent settle around you like a comforting blanket. Immerse yourself in leather backed books and well worn furniture. Contains essential oils of cedarwood, guaiacwood, smooth sandalwood, earthy patchouli and spicy ginger.

Oakwood 20497

Close your eyes and imagine relaxing into an oversized chesterfield sofa. The scent of vintage leather and tweed overcoats combine with rich woody undertones – a timeless masterpiece containing essential oils of cedarwood and geranium.

 Autumn Leaves 33092

Take a bracing walk through russet and copper coloured fallen leaves. This scent encompasses smouldering leaves, damp softwood and the fresh clean herbal notes of crisp october mornings. Containing essential oils of rosemary, eucalyptus, geranium, mimosa, bergamot, cedarwood and sandalwood.

Cocoa & Log Fire 24313

Curl yourself up in front of a crackling blazing log fire and cup your hands around a sweet mug of hot chocolate. This wonderful aroma is warm and comforting with essential oils of patchouli, cedarwood, lemon, sweet vanilla, clary sage and olibanum.

We have a vast array of the more intense, heavier fragrances traditionally associated with colder seasons and are currently working on our Spring 2013 ranges – please email for further information on upcoming trends - our contact details are available here on the website.

Did you know that smell was the first and only existing sense? In the oceans of way back when, sight and speech had not yet been developed. Multicelled organisms relied on the detection of odours and chemicals to eat, and to stay out of harms way.

In our modern times, the sense of smell has lost its predominance in most western cultures, and we tend to rely heavily on our vision - defining and describing our surroundings in a highly visual manner. There are, however, still pockets of olfactory reliance around the globe…..

For example, there is a tribe known as the Ongee from the Andaman Islands where their whole world is defined by smell.

 Their calendar is based around the odours of flowers that come into bloom at specific times of the year. Each season is named after a particular odour. Personal identity is also defined by smell. In order to refer to oneself, one touches the tip of one’s nose - a gesture interpreted as ‘me and my odour’.

When first meeting a member of the Ongee tribe, instead of asking ‘how are you?’ you would instead ask ‘konyune onorange-tanka?’ which means ‘how is your nose?’ This is followed by a strange etiquette. If the person responds that they feel heavy with odour, then the greeter must inhale deeply in order to remove some of the surplus, but if the greeter feels a little short on odour then the only polite redress would be to blow on them to bestow a little extra scent.

In India, an ancient text declares ‘I will smell thee on the head, that is the greatest sign of tender love’, and is considered the equivalent of a western hug or kiss.

In certain Arabian countries it is considered impolite to deny someone the smell of your breath whilst speaking as it conveys a shameful avoidance of involvement.

In cultures where the sense of smell is still highly valued, the mixing of odours is often very carefully regulated. In the Amazon, each tribe is believed to share a similar odour, and so marriage is only allowed between persons of different odours which prevents relationships between close family members from occuring.

The Malay Temiar people go one step further……they believe that everyone has an odour soul located at the base of the spine. If you pass too closely behind a person then this soul is disturbed and mingles with your body often causing disease. This is prevented by calling out ‘Odour Odour’ whenever you approach a person from behind, which then forewarns the odour soul of the impending intrusion.

Our western interpretations of which perfumes and aftershaves cause an attraction effect would be way off the mark if you wanted a night out in Ethiopia. Here there is no scent more beautiful, than the odour of cattle. Men wash their hands in the urine and smear their bodies with manure. The women get off a little more lightly, rubbing butter into their heads, shoulders and various other body parts in order to make themselves smell more attractive (or maybe just to mask the smell of the manure?!?)

If you are invited for a meal in certain Arab countries, a perfume box containing between 4 and 8 bottles of oils is passed around, and each guest anoints herself with different scents using a glass dropper. This signifies the end of your visit and guests must depart as soon as the perfume ritual is completed. The  ritual serves to promote a feeling of bonding and unity, and the social prestige of the hostess is enhanced by the pleasant smells she imparts to her guests.

So, the next time you are invited round to a dinner party and your host brings out the perfume – that’s your cue to order your taxi!

Do you have any smell or scent rituals that you’d like to share with us?

Arrived in Penang after setting off a tiring 28 hours ago. I have been assured that it will take less than 45mins to get to the hotel, and that elusive soak in the bath! As I set foot out of the airport, the first thing you notice is a peculiar aroma that pervades the air wherever you go in Malaysia and Indonesia outside the cities. It is a mix of heat, durian fruit and rokok, and once you have been here and smelled it, then you instantly associate the smell with the Far East.

Durian fruit is the Eastern version of Marmite – known as the King of Fruits, you either love it or hate it. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks.Most shopping malls refuse to stock it at all, as the fruit odour is so pungent that you begin to smell it a good 5 minutes before you even see it! Animals can detect the smell of the Durian up to half a mile away.

The Rokok are the local cigarettes, and even for a confirmed non-smoker as myself, the intense flavoursome mix of cinnamon, cloves, dark chocolate and smoky woods has a pleasurable aroma. You dont even need to get too close to the actual smoke vapour as the whole atmosphere is pervaded.

I have been watching Nothing to Declare in readiness for my trip – a ‘behind the scenes’ show of customs in Australia, and as I walked through the green lane, I could see people lined up with open suitcases and rows of packet foods ready to be confiscated. You’d have to be mad to try and smuggle anything into the country here and to be fair, they do give you fair warning on the plane – our captain told us as we landed that any drug trafficking automatically receives the death penalty! Well, that was enough to persuade me that the free peanuts I hadn’t eaten could stay on the airplane and so I fished them out of the pocket of my handbag and left them firmly on the seat tray!

I slept really well, the bed is very hard, just fine for my back! Woke up to the sound of rain lashing against the window, and sure enough a storm was rolling in….but its hard to feel hard done to – I can just make out the vague shape of a mountain range across the sea vista…..the sound of the sea crashing onto the beach below my window is a sound to savour no matter how wet and wild the weather outside.

I think its time to don a loaned sou’wester and go for a wild n windy walk!

I saw a lizard! I swear it was one of the komodo types, properly swaggering in the distance, but the moment I tried to find it amongst the rocks it completely disappeared! (when I mentioned it to Wong later, he thought i had been very brave to try and find it, brave warrior woman that i am!)

Tonight was a litte surreal, we started off with a trip to the Hard Rock cafe for our evening meal – which was fine in its own way, quiet though, and they sat us underneath Noel Gallaghers guitar, I mean come on, I’ve only just left Manchester – at least give me an American…. but hey ho, they did make an amazing Mojito

The evening ended with Nat n I waltzing on the dance floor to Pitbull, leaving poor Wong holding his head in his hands in complete despair!! Well – you only live once…..

Dont forget to stay tuned next week for my further adventures down in Kuala Lumpur.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed back at Cape Canaveral on Thursday at 5.57am, heralding the end of NASA’s 30 year shuttle programme.

It has been NASA’s longest running space flight programme and in the words of Commander Christopher Ferguson ‘After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history. And it’s come to a final stop.”

Only 12 people have walked on the Moon – all of them American, and so it is only through these handful of astronauts that we can glean any real information as to the atmospheric conditions up there.  Apollo 17 astronaut, Gene Cernan gives us an insight to the mysterious smell of moondust. You might be wondering how he could smell the moons surface as they were fully covered in their lunar spacesuits, but the trouble with moondust is that it suffers from a terrible case of static cling (bit like my hair actually!). This I am informed is due to the solar winds constantly bombarding it with electrons. Therefore, after every moonwalk, although the astronauts did their best to remove the dust, it was trampled back inside the lander on their boots and also on their helmets and gloves.

Once the helmets and gloves were taken off, the astronauts could feel, taste and smell the moon. It apparently feels soft like snow but has an abrasive quality, and the smell is akin to burnt gunpowder. All the astronauts are in agreement with the smell, and are all very specific that it is like burnt gunpowder not the unfired variety. Curiously, back on Earth, moondust has no smell whatsoever. There are a few theories as to why this might be as follows…

The moon is akin to a 4 billion year old desert, incredibly dry. Once the moondust came into contact with the moist air inside the lunar module it began to give off odour in a similar way to the the smell that we get here as the first big splats of rain hit the pavement after a hot dry spell.

Another theory is that the the smell comes from the evaporation of gases caused by the solar winds once in contact with moist air.

There is yet another theory that oxygen when combined with the chemicals in the moondust could create oxidation which, although too slow for smoke or flames, could produce a burnt aroma.

So, if any of these theories apply then the samples brought back for study would already have been ‘pacified’, and any smelly chemical reactions therefore, would have ended long ago.

Nasa plans to send people back to the moon in 2018, and hopefully we will be able to discover more about the smell of the moon. In the meantime, whilst researching moon information I came across this recipe for your own home made moon oil….have fun

MAGIC MOON OIL

13 drops of sandalwood oil

9 drops of vanilla extract

3 drops of jasmine oil

1 drop of rose oil

Mix oils together prior to the next full moon and then place on a windowsill in a clear container overnight in the light of the moon. This captures the energy of the moon. Use to anoint yourself or in an oil burner when you feel that you need a burst of moon energy…and of course dont forget to let me know how you get on with all your newfound energy!

Well, am back after a lovely family holiday down in the beautiful county of Dorset. As I mentioned before, it’s the first time i’ve explored this part of our coastline, and I can definitely say it wont be the last!

I dont really want to extol the delights of Dorset too much, as it means that everyone will want to go and try it out….so Shhhhhhhh…keep it to yourselves, but i have to say the Jurassic coastline was spectacular, and the kids – and myself – spent many an hour rock scrambling, searching (and finding) fossils and caves. The sunshine shone for us the majority of the time, but true to form the day we went out for a beach picnic it was overcast, very windy and quite chilly – but as promised in my previous blog -  we braved the elements ‘because it was our holidays!’

Anyway, whilst collecting our bingo pens from the caravan one evening (luxury I might add!), I caught the end of the local evening news. The main story came from the Eden Project – I dont know whether you heard it or not, and it was announcing that the Titan Arum – commonly referred to as the Corpse Flower, had blossomed after a 9 year wait. These rare plants can reach a height of up to 12 feet in a cultivated environment, and it is unknown how tall they can reach in their native conditions. The titan arum was originally discovered by an Italian botanist, Odoardo Beccari, in Sumatra in 1878. Though found in many botanic gardens around the world it is still indigenous only to the tropical forests of Sumatra.

A mature bucket shaped flower emerges from a huge tuber, and in preparation for the few days of flowering, the plant must shed its single leaf (which can be the size of a small tree) and then lie dormant for 4 months whilst its musters up enough strength to produce umbrella sized petals that open to a diameter of 3-4 feet.

Its distinctive smell can be detected up to half a mile away, and is reminiscent of rotting flesh. This is due to a  concoction of sulfurous chemicals along with the aptly named cadaverene and putrescine compounds, which are also produced when flesh breaks down, hence the name  Corpse flower.

Hundreds of people have been down to the Eden Project to have a look but many of these have to recoil in horror due to its overpowering stench. You can actually see it growing at a staggering quarter of an inch per hour!

Luckily the smell only lasts for the 2 days that the plant is in full bloom. The Eden Project has set up a webcam so that you can follow the birth and death of the bloom without the smell………

 http://www.edenproject.com/come-and-visit/whats-here/rainforest-biome/webcam-titan-arum.php

Have a look and see what you think – its a funny looking thing, and the smell would definitely put you off having your picnic in one of the Biodomes for sure!

Its at this time of the year that most people start to either look forward to or yearn for a good holiday (Icelandic volcanos permitting of course!). I’m looking forward to a break next week, it’s my annual family jaunt down south – in this case it’s going to be Dorset. I haven’t been there before as we usually head towards Cornwall and occasionally Devon, so i’m really looking forward it. I just hope the predicted heatwave arrives in time otherwise we’ll be the ones sat on the beach in Poole, hoods up, eating fish n chips, shivering and teeth chattering but determined to have our chippy tea outdoors in true British spirit – ‘because it is our holidays!’

So we have been having a chat in the office about holidays, and holiday memories, and whether certain places can be remembered by a specific scent.

Both Anne-Marie and Linda have said their main olfactory memory for Tunisia and Spain is the beautifully fragranced Jasmine, and for Greece the main flower memory would be Geraniums. Name any one of the seaside resorts around the UK, and you’ll remember the smell of hot sugary doughnuts, battered fish and chips complete with salt and vinegar and the smell of the sea and the ozone as you walk along the promenade. The smell of freshly cut grass reminds Aimi of all her summer dog shows and camping trips.

Mr Chris cant smell a fragrance by the name of Seychelles without remembering his holidays in North Wales. Its a scent that reminds him of walks along by the sea with the smell of ozone in the air. For Miss Chris, its the smell of that first smattering of rain as the heavens open after a long dusty dry spell, that reminds her of her festival days – one in particular actually, Billy Idol at last years Download festival who took to the stage just as the heatwave broke.

Any beach in the world usually has a lingering aroma of coconut suncream that you just cant escape. Companies such as Thompson and First Choice have utilised this information, and as you walk into one of their stores to book your annual summer holiday you will be blasted with the scent of suntan lotion as you walk in the door. Apparently this puts you in the mood for a holiday before you’ve even picked out your brochure, and therefore gives them the edge when it comes to securing a deposit from you before you leave the store.

They aren’t the only big companies using scent to put you in a feel good holiday mood. Fred Olsen apparently rubs coconut oil into the backs of  their seats to promote caribbean cruise sales. The big hotel chains cottoned on to the fact that their customers associate holidays with certain scents years ago.  Chains such as the Shangri-La,  Le Meridien, The Dorchester and Mandarin Oriental to name but a few, have all decided to make an impression through scent. Of course a comfortable lobby, beds and high quality service are essential, but among the more subtle cues, fragrance plays a big part. Data has shown that the subtle use of fragrance creates memories and drives loyalty to the brand.

You can even take a bottle of the signature scent home with you to remind you of your week in the sun.

Due to the global recession still being in full flow, even the budget hotels such as Travelodge and Holiday Inn have started trialling scented bedlinen in an effort to relax their guests. Aromas such as freshly mown grass, to remind you of summer, or sweet apple pie to remind you of home.

So i’ll keep all my senses on heightened alert next week to see what scent memories I can bring back from the hopefully sunny Dorset coast – unhurried mornings, restful afternoons and leisurely evenings. Let me know if there are any fragrances that particularly remind you of your holidays…….

After much (very much) persuasion from my daughter, we have now a new addition to the family – Bruce.

Bruce arrived with us from the Dogs home 3 weeks ago in a bit of a sorry state….he had been a stray and picked up by the dog warden in January – no-one had come forward to claim him and eventually found his way into our home. He is a beautiful cross staffie with a very soft temperament, approximately 10-12 months old. We have yet to master the ‘come back’ technique and so he is currently only being walked on a lead much to his chagrin!

Now, although we love him very much, I have begun to notice a distinct odour of ‘eau de dog’ when I get home from work, and am getting a little paranoid that other visitors will start to smell it as well. Consequently I spent last night at 10.15pm in the airfreshener aisle of the local supermarket, reading all the small print on the back of the cans to see which (if any) contain any sort of odour neutraliser. Some of them, although they smell beautiful, just dissipate and dont deal with the actual residual smell. Anyway you’ll be pleased to know that the chosen aerosol works perfectly (although i’ll let you know for definite after my mother has been for a visit – no holds barred there! )

So, the reason I chose Bruce as as my blog subject this week was just to highlight the fact that as well as all the pleasant fragrances we create and produce here (plus the smellies – just ask Dan Snow!), we also have a range of fragrances known as reodorants.

These are mainly used for industrial purposes for example, to mask the council tip smell to avoid annoying the local neighbours, or maybe to mask the paint smell for large paint manufacturers. Even on a small scale being used to freshen wheelie bins or summer festival chemical portaloos, along with a whole host of other smelly applications.

So if there are residual odour problems with the manufacture of your product that you feel one of our reodorants could help with, then please feel free to get in touch for a few samples…..until next week…..goodbye for now and enjoy the sunshine.

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of being involved in creating some aromas for a new BBC2 programme – Filthy Cities – being aired on Friday 1st April, and hosted by the delicious Mr. Dan Snow. Make sure you book the TV remote, and let me know what you thought…..

As a manufacturer, we often work hand in hand with companies to create winning fragrances that are used in many different applications and on this occasion we had the pleasure of working with Val Lord from the aromaco. Aromaco are Europe’s leading provider of marketing & communications, incorporating the sense of smell and  therefore giving product marketing a multi sensory appeal.

We have a few more exciting projects in the pipeline, and are always more than happy to chat  about new up and coming fragrance trends that we feel may be suitable for your new products.

We look forward to hearing from you and in the meantime have a good weekend, it finally looks like Spring has sprung!!!

As you know - last Monday I was down in London for the launch of {{Intangible}}, the bespoke fragrance created by Carvansons for New York design label A la Disposition.

We have a saying here in the UK, that you can wait hours for a bus and then 2 come along at once, and thats exactly the position I found myself in last week. I had been in close contact with the researchers from The One Show on BBC on and off over the past month or so, as they had been putting together some background for a new show with the legendary Mr Dan Snow called Filthy Cities. The premise behind the programme is that the stinking histories of London, New York and Paris would be recreated and brought to life, marrying historical accounts with modern science in an ambitious attempt to show how these modern cities which were forged in the dirt of the past, emerged from these once filthy cities into the iconic modern metropolises that we all know and love today.

The show will be presented as a kind of travelogue, but of course one that we as viewers will not have seen before. Dan will use state of the art CGI and step into the shoes of professionals such as the pig handler helping to clear the New York city streets of waste, the Parisienne undertaker battling to cope with the human cost of a bloody revolution and the medieval muck-raker responsible for clearing tonnes of excrement from the streets of London. Our job at Carvansons on this occasion was to recreate the rather ‘beautiful’ stench of the excrement from the streets of London….all of you out there that think we have glamorous jobs here can now start to feel a little smug….It is an absolutely horrendously cloying smell and clings to your clothes and hair like a second skin.

I wont spoil the show completely but I can tell you that 3 of the ingredients involved in the programme are…

1. Dan Snow

2. A blindfold

3. A tube of sewage slurry

As you can imagine, I was in quite a high state of excitement at the thought of being involved in the filming aspect of the show, but as luck would have it, the only day that Dan was available for filming was the very same day I was travelling down to London….ah well, you cant win them all I suppose.

All the feedback from the staff here at the office (mainly women I hasten to add) was very complimentary – Mr Snow definitely made a lasting impression on more than 1 member of the office staff! …ahem…Helen!

You will all soon be able to have a sniff of the aromas used in the creation of this programme as they are being turned into scratch n sniff format on a postcard that will be sent out with the Radio Times nearer the launch as an advertising gimmick.

It just goes to show the array of fragrances we actually create here at our factory, from the single note florals and fruits, to the more complex combination fragrances, right through to the types of aromas used by the BBC, and in exhibition centres, museums, zoos etc all over the world – basically whatever your enquiry we can always find a fragrance to suit, as our tagline quite rightly states – You desire, we design and deliver.

For any further information, please feel free to contact me.

I have a Norweigan friend staying with me this week. Her visit was only supposed to be for one night but because of the arctic conditions currently being experienced throughout the UK, she was unable to stay with other friends that she had also planned to see during her trip. You might be wondering what on earth this information has to do with work, but it was a throwaway comment made by Anette yesterday that made me think about the subject for this weeks blog.

The comment?…..well it was just this “I love staying at your house as it smells like home.”

After asserting whether that was good or bad and being assured that it was good as she felt comforted and secure and able to chill (no pun on the weather intended!), I started to think about the way different memories are triggered by the whiff of a long forgotten fragrance.

We’ve all been transported back in time after catching the scent of your grandmothers perfume whilst walking down the high street, or in the case of us Boltonians, the smell of a well known bakery permeating the atmosphere for miles around the factory site reminding you of hot cross buns on Easter Sunday.

Our sense of smell is truly amazing and is able to call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously. Most of the smell memories we have created are associated with childhood and this is simply because that is the period that new aromas are usually encountered. The brain then creates a link between the smell and a memory of either a place, an object or even a mood. Whenever you encounter that aroma again, the link is already there ready to ilicite that long forgotten memory.

Researchers such as Dr Yeshrurun from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel say that it makes good evolutionary sense for people to remember smells so vividly as our ancestors were so very much more dependant on their noses to avoid poisonous plants, rotten food or enemies than modern man needs to be in order to survive.

We have a full range of fragrances all waiting to send you on a trip down memory lane, whether that be liquorice twigs that we used to munch on from the local chemist, or the scent of freshly baked bread, or the crisp norweigan pine tree that served as a base for the annual christmas fairy to perch on. Just get in touch and we will be happy to help.