Name of Your Shop: Magickal Realism Natural Perfumery
Your Favorite Item in Your Shop: These days I’m really liking my perfume solid Jungle Sweat and my men’s favorite
Vanilla Style. Jungle Sweat is this very cooling carnatin/lemongrass/basil combo that just makes me feel all
fresh and awake after one whiff, while the Vanilla Style is this very sexy vanilla blend that emanates vanilla
free from foody overtones.
How did you get started in your business? On a whim, mostly. I was broke after college circa 1999 and wanted some
fun money, and I happened to have on hand some essential oils, so I began custom making blends for people.
Apparently, I was good at it because people started coming back for more and bringing their friends. Eventually
I found myself obligated to really study up on thie stuff, but wow, it was a surprise of a start for me.
What training/background do you have? All my training is hands on. I am hybrid self-educated: I try to attend
workshops and classes on herbalism, aromatherapy and perfumery when I can, but as is often with a bootstrap
business, I’m limited in what I can afford to do. Fortunately, I live in a city with a fantastic public library
and I’m a crack researcher, so there’s a lot of stuff I concoct successfully by extrapolating from my reading.
What makes your products unique? Your business as a whole? That I am strictly a natural perfumer marks
me out as fairly unique, since less than 3% of the perfume industry is really committed to natural products.
Everything I use is my own formula, and while I just don’t have the resources to distill my own essential oils
I tincture and infuse as many fragrances as I possibly can from plants I’ve grown or gathered myself. I don’t operate
from just liking the smell of something; that information can be deceptive because if it’s a good product,
it will blend down well with other good materials. I have to know the plant from roots to tip - where it comes
from, how it’s farmed, whether I’m contributing to that plant’s extinction by using it, and whether that extinction
can be helped. I’m passionate about sustainable agriculture/industry, and as a perfumer I’m well aware of the many
catch-22s involved in maintaining a business while trying to maintain natural resources for the generations
to come.
Tell us the philosophy behind what you create: My philosophy is natural first, sustainable whenever possible,
and artificial never.
What will you be putting in the trunk show goodie bag? A sampler of my Zombie Repellent. It was a big hit when
it came out, and there’s a lot of people still curious about it.
What item are you offering that you should definitely stop by the trunk show for? I will be premiering an item from my gold label line, “Sex and Politics.” I’ll only have a few on hand plus a select number of samplers, so
it’s one of those things where you will have to stop in early. It’s a sexy, clove-laden scent that is definitely
a cut above your ordinary fragrance.
Freestyle: What do you want others to know about your business? I’m a bootstrap business. I have built Magickal
Realism with no credit cards, no business loans, and less than $500 startup capital. I offer new items as I’m
capable of sustaining them, and a lot of thought goes into each and every item I make. I have a nose, a sense
of style, and a sense of humor - all things I want to share with my customers.
