Cottonmouth ☽•☾ botanical perfume from long term tinctures
a l c h e m y ☽•☾
White and green cognac (organic, France)
Thai jasmine rice (organic, tinctured by perfumer 1.5 years)
Lanolin (cruelty free tincture of unwashed black bellwether's wool by perfumer)
Lapsang souchong (organic, tinctured by perfumer)
Frankincense (wild, India)
Rose damask (organic, grown by perfumer)
Sarcaucolon mossamedense (wild, Namibia)
Hina oudhi attar (organic, Kannauj)
Rock musk (cruelty free, wild harvested, Karoo)
The hiss of a southeastern pit viper. Cottonmouth is a semiaquatic gender neutral fragrance set in organic alcohol.
Suggested fixatives: Amber, Animalic, Botanical Musk, Dry, Earthy, Grass, Hay, Henna, Leather, Meadow, Monsoon, Tea, Tobacco, Woolen. Wild Veil's natural perfume fixatives act as primers for the skin. Applied prior to perfumes, they can extend the longevity of your fragrance.
Amber fixative contains classically amber base notes from my handmade resinoids that I extracted from raw, wild resins using organic high proof alcohol. It is warm, powdery, and slightly boozy. Resinous with caramel undertones.
Animalic fixative features stunningly intense musk base notes. If you are looking to enhance the tenacity of your natural perfumes, and to fix volatile florals and top notes, this is a fixative worth investing in. Luxurious and powerful, its sleek fur coat undresses to warm amber powder underneath.
Botanical Musk fixative contains musky base notes. It is slightly dry and earthy, with intimate notes of skin, hair, and smoky roots.
Dry fixative possesses dry base notes. It crackles with a warm, subtly smoky aroma, and smooth resins layered over a gently bracing botanical musk.
Earthy fixative contains earthy base notes. It is green and smoky, with the comforting aroma of wet musk from the depths of the earth.
Grass fixative, made with a mise en lieu tincture of Vermont wild grasses, clover, sun dried new mown hay, and spring greens, features soft, warm, green notes that conjure fresh cut grass and summer fields.
Hay fixative conjures the scents of sun-dried bales of hay, as well as warm, dry straw stored in a barn.
Henna fixative is centered around my homemade extraction of the henna plant: Lawsonia inermis. I first tinctured the plant material, then I evaporated the solution naturally to create a concentrated absolute. My henna absolute is inky and rich. Although I might say it is earthy, it is more metallic and dusty than dank soil smelling. It's unlike any other base note I have encountered, which is why I thought it deserved its own category of fixation.
Leather fixative contains leather base notes. Its smoky, sharp edges give way to a deep underlying warmth. Slightly furry, with notes of wood and musk.
Meadow fixative evokes yellow fields of prairie grass, wildflowers, drying husks still attached to the earth, and the sun in late August.
Monsoon fixative evokes the smell of wet earth, rain after a dry spell, geosmin, petrichor. It features my homemade absolutes of clays and soils I have tinctured for their unique aromas. These include: Multani Mitti clay from volcanic ash, Rhassoul clay from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, and sod (topsoil from my Vermont gardens). The sod from my garden has a mysterious agarwood note that becomes prominent after the soil has been upturned and left in the sun, and which I like to think of as an earthworm musk.
Tea fixative blends warm, malted, fermented yellow-orange-amber teas with notes of honey, cocoa, dark woods, savory earth, caramel, and Brazil nuts. This fixative includes my tinctured absolutes of Assam Marangi, fermented Mannong Pu-erh, yellow dragon, Oolong Eastern Beauty, and roasted Oolong. This is a mellow fixative that will work well beneath just about any type of fragrance.
Tobacco fixative features my organic handmade absolutes of organic cured leaf: American Virginia Flue, Burley, and Canadian Virginia Flue. I also infused the raw beeswax and propolis (used in the base) with my aged tabacum tinctures to deepen the husky warm qualities of the composition. Sweet, amber, blackberry and mulberry notes with the anticipation of hand rolled smoke. Depending on the season and availability, it may include extractions of my homegrown nicotiana leaves and flowers.
Woolen fixative features funky sheep, meadow, and pasture notes from my handmade raw wool absolutes. These I concentrated by cold evaporation method from three types of unwashed sheep fleece that I had tinctured in high proof organic grain alcohol: Romeldale, Icelandic, and Churro. The unwashed Romeldale fleece is unbelievably soft. Romeldale-California Variegated Mutuant is an endangered breed of American sheep that produces high lanolin, very fine, multicolored wool. The resulting absolute has a creamy spring field and pasture scent. It’s sweet and reminds me of candlelight. The unwashed wool from a black Icelandic wether is funky and animalic. It is by far the oiliest and fattiest smelling of the three fleeces. Even with the barnyard leather overtones, it is warm and inviting. From another rare breed, the Navajo Churro wool has alfalfa notes amidst a southwestern desert profile. It's as if the heavy aroma of lanolin has been lightly dusted with sand and sage, and baked by the Arizona sun.
Photos: the old growth forest at home; perfume in 5ml amber glass, perfume in 5ml and 10ml black violet glass roller ball bottles.
s i z i n g ☽•☾
Available in a sample size of 1ml (25 drops), which comes in a glass sample vial with applicator. Or choose from larger 3ml, 5ml or 10ml clear glass vials with atomizers. Or a 10ml frosted glass roller ball, convenient for travel. Please make your selection from the menu.
r a w ☽•☾ m a t t e r
Wild Veil natural perfumes are composed by me, Abby, using homemade, wildcrafted and organic aromatics in Vermont. These include my handmade enfleurage, tinctures, enfleurage extraits, absolutes, resinoids and concretes, and floral waxes. I spend as much time growing plants and foraging as I do composing perfumes.
h o w ☽•☾ t o ☽•☾ w e a r
The best way to experience a natural perfume is to apply it to well-moisturized skin, without rubbing in (absorption only shortens the wear time of fragrance) and without scrubbing off. Natural perfumes are dynamic and take a minimum of 2 hours to reach their final stage, or dry down. Enjoy the alchemical changes as they unfold from the initial intensity of top notes, to the warmth of the heart, to the depth of lower base notes.
☽•☾ Wild Veil ☽•☾ alchemy between earth and ether ☽•☾
☽•☾ All aesthetic material copyright Abby Hinsman 2020 ☽•☾