For those of you who live in or around Brooklyn, have you ever noticed these leaves peeking through concrete slabs on the sidewalks or in parks? These are violet leaves, and we actually use the natural violet leaf absolute in our exclusive Brooklyn fragrance.
You're probably wondering how we ever found a plant or flower to represent Brooklyn. Coastal violets and violet leaves are historically native to Brooklyn's marshland coasts. And with our impending store opening in Brooklyn, what better time than to spotlight the ever-present yet often ignored violet leaf.
Violet leaf smells nothing like violets, the flowers, but adds this metallic coolness and earthy fresh cut-grass feel to a fragrance. I actually found it rather complex to work with, as it can be very overpowering and can destroy an entire fragrance if not diluted properly. We used it to create our first Nomaterra Cologne called Brooklyn Violet Leaf, which will be exclusive only to our store (you won't even find it on our website).
We're OBSESSED with this scent—especially when it's worn on our men! Come check us out and try our Brooklyn Cologne and our other scents at The Shops at Kent, 240 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11249!)
DC at Night Posted on 23 Oct 14:40 , 0 comments
A recent trip to DC for the Nomaterra Pop-Up Shop in Capitol Hill lead to a spontaneous late night drive. We visiting some of the Capitol's most grand monuments, which resulted in these "dc in the dark" photos (taken with an iphone nonetheless).
In the middle sits our DC Cherry Blossom unisex fragrance, that is ideal for night—notes like musk, vanilla, black pepper, tobacco, and citrus make this an incredibly sexy scent for a night out on the Capitol town. The travel spray comes with a replacement unit, and is priced at $86.00, available to buy on www.nomaterra.com
"She Flies Herself" The Nomaterra woman flies her own plane to explore the world. She is an adventure-seeker who jumps at opportunities to take adventures in beauty, career, travel, and in life.
Nomaterra is revealing a brand new emblem, a compass-inspired circular logo, representing the Nomaterra ideology of creating luxury scents for the travel inspired, using ingredients indigenous and authentic to each location. The artist behind the emblem is San Francisco based Marta Solomianko, who also created the East Hampton, Miami, and Malibu paintings that you see on our new roll-on and candle packaging. Our task at hand was to marry the authenticity of the city-scents inside the box, with artwork representing the locations themselves, to create a cohesive movement from packaging to scent. Above you see our emblem, as well as a some of Marta's initial paintings, color work, and sketches that lead to the final artwork we have now. Marta is an abstract artist, and extremely talented in what she does. She recently exhibited at La Porte Peinte Centre Pour Les Arts in Noyers, France and travels the world exhibiting her installations and artwork at renowned galleries. I would highly suggest to check out her work on http://www.martasolomianko.com, and if you're looking to have artwork or graphic design done for a current or future project of yours, reach out to Marta at mksolomia@gmail.com.
Nostalgia Posted on 16 Oct 10:22 , 0 comments
Are there scent memories that make you feel nostalgic? It can be a person, a place, or a number of other things. For us, it's the memory of scent of a place we've traveled to in the past, that makes us both nostalgic to go back, and makes us want to reminisce of the memories that have been permanently ingrained in our minds.
The real question though is, is it the memory of the physical location that one feels nostalgic for, or the connections made with the people in that place at that time? A whiff of a spice, plant, or tree can instantly transport you back in time to that place, with those people, in that gratifying moment.
What does nostalgia mean to you? What if you could replicate and bottle the memory of your first solo journey or your honeymoon, so you could smell it everyday, would you want to? Or would you want to protect it in the back of your mind?
In continuation from last week's travel shot Tuesday, I bring you collage of images of our experience with the majestic Perito Moreno Glacier in El Parque Nacional los Glaciales in Patagonia.
After a week's journey through the Argentinean countryside, which included everything from buses, planes, to buggies and bikes (not to mention a special glacier boat), we finally made it to the main purpose of our Argentinean trip, a glacier trek atop a continually mobile glacial formation spanning 30km (19mi) in length (Fun fact: this glacier is one of the only in the world that is still growing, unlike most other glacial formations, which are melting and shrinking).
The night before we had a hearty Argentinean meal by fireplace with about 20 other backpackers at our hostel. We had purchased a glacier trekking tour that day via Hielo y Aventura (http://www.hieloyaventura.com/). The next morning we headed out for the adventure of a lifetime. Surprisingly, the climate was actually not that cold, a warm fleece would do, and you didn't really even need gloves. Each hiker had put on crampons, which were these special boots with spikes that dig deep into the ice for traction. We departed the mainland via a glacier boat to the side of a mountain, which, after a few minutes of trekking the woods of said mountain, it jutted us out onto the glacier's facade. All of a sudden we were 70 meters above water standing on a gigantic block of ice. Majestic—yes. Life-altering—certainly.
It was one of the most breathtaking views I'd ever seen in my life, in fact, it may still be to this day (and I've seen my fair share of natural wonders). The finale of the 2+ hour trek found us in a little dug out inlet in the middle of nowhere atop this ice sheet, where we were served whiskey on ice from the glacier (natch).
The smell was unique and surprisingly, easily describable. Clean. Fresh. Crisp. Polar. The smell of Patagonia, the freshest air I'd ever smelled.
Nomaterra Fragrances Now Being Sold on MegBiram.com
One of our most favorite DC bloggers is now carrying our Nomaterra travel sprays, and will be carrying the Nomaterra roll-ons and candles by the end of this month. For those of you who have the pleasure of knowing Meg, or reading her blog, this girl has the kind of energy, spontaneous brilliance, and not to mention, style, one can only envy (she's also been named 2013 "Style Setter" by Washingtonian Magazine). Her extensive knowledge and tips range from entrepreneurial to health-related to what to wear this season. With a lifestyle blog and marketing and social media consulting business that's been growing since 2007, and a new store that has opened this month, this girl is on fire and we highly recommend checking out her website, www.megbiram.com.
We ALREADY have winter vacation on our minds, and what better place to escape than Hawaii!? My trip to Hawaii in 1995 inspired our creation of the Nomaterra Oahu Gardenia perfume oil. I still remember very vividly being able to smell the pungently sweet and balsamic aroma of the exotic nanu gardenia, found in gardens and random locations on the island of Oahu. I also received a leis upon arriving at the airport in Oahu, which was made of mostly plumeria (also found in our Oahu fragrance).
In Hawaii, the gardenia was often used for corsages or leis, particularly traditionally during weddings. It has a romantic meaning, “You are lovely,” and is also a symbol for secret love. The nanu was prized by ancient Hawaiians for its fruit, which was used to produce fade-resistant dyes for kapa (a traditional cloth made of pounded tree bark).
The natural, organic gardenia found in Nomaterra’s Oahu fragrance is extracted through the ancient process of enfleurage, using only organic palm oil and organic alcohol derived from organic sugar cane. This fragile flower exudes a sweet and succulent smell that encapsulates the energy, spirit, and beauty of Hawaii. The rare species of gardenia, Gardenia Manii, also known as “Nanu” in Hawaii, is native to the island of Oahu and can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Come see Nomaterra this Saturday, October 5th, from 10 am to 6 pm at the Hester Street Fair. Try out our newest scents--Malibu, Oahu, Boston, and Savannah. We'll finally have our candles available for sale for all of you that have started planning your holiday gifts!
In 2010, my husband and I traveled the Argentinian country-side for over a week. We knew our one trip goal was to reach the glacier, Perito Moreno in El Parque Nacional los Glaciales and left the rest of the journey up to spontaneity and chance. We had planned to visit the national park first, but missed our flight due to what we thought was a lost passport (I'll cough that up to the plights of travel adventures). We had already checked out of our hotel in Buenos Aires, and on a whim, took a taxi to the national bus station, and hopped on a bus going to Bariloche, via Bahia Blanca.
This image was shot during a 35 km bike trip in and around the majestic lakes and mountains of Bariloche. The air was crisp, the views were like nothing I'd seen before. It felt like time stopped moving, the magnitude of the sheer beauty of this place took our breaths away. I could only capture a portion of what we could see, and only the slightest fraction of what we felt at that moment. It is a place that I hope we return to one day.
I hope to one day be able to capture the scent of Bariloche. It's difficult to capture such immense beauty and the memories that come along with it in a bottle. I'd need to find an ingredient or a blend of ingredients that could translate the crisp, glacier-like air. Perhaps mint, and citrus, and cyprus. A future project for sure!
If you're intrigued by Bariloche and interested in this picturesque bike tour, check out the link to Circuito Chico Bike Rental: http://circuitochicobikes.com/ You bike on your own and find your own paths and secret discoveries, which is part of the fun.
