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.
I was doing some fall cleaning, and came upon my old fragrance collection, which I started in my early teens. Some are classics, and some I'm slightly embarrassed for even buying, buy hey, I was experimenting! I think I may have even had a Gap fragrance at one point, but I threw that one out a while ago. It's amazing how my taste has evolved from fragrances like CK One and Tommy Girl, to indie perfumes, to creating my own fragrances for Nomaterra. One thing that hasn't changed though, is my joy for exploring different perfumes. There's nothing wrong with trying it all, from completely obscure brands that only ever came out with one scent, to best-sellers. Even with my own brand, I still enjoy exploring what's new, what's out there.
One scent that sticks out in this collection is CK One. CK One debuted in 1994, and was revolutionary for its time due to its forward thinking ad featuring Kate Moss and LGBT activist model Jenny Shimizu, and most importantly, for the fact that is was a unisex eau de toilette, a first of its kind. It now smells like nail polish to me, mostly due to the fact that its been aging in a box for over 10 years. What's interesting though is that CK One really started a movement in the creation of unisex fragrances, that is still very much alive now. You name it, and almost every designer and niche brand has at lease one unisex fragrance.
The last one in these row of oldies is Acqua Di Gio. Another renowned classic that's won its fair share of awards including a Fifi Men's Fragrance of the Year Nouveau Niche in 1998 and had been entered into the Fragrance Hall of Fame last year. This is what my husband used to wear, like many men. He's now moved on to wearing our Brooklyn Violet Leaf Cologne.
What fragrances do you remember experimenting with from your childhood/teens/early years? Do you still wear them? What do you wear now?
We've been hard at work all summer on new city-inspired scents, traveling to these great American cities, and finding out what makes them unique. We've done our research too. Did you know that Gardenia Manii, is a type of gardenia that can only be found on the island of Oahu? Gardenia is a succulently rich, jasmine and vanilla-like scent, and it is found as the key ingredient in one of our newest fragrances, Oahu Gardenia. Plumeria, an exotic Hawaiian tropical flower used to create leis can also be found in the Oahu fragrance. In addition, we are excited to also debut Boston Tobacco Leaf, Savannah Magnolia, and Malibu Honeysuckle (our favorite to wear right now in this beautiful autumn weather). Each of these new scents come in 10ml perfume oil roll-ons. What do you think these great cities should smell like?
You can try out all our scents in the Nomaterra
adventure set. Perhaps they will remind you of your hometown, a place you've been to, or a place you dream of going to.
Happy Adventuring!
Join us this weekend as we debut our fall collections. Nomaterra will be revealing all of their latest fragrances--Oahu Gardenia, Malibu Honeysuckle, Boston Tobacco Leaf, and Savannah Magnolia. Stop by from 10 am - 7pm, Friday - Sunday, at 731 8th Street SE in Capitol Hill, D.C. Can't wait to see you all there!
We recently stumbled across this great post about what to bring in your carry-on, especially for a long flight. We're big fans of something to keep us warm, our iPhones and iPad or Kindle, a big bottle of water and a couple of good moisturizers! Check out this list, and tell us what your carry-on must haves are! Be sure to let us know and to follow us on
Twitter and
Facebook!
The 2013 Travel Advisor's
Top 25 Landmarks of the World list had a very exciting surprise for us a Nomaterra; the Main Market Square in Krakow, Poland, was featured as number 10 on the list. Our founder, Aggie Burnett, grew up an hour outside of Krakow in Kowatice, and spent many summers vacationing in Krakow. Known as the cultural capitol of Poland, Krakow is a fantastic city, which you can read more about in an
article Aggie wrote during her years studying journalism at New York University.
Check out the Trip Advisor list for a number of other wanderlust inducing destinations, as well as more information about Krakow! And as always be sure to follow Nomaterra on
Twitter and
Facebook!
It can be hard enough for many of us to keep track of our various gadgets and possessions on a day-to-day basis, not to mention how tricky things get once you throw travel into the mix. Enter
Boomerangit, a progression from a 1984 bike registration company which made it easier for police to identify recovered bicycles.
According to the company, "BoomerangIt is a global lost and found return service that works with law enforcement, Good Samaritans and other fiduciaries, such as hotels, restaurants and airlines, to help return lost and stolen property to its rightful owners worldwide. It uses easy-to-affix, unique ID labels and tags backed by a secure online database to identify recovered items."
Boomerangit exists as either a subscription service or as individual packs, where you can purchase a set number of tags to affix to your items which are then entered into the database. We think that having one on our phones, laptops, and maybe even our suitcases would be a great idea!
Be sure to follow Nomaterra on
Twitter and
Facebook!
[caption id="attachment_1543" align="aligncenter" width="580"]
photo by Patrick Giardina[/caption]
We're obsessed with the crystal clear, blue-green water in Karpathos, Greece. We love the idea of lounging on that little boat with a light picnic, a bottle of rosé, and several of our favorite Nomaterra fragrance wipes!
Be sure to follow Nomaterra on
Twitter and
Facebook!
