Outlaw Perfumes- Light and Amberess by Anya's Garden

The last installment of the Outlaw Perfume Project (well, second to last, since I hope to write some kind of conclusion over the weekend) brings to us two outlaw creations by Anya McCoy of Anya's Garden. They represent two kind-of-sort-of opposite sides of the perfume spectrum- a citrusy cologne and an ambery floriental. Both genres are popular outside of the natural and niche perfume circle and it's a fascinating sensual experience to be able to smell and wear them in their true and raw form. And if you're even a little familiar with Ms. McCoy's work, you know it's never wishy-washy.

Light starts with a burst of a 3D citrus- full of fruit, juice and rind. It's so yellow and kelly green you can see the light and taste it on your tongue. The first couple of minutes seem like a sister fragrance to the beautiful Kaffir, but just when I thought I got it all figured out, the floral heart came alive. Rich, buttery and yellow- for a second there it reminded me of tuberose but not quite. A look at the cheat sheet revealed the floral heart is Aglaia, aka Chinese Rice Flower, which is apparently related to mahogany and smells divine. While many typical colognes combine citrus with their relative neroli (steam distilled orange blossoms) and often some kind of anemic blanched wood, the perfumer has chosen a resinous base of frankincense. It is surprisingly mild but does an amazing job anchoring the other notes and making them last for long hours. Next time I hear how citrus notes are always very fleeting so one shouldn't expect any lasting power, I'm sending whoever says that to have a chat with Anya.

Amberess is a true outlaw. Where Light only has the citrus and aglaia as its restricted ingredients, this diva is obviously trying to make the IFRA bureaucrats cry. This is copied straight from Anya's blog:

Top notes: none, in the true Oriental style
Middle notes: Zambian  Princesse de Nassau Rosa Moschata African musk rose otto and Musk rose absolute, Madagascan ylang ylang, South African rose geranium sur fleurs
Base notes: Indonesian patchouli, Himalayan amber oil, Turkish styrax, Greek labdanum, Peruvian tonka bean, Salvadorean balsam tolu, Balsam of Peru, Chinese benzoin, Madagascan vanilla

*red denotes untested or prohibited/limited aromatic

To me, Amberess is a creamy and feminine rose over a sweet amber base. It has an almost Turkish delight quality (for a second I can almost smell coconut, though it's obviously not there, just the nutty fullness). Amberess never goes sour on my skin, not even for a second. There's nothing green there, nothing fresh, just pure sensuality. This princess lounges in her velvet-lined boudoir, wearing layers of silk chiffon and indulging in  candy and men as she sees fit. I'll take a job as a lady-in-waiting for her. Or a full bottle.

Amberess ($125, 15ml EDP) and Light ($100, 15ml) are available online at anyasgarden.com. There's also a parfum extrait version and a sampling program. The samples for this review were supplied by the perfumer.

Art: Abstraction of the Bird Of Paradise by Marcia Baldwin.

Anya's Garden- MoonDance and StarFlower

Natural perfumer Anya McCoy is a Miami, Florida resident, and it might be just my imagination, but I see her perfumes as wild and lush as the Florida of my dreams (I admit that all but one of my visits down there had something to do with the Mouse and his world). Her two newest creations, Moondance and StarFlower take this idea to new heights.

MoonDance is pairs tuberose and violet in a way that seems to me both utterly new and oddly familiar. It feels like a place I knew long ago but can't quite remember, and it makes me think of the house where I lived when I was about six or seven, playing in dark green yards that were full of promise and mystery. Rich floral perfumes can be a hit or miss for me, and MoonDance is most definitely a hit.




StarFlower would make you forget everything you thought about botanical perfumes. A floral gourmand sounds like a really bad idea-

A candy for seduction, sweet almond and lemon cherry radiate over tempting tuberose - who can resist? The deep and delicious drydown of chocolate, maple, nutmeg and vanilla

It could have been crazy and cloying, but instead Anya's promise is fully kept. The almond-cherry in the opening is fully there when I approach the sample, but is fully transformed on skin to a tuberose praline. If you're familiar with creative artisan chocolatiers such as Max Brenner, Bespoke Chocolates or MarieBelle, you could easily imagine a tuberose truffle. It would smell like StarFlower.

Both MoonDance and Starflower are strong and long lasting. They are deeply satisfying and come fully alive on skin.

Bottom line: Love. Want. Need.


MoonDance and StarFlower are available as a parfum extrait ($75 and $60, respectively for 3.5 ml) and an EDP ($125 and $100 for 15 ml). You can also order a sample set (highly recommended). The samples I tested were sent to me for review by Anya.

Art by Brandi Milne.

How I saved $230

I was getting close to caving in and buying the new Bond no. 9 Andy Warhol Silver Factory perfume. After all, it's a great scent and I really liked it (it's the last item in the linked post), even though the 3.4 oz bottle would mean a lifetime supply, with enough left for my nieces and nephews to sell as vintage in the estate sale.

However, it seems that Bond no. 9 has not only a love for my favorite city and its icons but also a huge case of hubris. Apparently, this company, who has used the names of nearly every NYC landmark for its perfumes, is now the owner of abstract nouns and concepts. Case in point: Artisan perfumer Liz Zorn got a nastigram from Bond no.9 attorneys, threatening to take her to the cleaners because her fragrance "Peace on Earth" is an infringement on Bond's right to the word "Peace" that was established in their "Scent of Peace" perfume (which to my nose is a total bore, but that's beside the point).

Do you think that a similar letter was sent to LVMH, the owners of Kenzo's "Time for Peace"? My money would be on "No".

It looks like this isn't a new tactic for Bond no. 9. According to posts made by Anya McCoy (here and here), another artisan perfumer and owner of Anya's Garden, had a similar experience before she discontinued her Riverside perfume (Bond no. 9 also offer a perfume called Riverside Drive, and apparently they own that part of Manhattan, though I suspect the Donald might argue with this statement).

I find this nasty and ridiculous. I don't see Serge Lutens battling Keiko Mecheri over the rights to the name Loukhoum, or D&G going after Bvlgari in a battle of the Blue, not to mention the many blacks, reds, passion or loves can be found in many perfumes of competing companies (How many others can you find?). But Bond no. 9 owns "Peace". Lovely irony.

What they don't own is my money, which will be spent elsewhere, on something from a very small and independent perfume house. One that doesn't have a law firm on retainer.