Thanks to everyone who participated in the Joy in January Event!  Sending sunshine and appreciation for everyone who left comments, and all the Natural Perfumers Guild members who generously participated.  Cheers to Anya McCoy and Elise Pearlstine for coordinating the event. 

On to announcing the winners!  (Insert drumroll)

Day 1 Giveaway (Jan. 18) of bitter orange essential oil and Divine edp sample goes to: Vicki D. 

Day 2 Giveaway (Jan 19) of Ginger Lily edp goes to: Sandi Lundberg 

Day 3 Giveaway (Jan. 20) of Wild Lime Leaf body oil goes to: QuoterGal 

Please email us at: info@providenceperfume.com with your name and shipping address to receive your winnings

It's the last day of the Joy in January blogathon!  Here in Rhode Island the sun is shining and it's clear and windy.  It's amazing how a little sunshine can lift your spirits.  

In thinking of joy and today's giveaway, I thought of my hands.  As I got ready for bed last night I remembered to slather my hands with cream.  I recalled washing dishes earlier, meticulously scrubbing beakers and glass funnels from my earlier perfume making endeavors. The hot water stung my hands. A sure sign they were dry. As I looked at my hands closely I felt my face flush red.  They looked terrible.  I have large strong hands with big knuckles.  They are not what I'd describe as feminine looking hands.  They are dry, red with very short nails.  (I have terrible weak thin nails that tear and break and bend no matter what I do--so I cut them.)  At one point in my life as a sales representative, my hands were pointed out by a manager as a sign of ill grooming, apparently my digits were a deal breaker.  "You're doing great--but your hands!  You must bite your nails--they look awful. Why don't you just go and get some artificial nails put on?  They'd look so much better,"  He'd said imploringly to me.  My manager was the sort who wore too much cologne and strutted when he walked.

As I looked at my hands and had a shameful flashback to the conversation with my old sales manager, I thought of how difficult it is to take care of ourselves.  Adding a dose of seasonal depression does nothing to help this.  It's hard enough to pamper ourselves when we are happy.  It's hard to take the time to make ourselves feel good.  I reminded myself that my hands are strong and good.  They are powerful.  They are nurturing.  They've scrubbed floors, and wrote papers.  They've changed diapers and made beds.  They've brushed dogs and dried tears.  They've made perfumes and picked flowers.  I hoped to pass this sentiment on.  To make someone feel good . . . in their skin!  

Today we are giving away a bottle of our Wild Lime Leaf body oil.  This is the product I reach for when I need a pick me up.  The aroma is a refreshing, green, energizing blend of Mexican lime oil, combava petitgrain (often referred to as kaffir lime), violet leaf and jasmine grandiflorum.  It's got zing and zest and wakes you up.  Unisex and clean.  The best part? The skin softening blend of apricot, safflower, jojoba, and sweet almond oils.  Your skin will be softer than you can imagine, especially if applied fresh out of the bath or shower while skin is till damp.  Our motto for the final day of Joy In January: smell good, look good, feel good!

Because this is a full size product (heavy bottle) and international shipping costs are high, this drawing is only open to U.S. residents.  Sorry International friends.  We love you.

Please share a comment on how you "pamper yourself happy."  In other words, what lifts your spirits when you're feeling down, tired or dreary?  Is it a glass of wine?  Take-out pizza?  Best to stop listing my own pick-me-ups :) A walk in the park? A hot bath? Do tell and be entered to win Wild Lime Leaf body oil. Please visit all participating perfumer's blogs for the final day of the Joy In January Event.  Winners to be announced tomorrow!

Happy January!  I awoke this morning to . . . wait for it . . . a dusting of snow!  The first of the year.  It was enough to turn the ground white and slushy, really just an inch but it pleased me immensely.  I didn't even mind the feeling of freezing water seeping into my sneakers (foolish I know) as I rushed about running errands this morning.  

Yesterday I forgot to post the rules for the Joy In January blog project.  My apologies.  I was supposed to let you all know that the three winners would be drawn and posted on January 19th.  Each comment was to include a name or nickname and an email address.  Oh well, no harm done.  Please check back on Thursday when I'll post the winners using your comment name.  Make sense?  Winners will be chosen at random from the comments posted for that days giveaway. So if you only leave a comment on the first day you'll only be eligible to win that days prize. Whew, glad we got that out of the way.  

I've decided to make up a pot of chili or spicy Asian mushroom soup today to help warm up.  Spices such as cayenne and ginger are fantastic antioxidants and are even shown to increase metabolism, just what we need when it's cold outside!  Something warm and hearty with a kick.  Keeping with this idea of spice today we will give away a 6 ml. atomizer of Ginger Lily edp.

Ginger Lily is a unisex perfume, a fresh clean oriental blend with spiced ginger lily, allspice, clove, ylang ylang, rose, black pepper, amber and vetiver.  It's one of my personal favorites and has garnered many loyal fans over the years.  I find it's scent clean and uplifting.  Would you like to try it?  If so, please leave a comment with your favorite spice.  This spice could be your favorite to cook with, to wear in a perfume, to eat, to sniff, to uplift.  Whatever you please.  To start the ball rolling, one of my favorite spices is cardamom.  I love cardamom!  I add it to steel cut oatmeal and once made a killer cardamom scented whipped cream!  I'm guessing the increase in metabolism from the spice will not offset the fact I'm eating whipped cream :( 

How about you? What spice do you adore? Please visit these perfumer's blogs for more uplifting scents and giveaways:

It's a joy spreading, smile inducing, uplifting blogathon project from the Natural Perfumer's Guild!  It's January and we aim to spread joy and fragrance.  January is often called the cruelest month.  Here in New England it's cold, it's dark, and the days are short.  Many suffer from the "winter blues" brought on by the lack of sunlight.

I call this particular season the Winterless Winter.  Here in Rhode Island we've had no snow.  This is bizarre.  Having lived my entire life in New England, from Vermont, to New Hampshire, to Massachusetts to Rhode Island I do not recall ever having a snowless winter.  According to an article I read online at Discover Magazine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2012/01/12/why-this-winter-is-so-crazily-warm/
the reason this winter is snow-free is due to an unusual jet stream pulling warm air across the country (shades of global climate change?)  Whatever the reason for the lack of snow, wildly fluctuating temperatures and frequent thunderstorms I feel the effect.  Something is off.  The trees and plants are confused.  Trees bud in the warm rain and then freeze.  I'm as confused.  The holidays felt strange with no snow.  Lighting a fire in the fireplace feels odd when it's 50 degrees outside in December.  My children ask me everyday when it will snow.  "When can we build a snowman Mom?"

So, in order to help spread cheer I look to scent.  Scents of citrus, jasmine and lilacs feel warm and happy, a reminder of impending spring.  I often find myself reaching for essences that I find uplifting when it's cold and grey outside.  I recently discovered the finest bitter orange essential oil I have ever experienced.  It's sunshine in a bottle.  Bright, clean and sparkling.  Excellent quality.  I use this bitter orange along with others such as rose, orange flower, amber, vanilla and ambrette in Divine eau de parfum.

Would you like to try Divine?  Or the incredible uplifting bitter orange essence I've found?  Leave a comment below and the chosen winner will receive a sample of Divine and the fab bitter orange!  Look for additional giveaways tomorrow and Wednesday.

Please check out all the talented generous participating Guild Perfumers blogs.  We are all giving away fabulous scented treats to brighten your January!

'Tis The Giving Season

Happy Holidays from Providence Perfume Co!

   The Holiday Season is upon us!  Our gift to you fragrance fans?  Free
   Shipping! We would like to offer free U.S. shipping to our valued customers
   until Dec. 20th.  Enter Code: FREEHOLIDAYSHIP at checkout and your entire
   order ships for free! Our travel atomizers make perfect stocking stuffers,
   hint-hint.
   And speaking of gifts, our Amber Cream body oil has made Ca Fleure Bon's
   2011 Holiday Gift Guide!  They are offering a fantastic giveaway of
   luxurious covetable holiday gifts (including our body oil) online at:
   www.cafleurebon.com
   Hurry--the giveaway ends Dec.8th!
     
   We recently received two fantastic reviews of our perfumes Eva Luna and
   Jazmina.  Both are pretty feminine florals created from premier tuberose and
   the finest jasmine sambac we've ever sourced.  An excerpt from the review of
   Eva Luna reads: _" . . . The natural tuberose note is creamy and gentle, not
   dramatic in a Fracas-like way, and it emerges softly through the slight
   mossiness of the fragrance’s heart. __I enjoy this transformation from
   foliage to florals in Eva Luna. It feels like walking from a garden (a
   vegetable garden!) into a forest of moss-hung trees, and then encountering a
   single white (magical?) flower growing in a dusky clearing." -Jessica, Now
   Smell This
   www.nstperfume.com

   Of Jazmina solid perfume, Victoria at Eau MG writes: _"Jasmine is the star
   here . . . the florals used in Jazmina are top-notch. The solid perfume
   blooms with time. It's elegant, but very impassioned . . ." Victoria, Eau MG
   www.eaumg.net

   Attention Local Fans:  Our perfumer Charna will be at the East Side
   University Heights Whole Foods this Saturday from 2-4 as part of the "Buy
   Local Holiday Gifts" event.  Stop by to meet, greet and receive free samples
   of our fine natural perfumes.

   Over and out.  Happy Holidays to all and may your celebrations be merry and
   fragrant!