clean winter scents for a fresh start twinkle apothecary

Clean Winter Scents for a Fresh Start

Happy New Year! 

If I haven't said this to you yet, thank you for a wonderful holiday season. The last quarter of 2018 was basically a blur, from my anniversary sale, to releasing my new body care collection, to selling more in the past month than I ever thought would be possible as a one woman show... (then catching up on all of the bookkeeping that I only thought I was too busy to do earlier in the year... whoops) I am looking forward to slowing it down a (tiny) bit and getting into some kind of a normal-ish routine outside of just working as hard as I can 24/7 in 2019. 

I took my first day off in ages yesterday - made pancakes for breakfast and put away the Christmas tree and organized all of my son's new toys... cleaned my apartment from top to bottom... and then we found out that the first day of school was cancelled for a snow day. A bonus day off! What did I do to deserve it?! 

So here I sit, in my gloriously clean and organized home, sipping a hot carob (yes I'm a nutty vegan and actually prefer it to chocolate lol) in my PJs and making good progress on all of the things I can actually do from home and trying not to think about all of the beauty butter and facewhip I need to restock and ship tomorrow...

Instead, (always) I want to talk about perfume. Because if in addition to eating better, saving money, and exercising regularly, I can persuade you to throw a couple of "treat yourself" resolutions into the mix for 2019, then I definitely want to do just that, and I truly believe that adding a natural perfume (or two) to your repertoire will enhance your life. It may sound silly, but I think it's just one of those things that you have to try in order to experience the magic for yourself. 

Think about it - plants are so generous and healing - we already use them in all aspects of our life to improve our health and general wellbeing, so to me it only makes sense to wear them as perfume to enhance our internal, mental + spiritual, lives as well. 

If you're interested in finding a natural perfume that you love but aren't sure where to start, or, if you already have a couple that you wear regularly and just want to change it up for the new year, I've compiled a sweet little list of my favorite clean winter scents for a fresh start. 

1. The Asterisk Collection Edition 02 (pictured above) 

I honestly can't remember why I made this one. I think I just wanted to make something sweet and winter-y, but of course it developed into something much more interesting as I worked on the scent, and it's truly one of my favorites.  

It goes on extremely crisp - at first the most beautiful organic Douglas fir, peppermint, and spearmint nearly take your breath away - but there's a depth, and richness to this one as it wears... I don't love "gendering" my fragrances, but there's something kind of masculine about it, despite the sweetness. 

The middle notes of carnation, coffee, and nutmeg are soft, and frankly difficult to put your finger on, honestly. There's nothing spicy or floral about this scent at all, but they are there... just adding a little intrigue and providing a gateway from the crisp, clean top notes to the sweet, sensual earthy base notes. 

Vanilla-y Balsam of Peru is really the star of the show in this scent. It's a base note, but you smell it right away as you hold the bottle up to your nose. It's sweet, but I don't think anything about this scent is "too" sweet. Smoky cedarwood and rich tobacco add a bit of warmth and fire to bring the lighter top notes down to earth. 

To me, this one smells like walking through a snow covered forest, coming in to warm up by a fire, with a mug of winter tea. It's like going off on a winter adventure, knowing that you are 100% supported and comfortable. The perfect combination of clean and cozy! 

I wear this one pretty exclusively on cold winter days. It's my snow day perfume, and there's just something about it that makes me feel nostalgic. Only in a hopeful, forward-looking kind of way... haha! 

2. Smudge Snow  

Smudge snow is actually a riff on Edition 02. I used the exact same top notes and combined them with palo santo, amyris, and tonka bean for a crisp, woodsy, and ever so slightly sweet aromatherapy blend. 

Real talk, I've worn this every day since I made it. The holidays are so stressful for me that I can easily fall into a funk if I don't actively work to keep my spirits up, so I used the most positive, uplifting, calming, negativity busting ingredients I could think of, and I really think it helps! I mean, I survived and I feel pretty good, so mission accomplished?! 

It refreshes me, calms me, and reminds me to breathe. I use it before bed, when I first wake up in the mornings, when I meditate and do yoga... and it lasts for a really long time on my skin. 

This was my December perfume junkie club scent, and I hope you're all enjoying it. If you're not in the club but want to get one, just buy a single "box" for $25 (they actually ship in an envelope,) and write in the notes of your order that you want Smudge Snow. I also have a few available in store right now, so come by and give it a sniff! 

3. Duchess

(Yeah I'm in the process of reshooting my entire website but haven't made it to a lot of the perfumes yet...) 

 With no true base note, Duchess barely qualifies as a "perfume" but I think it's soooo lovely, and wearing it makes me feel so fresh and pretty. 

It's like a clean but fancied up cup of herbal tea - with peppermint, rose, lavender, and chamomile. I think it's a great introduction to florals for those of you who think you exclusively want to wear clean/herbal blends. It blends really well with anything vanilla, and also earthier scents like Nasty Woman, (which, btw, I happen to think deserves an honorable mention on this list, especially as a solid...)

I tend to go for more earthy, warm scents for everyday, so I don't wear Duchess often, but whenever I do I always think I should definitely wear it more! In fact, I just realized that I don't have a bottle here at home and will definitely be snagging one when I go back to work tomorrow because it's such a perfect January scent. 

And that's all I've got for now - what do you think of my list?! 

If none of these do it for you, here are some single note scents to look into: 

- any mint 

- basil, rosemary 

- eucalyptus 

- ginger 

- frankincense 

- pine, fir 

- palo santo 

I'm refreshed just reading this list, hbu?

There are tons of winter-y scents in my collection, but these are the ones that really scream "happy new year" to me. As always, wear whatever speaks to you - there's even something to be said for the act of taking the time to look into treating yourself to something beautiful and healthy. I absolutely love this season of setting intentions and goals, cleaning up, getting back on track, and feeling fresh and new, don't you? I wish you a joyous 2019 full of peace and love and growth and beauty.

I can't wait to see what this year brings! 

-XO-

Stefanie 

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