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My Favorite Ways to Wear Perfume
Unconventional ways to apply perfume
01-22-14 posted by Hannah 

It is well-known that I am a huge fan of perfume and fragrance…okay, I’m obsessed with fragrance and the way things smell.  The truth is that I am actually quite sensitive to wearing perfume.  Let’s face it – nobody wants to be known as the lady that wears too much fragrance.  I’m sure we’ve all been in a situation where you’re standing in a check-out line at a store and the lady in front of you is caked in perfume…and it’s usually bad perfume.

I continually hear from other women that they love perfume but just cannot wear it because they’re sensitive to fragrance; it gives them a headache or makes them sneeze.  One of the reasons I started making solid perfumes, in addition to having a portable fragrance, was to create a scent that wasn’t overpowering.  It may come as a surprise to you, but I am in the same boat as a lot of women, and I am sensitive to actually wearing perfume.  I sometimes spend all day working on a new fragrance formula or spend all day actually making the Aromi solid perfumes or solid colognes in the lab.  Working in the lab on perfumes or colognes doesn’t bother me.  When it comes to wearing fragrance, though, I am very picky about how I actually wear perfume.  I wear perfume almost every day, and I have developed a system for wearing it in a way that doesn’t bother me.  Since I know a lot of people also have difficulties wearing perfume, I wanted to share the ways that I wear spray perfume and solid perfume.

HAIR BRUSH:  My all-time favorite way to wear a perfume is to spray my hair brush before brushing my hair.  I typically spray the brush once or twice with whatever fragrance I want to wear that day.  I like this method because it isn’t overpowering, and when my hair moves, I get a small whiff of perfume throughout the day.   

An awesome hair brush with a lip print 

BACK OF MY HAIR:  Another place I like to wear perfume is on the back of my hair.  To apply, I spray perfume directly behind me.   After about a half-second, I take one step back so the scent is applied to the ends of my hair and on my back.  I wait about a half-second to take a step back so I avoid getting the perfume directly on my roots.  I like this method because the perfume isn’t directly in my face or on my chest, so it isn’t overwhelming at all.  Like the hairbrush method, I also like this method because I get a nice waft of perfume throughout the day.

END OF MY HAIR:  I love solid perfume because I have full control over how much or how little fragrance I apply.  The solid perfumes are the absolute best products for those who are sensitive to fragrance but still want to wear perfume. My favorite place to apply solid perfume is on the ends of my hair.  There are oils in the solid perfumes, so I wouldn’t recommend caking this on the roots of your hair; you might end up with greasy hair.  Like many women, I also dye my hair, and I like adding the solid right at the ends of my hair because it also does a nice job of moisturizing my dry ends and helps to keep my hair in place.  Like the two other methods above, I really like this method because it also gives a nice whiff of perfume throughout the day.  Every time my hair moves, I get a subtle whiff of fragrance, which is really nice.

HAIR POMADE:  I tend to get some of the pesky fly-aways in my hair.  I like to use a bit of the solid perfume to hold the fly-aways down.  I usually get some of the solid perfume on the tips of my fingers and then just gently comb down the fly-aways to the top of my head and by my face.  If you try this method, avoid putting the solid perfume directly on your roots.

I hope this is helpful to those who are also sensitive to wearing perfume.   These methods may be a bit unconventional, but they’re definitely worth a shot, even if for no other reason than just because it is fun to mix up your fragrance routine.
Hannah
owner & chemist 
hannah.follis@aromibeauty.com  

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Renegade Winter Market
December 7 + 8, 2013
11am – 6pm 
Pulaski Park Fieldhouse  
1419 W. Blackhawk St. Chicago IL 60622

Come check out our cosmetics and fragrances at the Chicago Renegade Winter Market this weekend.  This will be our first time vending in the Chicago area and we’re really excited to be a part of this show!  We will be among 150+ makers showing our handcrafted products and you’re guaranteed to find something for everyone on your gift list.  We will have our eyeshadow, lip gloss, lipstick, solid perfume, solid cologne as well as our spray fragrances.  

We hope to see you at the show - stop by and say hi!!

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AROMI SOLID COLOGNES
The Story of Our Solid Colognes
Posted on November 9, 2013 by Hannah

I always get asked how I came about selling solid colognes and how I came up with the idea.  Truth is, I never intended to sell solid colognes or actually offer it as a product for Aromi.  Most people that come across the solid colognes usually say they’ve never heard of them or seen solid cologne before.

I have been creating perfumes for myself, family and friends for many years now.  I’ve mostly formulated fragranced products that are targeted towards women, but I wanted to give men’s products a shot.   Formulating a cologne is similar to creating a perfume except that there are more of the traditionally masculine scents – I am a fan of amber, citrus notes, musk, sandalwood, bergamot, vetiver and woodsy notes.  As a result, most Aromi solid colognes contain all or at least some of these fragrance notes.

The first cologne I created was a blend of sandalwood, bergamot, musk and vetiver.  I decided to give this new fragrance to my cologne-obsessed teen brother to get feedback.  When I asked him what I should name it, he decided it should be named Success.  I went ahead and bottled the cologne and slapped on a sticker with the name Success.  He religiously wore the cologne until the bottle was completely empty.  Of course, he wanted more, so he asked for another bottle.  In the meantime, I had been selling solid perfumes for about a year.  When my brother asked me for another bottle, I decided to try making the cologne in a solid form.   I mixed up a batch with the same raw materials that I use to create the solid perfumes (candelilla wax, carnauba wax, cetearyl alcohol, etc.), threw it in a small container and gave it a funny name that I dubbed Very Manly solid cologne.  I created a half-dozen or so and gave one to my brother as a joke, and I eventually ended up trying to sell one of them on Etsy just to see if I could get rid of it.  To my utter surprise, it quickly sold.  It was funny to me that something I originally created as a joke sold so quickly.  I ended up selling a few Very Manly solid colognes on Etsy, and before I knew it, I had created three other solid colognes – What a Stud, Handsome and You’re Hot.  I decided to name all men’s fragrances after things I could call a guy. 

The original Very Manly solid colognes 

The Aromi solid colognes have been selling for three years now, and there are nine total fragrances.  Although I never intended to create solid colognes, I really feel like it has filled a need in the market.  Until solid colognes, men really didn’t have an option for portable cologne that wouldn’t shatter in a bag – they are great to keep in a gym bag, backpack or briefcase.  The solid colognes work perfectly for traveling, as they are not liquid and don’t need to go in the dreaded bag of liquids.  At $14.00 a piece, they make an affordable stocking stuffer and make the perfect gift for the man that is constantly traveling. 

The look and packaging of the solid colognes have evolved over the years into a clean, modern look. 

Each solid cologne comes in a one-ounce metallic container that typically lasts at least a half year, but, of course, that depends on usage level.  All nine solid colognes are available in sample-sized versions as well, which are great if you want to smell and try them out before committing to a full-size solid cologne or a liquid cologne. 

Because of the names of the solid colognes, they offer a great way to personalize a gift, as the gift giver can match the name of the cologne to the receiver…and yes, we even have Douchebag solid cologne.  Douchebag solid cologne smells great and makes a funny gift.  I get asked quite often how Douchebag solid cologne came to be the name of an actual cologne.  I actually let my significant other pick the name of one of my colognes, and he thought Douchebag would be the perfect name.  Since all of the Aromi colognes are named after things one can call a man, Douchebag is definitely something one could call a man…and I’m sure we all know at least one douchebag.

Douchebag solid cologne is a blend of amber, mandarin, rosemary, neroli, patchouli and jasmine.

One question I get quite frequently is if women can wear solid colognes.  I always think it is funny how people think fragrances are so compartmentalized as either women’s or men’s fragrances.  Quite a few women prefer how a cologne smells over the traditionally sweeter, floral perfumes.  Handsome, Masculine, What a Stud and Outdoor Guy are some of the more common colognes that are worn by women. 

Very Manly, Masculine, Outdoor Guy, and Sexy Man are the most popular Aromi solid cologne fragrances.  To this day, Very Manly is still my brother’s favorite Aromi cologne and continues to be our most popular men’s fragrance. 

Hannah

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Maiden Minnesota 2013
Celebrating women owned businesses
Posted on October 25, 2013 by Aromi 

Maiden Minnesota is an annual charitable shopping event that is held in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.  This year, Maiden Minnesota takes place on Friday, November 1, 2013 from 5pm to 10pm and is held at the fabulous Graves Hotel.  Each year, Maiden Minnesota features some of the best women-owned businesses in Minnesota and this year there are quite a few new businesses featured in the event.  There are more that 35 “maidens” which show fashion, jewelry, accessories, home décor, and of course beauty products.    

This year, Maiden Minnesota 2013 will help support and raise awareness for The Makers Coalition, a movement to restore and build the industrial sewing heritage of America.  Tickets must be purchased to the event - $5.00 of each ticket goes directly to The Makers Coalition – Tickets can be purchased here.  There is also a silent auction that features items from each of the maidens as well as from a wide variety of other businesses from around the state.  The money raised from the silent auction also goes directly to The Makers Coalition.  This year, we donated a selection of our handcrafted lip gloss, lipstick, eyeshadow, solid perfumes, and solid colognes to be part of the silent auction. 

This year will mark our fourth year participating in Maiden Minnesota.  Each year, we always offer something new compared to the previous year.  This year, we will feature our brand new cosmetic packaging for our lipstick, lip gloss, and eyeshadows.  We have many new lip gloss and lipstick shades that have just been released.  We’ve reformulated almost all of our beauty products within the last year to make them better than ever!  We also have some new fragrances – both solid colognes and solid perfumes.  We will also have our liquid perfumes and liquid colognes available as well.  In addition to all of our new products, we will be offering some special deal for shoppers during the show.

In case you’re still on the fence about attending or not, here are the top 12 reasons why you cannot miss Maiden Minnesota 2013.
 

 We hope to see you at the show!!

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New Aromi Beauty Packaging!
Unique boxes for Aromi Lip Gloss, Lipstick, and Eyeshadow!
Posted on October 4, 2013

The new Aromi cosmetic packaging is finally here and I hope you all like how it turned out. When I was working with a designer on the packaging, I knew I wanted something that didn’t look like every other cosmetic packaging out there. Since the Aromi cosmetics are a unique, handcrafted cosmetic line, I felt that the boxes needed to be equally unique and had to be something that was representative of the Aromi brand. I wanted something that was colorful that also complimented the perfume and cologne lines. 

                  This is a view of the front of the new cosmetic boxes.  Each cosmetic box has the same design except each cosmetic type has a different color scheme - the eyeshadow box has a green and mint color, the lip gloss box has a purple and blue color, and the lipstick box has a read and green color.

 The vital cosmetic information is all listed on the side of the boxes; the ingredients are listed on the side panel as shown above. The front and back panels on each box are in color and the side panels are in black.

This is the back view of the lip gloss, lipstick, and eyeshadow boxes which contains only the barcode and PETA logo. 

Above all, the new cosmetic boxes are unique, different, and rich in color. All orders from aromibeauty.com will be shipped with the new boxes. I hope you all love the new boxes!
Hannah

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Crafty Bastards Art & Craft Fair
Union Maket in Washington D.C. on September 28 + 29, 2013
Posted on September 21, 2013

Each year Aromi participates in a few of the best indie and alternative art and craft shows around the country.  Next week we are traveling to Washington D.C. to be a part of the 2013 Crafty Bastards Show on September 28 and 29, 2013.  The show is held at the Union Market from 11a.m.to 5p.m. and features beautiful handmade products from around the country, check out this years vendors- in order to be included in the show, each vendor must create alternative handcrafted items.  

This is the first show where we will feature the two new Aromi handcrafted lip gloss products, Magenta and Purple Velvet.  We will also have two new lipstick shades with us as well, Wildberry and Crimson Lipstick, which are both perfect shades for fall.  Wildberry is a bright magenta color and Crimson is a dark marron shade with brown and dark violet undertones. 

Here is a swatch of our two new handcrafted lipstick colors for fall.  Wildberry and Crimson are being crafted in the Aromi laboratory and will be available on aromibeauty.com by October 1, 2013.

In addition to our new lip colors, we will also have our handcrafted solid cologne for men and solid perfume for the ladies.  We will also have a selection of our handcrafted lipstick, lip gloss, and eyeshadow for the makeup lovers. Tickets to the show can be purchased prior to the event here.  Be sure to stop by our booth to say hello or to try out our products.
See you at the show,
The Aromi Team
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Aromi Beauty Handcrafted Lip Gloss
New Shades - Magenta & Purple Velvet Lip Gloss
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 by Hannah

One of the best parts about working for a small beauty company is that I can formulate new shades, products, and colors whenever I feel there is something missing from the line.  Small companies can formulate and launch product much quicker than some of the larger companies beauty companies.  Prior to starting Aromi, I worked on projects for some very large beauty and fashion brands so I know firsthand how long the development process can take.   Formulating products and tinkering with new colors, shades, and other lovely raw materials is one of my favorite things to do so I always jump at the chance to create a new product.  For fall 2013, I wanted to add a couple of new and trendy, handcrafted lip gloss shades for this season. 

I always follow the cosmetic and fashion trends on the runway and use them for inspiration when I am formulating a new color.  One of the colors I continually saw on the runway was a bright berry color; this was exciting to me to see such a bright color that was on trend for fall.  A color this bright for fall is pretty unusual, but once I saw this color I knew it was one I needed for my lip gloss line.  I decided to create a highly pigmented, magenta color for one of the new Aromi lip gloss shades for this season.  

 
It took me awhile to achieve the perfect color, but here is a picture of the final color mixing up in the Aromi Laboratory.  This new shade is called, Magenta Handcrafted Lip Gloss.  As always, each lip gloss is formulated from scratch and is compounded and poured by hand.  This shade is a very highly pigmented color and even applying just a bit will give a vibrantly colored, glossy lip.  I am currently obsessed with this color and it is definitely my new favorite lip gloss.

Another big lip trend that was on the runways this fall was a dark purple lip which is definitely one shade that I needed in the Aromi lip gloss line.  A dark purple lip, almost giving a gothic look, is another must-have shade for fall 2013.  Here is another sneak peek at the final color mixing up in the Aromi lab – I named this shade Purple Velvet Lip Gloss. 

 
Purple Velvet Lip Gloss is also another highly pigmented lip gloss shade 

Since it is sometimes hard to picture what a lip gloss will look like actually on your lips, here is a compilation of how our lip gloss actually looks like when applied.  Aromi currently has 10 shades of lip gloss so there is a shade for every skin and hair color.

My all time favorite tip when picking out a lip color is to think about how it would look on your face if you were wearing very little or no makeup at all.  Whenever I'm picking out a new lip color, I always try tthe lip color when I'm not wearing any makeup.  If the color looks nice without makeup, I know that it is shade that fits my face.  If you've never tried this method, give it a try - you may be surprised how well it works.

There are some general rules when it comes to picking out a lip color so here are some general rules for which lip colors look best with a particular skin tone.

Darker skin: Scarlet, Purple Velvet, Red
Medium skin: Magenta, Couture, Scarlet Coral
Fair Skin: Nude, Snob, Pink, Magenta, Coral, and Red

I hope this guide helps guide you to the perfect glossy lip!  If you’d like to try out each shade in person, come visit us at one of our events or swing by one of our lovely stockists.  I hope you all like the two new handcrafted lip gloss colors I formulated! 
Hannah
founder & chemist