I started collecting essence oils in my youth. I was heavily influenced by a couple of old retired professors (who were probably younger than I am now)  turned hippie new age shop owners. They had introduced me to scent blending. More specifically, creating altar oils and smoke incense for Ashrams and retreats. It was a magical time of awakening and although I did not follow a straight path with my scent work, I was always circling back to it. 

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Things are much different today. The advancements in technology and scent extraction have made it possible for those of us  who love  working with natural essences to widen our scope and create from an ever expanding  palette. 

That same technology has also made it possible to work with safer sustainable materials, with natural roots that push the limits of what is possible. 

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For me personally, I begin every scent with a plant based palette and build on it. In recent years I have been replacing some of the animal materials like honey absolute, beeswax, ambergris, hyrax and others with safe cruelty free, sustainable alternatives. Although it has been the norm to consider these (animal based) materials cruelty free, there is no blanket guarantee that those assumptions are true. 

Maya Angelou once said: When you know better, you do better. 

As an artist and someone who loves to have all of the tools, I am always open to learning new things and making better decisions.