MIDNIGHT GYPSY ALCHEMY
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Body Creme Sale !
| Posted on June 27, 2016 at 3:38 PM |
comments (240)
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 I made a few batches this weekend of body creme that got me to thinking of how I needed to make some more of my own personal stock , which then led me to think that others may need to stock up for the summer as well. I know I always use an abundance of body creme for the season and well into winter to keep my skin hydrated and soft and smelling oh so lovely. So I decided to offer a sale on body cremes at just $7.00 each. Original price is $10.95 for the 4 oz jars. Perfect to help layer with a solid perfume and perfume oil to increase the longevity of your natural signature scent from MGA. This offer is good today thru Friday July 1st here at the website and MGA Etsy shop. #midnightgypsyalchemybodycreme#midnightgypsyalchemysale#botanicalbodycreme #natural bodycreme#naturalperfume#gypsyscents |
A Scented Celebration of 40 years
| Posted on April 11, 2016 at 3:34 PM |
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 “It is not the end but the beginning
of new, a rebirth with new eyes to better see the light within you." A
fragrance created in honor of my 40th birthday that is a celebration of the
cycle of life with selected scents that capture the essence of time, memories,
nature and love only found within a gypsy's heart. This is a blend that much though
went into and every ingredients and material added I had a deep love and connection for so
therefore all played an important role in creating something that was special and
personal to me . I started with thyme, I found the duality of this fitting that
represented the time in my life of years gone by and yet to be, French lavender
for my love of growing and harvesting fresh lavender in my herb garden and how therapeutic
it is for me to work with and simply inhale its magick. Next was Creosote
which smells of the rains in Texas as child , peach notes made up of
peach and apricot fruit extracts, grapefruit , orange blossom, and osmanthus
absolute, which altogether created the peach accord I was going for that
again a child hood memory of the many summers I spent at my grandmothers picking
peaches the backyard. Orris absolute, cedarwood for the earthy and root notes
that make up my olfactory senses of walks in the forest, the smell of trees and
bare feet on the damp earth. Labdanum
is my absolute favorite for its dark rich resin amber notes I am so fond of
working with and wearing simply on its own which to me invokes of the sense of ancient
resins and mysticism . All of this patiently
and lovingly infused in handcrafted extracts and tinctures of creosote leaves, orange peels, peach fruit, thyme herbs
and lavender flowers to create the end result of a grand and fabulous, magickal
fragrance near and dear to my gypsy heart. Here is to 40 or more wonderful years
of love, life and journeys yet to come on this beautiful earth! |
The Ouroboros
| Posted on March 30, 2016 at 11:43 AM |
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 I did not know which route to go with this one as all I knew is that I wanted the main focus to be thyme, not only for the unique aromatic properties of fresh thyme but also that it was fitting as what I was creating was to embody a sense of time. So from there on I worked around that note adding my favorite olfactory fragrances and materials that signified personally to me the essence of youth, love, strength and bits of nostalgia. A blend to capture my spirit, where I have been, where I am to journey next and a bit of something of the unknown. Many formulas and names for this one evolved, many indeed. Until one day it came to me that for many months I had been seeing this Ouroboros symbol around a lot. So much that I began to think it was just not coincidental and should not be ignored . An ancient alchemy symbol that signifies the end of a cycle and the beginning of another. It represents eternity, infinity and renewal, cyclical transformation and the creation of life through death. I found this to be fabulous and most fitting to this stage of my life. On April 11th I will be turning 40 and so this marks the end of what to me is one part of the cycle in my life and so begins new one. No longer so youthful but much wiser and worldly,but not yet the stage of the beautiful crone either ...and so the cycle continues and this gypsy woman journeys on. A new beginning which I thoroughly embrace with open arms, mind and heart. To celebrate this milestone I had in the works for about a year this blend that was to be very personal and unique in composition of notes and experimenting with more than just a few accords; which was a welcomed challenge for me. So indeed it is finally complete and to be released April, 11th and perfectly named none other than "OUROBOROS". |
Salem Vendor Fair 2014
| Posted on August 6, 2014 at 9:00 AM |
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 This past weekend I participated in a small local vendor fair in Salem
Va. taking only a few MGA scents to sell. This was the first time to share my products
out locally after having made them for many years. I had never done this before
so I did not know what to expect but was most curios to try it. This was not a very
big event and there was not much in the way of visitors to the site. I think
that had to do with the overcast and looming rain cloud over head all day, but
it was a fair turn out of people , and I am so glad to have had my beautiful daughter Victoria (who never misses a photo opportunity) there
to help me out with set up and packaging. :)   It was great to meet many fabulous and interesting people who were not
aware of what natural perfumes were and so my day was spent talking to and educating
those interested about them and the process. This was quite wonderful spreading the word
and I got to hear people's testimonies on using synthetic commercial
perfumes , the rashes and irritations , headaches and nausea they experienced after using them . Though there
were some visitors to my booth who did not understand the whole concept and looked
at me and my display strangely or just walked on, it was most of the other visitors however
that came in that never knew of the unknown harsh chemicals in commercial perfumes
and were amazed at how that could affect their bodies so much . They just thought the scent was to
strong and avoided perfume altogether and it was wonderful to enlighten them and introduce them to the natural perfume realm with products they could actually enjoy wearing without the bad experience. So rewarding to see the perfume shunners and sceptics
hesitantly pick up the glass bells and then
suddenly begin to deeply inhale my scents over and over and every time smiling or saying " I loooove this one" or “wow, not
what I expected at all”. I found it very
interesting that when I asked what type of scent they enjoyed most responded with a very quick “I do not like rose
and jasmine or any floral” but when they sampled both “Flamenco” and “Black Velvet” they immediately
were drawn to them and ended up purchasing those . I then told them afterward
the infusion ingredient in those two and they were very surprised to hear that jasmine
and rose were prominent notes in both for they had never had the pleasure of
smelling true natural jasmine or rose notes before. Same for Patchouli….ha… NO
ONE liked patchouli in a perfume but sampled “Into the Woods” and they changed their
mind .
Overall what I did not make in sales I made up in a lot of local exposure and sharing with people what natural perfumes are all about ;
which was exactly what I was hoping for and why I agreed to do this event. Many
folks took cards to go online and read through all the scent descriptions at their
leisure or wait for the Fall scents as
some asked for Fall like scents which I had
none of :(  I also had a few invitations to
other local vendor events which I was so very flattered with to be noticed and invited.
What I did find even though this was a good exposure, I realized sadly that I believe these
fair and shows are not really for me. Perhaps the setting was all wrong for my type of products and need a
different type vendor venue. I felt I had
to really push my products to interest people a bit too much which is
exhausting to do over and over all day. None the less I channeled my inner gypsy and embraced my heritage and began to work the sales pitch inviting people in to my tent; which by the way was complete with a small crystal ball, black lace shawl display on the table and candelabra with black candles...of course !I do think after all this that online commerce is the way for me ,being much easier to manage and not so time consuming for preparation .
I may change my mind later if the right opportunity presents itself ...maybe. For now
I am quite content working my scented gypsy magick the way I do, but am so very grateful to have had the opportunity . It was a unique experience, and I am proud that I ventured to try something new :) |
Elemental Alchemy Project
| Posted on June 5, 2014 at 3:46 PM |
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  So
what have I been up to? Oh, just spending
time calling the elements is all ;) This project began about two
years ago and have been slowly working on it as time allows. It
has finally come together and in the next two weeks this line of elemental
perfumes will be set to release along with an elemental candle set as
well . Pictures and labeling are in the final stages, so plans for release are for
the week before the Summer Solstice . I have
been very particular about these scents and have not been so quick to
create them as I wanted them to be unique, giving them Spanish
names for each element, which is different from what you normally would
see from those who have similar collections. Also to allow myself
time and venture into testing different types of resins. Resins I have not used before and
that not only had a harmonious aroma with my chosen oils and herbs to be
first a "perfume" but
important that they would also correspond traditionally
to the elements for those who chose to use them in workings. Blends
that would not only be used to scent the body but invoke the actual scent
of each element based on my own memory recall. This was tricky to balance
both concepts and at times a frustrating process scratching off many
scent accord groupings as I went and starting over and over, but I can say I am
finally satisfied with my interpretation of each elemental
scent. After all what does water smell like ...or air? Everyone has a different olfactory
recall for each I know, but I feel confident that the blends I have
created will still indeed take you to the place where your senses
can celebrate the beloved elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. I can't wait to release these ! :)     |
Soap Alchemy
| Posted on April 7, 2014 at 11:41 AM |
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 I have a love /hate affair with soap. To be honest I have always loved to make it and I so enjoy it as it is quite a fun process, but put the pressure of making and keeping supplies for 25 scents and counting and making it fresh to order with no stock ,putting me behind on orders and time with my family and I begin hate and despise it. So I take it off the sites, go awhile without making it and then I begin to miss it and long for the experience...ughh ,so frustrating . So since October I have been fighting with the little muse that lives in my thoughts and never ceases to go quiet. "Bring them back, bring them back" I hear, but with my hectic schedule I did not even want to think of adding them again . Oh but she persisted , and so I added this to my list of things to do and for months I pondered how I could do it . My dear customers kept asking too , and were so disappointed when I said I had none. I hated to disappoint so many so I started to make a few here and there at special requests for them and I was happy, yes oh so happy . It was while making one special request that I came up with an idea to make soap but not for all the scents I carry. That would still be too time consuming but perhaps just a few unique specialty scents that were herbal , naturally colored and made with even more skin nourishing ingredients. So it was decided that this was what I would do and so began a few months of experimenting for the perfect scent recipe and soap making technique . Behold ...this is is what came to be. :)  Four unique hand milled artisan herbal soaps, created to nourish and pamper your skin. "Soap Alchemy" to transform your bath time escaping from the mundane and awakening your curious senses . Soap bars that are 3.5 oz each and come wrapped in black paper with hand stamped gold embellishments and labels .  Soap Alchemy scents ... "Dark Alchemy " - Ground Elderberries, Sage Leaves, Rose Petals, Dragon's Blood resin , Olive Leaf Powder, French Green Clay, Activated Charcoal for coloring . Infused with and scented in Rose De Mai, Labdanum Absolutes, Sandalwood,Clove and Sage essential oils. "Mystic Alchemy"- Ground Blueberries, black tea, Blue Corn petals and Lavender Flowers. Olive Leaf Powder, French Green Clay,Activated Charcoal for natural coloring ,infused with and scented in Jasmine,Orris Root,Violet Leaf, Vanilla Absolutes, Ylang Ylang, Lavender and Vetiver essential oils. "Green Alchemy" - Ground Figs,Tobacco, Green Tea , Patchouli Leaves,Olive Leaf Powder, French Green Clay,Activated Charcoal for natural coloring,infused with and scented in Oakmoss,Tobacco Absolutes, Myrrh ,Amber resins and Patchouli essential oils. "Citrus Alchemy" - Ground Orange, Lemon peels, cardamom Seeds,Rosemary Herb,Ginger Root,Olive Leaf Powder, French Green Clay,Activated Charcoal for natural coloring. Infused with and scented in Lemon, Cardamom, Ginger, Rosemary, Grapefruit, Bergamot essential oils.  A lot of time and thought went into making these special soaps and have made enough to keep a small stock of them on hand .Though I still regret that I cannot make them for all scents I carry I do think many with enjoy these just the same . These will be available for sale here and on the Etsy shops this week . So here you go ...soaps are back , and I can't believe they are finally done and I can stop fighting with my creative muse on this and put this project to rest . I know one person who is very happy I am done with this project ...my 3 year old son who just so happened to photo bomb my shooting this past weekend as a way to tell me .."Mom, put the camera down and come play with me ". He was the little push I needed to step away, stop obsessing and say "ok I'm done, I am really done". So off I went to enjoy my Saturday with my family :)  |
MGA Scented Giveaway !
| Posted on March 27, 2014 at 8:15 AM |
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 MGA is having a Scented give away Thursday, March 27th! Read this post first for more information on how to win! I came across a pin on Pinterest the other day that stopped me in my tracks and took me back to a time in my life of things that I used to created pre- MGA .This pin led me to my old blog from 2007 which I thought I had closed back in 2011 and to my surprise is this very much active. Oh my, did I go back down memory lane. You see many may not know that I used to make handmade art dolls under the name of "Gothic Southern Belle Art and Southern Gypsy Moon Art. I sold these on eBay for the longest time and all the pictures and post of every doll and creation I ever made is on this blog along with years of life events from, moving to babies, trips and family losses. I reminisced of thing years long since passed on this for quite a while and revisited the memories of creativeness that went into my dolls. I saw how my thoughts, taste and style has evolved but still somehow have stayed the same... not as dark minded as I once was. I was very much a Romantic Goth at the time who enjoyed Dark Victoriana decor and dress, was intoVampires, Victorian Spiritualism , Mourning ,the Macabre and Poison dolls and Little Widows who poisoned people with cookies and tea…yeah...wow! You can read and browse all this and see my old creation here at http://gothicsouthernbelleart.blogspot.com/but here is the question you must answer to win and what this give aways is all about . Ok,here it goes. Many may also not know (there are few of my customers and followers that do) but not only did I make art dolls I ran another business too. My first perfume/ bath and body business that due to illness and changes in life, sadly I could not keep running . I ran this business from 2003 to early 2008, until I took on a new venture and opened MGA . This name is mentioned in a post on this blog somewhere, "WHAT WAS THE NAME OF MY OLD BUSINESS? The first three people to post on MGA"s FaceBook page wall what the name of that business was, will receive a free 3.oz candle in Mandrake Garden and a Perfume Vial set with Black Velvet, Earth and Wild Roots, Into the woods , and Feather Heart samples. This is for one day only, today Thursday, March 27th and as soon as I have three different people post the name then the giveaway will be over. So, go to the blog mentioned above and search away. Do be warned , it was years worth of blogging so it may take a while and you may find yourself, amused, amazed,when browsing the pictures of my old art dolls post and at times confused on some asking yourself “What the ..?” Hey, what can I say? Creativeness has neither boundaries nor rules ...Good Luck!! ~Nina. https://www.facebook.com/pages/MidnightGypsyAlchemy/208486055835340 |
Moving right along as Spring approaches
| Posted on March 10, 2014 at 12:23 PM |
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 It was a productive weekend. I got all caught up on orders and while my family slept (and I was up at 2:00 am Saturday morning ) I finally had a chance to sit and take pictures of my bath salts which are now back in stock in both shops ..yay! I also had a little furry helper drop in for the photo shoot. Well he played with my crystals more than helped and photo bombed many shots so I could pet him but I enjoyed his company none the less.  Two weeks ago I adopted my little black bundle of joy from a local animal shelter here in Roanoke...adding to our growing family . We named him LEONIDAS but call him Leo as he is still a baby and all cute and cuddly right meow . We do foresee though that he will grow into his full name and be a big strong strapping lad of a cat ;) Yes, moving right along as Spring approaches and I have many plans and ideas that I am working on . It took a while to get the bath salts back...my apologies. I tried my hardest to sit and take photos of all 25 scents in between full time work and family but found time was beating me and slipping away. So in the end it would be easier to just take a few pictures with a variety of the bath salts as examples to show what they look like along with its packaging and have customers choose their scents in one listing. I think it worked out rather well.  I do plan on re- releasing the Spring scents from last year by March 20th which were "The Beauty of Nature" scents that featured "Lemon Beauty ", "LavenderBeauty" and "Orange Beauty" perfumes and yes one new scent for spring with infusion of carrots and fennel …..oooooh so nice !Candles will be revamped in their looks in a few weeks , I can’t wait for you to see them and also still working on a big project that involves the 4 Elements but for now like Forrest Gump says"That’s all I have to say about that “ ;) ~Nina. |
2014 Fresh Start
| Posted on January 3, 2014 at 3:57 PM |
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 Life for me has finally settled down and I can again breathe the air of new ideas and creativity once more. My thoughts are alive and full of the zest and wonderment they had before pregnancy and I do so very much look forward to sharing with you what is to evolve from my scented world in the months to come:) A new year and a fresh start indeed as I introduce a new logo and look for the shop and product labels, as well as a much needed update to my pictures. This new look will slowly be replacing the old one on the website and Etsy shop in the next week. I found a new face for MGA as seen in the picture above , she represents my work and branding much better and I absolutely love it ! Lotions and candles have been added back and are now available again for sale here and the Etsy shop and bath salts will return soon as well more toward the end of the month as I am giving those a packaging and product face lift as well. Sadly, powders and soaps with not return, I plan to discontinue those permanently. After much deliberation I found these are too costly to make for the price I sell them at in supplies, time, and amount of oils it takes to create them so they will not return. Keeping my product line and stock of materials simple allows me process orders much more quickly giving a turn around time of 3-5days instead of 8-10 going on 15 days in some cases. A new year’s resolution I am pushing myself to fulfill for 2014 ....faster turn around time :) In the works are the Valentine scents, out by the end of next week available until the end of February. Returning is the sensual favorite "Love Alchemy” along with two new seasonal scents in which the good old romantic box of chocolates played the inspiration for. An addition of a new style of locket is underway which will be released as soon as stock in supplies for it is secured from the new supplier I have found for these. Moving into Spring and Summer there will be an introduction of 5 new scents in a collection that is still in the works involving Alchemy and the Elements...more to come on that as this project progresses. So see much going on here at MGA and glad to be back to my old gypsy self ;) |
Earth and Wild Roots
| Posted on August 20, 2013 at 11:47 AM |
comments (102)
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 What exactly is this scent all about? I will do my best to explain scent and concept behind the making of this new perfume.  It is a barefoot walk in the grass or woods and feeling the damp cool earth beneath your feet, it is to dig your toes into the ground to release to wooded, foliage scent of soil that mix in the air with nearby wild mushrooms and herbs of the season or to lay upon the earth as if you are one with the all the roots, creatures and other unseen living things beneath you.  It is all this and yet a bit more as it also represents your deep roots of ancestry and traditions, where you came from . The strong and bold hearted that through obstacles and darkness one will always find their way somehow to the light of life. It is experiences though sweet and strange, joyful or bitter that will stay with you deep rooted in your soul forever while on this earth. A unique scent that I hope will bring the feeling of empowerment to those who wear it as well as the strong desire to run barefoot upon the ground finding their sense of wonder in nature again. An urge I experienced quite a few times while testing and creating this now beloved perfume out ;) ~Nina . “From these wild roots I shall grow. With feet firmly planted I shall twist my way through life's darkness until I reach the light of the heavenly sky." A dark foliage and fig scent touched by earthen mushrooms, spirited herbal mint and light musk like powders. A blend created with mushroom,tonka bean,vanilla,oakmoss absolutes,orris root and agarwood co2's,fig fruit extract, myrrh resin ,essential oils of peppermint,ambrette seed,cedarwood,amyris, infused in ground organic figs, mushrooms,tonka beans, vanilla beans, mint leaves and cedarwood. |
