Completed The Secrets of Scents I

Tazrae studdies her new Perfume book.

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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The Secrets of Scents I

Postby Tazrae on December 1st, 2020, 3:18 am

Timestamp: 81st of Fall, 520 A.V.


The book James had found for her was simply titled “The Secrets of Scents.” Tazrae was a little in love with it because it was a thick leather volume that had a smell that wasn’t unlike some of her flowers, and it had pages and pages full of secrets that she wanted revealed to her. She knew something about perfumes… her mother had loved them. But she didn’t know much about how they were actually made or why some started out smelling a certain way and the smell changed over time or even in the heartbeat it took to breathe in the essence. Her hope was that the book would shed some light on things for her.

James had complained that he’d had to linger the ship in Riverfall a full day extra in order to locate it and buy it, so it came at a precious cost that Taz was more than willing to pay. She’d cherish it, use it, and take its knowledge and expand outward with it. Books were like docks that launched ships outward into the sea of unknown with just rudimentary sailing lessons to power the boat onward. Taz wasn’t expecting a miracle in the handwritten pages. What she was expecting was a foundation.

And from the very first page, it didn’t disappoint. The preamble talked about the origin of the perfumer, from a far swamp in Falyndar which would seem an exotic place to anyone who wasn’t living in Falyndar. Tazrae did live here, and while she’d never heard of a swamp called the Gyvaka on the western shore of the region, she knew she could surely make it a goal to visit there one day. The knowledge was Dhani in origin – which made sense coming from a swamp – and was written in neat precise text by someone called Ozantha. Taz tried to picture her… someone wise, well versed, and a patient teacher. She could tell by how the book read that the woman who wrote it had a serious passion for the topic.

“What is a perfume?” That was the title of the preamble. Tazrae read on, aloud. She wasn’t sure if Bree cared for the topic or not, but The Innkeeper was lounging in the shade resting up against her Ixam’s side. The Ixam herself was curled protectively around Tazrae occasionally lipping at the book as the young woman read. “The technical definition of a perfume is a fragrant liquid typically made from essential oils extracted from flowers and spices, used to impart a pleasant smell to one's body or clothes. But perfumes are so much more. Perfumery is a language all of its own. It is the art of creating perfumes to invoke an emotion or specific state within someone. It can be a real state of happiness if the scent is reminiscent of happy times or happy places, or it can be an illusional scent such as the state of having power, or being clean without actually being either. Perfumery is a science, an art and even dare I say a magic. One must understand that each scent will react to each individual differently and it’s the crafter of the perfume’s job to know your customer or target and manipulate your product to best suit them.” She finished reading, then looked thoughtful.

“It’s true.” Bree said sleepily. “Each person has their own personal scent. You know I have a great sense of smell and can follow those individual scents. And the application of one scent on five different people… say something as simple as the smell of oranges… will probably smell five different ways between the gathered individuals.” The jungle lizard said, stretching out her tail and then wrapping it around Tazrae so she could nibble on the end of it to get at a itch.
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"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
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Tazrae
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The Secrets of Scents I

Postby Tazrae on December 1st, 2020, 3:20 am

“I believe that…. I mean I’ve never given it much thought. But I have tried my mother’s perfumes before… she had many of them. And honestly not many of them suited me… or smelled good on me. She liked fruity scents that were heavy with overbearing flowers. They smelled nice on her but they always felt extreme on me.” Taz commented, turning the page.

“Perfumes can be crafted to stand alone, but more often than naught they are crafted to be included in another creation. For example, if one creates a hard cream to run under one’s arms to prevent the excess shedding of water in the form of sweat, one might also want to include a perfume to tone down the scent of sweat and make a person smell fresh like they’ve just returned from bathing. Another good example of this is lotion to sooth cracked and dried heels on a persons foot. It is also a good idea to include a perfume in such lotions to mask or eliminate any foot odor. Peppermint is excellent at this because not only does it also have qualities that will assist dried skin, but it is a strong scent that will mask foot odor and lift the spirit and ease the tiredness in the owner if the sore feet.” Tazrae read, then smiled.

“I can see where this book is going to be very handy. Running around barefoot, everyone here gets the worst sort of dried cracked skin on the bottom of their feet. That’s a luxury I can sell to the Mercantile or offer in my own Inn.” She added, leaning back against Bree and holding the book higher. The Jungle Ixam caught the end of Tazrae’s frizzy braid and began nibbling it affectionately.

“So… aromatherapy is a type of medical treatment that uses natural plant extracts to promote health and well-being. Sometimes called essential oil therapy, Aromatherapy uses aromatic essential oils medicinally to improve the health of the body, mind, and spirit. It enhances both physical and emotional health. Aromatherapy is thought of as both an art and a science. Aromatherapy and Perfumery go hand in hand. They both require the same essential oils and both are crafted with intent.” She read aloud.

Bree snorted. “I take shits with intent.”

Tazrae grinned, shoved the scaled muzzle off of where it had started to nibble on the book, and glared at the huge lizard. “That’s not nice. Stop pouting because I’m paying more attention to a book than I am to you. Nothing’s keeping you here. You can go swimming if you’d like.” She suggested patiently. Bree was young and had the attention span of a grasshopper. Lars, knowing something of the Ixam, said that her attention span would catch up to her intelligence one of these days. Taz was living for that day.

The Ixam muttered, rose, and uncurled herself from around the young woman. Then she trotted off to go play in the surf leaving Taz alone under a palm tree, which she happily scooted back to – carefully checking for snakes, spiders and scorpions – before she used its trunk as a back rest since hers had fled in boredom. “Kids…” she muttered, watching the Ixam’s antics in the surf for a few moments before getting back to her reading.
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
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Tazrae
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The Secrets of Scents I

Postby Tazrae on December 1st, 2020, 3:22 am

Tazrae felt, after reading both the introduction to Perfumery and Aromatherapy that while they were both related, Perfumery and Aromatherapy each had its own set of rules. Perfumes it seemed, were created with strict guidelines. While Aromatherapy’s draw was that it had no rules and one could play as one liked, trying to get the right combinations to manipulate the emotions or states one wanted to achieve. The Aromatherapy article even hinted that magical manipulation as possible if done right.

Though, the whole medicinal thing was more along the lines of getting a person to relax, to de-stress, or even to feel less anxious or even to feel less pain when one was recovering. There was implications for her Inn for sure. If she could design Aromatherapy Scents for her Inn that might enhance someone’s experience there or even wedge it into their memories more strongly so that every time they smelled a certain scent, they would be reminded of The Protea.

It was brilliant, really… and Taz was glad Captain James had offered to find her a book on perfumes and the power of scents… which now had a name: Aromatherapy.

She carefully turned the page and ran straight into a new set of terminologies that she didn’t understand. Oils… it seemed in both art forms, there were two types. One… was a carrier oil. The other was an essential oil. Taz remembered that essential oils were distilled from plants… in fact she’d already made a few. But the book took the definition further.

“An essential oil is a concentrated liquid containing the volatile aroma compounds distilled primarily from plants.” Taz had to pause there, flipping ahead, to see if anywhere in the book it defined what a volatile aroma compound was. In the back, there was a list of definitions, and she quickly learned that a volatile compound was simply something that vaporized easily… turned into a gas. She was a little confused as to what a gas was, until the book, a few pages further on, got into a discussion about solids, liquids, and gasses. Once that bit of chemistry was figured out, Taz was back on her current page, reading further.

“The name ‘essential oil’ comes from the fact that the oil carries a distinctive scent of the plant it is made from… not that it has specific chemical properties beyond being able to convey these fragrant characteristics.” She read, nodding to herself. “They are used in lotions, soap, as flavorings in cooking, in perfumes, and even in medicines.” Good to know, Tazrae thought, as she read further. “Essential oils can be both a scent and a flavor… remember that. Other senses besides our sense of smell can always be invoked to augment and reinforce our olfactory senses.” She finished off, grinning. She knew what the term olfactory meant, but she’d never seen it used in that clever way.
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
User avatar
Tazrae
Be savage, not average.
 
Posts: 1335
Words: 1916653
Joined roleplay: May 3rd, 2020, 2:02 pm
Location: Syka
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The Secrets of Scents I

Postby Tazrae on December 1st, 2020, 3:25 am

Reading further, Tazrae finally learned what a carrier oil was. “A carrier oil is an unscented and unaugmented oil such as one made from the coconut or jojoba which make up the main contents of the body of a perfume. The carrier oil is used to dilute or augment the essential oil or collection of combined oils to form the substance you are using the essence for.” Tazrae had to scratch her head at that.

Thankfully she had a list if the oils in her book and was able to look them over, glad suddenly that she’d gotten the oil press in the same cargo.


Carrier Oils


  • Sweet Almond Oil: Sweet Almond Oil is expressed from the seed of the sweet almond rather than the bitter almond, has a faint aroma, and is very close to the natural oils found in the skin. It was first used for chapped, irritated skin, eczema, cradlecap, and to soften wrinkles. Taken internally, it is twice as effective as olive oil in reducing heart problems.
  • Apricot Kernel Oil: Apricot Kernel Oil is expressed from the seed of the apricot. It is heavier than Sweet Almond Oil but more easily absorbed into the skin and, therefore, an excellent moisturizing oil for face, hands, and hair. It is good for mature, dry, or sensitive skin.
  • Avocado Oil: Avocado Oil is one of the most penetrating oils. Technically, the avocado is a fruit; and the oil is mechanically pressed out of the dehydrated, thinly sliced fruit. Avocado Oil, if unrefined, is a pale or olive green. Clear Avocado Oil has been bleached; pale yellow Avocado Oil has been refined by distillation. Unrefined Avocado Oil will have a strong, green aroma and is rich in vitamins. It is a very moisturizing oil and especially beneficial for rash, eczema, mature skin, parched skin, and aging skin.
  • Borage Oil: This is a powerful oil obtained by pressing the seed of Borage plant. It is oily with a faint aroma and is best stored cool. It is used for all the same cures as Evening Primrose oil.
  • Coconut Oil: Coconut Oil is semi-solid but melts easily when put on the skin. It is prepared from the inner meat of the coconut fruit. This is an ingredient in many cosmetics, especially soaps, and some shampoos, as it lathers well. It can be used as an ointment base and is good for the scalp. Coconut oil is best stored in the cool cellar as it becomes rancid when exposed to air.
  • Corn Oil: Pressed from the inner kernel of maize, Corn Oil has a faint aroma and is a little lighter than Olive Oil. It is effective for all skin types.
  • Evening Primrose Oil: Evening Primrose Oil can be used interchangeably with Borage Oil and is also best stored in cool cellars. It takes a lot of plants to make the oil, so often we do not use this or borage oil. Internally, Evening Primrose Oil is effective for menstral cramps, breast lumps, heart problems, spine problems, aging, epilepsy, and hyperactivity. Externally, it may be used for dandruff, sun-damaged skin, eczema, problem skin, aging skin, rheumatoid arthritis, or wounds.
  • Grapeseed Oil: This oil is mildly astringent and especially suited for acne or oily skin. This oil does not keep unless it is in the cold season.
  • Jojoba Oil: Jojoba Oil is very similar to the natural oil our skin produces, though it is technically a liquid wax produced from the seed of the Jojoba shrub. Usually, it is pressed but can be solvent extracted. It is similar to sperm whale oil.
  • Macadamia Nut: This oil is expressed from the rich macadamia nut, has a rather medicinal aroma, and is oily on the skin. It softens skin and is used in shampoos, conditioners, creams, and massage oils. This oil is recommended for dry and mature skin.
  • Olive Oil: Fully ripe, hand picked olives make the best oil which is produced by crushing the pulp of the fruit and not the seed. Olive Oil is heavy and used in cosmetics and soaps. It can be used for massage and is best blended with a lighter vegetable oil. While it is filled with skin nutrients, its aroma will dominate a blend. It can be taken internally for heart disease and constipation.
  • Peanut Oil: This is a nutty smelling, heavy oil but quite good applied externally for arthritis and rheumatism.
  • Pomegranate Seed Oil: Improves elasticity, protects skin, deeply penetrating, strengthens the skin.
  • Rosehip Seed Oil: This oil is produced in Syliras and is popular for tissue regeneration for burns, scars after injury, stretch marks, and facial wrinkles, especially "crows" feet" around the eyes and mouth-probably.
  • Safflower Oil: Safflower Oil is produced from the seeds of the safflower plant and can be substituted for Peanut Oil and applied to bruises, sprains, and painful arthritis joints. It does not have a long shelf life when exposed to air. It belongs to the sunflower family.
  • Sea Buckthorn Oil: Damaged skin, scar tissue, wrinkles, beta-carotene, tocopherols, skin repair & conditioning
  • Sesame Seed Oil: It may be expressed or extracted and is also known as Gingelly or Teel Oil. If the oil is extracted from raw seeds, it is a rather light color compared to that extracted from roasted seeds. Sesame Seed Oil is a natural skin moisturizer, a good source of vitamins. It is also a good laxative. Other uses are for rheumatic conditions, eczema, psoriasis, or dry skin.
  • Sunflower Oil: Sunflower seeds are expressed to produce this light oil which is high in nutrients. Externally, it is used for bruises, dermatitis, and ulcers.
  • Tamanu Oil: Used on Scars, as an Anti-inflammatory, heals damaged skin, and can fade stretch marks.
  • Wheatgerm Oil: This oil has a nutty aroma and is extracted by pressing or solvent extraction from the wheat "germ." It helps relieve dermatitis symptoms, promotes skin formation, and improves blood circulation. Wheatgerm Oil is used to prevent and reduce scarring and speeds up healing of cuts and wounds.


Having the list wasn’t enough. Carrier oils didn’t just grow on trees. They had to be made, so in the next section of the book, Tazrae found that explanation.

There were multiple methods of extracting carrier oils from their base components, but the one method that was claimed as ‘the best’ was a cold press method. To get to the oil, one had to take the seeds, fruits or nuts and express the oil without external heat. The author claimed heat broke down the properties of the oil and made it less effective, even though with heat the yield was higher. Tazrae could appreciate that. More wasn’t necessarily better. Ozantha claimed in her writing that the carrier oils were rich in vitamins and minerals that would preserve the therapeutic properties of the oil’s source. So, if treated right, the Apricot Kernel Oil, for example, would be more easily absorbed into the skin and made an excellent moisturizing oil for faces, hands, and hair… especially on mature, dry, or sensitive skin. If it was hot pressed, it lost all those qualities and became… nothing but a carrier oil.
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
User avatar
Tazrae
Be savage, not average.
 
Posts: 1335
Words: 1916653
Joined roleplay: May 3rd, 2020, 2:02 pm
Location: Syka
Race: Human
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The Secrets of Scents I

Postby Tazrae on December 1st, 2020, 3:28 am

“So that means I can mix and match my carrier oils to make my essential oils work harder for me. An essential oil that was also great for skin would be doubly effective with a carrier oil that had skin improving properties.” She muttered, tapping the book with her finger.

“Amazing. This is good information.” She said, pleased, closing the book for a moment to give it a hug. Water dripped down on her, followed by laughter, as the wet Ixam loomed over, cast a shadow, then flopped down in a sunny patch under the palms.

“You are one silly human. Hugging books. Of all the weird things.” The Ixam said dryly.

Taz grinned at her. “Bree, can you read common? If you can’t, I need to teach you. It will open up a whole wide world to you. Then you’ll understand what books like this mean for people like me out here in the wilds with no access to the knowledge otherwise.” She said, half teasingly, half joking. She’d teach the Ixam to read and she meant that.



Word Count: 3042
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
User avatar
Tazrae
Be savage, not average.
 
Posts: 1335
Words: 1916653
Joined roleplay: May 3rd, 2020, 2:02 pm
Location: Syka
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Mizahar Grader (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Syka Seasonal Challenge (1)

The Secrets of Scents I

Postby Tazrae on May 2nd, 2021, 8:06 pm

Tazrae-

Perfumery +5, Research +5, Socialization +3, Aromatherapy +4

Perfumery: What A Perfume Is, Research: Studying From A Text, Perfumery: Each Scent Reacts Differently To Each Individual, Perfume: Often Created To Be Paired With A Product, Aromatherapy: Definition & Uses, Perfumery: It’s Set Of Rules, Aromatherapy: It’s Set Of Rules, Aromatherapy: Using Scent To Remind A Person Of A Place, Perfumery: Essential Oils – Definition & Purpose, Perfumery: Carrier Oils – Definition & Purpose, Essential Oils: Uses As A Scent & Flavor, Carrier Oils: Types & Uses, Carrier Oils: How To Extract Them, Aromatherapy: Mix & Match Carrier Oils So Essential Oils Work Harder,
Image
"A mark of an open mind is being more committed to your curiosity than your conviction.
The goal of learning is not to shield old views against new facts, but to revise old views with new facts.
Ideas are possibilities to explore, not certainties to defend."


Garden Beach Syka The Protea Inn

"Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
User avatar
Tazrae
Be savage, not average.
 
Posts: 1335
Words: 1916653
Joined roleplay: May 3rd, 2020, 2:02 pm
Location: Syka
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 5
Mizahar Grader (1) Overlored (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Syka Seasonal Challenge (1)


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