Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Multi-tasking at Eie Flud
is an art form!

Nestled among trees and streams is the Eie Flud dynasty of handmade toiletries, natural perfumes and noteworthy shaving items for the gentleman.


Heathers' custom products use all natural ingredients, with home grown botanicals, their own honey and beeswax and contain absolutely no chemical additives. Heather Platts, owner of Eie Flud in Leicestershire, England is about as busy as the bees she lovingly accommodates on her rural property. Natural perfumes, handmade soaps, toiletries and custom shaving supplies for men of distinction are just a part of what keeps Heather busy. In addition, Heather has a
flock of egg laying (well some of the time) chickens she lovingly refers to as The Girls and how could we not mention Harry and Howie, the sheepish version of the Odd Couple who provide Heather with wool she will eventually spin for her apparel art and hand blended soaps and balms.
AND, there's more.
She is a superb blogger whose witty journal entries take you to 'life on the Eid Flud farm' much like Garrison Keillor and his Prairie Home Companion. You can stop reading this blog entry and check it out now...it's okay! Just come back.

"Made completely from scratch and clinically tested for safety, we don't let anyone else to make them for us- you can be sure of the very best - our products make wonderful gifts or simply that little bit of luxury just for you and your family. Each of our perfumes is made by hand in the classical traditional way using only pure essential oils and absolutes - we do not use synthetic fragrances - this offers you a unique and exclusive product that is a joy to wear."


Creating a bespoke rose perfume for the UK based
Peter Beales Rose Nursery, has been one of the greatest highlights of her perfume designing legacy. The Mysterious Rose first entered the world as the 'unknown rose' while it was tweaked and polished for its debut! Some of the guidelines from Beales was that they wanted it to be an obvious rose, natural but not too heavy.

A red and full bodied Bulgarian centifolia absolute and a French musk rose absolute were blended along with a centifolia hydrosol. Heather then created a tincture of real roses from her abundant rose gardens which were originally bought from the Beales nursery. After much serious and careful thought the rose that had the purest and most beautiful scent for tincturing was Ispahan rose. This rose tincture would assure a delicate, light aroma without being cloying and too heady as the preponderance of the aroma of this rose is in the 'threads' of the flower and not the petals. So at last... roses that grace the gardens of Eie Flud have become memorialized in a perfume offered as an exclusive fragrance ultimately named by Amanda Beales.

You know that I am a 'lover of roses' and I could hardly wait to get my hands on a sample of Mysterious Rose. The initial blooming of this perfume was indeed a complex authentic rose. Whispers of buttery smooth orris and nasturtium debuted next in a quiet melody which makes the name of this rose fragrance credible. It is at once familiar and unknown, but it grows on you and I will have to have more. Often designers 'name' a rose fragrance with an exotic title and there are the initial "Oh I got to have that." But the disappointment comes crashing in when you discover it is simply a single noted, linear scent that doesn't even beg a second sniff. Not so with Mysterious Rose. She lives up to her name and almost defies description. Therein lies the mystery of personal skin chemistry and the mystery of a well blended perfume. A+ Heather Platts!


Incredible samples of all the Eie Flud fragrances are available from the website.

The picture of the Ispahan rose is from the Beales Rose Nursery website.