In my quest to go all natural and organic with my skincare, makeup and scent, I found one area harder than the others. I am addicted to scents. No really; during pregnancy, while most crave food, I craved certain scents. I have worn two perfumes for most of my life. Unfortunately, they were far from natural. I had been reading about a fabulous SoHo company called Lurk. I wrote to the creator, Anne Sanford, and have become a Lurk devotee.
LURK perfume oils are conceived and created in SoHo NYC. Each scent is hand blended and poured using only pure essential oils in a base of organic jojoba. No water or alcohol is used in our perfume oil concentrates. In keeping with our desire to provide the purest product possible we do not use chemical preservatives, stabilizers or additives.
Lurk perfume oils have changed my scent perspective. There are currently five fragrances in the reportoire. Each one is more beautiful than the next. For the first time in my life, I found myself loving and craving every single on of the fragrances in a perfume line. RSW005 is sandalwood, rose and citrus "to slake even the most parched perfume palette." PRJ V1 is jasmine, rose and petitgrain " raw, unrefined, possibly debachurous." AS 01 is tuberose, cedarwood and sweet rose "a slightly viscous yet subtle scent." TBP V1 is florals and resinous black pepper "an antidote for the fragrance jaded." BS 003 is dry woods, citrus and bergamot, "an effervescent, yet balanced fragrance."
Lurk perfumes comes in a muslin bag and are the perfect size to carry everywhere with you. Creator Anne Sanford is a delight to work with. Her background is in beauty marketing. I was so intrigued that I had to find out what inspired her to make these delectable scents.
The overall inspiration came from a long time fascination and love for essential oils. I opened an apothecary in Florida when I was in my 20’s (before I moved to NY) and I sold only natural and organic skincare/body care and lifestyle products. It was during that time that I really got into oils. I was always looking for natural fragrances to stock and the market was very limited. I started dabbling with my own scents and aromatherapy blends during that time but really wanted to be able to create something that smelled like true perfume and less like aromatherapy. After being in NY and in the beauty industry for several years I finally had the opportunity to devote time to it. The quality of the oils, where they are sourced from, the carrier oils and the process are all core to the brand. When I set out to do this I really challenged myself to find the highest quality raw materials and I limited myself to only essentials (no analogues or compounds). This made it a bit more difficult to create scents that didn't smell “spa” or like aromatherapy. I was striving to try to create scents that people wouldn't immediately know were all natural. I wanted to provide a true luxury perfume experience that had a modern edge with none of the synthetics or dangerous chemicals associated with mainstream perfumery.
The inspiration behind the current scents was a desire to take very traditional oils and create scent profiles and formulas that had a modern edge. I use oils that are familiar but a bit different, to explain: most people are very familiar with Jasmin but the genus species that is most commonly used in perfumery and known is Jasmin grandiflorum. I choose to work with Jasmin sambac instead as I prefer it's profile and character. It's not as widely known and has a more sophisticated scent etc.. I also do not blend scents in a traditional manner 'so to speak', I really like polarity and creating counter points. There is always a lot of direction in my scents (generally opposing) and I like that. I wanted to create something that was approachable but very different than what was/is on the market and to try and create a 100% natural fragrance that smells like true perfume and not like aromatherapy using only essential oils.
I love that she was able to break away from what we traditionally associate with essential oils. I love essential oils, but Lurk perfumes have an edge that your "run of the mill" essential oils combinations lack. You really feel like you are wearing a luxurious perfume (and your are). My favorites are PRJ V1, which my husband is also in love with. He tells me I smell exotic. It makes me feel romantic. As I wear it, through the day, different notes reveal themselves like peeling away the layers of a mystery. BS 003 is another favorite (though I love them all) for its spicy, yet mellow notes. What I love is that Lurk can be worn by any gender and still be just as beautiful. Anne Sanford has created an important and meaningful line of fragrances that are not to be missed.
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