Sunday, March 02, 2008

Arcana Soaps

Over the next few blog-o-cycles I will be writing about the wonderful perfume oil company, Arcana. If any e-tailer could convert a Lutens sipping, Tauer tooting self-confessed fragrance snob to the joyful worship of a 5ml bottle Arcana would be it.

Fragrance collectors are often holy grail seekers. Long after they have given up the search for a One True Scent in favour of a grand gallery of scents they still long for bankable perfection in, if not a bottle, a house. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a dearly loved line always produced magnificence? If you adored Goutal and you knew that none would ever fall flat, if you rejoiced with each L'Artisan release and reached for your credit card unsniffed? There is always an edge to the disappointment of a poorly done scent when it comes from a house one dearly desires to exalt above all others.

I thought I was over all that but Arcana brought it back in a rush. I have tried ten Arcana scents and each has been a portrait of perfection, a beautifully rendered piece of art. Could this be IT, the Holy Grail house? Probably not and I would hate to put such a burden on poor Arcana's shoulders but I have certainly enjoyed this scent journey and I hope to share it you.





Birthed in Portland, Oregon in 2003 Arcana is the creation of Julia, surname unknown to me. Arcana began as a soap company and carries matching soaps and scrubs to many of their oils. Arcana has several dozen scents available at any given time including 5-10 seasonal scents with limited availability. Each one has struck me as a marvelously complete scent, a work of art that stands alone. Never too light, always evocative, beautiful labels. Arcana sells through a variety of etailers, most notably Magical Omaha and The Soapbox Company. International customers should head over to Magical Omaha as The Soapbox Company charges 37.00 to ship internationally.

2 comments:

Perfumeshrine said...

I am ever so grateful to see you're well and keep on posting dear J. And that Aracana is causing such a stir.

I have missed you! :-)

Helg

Anonymous said...

Hello! Thank you for writing about my company!

To clear up a couple of common misconceptions: Arcana did not actually begin as a soap company. Perfume was always part of it. I started with perfume oils under the name St Ruby. With my growing interest in soapmaking, St Ruby morphed into Arcana Soaps & Potions. Then simply Arcana Soaps.

But thank you very much for you kind words. I'm glad you have found some of my blends that really work for you!

xox,
Julia