About us

Amaravati is a Sanskrit word that means "Palace of the Gods," referring to a heavenly realm of mythical beings in Hindu mythology. It is associated with beautiful scents and perfumes of all kinds, where sweet scented flowers perfume the celestial breezes. 

Natural perfume is made from real ingredients from nature.  Essential oils, absolutes, concretes, resins and resinoids, CO2 extracts, natural isolates, and attars are the main types of materials that are used to make natural perfumes. Some natural perfumers also make their own tinctures out of raw materials, such as Amaravati's authentic ambergris, ambrette seed, Tonka bean, Bushman's candle, and musk tinctures. There is almost an infinite number of combinations that are possible when mixing these ingredients, but a true perfume composition is an artful balance of materials and their qualities, much like a musical composition or piece of visual art. It is beautiful with harmony and interesting features.

My scent  journey started when I began to work with essential oils in the mid-1990s. In 2007, I started making my own rose scented lotion and experimented with other skincare products made with natural scent. My teacher and mentor is the famed natural perfumer Mandy Aftel. I began learning about natural perfume and perfume ingredients by reading her book Essence and Alchemy and studying her natural perfume workbook in 2012. In September 2022, I earned my Level 2 Slow Scent Natural Perfume certificate, having completed two in-studio and two online advanced natural perfume workshops with Mandy.

I use all of the types of materials there are available to a natural perfumer, including natural isolates and occasionally very small amounts of animal musk (not however from the endangered musk deer). I also make my own ambergris tinctures since 2013 and believe this is an important ingredient in natural perfumery. My perfumes are made in 190 proof organic grain alcohol. I make every effort to source materials from the industry's most reliable providers, who assure that their products are non-synthetic. I prefer to purchase my materials from companies that value fair trade and sustainability; and as much as possible, those who provide the country of origin and information about their producers.

Natural ingredients are subtle, delicate, and as temporary as the plants and flowers from which they are made. Each perfume has hundreds of aroma molecules, because the plants themselves do not have just one aroma molecule per plant – for instance several hundred unique molecules can be isolated from Rose oil.  For that reason,natural perfumes are also subtle, and may last for a couple of hours or more depending on the composition and your skin's moisture, oiliness, and temperature.  Synthetic perfumes are made from petroleum products in the lab, usually a few to no more than 50 unique aroma molecules. 

Because the ingredients are expensive! Unlike synthetic aroma chemicals that are made in the lab from byproducts of the oil and gas industry, the ingredients in natural perfume are grown and harvested most often by hand and it takes many pounds of raw materials to obtain just a few ounces of extracted essence. Many of the materials are subject to variations in the weather from year to year, and some years ingredients are simply not available because of global weather events. As an example, vanilla absolute and CO2 were not available for several years recently, because all the crops failed and it took a couple of years for the plantations to recover. As of today, organic vanilla CO2 costs about $0.50 per drop.

Amaravati's partner for CBD products and raw CBD oil provides certificates of analysis, which are on file and available upon request. These high-quality CBD products are THC free, and made from certified organic hemp plants grown in the US. Our intimacy oils and other topicals are carefully blended in the studio bottle by bottle using fresh organic MCT coconut oil, top quality botanical essences, and raw broad-spectrum CBD resin. [Note: because we're not a pharmaceutical house, the percentage of CBD is estimated, as calculated by weight in micrograms and milligrams, but it is not third-party tested.]

Amaravati does not offer medical advice. Our products are solely for personal enjoyment and to improve a sense of well-being, without intending to diagnose or treat any medical or psychological conditions. Please check with your personal physician if you have any questions or concerns regarding whether our products are appropriate for you.

Don't use any products that contain ingredients that you are allergic to, or to which you think you may have sensitivities. For adult use only. If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or have chronic skin disorders like eczema or psoriasis, our natural perfume products are not recommended without first consulting your healthcare provider.