Ajne Carmel: Organic Perfume Apothecary Create Your Own Perfume

This was one of my favorite activities at the Four Seasons in Lana'i. 

Meet Jane–Jane is Ajne's founder and organic perfumer.  She's been featured on the Today Show and Good Morning America and has blended scents for celebs like Kate Walsh, Debra Messing, Jessica Biel an Pierce Brosnan.  Ajne is one of the world's only entirely natural perfume apothecaries so of course I wanted to share it with my girlies who are so into natural and safe products (basically the opposite of the perfumes that Sephora is filled with–cue synthetic fragrances, phthalates and parabens). 

Every Ajne product is grown, distilled and handblended at their organic farm.  Then once they've grown the plants and gotten the most fragrant oils it's your turn.  Ajne doesn't believe that one formula or scent fits all–so they let you create it yourself with their well-trained perfumers.  They work with you to blend a perfect combination of oils and match your body chemistry.  

I had the pleasure to work with Teresa, who runs the spa over at Four Seasons Manele Bay to create the perfect scents for me.  She also customized a cologne for Ross (the Fiance for those of you who aren't regular readers). Then the cutest part is that they add a common scent to each so that your fragrances are connected. Like for ours we each had a little citrus oil added.  I can't say enough wonderful things about her.  She trained extensively with the founder, Jane and really knew her stuff.

The process starts out iwht a little quiz (think, Cosmo quizzes) about scents your drawn to as well as personal questions concerning stress levels, etc.

We skipped this and just did more smelling because she came and met us at tea time but your melanger will use the results to choose certain oils from the Ajne Rare & Precious Blending Bar that she (or he) thinks will help realign different parts of your body.  You'll get to smell each of the different fragrances and pick those you like from those you don’t before narrowing down your choices to just a few different oils. First you choose smells you like, then you test them on your skin and then you mix them up to see how they smell together on your skin. You may be surprised to find something doesn't smell right on you and then you can remix and pick a new flavor that works better with your body chemistry.

I chose a combination of Printemps (soft floral with flowering lime, a hint of gardenia and tropical wood) and Citron (citrus, orange and subtle spice.  A leading travel editor described the scent of Printemps , "Like the smell of blossoming trees in Paris just after a Spring rain." A perennial favorite of some of Hollywood's biggest names, Printemps begins with the subtle, but captivating scent of flowering…

Celebs that have selected Printemps ~ Kate Walsh, Julia Louis Dreyfus, Denise Richards, Alanis Morissette, Sally Pressman, Rachel Harris, Debi Mazar, Michaela Watkins, Odette Yustman and Marlee Matlin. Looks like I'm in good company.

Prices vary depending on which oils you choose (and if you choose to blend or just pick one scent) but pendents range from $50-$125 and regular fragrances range from $75-$200.  This was absolutely one of my favorite experiences on Lana'i and on my entire trip to Hawaii. You spend about $100 on perfume at the department store, right? So why not custom blend a healthy, organic fragrance and go home with an awesome souvenier?

Contact the Four Seasons Spa at Manele Bay to book your appointment: (808) 565-2088.

If you're not headed to the Four Seasons in Lana'i soon visit Ajne.com for more information on where you can custom blend your own scent!  Book your private session at the Carmel store at 831.624.2100 x 200 or email us at info@ajne.com.

See our Four Seasons Manele Bay Review or our Four Seasons Lodge at Koele Review)