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Welcome to Oracle Jayne Station

My most precious memories, bottled.

By Andrew SotomayorPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
Me with a bundle of chaparral branches, from Arizona, used in my perfume.

I'm so happy to finally launch Oracle Jayne Station.

After 18 years in the beauty industry, this has been the most ambitious and financially daring experience of my career. Among the many surprises, it has not been journalists, celebrities, or social media influencers who have been the most impactful with this launch. It has been friends. I count each of you among them. Some of you I've worked with for years, some I danced with in college, some helped me break into the industry, and some I've just met with this premiere. Thank you.

I've been working on the current version of the "El Arroyo" fragrance for months, and it's a departure from the version I created in 2014. The professional opinions of established perfumers, the pressure to recreate a specific scent from my heritage has created a unique tension that I never imagined would be so at odds. The closest I've gotten with this fragrance has been when I chose simplicity, clarity, and humility with a blend. Myrrh, jasmine, and chaparral come come out of the bottle as a spicy floral, intense like a moment of heat lighting, and eventually mellow to a lasting earthy richness.

"El Arroyo" (the creek) Eau De Parfum , Oracle Jayne Station. Photo: Kai Lepley.

I've worked to find the best ingredients possible and a formula I hope you will enjoy. I look forward to your open feedback. This fragrance may never be final, but as a small business owner, I do not believe that it ever should be. Plus, the beauty of natural perfume is that it evolves and matures as fine wines and cheese do. As different aromas have blossomed, I've continued editing. A synthetic perfume sitting in my storage locker for a 15 years still smells the same (but the fact I didn't finish the bottle in a decade and a half should tell you something). As is the nature of freshly damp chaparral leaves, and all essential oil blends, every breath of "El Arroyo" will be slightly different.

Though I sold my first bottle of perfume when I was 18 years old, I've learned the most surreal lessons about making desirable fragrances in these last few months. Most importantly, don't blend perfume in a moment of exhaustion or fear. The "scent of desperation" is real. Perfumes shift our emotions, but it goes both ways.

I have more relaxed confidence in my second fragrance, "Red Rocks" which is inspired by a stop along the way to the Grand Canyon with my grandmother, my aunt, and my sister when I was a kid, where I was surprised by the sight of the red clay hills and pine trees of Sedona, in a state I'd only ever known to have the desert. "Red Rocks" is made with rabbitbrush from Arizona, recycled Christmas tree needles, frankincense, and grapefruit, with natural aromas of dill, pine, citrus, green apple, and baking spices. It starts with a flourish of summer scents, and dries down to memories of my parents baking in the kitchen.

"Red Rocks" Hand & Body Bar Soap. Photo: Kai Lepley.

"El Arroyo" is my attempt to capture the fleeting chill of a wet breeze on the cement carport, after a monsoon, and the majesty of looking out onto the desert behind my grandparents' ranch. A fresh start to the day, while watching the suburbs encroaching closer every year.

There is no blend of aroma chemicals that will ever truly capture this long gone experience, but my hope is that with Oracle Jayne Station, with each breath, you will be reminded of some moment in your life that you connected with nature, or with a loved one. The kind of elusive moment that poets, painters, and musicians will similarly fail, but lovingly try, to capture.

Welcome to Oracle Jayne Station.

-Andrew

product review

About the Creator

Andrew Sotomayor

Emmy winning celebrity makeup artist Andrew Sotomayor has worked with Glamour.com, Covergirl, La Mer, L'Occitane, and eight Academy Award winning actors. He's the host of "Masters of Makeup" and founder of Oracle Jayne Station fragrances.

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