If you're following my IG, you know I can go on about fragrance. And while I have some favorites I've discovered over the years, most if not all do not pass the clean, non-toxic test. Enter Alexandra, a botanical perfumer who draws her inspiration from the old world perfumers as well as the wine making process. She taught herself the process of creating fragrances that blend certified organic, wildcrafted, biodynamic, and hydro-distilled essences with genuine inspiration and compelling narratives. Her company, Strange Invisible Perfumes (bonus points if you caught the Shakespeare reference, from Antony & Cleopatra), includes both a boutique in my dream home, Venice, CA, and an online shop. Visiting the shop is taking a step into a handcrafted world, a respite in marked contrast to the hip, modern shops running alongside it on the famed Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Alexandra's perfumery method is hydrodistillation, a gentle immersion that captures the complete aromatic profile of a plant, including the fine aroma chemicals that cannot be captured with steam distillation. Ingredients are all created by or sourced by Alexandra. The Esprit de Cognac, the alcohol used in the perfumes as developed ages ago in France, is sourced from a 12th generation master distiller in Napa Valley. Once each batch is created, it's stored for six months, then blended, decanted, and bottled in-house. Some of the irresistible-sounding fragrances I'd love to inhale include: Epic Gardenia, Fair Verona, and L'Invisible.