Illuminated Perfume

Curious about what happens at my perfumery?

Join me this fall—I’m opening the doors of my working laboratory to host two full days of botanical perfume here in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Art of Botanical Perfume is a deep dive into the beautiful world of natural fragrance—learning to smell with intention, getting to know the materials, and creating your own botanical perfume through hands-on exploration.

Perfume Types & Chord Construction takes us further into the art of composition: exploring perfume families, understanding the relationships between materials, and learning how to build chords that can become the heart of a perfume.

Both classes are intimate and hands-on, with lots of smelling, making and focus on following your nose.

It’s a pleasure to open the doors of my working laboratory and share this ancient art, surrounded by the special light, landscape, and botanical spirit of this enchanted place.

Intending you will join me on this aromatic adventure. Details under “classes” at IlluminatedPerfume.com 🌸🐝

A re-minder that the trees are watching, and the splendor of the aspens up at the Santa Fe National Forest.

“The trees do not like strangers. They watch you. They are usually content merely to watch you, as long as daylight lasts, and don’t do much. Occasionally the most unfriendly ones may drop a branch, or stick a root out, or grasp at you with a long trailer. But at night things can be most alarming, or so i am told.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Rings

That little piece of bark with the eye was watching me as I walked past it, thus I picked it up and brought it to the perfumery. 👁️

We call this evening the equinox, when the sun hits and crosses the celestial equator. The actual “equal day-night” will occur on September 25, 2026 (which is now termed “equiLUX”)

This time of year also has a resonance with Michaelmas, the autumn festival considered the feast day of the Archangel Saint Michael and/or the feast of all the Angels, taking place on September 29th.

Read more here roxanavilla.substack.com/p/autumns-cloak

Art thanks to Greg Spalenka

The romantic crochet cuffs I’m wearing in this photo were made by my mom at the onset of setting up my brand.

I started my selecting a color Harmon with for each perfume, with a wax seal. Then brought in my mom who’s first business was a knit wear company in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

She also made the cuffs in black, which I kept in the Figure 1: Noir drawer of the perfumery, since they were a bit gothic, like the fragrance. Figure 1 Noir is my feral, dark, red w**e, slightly animalic fragrance
released in 2009 as part of the chocolate-perfume series, then reformulated/reinterpreted without the chocolate
as a standalone patchouli noir in 2013

For you romantics and makers out there, https://www.instagram.com/twisted.tales.crochet/ is offering a free pattern on how to make some cuffs that are similar to these.

In August I took chef and human extraordinaire Bobby Cortez to the Galisteo basin to forage for juniper berries. Scent pairing -> Chaparral Solid. Photos thanks to him. 🌿💙

Just finished a big batch of my trinity bath salts, three flowers: calendula, roses and lavender + three salts. In 2021 I was commissioned to make bath soaks for a local resort, and so I came up with this double trinity. 💞✨

Hello from Santa Fe, NM, the oldest capital city in the US.
🌶️
Although I fell in love with this city in the mid-eighties, I moved here on September 1st, 2017. Nine years ago.

Here are a few photos of some of the sights and charm of this special place.

It is also the anniversary of when Marilyn Neuhart left her body, wafting love and appreciation her way with the last photo and her with the dolls she made for Alexander Girard.

The master chef I have had the grand opportunity to collaborate with, Bobby Cortez, is here in Santa Fe. He took these two photos, amongst others, while at the perfumery a few days ago. Both of these images correspond with Meghan Godin, my other glorious collaborator. The first to the Abundance anointing oil we’ve created and the special event taking place on Friday, August 27th.

The second photo is of some little incense bundles I created for Meghan.

All this feels like a magnificent a grand intersection happening right now. Gosh, even the word magnifi-scent is auspicious isn’t it?!

The famous alchemical axiom: As above, so below / As within, so without references the relationship of inside to outside or, above to the below. Another term for this is the Law of Correspondence, which you may also have heard it referred to as the doctrine of signatures.

Also noticing how Abundance and Correspondence both have the word dance in them.
🌸🐝

Vera, my lavender perfume, has an updated wax color. 💜🐝

New perfume on the horizon inspired by Abundance and co-created with Meghan Godin, launches with the Sturgeon Full Mood and a special ceremony.

Abundance, as with all illuminated fragrances, has been made with my hands, upstairs in the lab at the perfumery with plant extracts. The main notes
are from our tree friends who literally point the way to be in resonance with a prosperous state of bee-ing.
🌲👁️🐝💫