The Island Octopus

  • Home
  • New Arrivals
  • Art
  • Books
  • Paper
  • Clothing
  • Incensarium
  • Shop All
  • Local Events
  • Home
  • New Arrivals
  • Art
  • Books
  • Paper
  • Clothing
  • Incensarium
  • Shop All
  • Local Events

THE ISLAND OCTOPUS BLOG

The Rebirth of Mermaid's Dawn...

2/9/2022

0 Comments

 
Mermaid's Dawn Incense
Find them in our shop here : The Island Octopus Incensarium
Mermaid’s Dawn was originally created under the banner of Ethereal Aroma’s Incense Company in 2018. While there was only one edition of this particular blend, it became one of the most popular and well received. When Melissa and I decided to create a new LLC and house our artistic endeavors under one roof, there were a handful of blends I wished to carry over and brand as standard house blends. Mermaid’s Dawn was one of these, and the upcoming Island Nag Champa (which is a combining of Nag Champa Mediations and Hawaiian Nag Champa) is another. More names will be announced when the time is right.
Mermaid's Dawn Artwork
Illustration for Mermaid's Dawn, 2018 first edition

Mermaid’s Dawn promised to be one of the most complicated and nerve wracking blends during its initial formulation in 2018, as the name is quite vague when it comes to portraying the aromatic intent. One thing I knew for certain, though, was that I wished to work with Myrrh and use ocean water to remove as much of the gum element as possible. Being in the Midwest at the time, finding fresh ocean water was a bit of a challenge. Thanks to a friend from St. Augustine, fresh clear water from the Atlantic was provided and I quickly combined it with high quality Myrrh from Yemen. In all honesty, I can’t remember if “Myrrh-maid” was originally in my mind or not. It does seem fitting regardless, as Myrrh is often considered to have a “watery” smell and is also associated with the same element.
Mermaid's Dawn incense mix
First mix of Mermaid's Dawn, January 2022 

Fast forward to Florida in January 2022, work began on the standard house incense blend for Mermaid’s Dawn, which I consider the “beach sand” version. This is in some ways a “loose” incense blend, though the ingredients have still been refined, ground, enfleuraged, and infused using various methods I have devised over the years. The main differences between the “beach sand” and the limited edition “incense pearl” versions are the cost of many of the ingredients and the difficulty and time required during production. The “beach sand” versions often use more affordable and sustainable or farm-raised ingredients when available and require much less pain and time as they are not kneaded and hand rolled into tiny incense balls. For example, the “beach sand” version will contain Somalian Myrrh, farm-raised Agarwood, standard high-grade Sandalwood, and a homemade Ambergris tincture. While the “incense pearl” edition will contain Yemeni Myrrh, a rare and exquisite Agarwood from Banana Island off the coast of Southern Sumatra, a vintage premium Mysore Sandalwood and pure Ambergris from the Bahamas.
Mermaid's Dawn Resin Incense
Mermaid's Dawn : Beach Sand Incense

Bringing a new company and shop into existence gave me the opportunity to refine and incorporate new elements into the original Mermaid’s Dawn formula. Being on the subtropical coastline, I have been able to now collect my own fresh ocean water from the Gulf of Mexico. The beaches also provide me with new opportunities to experiment with previously unavailable ingredients. For example I have collected various pieces of driftwood, which have proven to be pleasingly aromatic and we now have access to a multitude of different shell species. For this blend I incorporated the shiny Atrina Pen shell, which was ground into a powder and mixed into the blend (with hopes of adding a little luster). Though I ended up using Seaweed absolute from Eden Botanicals in this blend, I will be experimenting with creating my own Seaweed tincture, and then concentrating it down into an absolute of my own creation. Just a couple of weeks ago I came across a Lightning Whelk operculum. While I am unsure if this will be useful in my future blends, it is an interesting possibility as Onycha originating from the Red Sea appears in various ancient texts. It probably will not appear in future versions of Mermaid’s Dawn, but it will be incorporated into something if I can find a way for processing it to my satisfaction.
Mermaid's Dawn resin incense blend
Mermaid's Dawn: Beach Sand Incense, 2022

One main aspect of my new Incensarium was the promise of creating perfume versions of many of our house incense blends. Rather than beginning with the intent of creating “traditional” perfumes using the “rules” of that particular world, I am viewing this as creating “wearable incense”. I am not sure how common it is to use resins as the starting note for perfumes, but that is exactly how I am creating mine. Where the incense blend is using my “Sea-Kissed Myrrh”, the perfume is starting with Somalian Myrrh EO. To the Myrrh EO, other resinous oils have been added to create a foundation. This was 1 of 5 accords that were created to be used in the creation of the final perfume. 
Mermaid's Dawn perfume
Five perfume accords for Mermade's Dawn roll-on perfume, 2022

Mermaid's Dawn perfume blend
Mermaid's Dawn final perfume blend, 2022

Almost all of the incense ingredients were accounted for using EOs, absolutes or homemade tinctures and infusions to create the perfume! While the perfume promises to be a bit sweeter and floral in its opening, the tenacity of the resins, fine woods and balsamic elements remain long after the more volatile notes have drifted off into the night. The standard roller ball perfumes use jojoba as a carrier oil which helps extend the blend and makes it a more affordable option when compared with the limited pure fragrance edition which is yet to come.
Mermaid's Dawn perfume roll on
Mermaid's Dawn: Roll-on Perfume, 2022

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    THE ISLAND OCTOPUS BLOG

    Learn more about our products and new releases, join us for events, and see photos of local wildlife!

    CATEGORIES

    All
    Behind The Scenes
    Coloring
    Florida
    Fort Myers
    Halloween
    Holidays
    Incense
    Mermaids
    Monthly News
    New Products
    Patreon
    Press Releases
    Sanibel Island
    Sanibel Island Events
    Sanibel Seashells
    Sea Turtles
    Virtual Events

    ARCHIVES

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021

    RSS Feed

Picture
SHOP
SHOP ONLINE
POP-UP EVENTS
SHIPPING
​FAQS/RETURNS
FINE ART AMERICA
​ZAZZLE
ABOUT
OUR JOURNEY
BLOG
INCENSE HOW TO
​WHOLESALE
MEDIA & PRESS
TERMS & PRIVACY
CONNECT
PATREON
SWFL EVENTS
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
EMAIL US
COMMISSIONS
ISLAND OCTOPUS IN YOUR INBOX: SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER.

© 2024 THE ISLAND OCTOPUS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
DESIGNED IN FORT MYERS, FLORIDA