Haill Mary Perfumery was an immaculate conception...

Hello babes! Talk about a title, huh?

Welcome to my new venture: a perfumery blog. Thanks for being here. <3

My name is Mary (she/her) and I am a certified aromatherapist; a queer sensory witch; and an ex-catholic, holy fam devotee (more on that soon).

I run Hail Mary Perfumery, a luxury company dedicated to providing handmade, intentional perfumes for ex-catholic sluts (haha) and anyone looking to reclaim and connect with their sensuality, simple pleasures, confidence, creativity, magic, and more via thoughtful and divine plant formulations.

I'd like to use this blog to creatively explore and provide info on the plants I'll be using in my perfumes.

But first...how did I get into this yummy niche? Well...an angel came down from the sky and told me I had a sacred mission to complete...

Just kidding. But also, kindaaaaa not kidding. Let's rewind about 5 years.

(P.S. If you check out my website's "about" page, you can learn a bit about my childhood experiences with what I like to call "dogma trauma." For this blog's purposes, I'm fast-forwarding to my perfume witch timeline, a bit later in life.)

On a sunny day in 2017, the same year as my Saturn return for all my astrology babes reading, I walked into an apothecary in my little town. I had walked by it many times before, curious, but always in a hurry, When I walked in, the scents of herbs, flowers, resins, woods, and more completely transported me to...a spiritual place? A place where I thought, "I need to spend as much time as I possibly can in this shop." I lingered for at least an hour, chatting with the owners, carefully picking out potions and stones to purchase, and just sinking into the magic I could ~feel.~ One of the owners could tell I was enchanted, and told me about a 9-week Plant Medicine class she was offering in the spring (At the time, it was late autumn/early winter). It was a no-brainer yes for me, even with a full-time job to which I commuted 2+ hours a day. I was going to make this class happen. I paid for it on the spot and let the rest fall into place, which it did.

After the class, which opened my mind and my heart and my spirit to a whole different magical, imaginative universe, I was invited to work at the shop a day or so a week. For two years (2017-2019), I worked on and off at the apothecary, mainly on Sundays (a reclamation in its own right; after growing up attending church every Sunday, it felt beautiful to spend Sundays in a witchy space). In 2019, I became a certified aromatherapist. Both from working at the apothecary and from my classes and certification, I began to know plant oils intimately. I spent time with scents and created my own delicious potions. It honestly felt like the most joyful art form.

Also during this time (2017-2021), I was exploring sexuality education, creative writing facilitation, and entrepreneurship. I knew I wanted the freedom that came with being my own boss. But what was my business? I moved through titles such as "sex educator," "sexuality coach," "creative writing coach," "creative writing facilitator," "sensual writer," "ex-catholic reclamation coach," "Sensual Mary Adelle." And although all of these titles worked/described me, it felt like I was really pushing and pulling to create sustainability and ease and confidence around my entrepreneurship. I wanted to feel in full alignment with my business practice, and I just couldn't seem to find it.

Then, my dad got sick. On the last day of July 2021, I found out my dad had an intense form of brain cancer. It caused full paralyzation in his legs, and two months later, on October 1, 2021, he passed. And THEN I got married on October 30, 2021. So needless to say, my autumn was an emotional WRECK. I moved thru so much death, despair, joy. I was as raw as can be. Grief addled me and I didn't look at my business for months, let alone run it.

Because of my marriage, I got health insurance (thanks babe!). So I was able to schedule therapy. And lemme tell ya, that first session was a doozy. I will never forget this day: December 1, 2021. As a collective, we were moving through an eclipse, and I felt it. My grief was potent, and not just about my dad! I was sad about money, y'all. It's been a long time since I've had any expendable income, any savings, anything beyond what could get me thru my bills and responsibilities week to week--if that much! and the financial stress was heavy that day. I cried and cried to my therapist about it, feeling so hopeless about ever having a sustainable business. The idea of going back into a 9-5 career made me so anxious. My big life dream was--IS--to become a successful CEO of my company. So, I said all of this out loud. Sobbed. Went on a run because I could feel my body needed to move along with my emotion. Wailed during the run, haha. And later that night, my husband treated us to Indian takeout. I agreed to go pick it up.

As I was driving, I remember the exact moment when a transmission came to me--I was thinking "what should I do? what could I sell? what can I focus on?" and out of nowhere I heard simply, "Perfume."

And I never looked back. Never questioned it. I knew I had the education, the resources, the creativity, the desire, the support, and the Will to transmute my business into a perfumery. I am a witchy-agnostic-curious person--I don't abide to any religion or set of rules. I believe in the magic of nature and "something bigger." But that moment when I heard "perfume"--it def felt IMMACULATE! haha.

It's March 2, 2022, and I've had two sold-out small batch perfume launches. I have people messaging me about when the next batch comes out. I have others sending me messages about the magic my perfumes are facilitating.

I feel it, deep in my bones, that I'm aligned with my dream, now. I know there's much to learn and that I still have much growing to do (forever!), but for now, I am proud and grateful for this perfumery.

Thank you for reading, loves! I believe I'll be posting weekly to this blog. I am devoted to its growth. <3

In the next post, we will be diving into a very special plant oil! MWAH!