© Copyright 2006 - 2008 ~ Le Parfumeur Rebelle All Rights Reserved
So, in an attempt to clear the air of the advertising smokescreen, here are the
basics of what “natural” means in perfume and elsewhere:
1. Natural does not automatically mean it is safe.
Natural perfumes should not be eaten, and there is no guarantee that they will
not somehow eat you. Also, always be sure to test a very small amount on your
skin; allergies can develop to any substance at any time in your life. So if you
haven’t worn a perfume in awhile, retest.
2. Hypoallergenic is just a marketing term.
Even hypoallergenic cats trigger someone’s allergic response. Every immune
system has its own take on the world, and no single substance, not even
purified water, is absolutely safe for everyone.
3. Unless something is labeled “USDA Certified Organic” you are
taking the manufacturer’s word for it that the item is natural. In the case
of perfume, you are always taking the manufacturer’s word for it unless you were
with the perfume process from raw materials through final blending and aging.
4. Good natural perfumers do their best with whatever they have to
make sure their products really are natural. This, however, doesn’t
guarantee that they are - the majority of natural perfumers are very small
businesses who do not have the funds needed to test their raw materials with
gas chromatography. While the best will always discontinue use if they find out
a substance is fishy, there have been a few cases where a perfume slipped out
to the public before the naturalist caught a whiff of the synthetic.
So, if natural perfumers can’t guarantee a safe and allergy-free product, what’s
the point?
Love, mostly. I feel deeply connected to the plants that I grown and tincture or
infuse, and I feel visceral pleasure when I sit down to mix. What I make does
not smell commercial – while I err on the side of the simple in my creations,
even the more complex have a rich flexibility I haven’t really experienced from a
mainline perfume. Synthetics create a stiff structure that I’m not fond of. While
I have to acknowledge deeply artful blends of natural and synthetic – Black
Orchid for one, Obsession for another, I still end up preferring the scents that
do change on my skin and give me something to experience throughout the day
as I wear them.
I do have regular customers report that they don’t have an allergic reaction to
my natural fragrances and that they do have a harsh reaction to the traditional
fragrances available at a perfume counter. On the other hand, I do sometimes
receive complaints that my perfumes don’t last as long as my customers would
like. That is the rub of choosing naturals over synthetics: synthetics do last
longer. They usually smell the same from application to dry off. Some are so
tightly composed that their scent does not change over the course of two years
or more. While not always the case, synthetics usually cost less and are usually
not affected by bad crops.
In natural perfumery, I think that a lot of artists seek out what traditional
perfumers try to avoid. We want the aging process. We want the person-to-
person inconsistency. A short sillage is preferable. In a masochistic way, we
even enjoy the hunt for materials and the chase when something runs out.
I am hesitant to say natural perfumery is better than an all-synthetic or blended
approach: we all have our reasons for working as we do, and as I’ve said before,
there are good reasons to use synthetics. I just don’t. For the sake of truth, I
will say that after ten years, I’m still not always sure I know what the hell I’m
doing, or that I know how something will smell before I begin. I just love my
connection to the scent of it all.
Bio:
Diana Rajchel is the designer behind Magickal Realism Natural Perfumery on
Etsy. She co-leads the Etsy Green and Clean Guild, a guild committed to truth
in labeling and ethical beauty product creation, and author of several occult-
related articles.
Older Articles