The natural revolution that began with food to reflect the desire for authenticity and nourishment from the soil rather than the laboratory has yet to happen with fragrance. Indeed it is possible that it may not ever happen with fragrance for three main reasons. Firstly, the international market is driven by a handful of very large companies; secondly it is difficult to envisage production of the natural raw materials on a large enough scale and finally the cost of naturals compared with that of synthetics.
The current interest in natural fragrance to some extent evolved out of the aromatherapy movement. Early books on the subject were somewhat limited in their scope as many of the raw materials were unfamiliar to the majority of aroma therapists and remain so today. A huge step forward came with the publication of Mandy Aftel’s Essence and Alchemy, which shows that if enough passion is combined with a deep familiarity with the natural raw materials and the discipline to work in a focussed way then making natural perfumes is something that many of us will be able to do.
Another factor, which contributes to the rising interest in natural fragrance, is the diminishing quality of many mainstream fragrances. Society’s obsession with celebrity aligned with targeting younger consumers is largely to blame. We share the view of Edmond Roudnitska, arguably one of the greatest perfumers of the 20th century, that quality in fragrance is entirely dependant on an educated consumer. However, we would be wise to avoid falling into an ‘us and them’ polarity which seems quite common on both sides of the natural-mainstream fence. It is worth remembering that there are some great classic fragrances all of which contain synthetic chemicals.
One may also come across natural fragrances that lack structure, intrigue and tenacity. The great fragrances of the past had a high proportion of naturals and a small amount of ‘parfum’, which remains perhaps the best combination for quality and performance. Unfortunately, this combination has almost entirely priced itself out of existence in the mainstream market due to distributor margin, marketing and advertising costs.
We hope that the articles on this site will encourage debate and though we read all the emails that we receive we cannot respond to all of them but we will update the site from time to time as a response to emergent themes.
The current interest in natural fragrance to some extent evolved out of the aromatherapy movement. Early books on the subject were somewhat limited in their scope as many of the raw materials were unfamiliar to the majority of aroma therapists and remain so today. A huge step forward came with the publication of Mandy Aftel’s Essence and Alchemy, which shows that if enough passion is combined with a deep familiarity with the natural raw materials and the discipline to work in a focussed way then making natural perfumes is something that many of us will be able to do.
Another factor, which contributes to the rising interest in natural fragrance, is the diminishing quality of many mainstream fragrances. Societies obsession with celebrity aligned with targeting younger consumers is largely to blame. We share Rodnitska’s view that quality in fragrance is entirely dependant on an educated consumer. However, we would be wise to avoid falling into an ‘us and them’ polarity which seems quite common on both sides of the natural-mainstream fence. It is worth remembering that there are some great classic fragrances all of which contain synthetic chemicals.
One may also come across natural fragrances that lack structure, intrigue and tenacity. The great fragrances of the past had a high proportion of naturals and a small amount of ‘parfum’, which remains perhaps the best combination for quality and performance. Unfortunately, this combination has almost entirely priced itself out of existence in the mainstream market due to distributor margin, marketing and advertising costs.
Our range of natural fragrances are available in small samples enabling you to become familiar with them and their interplay with your own personal chemistry before choosing a larger size. Most fragrances are bought as gifts and gifting a natural perfume from Essentially Me enables the recipient to choose their own fragrance from the samples we send.
We hope that the articles on this site will encourage debate and though we read all the emails that we receive we cannot respond to all of them but we will update the site from time to time as a response to emergent themes.
