What is a natural perfume?
100% natural fragrances have been in vogue for some time, let's take a look at this new trend.
In the collective unconscious, natural is essentially positive, good for nature, good for oneself, unlike synthetic products which have a negative connotation.
But did you know that the majority of synthetic molecules were found in nature?
Perfumer's organ
It is important to know that a perfumer builds his perfume organ, a piece of furniture for the storage and classification of essential oils, with about 1000 products that he chooses according to his affinities among a range of 1000 natural and 3000 synthetic raw materials (cf. The olfactory pyramid).
Every year, in both natural and synthetic kingdoms, new raw materials are created and launched on the fragrance market.
100% natural perfumes are made with a smaller range of scents and notes, about 500 notes at most instead of 3000.
Creation of a classic fragrance vs natural fragrance
If a scent is the word, then perfume must be called literature.
Synthetic ingredients have greatly enriched the perfumer's organ and have made it possible to create certain notes, such as the so-called silent flowers like the violet, lilac, lily, lily of the valley, and certain fruity notes, that cannot be treated naturally. All these discoveries contribute to the development, renewal and enrichment of perfume creation.
The most beautiful creations are often the result of a delicate combination of natural raw materials and synthetic products.
A fragrance containing a lot of synthetic products would be more linear and more stable on many supports (blotter strips, fabrics, skin, etc.). It will also be more persistent and have more sillage.
On the other hand, a perfume containing more natural ingredients than synthetic ones will evolve according to each skin, and will sometimes be unrecognizable from one person to another. This kind of perfume has different vibrations, it will have an extra soul.
100% natural perfume trend
100% natural perfumes has been a strong trend in the fragrance market in recent years. Many fragrance brands are moving into the natural niche. Some perfumes can be very well orchestrated by talented perfumers and smell great.
It is important to know that a natural perfume will very often be less efficient in terms of sillage and tenacity. Everything will depend on the composition of the fragrance. If it contains very tenacious oud notes and woody notes, it will be tenacious and diffusive.
The concentrate is two to ten times more expensive than a conventional or classic perfume concentrate (a combination of natural and synthetic raw materials). Normally the price of a 100% natural perfume should be much more expensive than the one of a classic perfume.
Be careful when claiming naturalness, the percentage of alcohol can be counted, which can be misleading.
Some raw materials can be exorbitantly expensive, such as iris, tuberose, vanilla, neroli, but some are not expensive at all, such as orange for example (cf. Citrus facet). A 100% natural iris-based perfume that smells like iris, for example, should be very expensive, but a perfume with a lot of orange should be more reasonable in price.
Natural and vegan perfume
The notion of a vegan perfume means that there are no animal raw materials, but in any case they are forbidden, except for ambergris. This means that there are no beeswax or beehive derivatives in the perfume.
Regulation of natural perfume
A conventional perfume can cause allergies. A natural perfume does not exclude the risk of allergies.
Why do we risk allergies or intolerances with natural products? Natural products by definition move, live and change, unlike synthetic products which are monolithic, stable and do not evolve. The latter can never cause allergies.
To give a concrete example of the creation of a perfume for children or babies with very fragile and sensitive skin, the law is very strict and only authorises 3 or 4 natural raw materials at the most. As the legislations do not cease evolving, certain companies and perfume brands sometimes cannot use in their composition any natural essential oil (cf. Perfume for a baby).
Nuances between natural fragrance and fragrance of natural origin
The notion of 100% natural is very complicated. There are many regulations and standards, various regulations are in force.
It is important to distinguish between:
- 100% natural
- 100% natural origin
Perfumes are subject to very complex standards:
- Cosmos Organic or Cosmos Natural formulation or no formulation
- ISO 9235 standard
- ISO 16128 standard
Differences between certified organic and 100% natural perfume
Natural fragrance brands have to meet specific labels that allow them to claim 100% naturalness, but this does not mean that these fragrances are organic.
Organic is subject to other specific standards or labels in this segment with regulations that are constantly evolving.
Conclusion
Many people have a radical and binary vision, believing that natural products are good and synthetic products are bad.
A natural perfume can be interesting if it is indeed certified 100% natural. It is even an achievement if it is well constructed, if it has a fairly good hold and if it gives an emotion in addition.
Beyond the debate opposing natural products to synthetic products, remember that the essential is to have a beautiful perfume, a creative and strong idea, a beautiful olfactory aesthetic, as well as an orchestration precisely mastered by a talented perfumer.
To work on a natural perfume, the perfumer, in addition to talent and creativity, will have to master this very complex subject.
Here are some 100% natural perfume brands:
- Honoré des prés
- Ormaie
- 100Bon
- Floratropia
- Abelodor
- Imaginary Journeys created by Isabelle Doyen
Sylvaine Delacourte perfumes
Discover Sylvaine Delacourte's brand with her Orange Blossom, Musk and Vanilla Collections. You can try them thanks to the Discovery Boxes (5 Eaux de Parfum x 2 ml) and rediscover these raw materials as you have never smelled them before.