saying hi a question

Hi Ruth, welcome aboard! It's a great place to land.

I don't know much about natural perfumery myself. Sounds good though. From what little scant information I have picked up though, I believe it's expensive. I'd be happy to find out what I can. Tell me everything you know! I guess as long as I like how it smells, how bad can it be?

QE

I make my own scents with essential oils. Also use L'Occitane and Pre de Provence brands, as well as Annick Goutal, who uses natural essences. We have some experienced parfumers on board who make higher priced natural perfumes, too. I'm sure it's a good idea.

For some people this question is ideologically quite charged. I would suggest you have a look at Luca Turin's famous perfume blog, which at one point degenerated into a verbal fistfight over natural perfume:
http://lucaturin.typepad.com/
(the entire blog is a valuable information mine)

Personally I think that what matters is the end result. I do not believe natural perfumes are innately superior, nor do I think they are esoteric nonsense. Do they have a rationale? They do if you believe in perfume as aromtherapy perhaps, or if you happen to suffer from allergies caused by certain synthetics (if on the other hand you suffer from allergies against natural essential oils, a fully synthetic perfume may be more useful). I've read that certain synthetic components used in cosmetics/perfume accumulate in the body, possibly with (slightly) harmful effects, but I've never read any verification of this.

Now, the other side is, that modern perfumery is a product of the industrial revolution and its ability to synthesize elements. Relying on natural ingredients means depriving yourself of an enormous range of possibilities, not just in terms of actual smells but effects, such as enhanced lucidity, longevity, etc. pp.
Now our BN member Ayala, from the reviews I've seen, seems to do quite well without these components (but that quality comes at a steep price also), while I'll have to admit that 90% of the natural perfumes I've tried have been simply atrocious. And I do come out of the "organic" corner and was exposed to essential oils long before getting deep into perfume. I do have a clear preference for perfumes with a high natural oil content, that are perfected with the use of synthetics (Lutens, Creed, Villoresi) - the obvious coice to make a good perfume is always to use the finest ingredients. I can see where the dismal quality of 90% of mass market fragrances can lead one to associate synthetics with inferior quality (its inferior, cheap synthetrics that are the "problem," though, but of course there is no problem, since most people seem to like their BOSS, CK or even AXE just fine).

btw.: what I've been writing sounds as if there was a clear binary division between natural and synthetic. That is not quite the fact either. Major chemical processes are involved in extracting natural essences (like concretes) and many "synthetics" are derived from natural vegetal products, so the lines do blur. And there are those synthetics worth their weight in gold, so synthetic by no means always means cheap.

@beachroses: just for clarification: Goutal and Occitane use natural essences, of course, but alongside synthetics. They just don't like to talk about it, because their image is built around naturalness and purity. I witnessed a Diptyque SA lie to a customer about their perfume being all natural - because that's what they want to hear. Luca Turin had a good comment in one of his columns about how the perfume industry has painted itself into corner with its dirty little synthetic secret.

Well, I will now proceed to agonize over what perfume to wear on this beautiful late summer day.

Cheers

I am still in the process of testing the eight samples of Ayala's perfumes which I have but I can tell you that these are properly composed, structured perfumes with really beautiful, sometimes breathtaking notes and accords. I started from quite a sceptical mindset about the whole concept, though always a lover of "natural smelling" perfumes and notes.

More to follow....

Honestly, I would not wear a 100% natural fragrance if I did not like the way the it smelled. The same goes for a 100% 'synthetic' fragrance.

I feel this way for a number of reasons:

- I am not allergic at all to any natural or synthetic fragrance ingredients. Perhaps if I was, I might lean more to one or the other?
- I think that most perfumers who make a strong point in their marketing/advertising that IT IS ALL NATURAL are: a) coming across to me as elitist or as if they are better than other perfumers and b) using this as a gimmicky selling point for fragrances that, honestly, are not good quality scents
- I am not in the least interested in making perfume, I am much more interested in just smelling it and enjoying other peoples creations. Perhaps if I was a perfumer, I might feel differently?

Good luck with your perfume creations and welcome to Basenotes.

To me, since I don't approach perfumes with any particular ideology, what matters is the smell. (I'm simplistic, I know.) I've smelled 'classics' that I don't like at all and 'naturals' that I love. My only generalisation on the subject is the one you mention above - I've found that most natural perfumes are comparatively fleeting. Please let us know what you've found lasting, I'd love to have a sniff.

I find your fellow-perfumer Alaya's reviews always especially interesting and authoritative, so I look forward to seeing yours join the Basenotes directory. As a recent convert to perfume addiction I'm always keen to learn.

The natural skin care industry has done the exact same thing, so I hear what you're saying. Thanks for the information! I think Pre de Provence just uses essential oils, but I use all kinds of fragrances, as long as they contain some natural notes. Like many people, I use my scents not only to smell good, but to enhance my moods and feelings of well being. Most of the things I make myself are bath and body, hair or skin care products. I've been using essential oils in various ways, as well as herbs and botanicals. Way of life, I grew up in the beauty business and my father made some of things he used in his own salon.

I have never had a problem with allergies or synthetic ingredients in perfumes, until recently, and I was always surrounded by them. Only some lines (or fragrances within those lines) bother me, depending on what's in them. I think it's some of the new chemicals they are using like sunscreens that are making me sick.

RuRu, there is a DIY section on these boards, if you are interested in talking about what you're making. As far as I know, self promotion on these threads in order to sell your products is not allowed. Good luck!

PS I'd rather eat deer than smell like one, but to each her own!! LOL Just a joke.

Echoing Ayala's name ... her scents proved to me that naturals can be beautifully composed. My impression is that the all-natural scents I've liked best have little longevity and sillage. My husband is a devotee of Stella Rose Absolute, which I believe is composed without synthetics, and that has good throw. I don't care to apply oils, preferring scents to be suspended in alcohol. Hope that imparts a scattershot of info.

I liked your photo here, Ruru. You look like the very likable actress Valerie Mahaffey, whom we in the States know best from "Seinfeld," "Northern Exposure," and "Desperate Housewives."

Longevity and sillage are not major factors for me, either. I usually change my scent in the evening, anyway. I also enjoy solid perfumes, edt's and oils in a body form, but I know many who enjoy perfume oils, too. Beautiful containers matter to me. I won't reject an item because of it, but I am more attracted to something that appeals to me artistically and I don't want junky looking things around my house.

I am definitely the same way! That's also why I enjoy solids and they are good for traveling, too.