Perfume can set a mood or stoke desire. It has the power of a personal signature. But until recently, making that signature natural often evoked Pepe Le Pew instead of Coco Chanel. Now nonsynthetic scents are increasingly sophisticated as the quality of raw botanical ingredients has risen — thanks to a demand for boutique-grade natural fragrance.
This blooming of clean scents benefits both your health and the planet’s. While a typical designer perfume may evoke heady notes of jasmine or hibiscus, it often contains nothing that ever grew in the ground. The magic trick comes courtesy of the chemical fixatives, synthetic molecules, and preservatives used in these blends to lend longevity and keep prices low, says natural perfumer Mandy Aftel. Unfortunately, some of these common ingredients can exacerbate conditions such as asthma, while others, including certain musks, have been linked to an increased cancer risk.
Until now, purer scents had their share of shortcomings, too. The simple aromatherapy blends you can find in health stores have a fleeting bouquet, and though they use natural ingredients, those components aren’t always of the highest grade. But with an increasing consumer demand for quality organic ingredients, perfumers have raised the bar with a new breed of distinctive, 100 percent natural fragrances.
Rivaling the quality of top-shelf commercial brands — without the artificial ingredients — these scents follow the traditional pyramid structure of French perfumery: Top notes give brightness and lift, middle notes form the center, and base notes provide depth and longevity on the skin. Rather than relying on synthetic materials, though, natural perfumers are keeping it healthy with organic and conventionally grown plant essences in a base of plant oils — such as jojoba, coconut and safflower — or pure alcohol.
Of course, as demand for artisan scents rises, many manufacturers will rush to slap labels of “natural” on every bottle, even if they use only a few organic ingredients and plenty of human-made ones. So be wary. Price, longevity, and color are the biggest tip-offs. Natural perfumes garner steep prices — anywhere from about $45 up to $200 — because of expensive ingredients. They don’t last all day on the skin, and they have rich, deep hues.
