Botanical Perfume

We’ve created this section to better explain what botanical perfume is. In a world dominated by synthetic scents, we find it best to frame botanical perfumery in this context. We are not pitting the two against each other but find the differences helpful in explaining our product and why botanicals are our guiding philosophy.

In many ways people’s expectations of what perfume should be has shifted along with the status quo. Many of us are so accustomed to smelling synthetic rose, for example, that the true scent of a rose is supplanted by its impersonation. Synthetic notes are often composed of a single molecule that is dominant in the scent of the fragrant plant material. By contrast, botanical ingredients are composed of hundreds of molecules. Many of these may seem insignificant in overall quantity but they are nonetheless important in representing the full olfactory spectrum of the raw material.

While synthetic ingredients are created in labs and factories, botanical ingredients are grown, harvested and extracted. This is a time-consuming process that is fraught with the unpredictability and the difficulties of agriculture. Changing weather patterns and increasing geo-political tensions are both significant factors in the global natural botanical scent extraction industry. Combined with the low yields that are standard with natural scent extraction, botanical perfume ingredients tend to be far more expensive than their synthetic counterparts.

The only perfume ingredient we rarely use that is not strictly a botanical (from a plant) is a beeswax extract, obtained from natural beeswax. If we do include it in a perfume formulation, it will be stated in the perfume description. Unless stated otherwise, all our perfumes are therefore vegan.

All of our perfumes are unisex, as the complex beauty of botanical ingredients couldn’t possibly be confined to the social norms of commercial perfumes. Each natural ingredient is dynamic in the sense that it has a complex and unique chemical structure, and with it a beauty that cannot be replicated. For this reason, we don’t believe in the separation of these molecules, and thus refrain from using isolates, as these are molecularly identical to their synthetic counterparts. To preserve the integrity of our ingredients, we work with them as they would exist in the wild.

Botanical perfume wears far closer to the skin, in the sense that it is more readily absorbed. Each perfume blends with the wearer’s personal scent to create a truly unique fragrance. Our perfumes are all parfums with a 25-30% concentration, in order to maximise their longevity. The sillage, or reach, of botanical perfume is subtler than that of commercial perfumes. This is something that we love, as we believe that perfume is intended for those closest to you.

If you are new to botanical perfumes it is natural to expect an adjustment period. Your idea of what a perfume is has been framed by largely synthetic blends and botanical perfumes simply smell different. Once you slowly introduce botanical perfumes into your daily life you will find that your nose will naturally adjust and you will increasingly enjoy botanical perfumes. Eventually, you will get to a point where you will clearly smell the difference between botanical and synthetic ingredients and you will most likely start to find the latter offensive.

We encourage first-timers to botanical perfume to purchase our Discovery Set.