LPN Blog Perfume

The Top 5 Natural Perfumes: Natural “Perfume” for Every Beauty

Move over Chanel No. 5, there are some new (non-toxic) girls in town!

Look it up on the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Database, and you’ll quickly see why artificial fragrance should be kicked out of your beauty routine! Not only is it bad for the environment (all products with fragrance are – everything from conventional laundry detergent, to shampoo and soap), fragrance is also found to be a known human immune toxicant & irritant. Further, conventional fragrances (perfumes) also contain phthalates – also known as hormone disrupting chemicals – none for me, thanks.

So, today, my beauties, I bring you a lovely selection of essential oil-derived “perfumes”, made with wonderful ingredients. Now, I wouldn’t say I wear perfume everyday, but on an evening out I love to dab a little something behind the ears and on my wrists. There is something for everyone here. Yes, even for the Chanel No. 5 devotee.

For the Luxe Lady: Abel Vintage ’13 100% Organic Eau de Parfum

Yes, you read that right, a 100% organic eau de parfum – possibly the world’s first. When I first smelled this beautiful earthy, peppery scent, I melted. I am one for the rich perfumes (no bubble-gum sugar for me, please). Created by New Zealander Frances Shoemack, this is a purely luxurious scent that will compliment any confident woman (and men may also find it to be a wearable scent too). Each note is listed in detail on Abel’s site, but just to give you a hint there is some clove, bergamot and black pepper in the top notes, as well as some ginger and vanilla in the middle. It’s gorgeous, simply gorgeous. With all that being said, there are only 2000 bottles available, so get yours soon! If you’re in the Netherlands, lucky you, pick a bottle up at any of these retailers. Otherwise, international beauties, find it online here. A scent this good doesn’t run cheap; however, this 115 Euros may be the best money you’ve ever spent smelled.

For the Lady of the Night: Moon Bloom by Hiram Green

There must be something in the air over in the Netherlands, because this beautiful scent hails from the land of tulips too! Hiram Green handcrafts Moon Bloom in small batches, and I swear to you, this beautiful fragrance smells as if he hand-pressed the oils from the tuberose himself (maybe he did?). Moon Bloom is a blissful combination of tuberose absolute, jasmine absolute and ylang ylang (one of my favourite scents). But the complexity of this scent also includes hints of coconut, leafy greens and tropical spices. It’s intoxicating, and a perfect scent for a romantic evening out. As it so happens, I’m wearing mine this evening for my date. Pick up this beautiful scent here in 50 ml  (111 Euros) or 5 ml (20 Euros) bottles.

For the Urban Fashionista: Providence Perfumes

For the beauty that can’t decide, there is Providence Perfumes – one for every day of the week, and then some. I had the luxury of trying each of the 10 scents created by Charna Ethier, and I must say, it is hard to pick a favourite. These 100% natural perfumes are blended by hand in artisan batches from the finest plants, flowers, woods and resins available. I’ll walk you through some of my highlights and let you know what I love.

Because I like rich scents, I immediately fell in love with Tabac Citron ($125 USD), but the lighter notes of lemon and french lavender makes it an equally perfect scent for summer. Branch & Vine Cologne ($80 USD) which smells like a summery leafy green garden filled with violet and jasmine – just beautiful. Another lovely scent which is a limited edition by Jonathan Joseph Peters & Charna captured my heart – and my nose – the Mousseline Peche ($50 USD), with hints of sweet peach, ylang ylang and rose. One of the most lust-worthy in the collection has to be Rose Boheme ($150 USD), the deepest, richest rose you have ever laid your nose on. Additional notes of patchouli and saffron give it a scent that can only be described as “hippie luxe”. If you are like me, and cannot make a decision, try their sampler – you’ll find it online, here ($68 USD).

 For the Earth Goddess: Sacred Elements Essentials Aromatherapy Collection

 

A natural fragrance that doubles as aromatherapy? Yes, please! These perfect purse companions come in hand little roller balls that are perfect for applying to pulse points. My favourites from this collection included  Sleeping Beauty ($18 USD) from the Divine Collection smells citrusy and not only helps clear the sinuses but also has notes of rose and powerful Frankincense – a complex and beautiful oil. Kindred Heart ($18 USD) from the Scented Soul collection contains patchouli and tulsi (the powerful adaptogen holy basil) and white ginger lily. Free Spirit ($18 USD) from the Scented Soul Collection is a woody blend with pepper and bergamot. The most floral, and mom’s favourite, is Bloom ($18 USD) – a blend of jasmine, frankincense, sandalwood and cinnamon, simply divine.

For the Luxury Loving Hippie: C & Co. Ylang Ylang Solid Perfume

For the earth mamma to the luxury loving lady, C & Co’s solid perfume oil ($15 USD) is an intoxicating combination of ylang ylang, jasmine and grapefruit seed. This solid perfume (perfect for travel as it comes in a solid tin) is a sexy yet sweet scent perfect for day to evening. Christi created the 100% natural perfume, which is also handcrafted. This little pot of gloriousness is even suitable for those who are sensitive to scents. It’s light enough that you will never feel overpowered by it, yet noticeable in just the right way. The perfume is also created with antioxidant rich oils, so you’re doing good for your skin, all while you captivate the noses of passersby.

For the Fun Loving Free Spirit: Pacifica Perfume Roll-On

These fresh little roller-balls are perfect for the gal-on-the-go. There are so many scents that it can be a bit overwhelming trying to pick one. After going through the lot numerous times (and on a number of occasions) I narrowed it down to two of my favourites: Persian Rose ($12 USD) and French Lilac ($12 USD). These beautiful scents, while both floral, couldn’t be more different. The rose is rich and deep, perfect for a fall or winter day, while the French Lilac is a wonderful fragrance for spring, so fresh and floral. The best part is the price point, you can afford to splurge for a few. My one qualm with Pacifica, that while natural (and do not contain phthalates, nitro-musks or benzene) they do contain some fragrance that isn’t necessarily derived from essential oils. That being said, they are a great – and wonderfully smelling – alternative to the conventional perfumes you’ll find on the shelves. Find Pacifica at most shops (including Whole Foods) as well as online. 

After hunting high and low, I hope you enjoy some of these beautiful, natural scents.

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas Loves!

X

K

Did I miss your favourite natural fragrance? Let me know about it in the comments below! 

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  • Call It Vanity

    A fantastic guide and lots of perfumers I’ve never heard of it – thanks for the tip off!

    Mayah x

  • Andrea Butje

    I love Sweet Earth Essential’s perfumes. I have 5 of them and each one is utterly beautiful and unique! The whole concept of natural fragrance that doubles as aromatherapy is brilliant!

    • They are great! I couldn’t agree more! My mom has claimed ownership over Bloom, so she would agree too! hehe xx

  • Jupita

    It is strange not to see BPAL in this list…

    • Haven’t tried any of their scents to date – will have to look into them this year :) Thanks Jupita!

    • ARGV

      i’m very late to this discussion, but BPAL, while i love them dearly, are not a natural perfume house. from their website: “We stay as natural as safely possible in all of our lines, both at Alchemy Lab and Trading Post – safely being the key word. […] We do everything in our power to ensure that our products please our customers while maintaining a high standard of quality and safety. To that end, we employ components that contain essential oils, CO2s, aroma compounds, pomades, concretes, absolutes, solvent extractions, accords, and bouquets in our fragrances. We do not use any nitro musks, polycyclic musks, or any other synthetic material that can be considered potentially harmful. With the exception of the mineral oil in some Trading Post products, we do not use anything that is petroleum based. Our products are as natural as possible without compromising the safety and health of our customers.”

  • laalicia

    Hmmm…I had stopped wearing fragrance…but I’m looking forward to checking these out!

  • Miss Elisa K.

    Great finds! I have to give these a try!

  • spankulert

    I’ve just recently ordered the solid perfumes sample pack from For Strange Women. Just opening the envelope was like sticking my nose into a fairy tale forest! Most commercial perfumes just started smelling obnoxiously chemical(the few I can still tolerate I spritz and then walk briskly through to avoid too strong a scent), so to keep enjoying perfume a switch was in order.

    My absolute favorite is just pure Neroli. It’s the smell of happiness <3

    • Love it! For Strange Women! Another I”ll need to check out – I LOVE neroli too. It’s such a wonderful, pure, divine earth smell <3 xx

  • CourtlyScent

    Thank you sooooooo much for bringing into the open how toxic conventional perfumes are. I’ve had an allergy for perfumed soaps since ten years and so glad I’m not having allergic reactions to natural perfumes.

    You definitely missed my favorite natural perfumes from the Scents of the Soul series by profumo in Italy. They’re a niche “perfume tailor” with a jazzy French owner. My family got me the Heart of the Rose in September and since then I’ve been on a roll with their Scents of the Soul series http://profumo.it/perfume/index_anima.asp.

    I got myself a random mix in their sampling box and tested what fits best with me and my family and friends. I love giving these away and just got my mom the Tawaf (which is my favorite) and my cousin Sea Wood (smells a lot like Gucci Envy for men).

    My two favorites are Tawaf (m/w) and for women it’s Gypsy Queen (inspired by the Diva in the opera Carmen…). I must confess (mea culpa) – that I love the latter scent a lot even though it’s the only scent made for women..

    Anyway, best wishes from Amsterdam (thanks for the perfume hints in Holland), and if you have recent tips on Natural Perfumes (intentionally capitalized), please keep us in the loop here.

    Warmest wishes,
    C

    p.s. Personally, I love to wear Tawaf in the evenings, to mellow down on the stronger woody scents that i’ve used in the morning and to slide into the mood of relaxation and eventually dream state. I don’t know whether the website’s story about Mekka influenced me (see:http://profumo.it/natural-perfume/Tawaf/pid/5388), however, one of the evenings when I was about to do my evening meditation, I put on Tawaf before going to sleep. I dreamt of being with some people from Mekka who looked so incredibly beautiful that I was hoping for an invitation to Mekka… Maybe I’ll end up in Mecca, Making Tawaf together with my Tawaf bottle.

    • Thanks for the thoughtful reply @courtlyscent! This is wonderful. I”ll definitely need to check out Profumo! I love finding new brands and stories around why readers like them. :) :)

      • courtlyscent

        Merci! when is your next review :-)

    • Margaret Beddow

      I ordered some stuff from Samuel Gravan perfumes.. quite impressive and very fresh natural smells.. only disadvantage is that he keeps no stock in reserve so all is made to order.. this meant I had to wait almost 8 days for my perfume to be created and to arrive.. my fave is Spicy Mandarin and Woody Fig.. They have some good skincare too with organic oils and pomegranate seed extract for fine lines

  • rebeccaR

    I love that you are covering natural perfumes, but you didn’t mention one of my favorites, Sarabecca Natural Perfume. You should definitely check it out at sarabecca.com.

  • Jennifer

    Great topic! One more to add to the list ~ mine :) Drift Perfume. Handcrafted solid perfumes in *wooden* cases. We offer vegan liquid perfumes too (no beeswax). NO synthetic ingredients & very eco-friendly. And, we sell samples :) http://www.driftperfume.com

  • Daniel

    I really like that you are protecting natural fragrances.Great finds! I have to provide these a try!

  • Laura

    Thank you! What about honore des pres? Most perfumes of the line are created by olivia giacobetti and are ecocert certified. My fave is vamp a ny. There’s also strange invisible perfumes.

    • Invisible perfumes?! New to me. I’ve tested Honore des Pres but only in shops as testers and didn’t have enough wear to give them a review that was helpful for readers. I’ll have to re-look at Vamp. xx

  • Amanda

    It’s such a delight to see natural perfumes getting more interest!

    I’d like to mention my own line – Esscentual Alchemy. You can find me on the web here: http://www.esscentualalchemy.com

    I’m a classically trained opera singer turned natural perfumer :) And I like to say that I compose music for your nose.

  • Oyu

    Thanks for sharing!

  • Ellie

    I’m in love with Opulence by Stephanie K Naturals, definitely check them out. http://www.stephanieknaturals.com Thanks LPN for this list, I didn’t know some of these natural perfume brands.

    • stephaniekv

      Thanks for the recommendation!

  • Sara Slinkard

    very useful information you shared with us.. thanking you!! http://google.com

  • Kanav

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  • Michael Sharinn

    This company HAS to be featured. Everything is all natural, no plastic and only hand made. Would you like samples to try? Checkout the website and contact us with your mailing info for a free sample pack. http://www.nobodoinc.com

  • Jane_Madison

    I am allergic to most all perfumes that are sold in stores. Are these scents mentioned above less offensive and non-allergenic?

    • Your best option is to find a pure essential oil blended with a carer oil, like coconut oil. Ylang Ylang is one of my favourite essential oils – give it a try. xx

  • Guest

    Anyone know of the a close “alternative” to Halle berry? Thanks!!

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