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Even though contemporary, synthetic perfumes are still popular with a massive panel of beautiful fragrances, natural perfumes are gaining popularity and getting into their new renaissance, once-forgotten art. So, what is beyond natural perfumery, scents, storytelling, symbolic nature, or even something more significant such as a new way of aromatherapy and a holistic approach to healing and our well-being? Let’s explore!
Natural perfume design, formulation, and final compounding simply correspond, in fact, to a conversation, storytelling, and an interplay between ingredients, essential oils in an outstanding composition. A synthetic material carries simple and single information and usually is very linear. Its smell is uniform, transparent, and faithful (Ellena C., 2008). Natural materials in perfumery, on the contrary, provide a robust, complex, and generous image, sensations, and impressions. While a synthetic material could be seen simply as a single word and does not change over time, a natural could be compared to chatting and storytelling: cold, warm, sticky, heavy, transparent, pepper, green, metallic, smooth, watery, fruity, musty, earthy… full of information, symbolism, and magic what only nature can offer to you (Ellena C., 2008). It is a time to reconnect with nature again as our ancestors lived, simply naturally. Once, the creation of natural perfumes was the privilege of healers, priests, and high priestesses; today, it is the art of many people skilled in this particular art and science of natural healing and beauty.
To formulate a natural perfume is not to create a culinary recipe, not at all, with only dosing the ingredients in well-balanced amounts or like in contemporary perfumery, only to take care of the base, middle and top notes. Formulating instead means flexibly knitting materials with lovely stitches like a tapestry, mysterious Anatolian kilim full of symbolism or French Tapestry Gobelin, meeting or repelling each other, building a pleasant form, which is neither fixed, nor solid, nor rigid, nor linear, nor boring. A perfume’s complex structure ranges from a clear sound of stable, unique, and linear items to a comfortable, reassuring background chat or story. Natural fragrances magically transform their shapes over time, every minute, every hour… Natural perfumes are created by a perfumer having unique talents and skills that can be compared to artists, musicians, writers, painters… As the latter work with a palette of single musical notes or colors to create their masterpieces, perfumers harmoniously combine aromas to make the magic scent like a masterpiece.
500+ versus 1200+ in today’s perfumery
The aromas of natural perfumes are unambiguously linked together like Yin and Yang! Therefore, aromas per se are indispensable tools to enable perfumers to create masterpieces, fragrances eliciting a magic smell. Approximately 250 plant species produce more than 500 different natural products. Thus, natural perfumers probably use only 500+ oils and extracts in their pallets. They are obtained from various plant parts such as flowers, fruits, peels, leaves, barks, seeds, woods, roots, and resinous exudates by either distillation, mechanical separation (“pressing”), or extraction. Products produced via steam/water distillation or cold pressing are called essential oils. Solvent extracts are either called concretes or resinoids. Perfumers who use synthetic materials today use approximately 1,200 aroma chemicals of various scent directions to create fragrances for different applications.
The highly individual nature of perfume choice – what does it mean?
Cross-culturally, from ancient to modern times, perfumes are used to modulate body odor/smell. Still, the psychology of fragrance choice has been largely overlooked. The prevalent view is that fragrances mask an individual’s body odor/smell and improve pleasantness (Lenochová P. et al., 2012). Psychologists found positive effects of perfume on body odor perception. Significantly, however, this was modulated by significant interactions with individual odor donors. Fragrances thus appear to interact with body odor/smell, creating an individually-specific scent mixture.
Furthermore, the odor mixture of an individual’s body odor and preferred perfume was perceived as more pleasant than a blend of the same body odor with a randomly-allocated bouquet, even when there was no nice difference between the perfumes. This indicates that fragrance use extends beyond simple masking effects. Instead, people choose perfumes that interact well with their odor/scent (Lenochová P. et al., 2012). These results explain the highly individual nature of perfume choice.
Natural perfumes – do you know how to evaluate natural perfumes?
Natural perfumes are complex and multifaceted. They evolve with wear as they “travel” and transform from the top, middle, and base notes, and even their combinations or unique composition. They have remarkable life and character; this vibrancy is often lost on perfumer’s blotter strips. Natural perfumes wear best on the skin and should always be evaluated this way. Before applying any natural or synthetic perfume, please ensure your skin is adequately moisturized. Consider many factors influencing your impression of fragrances; (for example) what is your diet? What medications and supplements do you use daily, is your skin treated adequately with skin care products? What is your skin’s pH, slightly acidic as it should be or alkaline? What season is winter, spring, summer, or fall? What is humidity in the environment, and many more?
Evaluating natural perfumes differs from the typical contemporary perfumes sampling experience, just as natural perfumes differ from synthetic perfumes. Natural perfumes are significantly less linear than synthetic perfumes. Therefore, it is essential to reserve judgment until you can smell the perfume through its entire cycle. You may be amazed at how different a natural perfume smells after a few minutes, a half hour, one hour…they are like “shapeshifters.” It sounds magical, right? Never try to evaluate a natural perfume by smelling the bottle. This way doesn’t work. Sometimes the scent is not usually strong enough to smell from a capped bottle, and you will miss the beautiful nuances that natural perfumes possess over time on your skin. A natural perfume should not be smeared on the skin; instead, it should be applied with a small wand attached to the top of the bottle.
While mainstream contemporary perfumes are primarily synthetic and contain minimal natural ingredients, they transfer very well to the blotter; they are linear. These perfumes smell almost the same on your skin as on the tester strip. This is not a scenario with natural perfumes; we must smell and evaluate them differently.
Many dislike flowers but have never smelled a real rose or gorgeous jasmine. Natural perfumes often contain beautiful rare essences or unique combinations that most are unfamiliar with. Just because you have loathed a mainstream perfume that claims to contain rose doesn’t mean you do not like all rose scents. Try, and you will see that roses can be unisex.
Remember, natural perfumes need a few moments to settle in. They don’t smell the same on the blotter as on your skin. Don’t rush! Magical notes are slowly revealing themselves to you. Then make a choice and enjoy the beauty and magic of natural perfume!
Good scents uplift spiritually; our senses give contentment to the body, except for the sense of smell, which offers delight to the soul
Natural perfumery is not something new. Perfumery, as the art of making perfumes, began in ancient India, Mesopotamia, and Egypt and was further refined by the Romans and Persians. Tapputi also called Tapputi – Belatekallim, is considered one of the world’s first chemists and formulators of perfumes and cosmetic formulas. It is mentioned in tablets dating back to 1200 BC in Babylonian Mesopotamia. She used flowers, oils, and balms. In India, perfume and perfumery existed in the Indus civilization (3300 BC – 1300 BC). One of the earliest distillations of ittar, also known as attar (essential oil derived from botanical or other natural sources), was mentioned in the Hindu Ayurvedic text Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita – Caraka-Samhita and Susruta-Samhita, attributed respectively to Caraka, a physician, and Susruta, a surgeon (800 BC – 1000 CE the golden age of Indian medicine) (Fragrance (Perfume) in Cosmetics | PharmaTutor).
The Byzantine empress Zoe Porphyrogenita is depicted in historical records as a woman of extraordinary beauty, described by the chronologist and historian Michael Psellos as a blonde with a bright white face, without a single wrinkle on her face with the general impression that she gave off as a young girl. Her primary occupation was not spinning but formulating and producing perfumes and cosmetics. Her laboratory (myrepseion) was in her chambers, where she created perfumes and cosmetics. Her assistants helped her create formulas for new fragrances and cosmetic products. She imported essential oils from India and Egypt. Many historians consider the ancient Egyptians masters of cosmetology and perfumery (Manniche L., 1989, 1999).
Millennium-old ritual herbal bathing in natural fragrances and perfumed oils, butters, and fresh flowers and using the strigil (a metal tool used to scrape the skin) was not just a soothing, cleansing, and cosmetic affair (just think about ancient Egypt, Greece, Roman Empire, Turkish baths, Moroccan bath); it was also very important therapeutic applications to their body and soul. It relieved people suffering from headaches, stress, and chronic skin problems. Dr. J.A. Hunt states, “There is no clear evidence that the use of soap for personal hygiene pre-dates the Christian era” (J.A. Hunt, The Pharmaceutical Journal; 1999). Dr. Hunt stated: “In classical times, perfumed oils were used extensively for bathing and combined with the use of the strigil, a metal implement used to scrape the skin free of oil and dirt.” Indeed, herbal bathing in natural fragrances, aromatic oils, butters, and fresh flowers carries a holistic and spiritual dimension. Unfortunately, according to many historical data, the history of the soap is very short.
In the modern era, aromatherapy and natural perfumery merge into a new form of holistic healing, something that was forgotten a long time ago
Still, aromatherapy exists as a separate entity in holistic therapy; however, natural perfumery is getting a unique “shape” in the holistic healing of body and soul. Many natural perfumers create and compose extraordinary blends of natural perfumes that can be excellent adjuncts for healing the body and soul. In addition, many of them will blend custom formulations just for you and your healing and spiritual needs. I was pretty impressed with one of them, such as Dominique Dubrana, a.k.a. AbdesSalaam Attar (for more information, please see: https://naturalnicheperfume.com), with excellent blogs on natural perfumery, aromatherapy, and even perfume therapy. As they stated: “Perfume therapy is, in reality, an extended application of psycho-aromatherapy and as a result helps to heal both the body and the mind, curing them with an infinite and personalized variety of pleasant olfactory emotions”…” A perfume of Perfume therapy is a composition created for every person with the essences chosen by her. This is the return to the oriental tradition of the physician-perfumer. Such a “Soul perfume” can give a sense of well-being even to somebody who feels fine and is therefore not limited to people who are ill. This therapy is most useful though in the cure of psychosomatic symptoms and feminine disturbs.” (https://naturalnicheperfume.com/perfumetherapy/). Their Perfumes of the Soul are outstanding and unique (for more information, please see: https://profumo.it/profumeria-naturale/gioielli-olfattivi/profumi-dell-anima).
In the U.S.A., you can find the perfumes of the soul at https://www.theperfumedcourt.com/Manufacturers/AbdesSalaam-Attar-(profumoit)-The-Scents-of-The-Soul.aspx?keyword=Abdes+Salaam+Attar.
John E. Smith published the book “Fragrances of the Soul: The Attari Tradition of Therapeutic Perfume” in 2021. The book examines natural perfumes’ history, philosophy, and application in worldwide healing traditions. Author John Smith takes us on a fragrant journey of discovery, from ancient Egypt and Greece through the annals of Indian Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine to modern-day treatments as well as natural perfume oils in the teachings of the Old and New Testament, the Persian Canon of Medicine, and other significant texts. The book also provides insight into the many fragrances traditionally used to promote the health of mind, body, and spirit.
Whether you are looking for the perfect protector against anxiety and stress blend of lemon, cinnamon, clove, rosemary, eucalyptus, or frankincense helps improve immunity as well, or calming sandalwood and soothing bergamot helps with exhaustion and imparts positivity with black pepper, which can help chase away the flu and colds, adds a hint of spice. What about lavender with a robust antidepressant effect with a pleasant tone of patchouli or the grounding effect of frankincense with powerful sandalwood? You will find beautiful compositions in natural perfumes with healing power for your body and soul.
Respectfully,
Holistic Healthful
References
Ellena C., Perfume formulation: words and chats. Chem Biodivers. 2008 Jun;5(6):1147-53
Lenochová P, Vohnoutová P, Roberts SC, Oberzaucher E, Grammer K, Havlíček J., Psychology of fragrance use: perception of individual odor and perfume blends reveals a mechanism for idiosyncratic effects on fragrance choice. PLoS One. 2012;7(3): e33810.
Lecture entitled “Fragrances: Creating the Magic Smell” at Formulate Asia 2008 – From Concept to Reality, 30-31 October 2008, Singapore.
How to Smell and Evaluate a Natural Perfume — https://www.providenceperfume.com/blogs/news/11217793-how-to-smell-and-evaluate-a-natural-perfume
Thompson C.J.S., (1927). The mystery and lure of perfume, Kessinger Legacy Reprints.
Manniche L., (1989). An ancient Egyptian herbal. The British Museum Press. London.
Manniche L. (1999). Sacred luxuries, fragrance, aromatherapy and cosmetics in ancient Egypt, Cornel University Press, Ithaca, New York.
Hunt J.A., A short history of soap. The Pharmaceutical Journal, December 1999, online | URI: 20066753