Botanical Perfumery IS Alchemy

We're all aware that scent affects our emotions, but are you aware that it affects your health too?

Our health is impacted from what we do and what we fail to do.

Neglect brings negative effects. Care brings positive effects. Using safe, toxin free personal care is paramount to creating a cascade of positive benefits for you and the planet. It's not simply 'the perfume I chose', but instead it becomes 'why I chose this perfume'... Did you choose it because you thought it was beautiful? of course you did ;) But did you also consider how it was made? What it was made from? How it is packaged? And what the long term effects are of using synthetic fragrance chemicals? The cost of getting that pretty little thing into your hands is more than the cost of the product and shipping.

Over a decade ago a study by Harvard University in the US revealed that women applied on average over 60 toxic compounds each day. Each. Day.

And while that information received media attention, and it made some people think differently, for the majority it was put into the 'oh well, I can't control that' basket of rationalising this modern lifestyle we're all involved in.

You CAN control what you choose to put on your body. We (as in you and I as individuals) can't control what agriculture sprays onto crops. We can't control the level of pollution from industrial systems. We can't control so many 'things' in life, it's just what it is...but we can definitely control what we choose to apply to our skin. As a collective, instead of individuals, we CAN influence change to what is considered 'the norm'.

Aromatic chemicals have become so mainstream that people now think there are scents called strawberry, fig, cherry and grape, when they do not smell anything like those fruits. People have been conditioned to smelling something called 'ocean' and 'meadow' that smells nothing like these landscapes. For example: if I were to teleport you to the seaside, and pick up rocks, seaweed, seawater soaked sand and a few shells, would you really want to smell like a conglomeration of that? Most of the gaseous aromatics emanating from the 'seaside' come from decaying seaweed and algae. The smell of 'aqua' or 'marine' is an emotional mimic. It is flipped into a 'soil/fresh dirt' (patchouli like) and 'fresh' (citrus like) scents. Sometimes with a little 'wood' thrown in to give it a hint of the resinous tones found from sap-laden beachside trees (usually cypress and pine) and dune grasses. Things like 'marine', 'oceanic', 'aquatic' are terms for perfumers to use to help you understand the emotional landscape they are creating with scent. However, the 'aromachemicals' used for this in mainstream perfumery are synthetically derived using petroleum and or highly processed vegetable matter from waste crops.

One 'parfum' or 'fragrance' additive can consist of up to 200 aromachemicals. One of my purely botanical accords may be built from upwards of 10, 20 or 30 ingredients ranging from essential oils, absolutes, real-natural infusions (ie: plant, shell, rock matter in oil or alcohol) and crystal essences. I'll then combine accords and other ingredients to build a final product. So even the most natural perfumer could use 100 components in one perfume... the difference is, mine contain absolutely no synthetics. Ever.

Pause for thought yes?

Just what ARE you spraying on your skin or inhaling into your body?

Answer is, you have absolutely no idea.

Perfumers like me, who choose to use real-natural scent, totally eschew the use of synthetically derived aromatics in all forms. Instead we are building perfumery with...

Cold pressed botanical oils

Distilled essential oils

Absolutes, Oleoresins and distilled resins

Hydrosols from distillation

Enfleurage creations in botanical wax and butters

Infusions tended with care

Botanical tinctures that collect and intensify nature's messages

Crystal essences that contain unique frequencies

Products that are created with intention

These gorgeous aromatics enrich our lives, gifting us a direct connection to nature, to seasons, to landscapes and emotional states. Want a portal opening? Open a true aromatic and step on through! Anointing yourself is an act of honouring your most personal need for comfort. It's the hug, the embrace, the soft touch of care that you require as a human. Enveloping yourself in pure scent is a ritual of inviting all beauty into your life with an act of true selfcare.

Please consider the 'future you' when you are choosing personal care and beauty items. Please choose something that your 'future you' will thank you for :)

Blessings

Nette

xx