Everything About Natural Perfumes

Have you ever heard of natural perfume? Do you know exactly what it is? Thanks to her Master Parfums olfactory game, Anne-Laure Hennequin unveils for us a few secrets or pieces of information about the precious world of perfume.

In this article, we talk to you about natural perfumes thanks to a card from the “Behind the Scenes of Perfume” category.

What Is a Natural Perfume?

Historically, the first perfumes were all natural (of plant or animal origin). It was from the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century that the progress of science, and particularly of chemistry, made it possible to develop synthetic molecules at the origin of Modern Perfumery. A perfumery fleshed out with new scents, preservatives, perfumes with greater stability, as well as lower costs, making it possible to democratise their use.

With ecological awareness, these last few decades have seen natural perfumes flourish once again.

Today, according to the standards, a natural or natural-origin perfume must contain at least 95% natural ingredients.

There are also 100% natural perfumes—that is, they contain no synthetic product. If brands still choose to work with 100% natural materials, it is for their preservation properties and mainly out of ethical and ecological conviction.

Some perfumes can also use only materials from organic farming and be certified organic. (Which reduces the perfumer’s palette even further.)

The Difference Between “Natural” and “Natural-Origin”

These two designations can be confusing in the world of perfumery. According to the ISO 16128 standard, the term “natural” defines an ingredient that has not been modified, and that is used just as extracted from nature. For example, essential oils extracted by distillation. The alcohol used in the perfume will also be of natural origin (wheat alcohol, beet alcohol).

A natural-origin ingredient has undergone a transformation of its chemical structure after or during its extraction, and this for various reasons: either to improve its preservation, or to lighten a colour that is too dark, or to use only certain molecules making it possible, for example, to keep only the “fresh petal” effect of a flower, etc.

Let’s take the example of vanillin. A natural component of vanilla, vanillin appears in the form of white crystals on the pod during its natural fermentation. It is what brings its so characteristic, sweet facet. It is often used in food flavouring and in perfumery to bring a vanilla note. Yet it is only one component of vanilla, which, taken in its entirety, reveals a rich aromatic palette with multiple facets.

A distinction must be made between a synthetic vanillin (ethylvanillin, with characteristics close to vanillin, is derived from petrochemistry), and a natural-origin vanillin from the pod, whose price is naturally higher.

Today, “green chemistry” makes it possible to extract certain molecules from other natural sources with the aim of obtaining a less expensive product. And one can, for example, obtain vanillin from the fermentation of rice. The origin is still natural even if it does not come from the vanilla pod!

Should Preservatives Be Added to Natural Perfumes?

This expert-level card is built on the “true or false” principle: “Like any perfume, preservatives must be added to natural perfumes.” So, what do you think—true or false?

It’s false! Thierry Bernard, of the brand Parfumeurs du Monde, confirmed this answer.

Why Do Natural Perfumes Not Need Preservatives?

If natural perfumes do not need preservatives, it is because the essential oils they contain naturally have within them molecules that can serve as preservatives.

Consequently, if the blend is stable and balanced, it should not evolve. It is precisely this stability that is one of the greatest challenges for the creation of natural perfumes.

Indeed, the palette of raw materials that can be used is much more limited, because by definition it cannot be enriched with synthetic materials.

The Behind-the-Scenes of Natural Perfume Creation

The cost of raw materials limits the choice of ingredients for making natural perfumes.

One must also take into account the regulation of IFRA (the International Fragrance Association) regarding allergy risks. The complexity of the natural therefore consists of finding the right balance of a combination that is both harmonious and stable over time. Despite a more restricted palette, the creator of a natural perfume nonetheless benefits from a multitude of tonalities.

The Importance of the Raw Materials of a Natural Perfume

For the creation of a natural perfume, the quality of the raw materials is absolutely crucial. Everything is in the magic of the terroir. And terroir is not only the land and the climate—it is also the human element: producers chosen for the quality of their products and their ethics. Growers who pamper their plants, pick them and distil them with the greatest respect for nature.

It is this fair approach that led Thierry Bernard to turn to natural perfumes. This choice imposed itself over the course of his travels, his encounters and his human adventures. It is also the basis of the association “Parfumeurs sans Frontières,” which he created with his companions Stéphane Piquart, Michel Roudnitska, Olivier Behra, and Jérémie-Israel Deravin Rubinstein, and which works for a sustainable, supportive and responsible development of perfume materials.

Natural Perfumes: A Final Word

Natural perfumes are therefore made with a more limited range of scents than other perfumes. Their stability is certainly more difficult to obtain, but in the end their fragrance evolves even more according to the skin on which they are applied.

This is a very interesting point for consumers who appreciate standing out through their perfume.

In conclusion, working on a natural perfume requires very great expertise on the part of the perfumer, who must know how to handle to perfection a reduced palette of complex raw materials.

A few examples of natural perfume brands:

And to learn more about the fascinating world of perfumery, discover the Master Parfums olfactory game. Through 120 questions, it makes it possible to educate yourself while having fun and to discover astonishing information. The full version also makes it possible to create your own perfume sketch thanks to a combination of scented pens.

Hello, I'm Anne-Laure, founder of the Master Parfums game! After more than 20 years of experience in perfume training at LVMH and Puig, I wanted to combine the richness of the perfume world with the fun of a game, so that everyone can build their knowledge of this fascinating field while having a great time!