What is natural perfumes
Discovering the art of natural perfumery is like crossing the threshold of a beautiful old house and finding it utterly intact and splendidly furnished—but deserted, as if it had been suddenly abandoned. It took centuries to discover ways of extracting scent from aromatic materials. Yet just as a full palette of natural essences became available, commercial perfumers began to set them aside in favor of synthetic ingredients, which are cheaper, sturdier, and more uniform in quality. Unfortunately, they have none of the richness or complexity of the natural ingredients, and they result in "linear" fragrances that strike the senses bluntly, all at once.
Natural essences contain minute traces of various materials, which is why Moroccan rose smells different from Bulgarian rose or Egyptian rose. Synthetics can approximate the dominant qualities of the natural essences, but they cannot capture the same subtlety or softness, nor can they mimic the way natural perfumes evolve on the skin, uniquely in response to body chemistry.
On the basis of their relative volatility—how long they remain perceptibly fragrant—essences are classified as top (or head), middle (or heart), and base notes. Intense and profound, base notes evolve over the course of hours or even days. They are often thick and syrupy, and most are derived from bark (sandalwood), roots (angelica), resins (labdanum), lichens (oakmoss), saps (benzoin, peru balsam), and grasses (patchouli, vetiver).
Flowers—geranium, rose, jasmine, orange flower, tuberose, violet leaf, ylang ylang—have always provided the most precious heart notes. Heady, dramatic, intense, sometimes sickly sweet, heart notes give body to blends, imparting warmth and fullness, and they bring out the best in the other notes.
Head notes reach our sense of smell first, forming the scent's initial impression and quickly dissipating. Many of them are familiar from cooking: herbs and spices such as coriander, spearmint, black pepper, cardamom, juniper, basil, tarragon; citruses such as lime, bitter orange, blood orange, tangerine, pink grapefruit.
I have learned to work with these essences by immersing myself in them and in the rich literature of the perfume masters of a century ago. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to create with these precious essences, and I see myself as custodian of a sacred art.
