Heaven Scent: Ethical Fragrances; Absolutely Magazine, October 2013

Choosing to buy ethical fragrances is more complicated than one could ever imagine, the industry is a full of anomalies and contradictions. For example; for an Eau de Toilette to be called ‘organic’ its total organic content must be 95%, which means 95% of the ‘juice’ could be organic grain alcohol whilst the remaining 5% - the very essence of the scent - might very well be laboratory-made chemicals. This is further confused when you consider that in the perfume industry natural is not necessarily best; evolving from a tradition of using animal parts and secretions that are essential to ‘fix’ the botanical notes, the arrival of manufactured non-animal alternatives was welcomed by all. Also standard practices simply do not apply; many ingredients are so unusual that they are not covered by fair trade arrangements. The whole issue is clouded by ambiguous labelling, due to a regulatory loophole the actual fragrant ingredients can be hidden in a group simply listed on the box as ‘parfum.’ 

With this lack of clarity Absolutely decided to set its own ethical criteria; here are our top ten fragrance houses from whom you can buy in the absolute certainty that they have said ‘Yes’ to our four ‘No’s’; no animal testing, no animal ingredients, no ingredients used which have a devastating effect on the environment, no purchasing from suppliers who do not enforce workforce rights.

Sylvie Ganter and Christophe Cervasel, founders of Atelier Cologne, create scents with the freshness of a cologne but with the lasting power of a parfum. Trèfle Pur is green and dewy, an early morning meander across a meadow fresh from a night of rain. 

San Francisco based perfumer Ineke Rühland’s bold use of botanicals in her eponymous brand; Ineke, makes her one to watch. Her poetic concoctions recall moments in time, who would not want to step out at night in a fragrance named; Evening Edged in Gold? 

Sara Carner’s Carner Barcelona encapsulates the magic, mystery and passion of the great Spanish metropolis and nothing does this better than Sara’s D600, the mise-en-scène scent which captures the city as it stirs from slumber and the daily drama unfolds. 

Paris-based Rancé has been producing fragrances since 1795 and is still a family concern; Eau de Noblesse has all the notes you would look for in a modern scent; rhubarb, iris and sparkling grapefruit.

New Swiss brand Sentifique launched last year with some seriously sexy scents, brainchild of designer Friedemann Ramacher, Testosterone is dangerously seductive with its rugged but sophisticated structure and elegant inclusion of crystallised patchouli.

One of my favourite brands, Farmacia ss. Annunziata, literally grew out of a monastic garden. If you are unfamiliar with this understated collection 450, which celebrates the company’s 450 year anniversary, is about as good as it gets: musk, iris and amber, liking pulling on a cashmere sweater, delicious. 

New this year; Byredo’s Infloresence is Ben Gorham’s olfactory vision of a riot of burdened bowers as a garden’s intoxicating blooms reach their peak. A modern floral masterpiece. 

‘Gourmand’ fragrances are big and my recent discovery, Officina delle Essenze, is bang-on with its Caldo Gourmand; a rich caramel melange of hot chocolate and vanilla, with a dusting of musk.

Undergreen is a 100% natural urban brand from Paris, Gold has sensationally citrusy top notes of lime, lemongrass and grapefruit, one of the most scintillatingly ‘popping’ openings of recent years.

Acqua di Genova, in its glamorous handmade bottle with silk pump, is the last word in elegance. This beautiful scent was fittingly made for the Countess of Castiglione whom, at the time, was described as the most beautiful woman in the world.

This article by Lawrence Roullier White appears in the October issue of Absolutely Magazine.