A perfume is neither better nor safer because it is natural. Almost every fragrance combines materials extracted from plants with molecules created in a lab, and perfumers have worked this way for more than a century. For the person wearing it, what matters is the formula and how it behaves on their skin.
What natural means in perfumery
A natural material comes straight from a plant, a resin or a wood. Perfumers use it in several forms, depending on how it was extracted.
- An essential oil is obtained by steam distillation: lavender, vetiver, sandalwood, oud. Citrus is the exception, as the peel is cold pressed.
- An absolute comes from solvent extraction. The first product is a concrete, a waxy paste, which is then washed with alcohol. This is the usual form for jasmine, vanilla and iris.
- A CO2 extract uses pressurized carbon dioxide as the solvent. Its scent is often close to the fresh material.
- A tincture is made by steeping the material in alcohol for weeks or months.
Our article on how perfume raw materials are extracted covers each technique in detail. Between natural and synthetic sits a third category, the isolate. It is a single molecule separated from a natural oil, such as eugenol, which gives clove its smell, or sclareol, taken from clary sage. An isolate comes from a plant, but it no longer smells like it: only one facet is kept.
Synthetic molecules, a story that begins in the 19th century
Chemists learned to reproduce, then invent, odorous molecules in the second half of the 19th century. Coumarin, which gives tonka bean its scent of hay and almond, was synthesized by the English chemist William Perkin in 1868. In 1882, Paul Parquet used it in Fougère Royale for Houbigant. It is the fragrance most often cited as the first to use a synthetic molecule. In 1874, Ferdinand Tiemann and Wilhelm Haarmann published the synthesis of vanillin, the main odorous molecule in the vanilla pod.
The 20th century added materials that did not exist in nature in any usable form. A few examples that turn up in many fragrances today:
- Hedione, whose synthesis Firmenich published in 1962 after Edouard Demole's research on jasmine. Edmond Roudnitska used it in Dior's Eau Sauvage in 1966. It brings a transparent, luminous floral effect.
- Calone, created in 1966 in the Pfizer laboratories. Its smell of seashore and melon drove the wave of marine fragrances in the 1990s.
- Iso E Super, developed by IFF in 1973, a dry, velvety woody note that adds volume to a formula.
- Ambroxan, made from the sclareol of clary sage, which reproduces the warm, mineral smell of ambergris without any need for the sperm whale. Our article on ambergris tells the story of this substitution.
White musks, found in a large share of today's fragrances, are synthetic molecules too. Our article on musk traces their history from animal musk onward.
Why a perfumer needs both
Scents that nature will not give up
Some flowers yield no usable extract. Lily of the valley is the best known example: its flowers are too small and too fragile, and the yield is too low. Every lily of the valley fragrance is therefore a reconstruction. The same goes for smells that do not come from a plant: the sea, warm skin, stone, clean laundry. Perfumers build them with an accord, a blend of materials that produces a new impression.
Consistency from batch to batch
A natural oil varies with the harvest, the soil, the weather and the distillation. For a house that produces in small batches, that is a strength. For a fragrance that must smell the same for twenty years, it is a problem. A synthetic molecule is identical from one batch to the next. It often serves as the framework, around which natural materials add texture.
Protected species
Musk from the musk deer, ambergris and some woods such as Mysore sandalwood have been overexploited or have become very rare. Synthesis keeps their scent available in fragrances without putting pressure on these resources.
Natural does not mean risk free
Natural materials contain many molecules, and some of them are known allergens. Limonene from citrus, linalool from lavender and eugenol from clove are among the substances that EU cosmetics law requires on the label above a set threshold. A pure essential oil can be more irritating than a balanced formula.
Oakmoss is a telling case. This lichen, a pillar of chypre fragrances, contains atranol and chloroatranol, two allergens behind a large number of contact allergies. EU Regulation 2017/1410 banned them in cosmetics. The oakmoss extracts used today are treated to reduce their content.
The reverse is also true: a synthetic molecule is not safe by default. Lilial, long used in lily of the valley accords, has been banned in cosmetics sold in the European Union since 1 March 2022, after it was classified as toxic to reproduction. The safety of a material is assessed molecule by molecule and dose by dose, whatever its origin. The standards of IFRA, the international association of the fragrance industry, set those doses by product type.
What the fragrances in our catalog show
The houses at Passion Parfum cover the whole range, from fragrances that are almost entirely natural to accords that can only exist in a lab. The notes quoted come from our product pages.
Sayat Nova, by Bortnikoff, stands at the natural end. The house states 95 to 100% natural ingredients and distills a large share of its own oils, as described in our profile of Bortnikoff. Apricot and narcissus in the top notes, rum and vanilla in the heart, then three ouds, from Laos, Bengal and Trat, over oakmoss. The product page notes that its natural ingredients bring out different nuances with each application. That is the normal trade-off of this approach. The house's other fragrances are gathered in the Bortnikoff collection.
Bourbon Vanilla, by Shaman Perfumery, shows that a single natural material can take several forms. The heart pairs a Bourbon vanilla absolute with a Bourbon vanilla tincture, alongside labdanum and Peru balsam. Saffron, anise and heliotrope open the fragrance, while sandalwood, cedar, guaiac wood and amber close it. The house often uses its key material in two forms at once, which makes it very easy to read on skin.
He is Fish, by House of Atropa, openly mixes both worlds. Its top notes of calone, ozone, pear and salt are built on a synthetic molecule. Its heart rests on an iris absolute and a violet absolute, its base on a seaweed absolute and sea moss. The house uses no natural animal ingredients, and the product page lists the fragrance as vegan. She is Cat, from the same house, brings back calone in the top with peach, strawberry, cherry and salt, then milk and cotton accords over a base of oud and cashmere. The House of Atropa collection has the rest of the line.
Palissandro Platinum N°Mys-03, by MysNyx, starts from a material that has no smell: marble. Black pepper and juniper berry in the top, a marble accord in the heart, ashes in the base. No distillation gives the smell of a stone. The perfumer suggests it through a blend. Real Skin N°Mys-01 applies the same idea to skin: a skin accord with cinnamon bark, between a saffron top and a base of tar, smoke and tonka bean. Our profile of MysNyx describes this style.
Voice From The Sky, from the house of the same name, shows the most common balance. The aldehydes in the top notes, produced by synthesis, give a sparkling, slightly soapy effect. They open onto a natural heart of Omani frankincense and labdanum, then a base of oud, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli and amber, rounded off by a white musk.
How to choose without being led by the label
The word "natural" tells you where the materials come from. It says nothing about the quality of the fragrance or how well your skin tolerates it. A few pointers help.
- Very natural fragrances change more from one application to the next and from one skin to another. Some people enjoy that living quality, others prefer a stable scent.
- Natural citrus and green notes evaporate quickly. Natural woods, resins and oud, on the other hand, last a very long time.
- Abstract scents, whether marine, mineral or skin-like, almost always rely on synthetic molecules. If those styles appeal to you, the question of origin hardly arises.
- If your skin is reactive, the allergen list on the packaging is more useful than the share of natural ingredients.
The most reliable method is still to try the fragrance on your skin and judge it after several hours.
Frequently asked questions
Is a natural perfume better for your skin?
Not necessarily. Essential oils contain natural allergens such as limonene, linalool and eugenol, which EU law requires to be declared above a threshold. A sensitive person may tolerate a largely synthetic fragrance better than one very rich in essential oils.
Are synthetic fragrance molecules dangerous?
They are assessed one by one, just like natural materials. Some have been restricted or banned, such as Lilial in the European Union in 2022. Those that remain authorized are used within the limits set by regulation and by IFRA standards.
Why is lily of the valley always recreated?
Its flowers do not yield an extract in usable quantities. Perfumers therefore rebuild its scent from several molecules. The same applies to other so-called mute flowers, and to every smell that does not come from a plant.
How can you tell if a perfume is mostly natural?
The ingredient list does not reveal the formula: the fragrance appears under the word "parfum", followed by the allergens. Only the house can say how much natural material it uses, as Bortnikoff does with its 95 to 100%. Without that information, it is best not to assume anything.
Does a natural perfume last less long?
That depends on the materials, not their origin. A natural fragrance built on citrus fades quickly, while a natural fragrance rich in oud, sandalwood or resins can last all day. Concentration and skin play just as big a role.
To learn more about how a fragrance is composed and structured, our Understanding perfume page gathers all our articles on the subject. Every fragrance mentioned here comes in a 2 ml sample, listed on our samples page, so you can compare a very natural fragrance and one built on molecules on your own skin.