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Natural Perfumery

Why create natural perfumes, and what is the difference between natural and synthetic fragrances?

The value and awareness of natural products has grown substantially over the past 10 years. Most people now use a variety of natural products in their household ranging from natural cleaning products to natural personal care products. Most of us can attest to the fact that the offering of natural shampoos, lotions and soaps is extensive. One area where there appeared to be a void was in natural perfumery.

In 2007 Auric Blends developed a collection of four natural perfumes. We created Auric Blends Naturals out of a desire to transcend contemporary and traditional perfumery and to offer our customers something new and exciting to add to their fragrance libraries.

Our collection of natural perfumes contains 4 fragrances. Compared to our traditional line of 40, this is a very small collection. It is much more difficult to create compelling and beautiful fragrances using natural ingredients because the available fragrances are much more limited as compared to synthetic ingredients.

Natural perfumery makes use of natural oils for the carrier, such as jojoba and vitamin e, and uses fragrance components made of essential oils and other natural compounds. They contain essences of fruits, flowers, roots, leaves and resins of plants from around the world.

Synthetic fragrances make up almost 100% of the fragrance industry. Synthetic fragrances are those made by human beings and usually replicate an aroma found in nature.

One advantage to working with synthetic fragrances is the size of the fragrance library. Where natural perfumery is limited in its ingredient capabilities, there is virtually no limit to what can be created in synthetic form. Aldehydes, ingredients that give sparkle and brightness to many perfumes, are a synthetic creation. Musks, one of the most popular fragrance categories, are also synthetic creations.

Without synthetic components, the fragrance industry would not exist as it does today, offering such a wide range of fragrance notes and popular perfume blends.

It is important to know that all synthetic ingredients go through rigorous testing to certify their safety for use on the skin. Also, natural ingredients such as essential oils can pose a risk to the user if they are not used in the proper concentrations. Therefore, safety is always a primary concern when creating perfumes-whether made of natural or synthetic ingredients.