A few weeks ago I started writing an article on perfume ingredients, mainly about animal products and plants which are becoming extinct but are highly valued in modern perfumery in spite of many environmental and ethical complications. I was lucky to interview one of the owners of Hermitage Oils, Eleonora Scalseggi, a well-known supplier of natural materials which has been operating for many decades.

Perfumery may seem benign, but ingredients derived from plants and animals can come with serious environmental and ethical toll. Perfumery might seem like a fairly benign business. It’s about personal scent more than anything else. But as one of the largest global luxury industries, perfume-making can have a significant impact on certain plants and animals valued for their rare scent profiles.

It is very trendy these days to stand out with your ethical views and highly sustainable products on the market as a manufacturer, but as a consumer you probably have no idea how difficult it is to maintain the level and especially start the whole idea behind a brand. Read more about my ethos, inspiration, story and other random thoughts about botanical perfumes, rituals and slow living.

I have heard and read so many myths about natural and botanical (vegan) perfumes that I thought it is time to choose the most interesting ones and bust them. If you know any myths about natural perfumes, I would love to hear them. I will do my best to update the list.