The Four Families:

Our 20 perfumes are grouped into 4 boxes, each containing 5 scent samples from each family. 

Citrus and Chypre, Florals & Fruit-Florals, 

Gourmands and Fougère & Woody.

The Scent Families Explained

Interpretation

Perfumes are a perfumer’s interpretation of a flower, plant, mood etc, rather like an olfactory painting. The natural oil of a flower may form the central theme, but this is not always the case. Not every plant produces an extractable fragrance. Some release little or no scent, some lose their fragrance when cut, and others smell quite different - sometimes even unpleasant - once their aromatic compounds have been extracted.

Flowers that do not yield an extractable fragrant oil are known as mute flowers. Lily, lily of the valley, magnolia, sweet pea and freesia are among the best-known examples. In these cases, perfumers rely on analytical techniques such as gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), which identifies the individual volatile compounds responsible for the fragrance. Using this information, it is possible to recreate an impression of it by blending the same or similar aromatic materials. For this reason, it is very unlikely that you will find a perfume composed solely of natural oils from a mute flower.
Even when a flower does produce a beautiful natural oil, an exact copy of its scent would not necessarily make the most satisfying perfume. The fragrance may be short-lived or lack development because many of its aromatic molecules evaporate at similar rates, causing the scent to appear all at once before fading quickly.

Most perfumers build a fragrance in layers. The most volatile ingredients form the top notes, creating the first impression. As these evaporate, the heart notes emerge, giving the perfume its character, before the longer-lasting base notes provide depth and persistence. Additional materials are often added to recreate the texture and surrounding impression of a flower, rather than simply reproducing its aroma.

Not every heart or base note stay hidden until the top notes have done their thing. You will gradually start to detect more of the heavier molecules as the oils warm on your skin.

Evaporation is a complicated part of perfumery.
A single essential oil may contain hundreds of naturally occurring compounds, yet on its own it will still seem relatively one-dimensional if worn as a perfume. The perfumer’s skill lies in transforming that natural material into a multi-dimensional fragrance with complexity, movement and lasting interest.

The florals are the most popular perfume type, incorporating a wide palate, including fruit-floral. Some perfumes capture just one flower, from spritz to dry-down, like Freesia. These are the soliflore. More commonly, one flower is prominent, with complementary companion flowers:  1651 Boscobel Rose  is typical. A whole bouquet can open in a flower-extravaganza, or deep, complex flowers may gradually unfold. The fruit/florals tend to have either a strong fruit accord alongside the floral, or a citrus opening.The Floral Family

The Chypre & Citrus Family Box:  

• The Fruit Mix

This group all have has a distinctly fruity element and tend to evoke freshness and vibrancy. Aroma Borealis, contains citrus, sweet peach and succulent nectarine. Dhoon Glen  has a central vein of wild strawberries. For a fresh citrus TT  has a wide variety of fruit: yuzu, lime, grapefruit and lemon are softened by herbs and sweetened by floral notes. Honeysuckle is a soliflore, which closely matches the freshly picked honeysuckle flower: a warm orange citrus with warm floral aspects. Little Fig Tree is cleaner and greener than typical synthetic fig fragrances. The opening is green, not sweet, the heart notes contain the ripening fig, with a sweet, woody dry-down. 

The Gourmand Family Box

• The Luxurious Gourmands.

 This family evokes the sensations of warmth and pleasure associated with eating or drinking. Typically they have bright or fresh top notes, to balance the sweeter or heavier heart and base notes. Gourmands are often rich, luxurious and even decadent, but can also surprise, Ballure Allure, Under The Blue Moon, The Elder Is Also A Tree, Godred, Sheeanhas a long citrus accord before any of the berries and nuts are detectable.

Wood & Fougère family Box

 Why what you smell may not be what I smell

Gender in Perfumes and Perfume Types

When Natural means Natural.

What goes into perfume is often kept secret, for several reason, the worst is to make it difficult to discover what is in your bottle. Finding the term ‘natural’ in the description, can simply mean that the perfumer has decided the end result smell natural! The industry is improving and putting more pressure on manufacturers to be honest about how they work and what they use. If they buy in ready made accords and perfumes, to combine themselves, (like soap or candle-makers) this should be clear, and so far, it isn’t, unless the brand choose to be transparent.

The perfumery terms: Natural, Niche and Artisan Perfumers tend to refer to methods of productions - small, usually independent perfumers who have been trained to work with oils, resins, absolutes, concretes and extract from nature. Their palate often includes “nature identicals”(NI) these are compounds found in flowers and plants and can also be man-made. Most non-perfumers would notice little difference between them and naturally derived NIs can be twice the price or more, so we need a good reason to use them. We choose then as they usually last longer, they can have a better synergistic effect on other materials and often simply smell more like the natural compound. We use lab-made versions if the naturally occurring chemical comes from a plant that is either endangered or the extraction is undesirable for the ecosystem or the people working with them. Nature Identicals are not the same as aroma chemicals!

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Samples

If you’d like to try before choosing, our 5 Scent boxes contain samples of each of our 20 perfumes, so you can try before committing to a full bottle. 

Please click the link for: Perfume Concentration

Animal Testing: We have never worked with suppliers based in countries where testing on animals is legal. We are vehemently against any cruelty to animals and have lobbied for a ban in the past. It is now illegal to test on animals in most countries - in the UK and USA all perfumes are 'cruelty free' - it is not a choice, it is a legal requirement. There is no need to add this to a labe!

However, manufacturing sustainably is still a choice. We have always chosen to do it this way. We leave the lightest footprint we can and examine our practice and process regularly. First and foremost is the quality of our products and how to produce them using sustainable crops.