Synthetics do take a scent and “push” it, as you say, it's just we're taking a different tact, perhaps leaving the push to others, and delving deeper into the reworkings of the naturals. For instance, the tinctured sheerness and crispness of the jasmines and michaela alba I have produced cannot be found in mainstream perfumes (to my knowledge.) We just going in a different direction

Since natural perfumery is so new, and distribution of the perfumes so limited, I'm wondering really, how many have sampled them! The perfumers on the .com have a sample policy in place, and that is crucial. In the six months or so I've been visiting blogs and forums, I've only seen three major natural perfumers mentioned. We're just at the doorstep of trying to get publicity and distribution, so hopefully, you'll find that gorgeous natural soon.

Thanks for your wonderful comments and observations, and get your blog going again soon, I love it.

Oh, and the CB comparison re: rebellion against trite, harsh fumes was brilliant!

No doubt, naturals are the heart of the perfume lover's love. This is probably because the “naturals” we know—flowers, fruit, trees—are in themselves already perfumes. They're already complex, already blended, already engineered to tug at us (or maybe we're engineered to be so tugged). Synthetics can take ideas from naturals and push them further, into abstraction—add a snowy brightness or a comforting creaminess, or highlight the lemon in a rose, color a jasmine note pinker, or lend a blend a sparkle or hum that throws the whole thing into relief, the way a final splash of vinegar on a dish can make all the flavors come alive.

I know totally what you mean about the harsh loudness of fumes in the '80s and '90s. When I was a kid, I thought I hated perfume, but it turns out I just hated the ones everyone was wearing! Once I found out that not everything smells like Giorgio and Poison, life got better.

I'm allergic to a lot of weird things, so yes, many perfumes are stay-away for me. (I got huge red rashes with some scents, blinding knock-you-down headaches with certain florals, wheezing asthmatic attacks with other scents.) Which makes me a weird fume collector, for sure.

I guess I just haven't smelled any NPs because I'd heard so much about what they're made of and not much else. I hadn't heard anyone gush about an NP just for the smell of it, in other words. I would certainly be willing to try one with a reputation for gorgeousness. Gorgeousness trumps all.

BTW, I find it fascinating that the people making NPs and Chris Brosius of CB I Hate Perfume have such similar feelings about a certain type of mainstream perfume, but such dissimilar ways of approaching the problem!

Sorry about my late reply! You brought up a lot of questions, let's see if I can answer them, since I'm not an expert on some of them, but I have seen a lot (especially in my group) about them.

Your allergies. If you don't have problems with regular perfumes, no reason you would with naturals, since regular perfumes are just naturals with synthetics added Heck, the only stuff I'm allergic to are the *harsh* synthetics added to fumes starting in the 80s and 90s. Those have a tendency to feel like a sandblaster on the inside of my nose, causing me to sneeze, they can close up my throat, and cause other nasal congestion. Never got that from a natural!

Chinese companies. Agree. Might suspect of some of their stuff, but they do have a long history of being the only source for some concretes and absolutes, like aglaia flower/seed, yummy stuff. India also has a centuries-old adulteration rep, *especially* with Mysore sandalwood!

Mysore sandalwood is still produced, under government supervisition/licensing. I'm sure much is adulterated. Many now use sandalwoods from Australia and other places, and there are production and environmental issues there, too.

I've just started to source some from Vanuautu, and will report more on that later.

We are very skeptical, and have to challenge each supplier. We've formed co-ops, and when necessary, can spread the cost of a GC/MS amongst ourselves and get an independent lab to tell us what is real and what is tampered with. Even the most experienced noses can be fooled, and even Luca Turin GC's stuff! For him it's more about seeing what's in a blend, for us, it's all about the true nature of an oil or absolute.

I wish there were more questions! I'm no way the spokesperson for natural perfumery, I'm just pushing it

Luca has a red hot thread on his blog today, and it's a shame how I perceive (and I may be wrong) that many who love regular perfumes believe that we natural folks

1. Look down at the regular fumes, and those who wear them. Heck, NO. Most NPers have a good collection of regular fumes. We do not like the uber-harsh ones like I decribed, and turned to in response to them.

2. They believe that NPs are weak or naive fumes. I have sampled many, and they can be as well-made as the finest France has to offer. True, sillage and persistance may not be as pronounced as with regular fumes, but that is not a big deal to many.

Uh oh. Went on too much. Well, I hope I answered you question, and that you sample some of the NPs that are out there, they're absolutely beautiful.

Ah, I certainly got confused about the seeds and the synthetic! Of course, I'm allergic to lots and lots of natural substances (my hay fever is in high gear right now), so my own feeling about naturals vs. synthetics isn't black and white, especially since some beautiful naturals come from limited natural resources (like Mysore sandalwood). Anyway, there are probably tons of weird Chinese companies churning out vats of verboten stuff and releasing it into international markets under who knows what label. How do you know whether a source for a natural ingredient is telling you the truth or not?

One of the reasons I wonder is that everything claims to have Mysore sandalwood in it, but with the limitations on harvest, Mysore sandalwood is starting to seem like those countless fragments of the True Cross in reliquaries all over that seem to indicate that the crucifixion happened on a giant sequoia.

I know: questions, questions.

How silly was I? LOL

I still remember the day, in 92, I looked up from the Marlin Hotel bar area, about 6 in the afternoon, in that brightly-lit space, and saw Gianni Versace standing by the rail in the lobby looking down. I almost fainted, and, realizing the juvenile nature of my retail endeavor, I giggled, instead.

Second go: Tania, thanks for bringing up two great points, close to my heart.

1. The natural musk ambrette seeds are safe and wonderful, the synthetic musk ambrette chemical is the one that is prohibited. We natural perfumers use the natural ambrette absolute, attar, tincture, or infusion all the time. I adore it. I do not believe any perfume houses use the synthetic anymore, but the damage was done — it gave the good seeds a bad rep.

2. We do share ideas on doppelganger accords. Terry of Dragonfly makes an incredible lilac accord with readily-available materials. Not all share, of course, we're as proprietary in nature at times as the big houses, but there are lots of formulas in the group archives.

Also, we use lemon myrtle instead of the sensitizing lemon verbena and melissa, and so on….

R, have to say, that's why we're here — to make the fumes so you don't have to.

I don't know why, but creating my own has never really appealed to me. I'd rather someone else do all the work