Some are in search of less artificial scents, without synthetic or alcohol-free molecules. When you are pregnant, affected by an illness or can not stand anything, it can reassure you to be able to control what you apply to your skin.

They therefore turn to brands offering perfumes made from natural or organic ingredients.

But realizing these fragrances is a feat because the ranges of notes are reduced, the natural raw materials are more expensive than those of synthesis, and the wakes generally less powerful but pleasantly singular.

How is an organic perfume made?

With synthetic ingredients - exit preservatives, mineral oils, parabens, phthalates and fixing agents - they are made from a base of organic alcohol obtained by fermentation of wheat.

The essences and essential oils they contain are derived from plants by the least denaturing extraction methods possible: cold pressure for citrus, water vapor for lavender, extraction with supercritical CO2 for vanilla.

"In traditional perfumery, the nose has an organ of nearly 5,000 notes reduced to only 500 for natural perfumery," explains Christian David, founder of the Honoré des Prés brand. Some, which only exist in synthetic ingredients, are therefore difficult to reproduce.

It is all the art of the perfumer.

The alternative: bypass them. The natural tends towards a different olfactory bias because organic followers want less powerful perfumes.

"Developing a perfume is much more compelling than creating a cream," explains Marc Follmer, pharmacist and general manager of Weleda. "The origin of the raw materials is crucial and we must ensure that the quantity of essential oils will be sufficient, with the quality you want, to create a fragrance "

Noble materials and certified labels

The natural raw materials used are sometimes ten times more expensive than those of synthesis. The material must be specific to the organic production and the place validated by a label.

Some brands, such as Honoré des Prés, have labeled the different stages of olfactory creation: their elaborations of Ecocert certified concentrates are then revalidated by the organism after natural maceration. Or Weleda, whose Natrue label ensures that plants are grown without pesticides.

Pay attention to wisdom

Even framed by the International Fragrance Association (INFRA), which determines the volume of ingredients, which says natural or organic fragrances does not exclude the risks of allergy: "For example, an essential oil of bergamot contains bergaptens - sensitizers - when a traditional perfume has been released from these substances by a chemical process, "explains Serge Majoullier, perfumer at Mane.

On the other hand, chemical compositions contain ingredients such as phthalates, which are accused of being endocrine disruptors.