new to frag: anything "natural" ?

[rebos]

salut,

As it is, I am not a fragrance wearer. I don't even use a scented AS. I use unscented Witch Hazel. But
I'm looking to change all that, yet still keep things very simple with a nice subtle frag that doesn't contain
a ton of synthetic ingredients.

I am in the market for a subtle fragrance. Its imperative that it be "natural". As to the semantics of "natural",
I'll leave that vague. . .

Is there such a thing as a natural cologne/frag? Where could I shop for such a thing if, indeed it exists.

i like vetiver, woodsy, and citrusy scents. Something dignified, but more-so "light", "unobtrusive", and "relaxed" -
these are probably terribly ambiguous descriptive terms but maybe they bring something to mind?

Any direction here would be most helpful.

Thanks sincerely.

[i should mention that I'm a student and would hate to cause weird allergic reactions in my pupils or command an over-powering
scent that would surely annoy many] [hence the need for something subtle] [we sit very close to one another for long periods of
time] --

[Indaco]

Synthetics tend to be the norm in what you'll find easily, due to price and IFRA regulations. It sounds like you're really looking for something subtle. Le Labo's Gaiac 10 might fit the bill for a subtle woody scent, but it's very expensive. Kenzo's Once Upon a Time Pour Homme is a good fresh/woody scent. Chanel Sycomore is an earthy, woody vetiver, but it's not inexpensive (Encre Noire is a cheaper alternative, but it's far louder and more synthetic, due to large amounts of Iso E Super, but it might still worth be trying if you don't over-apply). For a more citrusy, greener vetiver, Guerlain's vetiver is the standard, and Tom Ford's Grey Vetiver seems to have a lot of fans.

[chili_willi]

L'Occitane Vetyver. Niche quality, good value.

[Lamb Root]

I've red somewhere that Parfumerie Generale makes some scents that are all 'natural' but they advertise them over here as 'completely biological'. Gendarme is supposed to be 'natural' too.

'biological'

[maxman]

The only organic/natural product that I know of is "April Aromatics".
Look them up. they are in Germany? I'm not sure.
Expensive and I dont think anyone here has tried them.

[rickboone1]

There's a handful of natural fragrance makers. From what I hear the scents don't last very long. I'm not certain...

There's always Oud oils.

[rearviewmirror]

You sir are looking for Gendarme. It was created exactly for the reasons you stated

[rebos]

this is all extremely helpful - I'll begin by researching all of these scents. Sounds like my needs run on the expensive side.

i'll have to keep the other ADs to a minimum. I begin research on the following:

Le Labo's Gaiac 10
Kenzo's Once Upon a Time Pour Homme
Chanel Sycomore
Encre Noire
Guerlain's vetiver
Tom Ford's Grey Vetiver
L'Occitane Vetyver
Parfumerie Generale – pour la biologique fragrances
Gendarme – pour la biologique fragrances
"April Aromatics"
Oud oils. –which I think will be astronomically out of my $$ range

it sounds as if Gendarme might be a good place to start. Thank you for the help gentleman.

[DukeGrad]

Gentlemen

There are a lot of synthetics being mentioned here.
Chanel, Guerlain and most designers use synthetics as well.

I do like L Occitane lavender though.
Some naturals I use Lorenzo Villoressi Uomo, Sant Maria Novella is another.Serge Lulens.
I like these as far as longevity.
Last about 5 plus hours.
Dont get me wrong, a lot that has been mentioned above are nice.

Natural is a wonderful thing to search.
I recommend going to BaseNotes and search there.
Also, a nice online place to buy is Aedes.
They carry L Artisan Parfumer and a whole slew of nice mens colognes, a little cheaper.Also Santa Maria Novella. Lorenzo Villoressis and Santa Maria Novella are in Florence. Both have great scents. Also search LAFCO online, has these 2.

Than else where.
Again, there is a difference in the natural.
Synthetics are very, very good though.
Good Luck, an expensive journey for you!
Nice day my friend

Jimmy

[DukeGrad]

My friend

As an addendum, many of the British colognes use synthetics as well.
Geo F Trumper, Trufitt and Hill.
Floris is one that does naturals in their colognes.
Again, you can search all of them at Base Notes, and get some good insight.
The difference in pricing. Trufitt and Hill, Geo Trumper run 70ish for a 50 ml bottle.
Santa Maria Novella runs about 120 and up.
Viloressi about 120 and up.
L Artisan Parfumer about 130ish and up.
Costly!

Good Luck
Jimmy

[StylinLA]

It kind of depends on what you mean by "natural." I think very few of the scents listed contain all natural ingreds.

But I would say Gendrame is a good place to start. The owner/creator has many fragrance allergies and designed it to be less offensive. It is not hypo-allergenic. But it is a pleasant, clean and soapy scent that works well in the kind of situations you reference. Not sure why, but I have always found classroom settings tend to magnify fragrances a lot more than many others.

I believe to find a true "natural" ingredients scent you'd have to dig into some mom and pop type stores with little or no web presence. Topic comes up periodically, and I don't ever recall seeing any name fragrance popping up.

Oud oils are natural, but inordinately pricey. Also, they are quite unusual smelling to someone just starting with scents. Def an acquired taste like scotch. IMO, would very dicey to wear oud in a classroom.

[rebos]

costly indeed -- especially given that one would need samples in the first place in order to see what they like best. just ordering samples alone must add up quickly.

I suspect a lot of these fragrances aren't all available in the standard department store. I'm discovering quite a new world here. I think I'll remain somewhat open
to synthetics for the time being, but with the definite aim of working toward sole use of natural fragrances, when $$$ allows it.

I must steer clear of loud scents though. That is a must. I presumed that natural fragrances would be a bit "softer" --a bit more subtle. I'll need to get some testers stat.

[rebos]

It kind of depends on what you mean by "natural." I think very few of the scents listed contain all natural ingreds.

Not sure why, but I have always found classroom settings tend to magnify scent's a lot more than many others.

By "natural" I mainly mean that I would be more inclined to wear essential oils, and plant and mineral derived scents, with a very minimal ingredients list. even if it
is slightly "hippie" --I'm not opposed to that. For environmental, and skin/eye sensitivity-related reasons, I try to stick with these sorts of products. But i am not wholly adverse to trying synthetics for the sake of learning etc.

As far as the classroom magnification of scents, I agree completely. Hence my need to keep things subtle.

[DukeGrad]

My friend

I understand now. And if wanting to shy from aggressive colognes.
Look at simple, Rose is an old, mens fragrance.
Lavander/Violet.
You can seek these at a cheaper cost.And all natural oils.
Natural BTW, is pure oils from the florwers.
Good Luck
Nice day
Jimmy

[StylinLA]

By "natural" I mainly mean that I would be more inclined to wear essential oils, and plant and mineral derived scents, with a very minimal ingredients list. even if it
is slightly "hippie" --I'm not opposed to that. For environmental, and skin/eye sensitivity-related reasons, I try to stick with these sorts of products. But i am not wholly adverse to trying synthetics for the sake of learning etc.

As far as the classroom magnification of scents, I agree completely. Hence my need to keep things subtle.

Got it, as I said, of the scents suggested here, I believe very few are literally natural. If truly natural is your goal, you'll have to dig a bit. Basenotes has many threads about this I'm sure.

Creed had long claimed "natural" as a part of their spiel to sell high end scents. I believe there was likely a high degree of truth to that in some of their older men's scents, but these days the cost of natural perfume materials is sky high, IFRA has banned use of many (oakmoss e.g.), and synthetics keep improving.

But if you're open, and sample a bit, you will likely find a frag that works for you.

[rebos]

wonderful advice - it appears that the suggested "april aromatics" above is mainly "natural" in the way that I am needing it to be, ie. it consists of scents derived from plants.

i'm going to continue digging and will be sure to report back. why has the IFRA banned the use of some natural materials? Are perfumeries depleting certain natural
forms?

[StylinLA]

wonderful advice - it appears that the suggested "april aromatics" above is mainly "natural" in the way that I am needing it to be, ie. it consists of scents derived from plants.

i'm going to continue digging and will be sure to report back. why has the IFRA banned the use of some natural materials? Are perfumeries depleting certain natural
forms?

They found some of them to be allergenic, like oakmoss. I think too there is a degree of the depletion of natural resources as well. But I think it's primarily health risk/allergy stuff. Perfume heads feel they are being over cautious, by banning many materials that are pretty low risk.

Most of the shift away from natural ingredients is based more on economics. Ambergris was long a staple of perfumery. It is inordinately expensive and technology has come up with synthetics that can accomplish the same thing at a fraction of the cost.

One of the reasons many natural perfumers are small operations is they can have very low overhead as compared to a big corporation. The markup on fragrances is astronomical. Mom and pop may be able to put $10 worth of materials in a cheap bottle and sell it for $50-$60. The cost of the juice for big perfumers is probably around $2. You're paying for their artistry, Packaging, marketing, shipping, production, mangement, etc, etc.

[victorydog]

Gendarme also has a edition with an added Vetiver note called Gendarme V. I have yet to try it but I've seen it available on Amazon and Ebay. Subtle and woody, it might fit the bill.

It kind of depends on what you mean by "natural." I think very few of the scents listed contain all natural ingreds.

But I would say Gendrame is a good place to start. The owner/creator has many fragrance allergies and designed it to be less offensive. It is not hypo-allergenic. But it is a pleasant, clean and soapy scent that works well in the kind of situations you reference. Not sure why, but I have always found classroom settings tend to magnify fragrances a lot more than many others.

I believe to find a true "natural" ingredients scent you'd have to dig into some mom and pop type stores with little or no web presence. Topic comes up periodically, and I don't ever recall seeing any name fragrance popping up.

Oud oils are natural, but inordinately pricey. Also, they are quite unusual smelling to someone just starting with scents. Def an acquired taste like scotch. IMO, would very dicey to wear oud in a classroom.

[michiganlover]

Burt's Bees had an all natural men's cologne (since discontinued) that was made from essential oils. Primarily citrus essential oils. I didn't personally think it smelled that great (but you may like it), and it's longevity was quite short (probably around 30 minutes).

Still it does fit your definition, and being discontinued it might be able to be found for very little coin.

[BillC]

There's also Herban Cowboy which I've seen for sale in Whole Foods but never tried. It claims to be "organic cologne"

One I like that I'll recommend is Alt-Innsbruk, very natural smelling tobacco flower fragance