The Natural Perfume Path: Why I Started Making Fragrances
How Natural Perfumes Changed My Life
Have you ever felt like you’re just going through the motions? That was me in 2015, before I started making natural perfumes. It was a few years after I had returned from life-changing travels in South America. I felt trapped in a spirit-sucking job. How did I end up here? This was not what I envisioned for my life.
I needed a change. Perhaps a creative outlet would help get my juices flowing again, help me to reconnect with my intuition…
Ever been mesmerized by someone’s scent?
While working at this draining job and trying to figure out how to shift my life in another direction, I encountered someone whose scent was captivating. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted my own signature scent, something people would remember me by. I tried a few different commercial perfumes, but I found that they gave me headaches. I read about the synthetic ingredients used in many popular fragrances and decided to see if natural perfumes worked better for me. I had some essential oils on hand and began to experiment with combining them. I started with simple combinations- jasmine and sweet orange, vetiver and cinnamon. The results were promising and I found myself wanting to learn more about creating my own perfumes.
I made a New Year’s resolution to dedicate myself to a creative hobby and chose to pursue natural perfume making.
Natural perfume is deep!
At first, I honestly felt a little embarrassed about my obsession with finding the perfect scent. It seemed superficial, frivolous even, compared to the other substantial matters I cared about. But, everything changed when I stumbled upon “Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume” by Mandy Aftel.
This book was a revelation, validating my interest in perfumery and opening my eyes to its depth and complexity. Perfumery, I learned, is simultaneously craft, science, poetry, and magic—a practice with roots that stretch back to the dawn of humanity. I devoured every page, soaking in the history, physiology, beauty, and alchemy of scent.
Intuition guides the way…
I began to construct perfumes. Intuition & experimentation formed the foundations of my early practice of natural perfumery. I applied the structures that I learned from “Essence and Alchemy”, and continued to research and study formal and informal sources. However, it was critical to me that I find and develop my own “voice” through this work. This included listening- to myself, to the plants, to the natural cycles around me. I found that my creative energy was strongest during Full Moons. I began to notice the nuanced scents of each season. I began to associate particular scents with particular energies.
As I listened and wove scents together and transformed individual plant essences into complex compositions with their own archetypical essences, I found that I was also transformed.
Scent as medicine
For me, sharing Elspeth’s Airs perfumes isn’t just a business—it’s about the transformative power of plants and scent. It’s about reconnecting with our bodies, our senses, the earth, and our own inner wisdom and power.
The first time that I wore one of my creations in public and witnessed what the scent stirred up in other people, I knew that my perfumes weren’t just for me.
Since then, so many customers have told me how my perfumes make them feel, how the energies and intentions of the scents resonate with what they’re currently working on, how they help them to feel present and centered, how they use them to tap into the cycles of nature, and so much more.
Ready to embark on this fragrant journey with me? Shop our natural perfumes now or sign up for my newsletter to stay connected and be the first to know about new releases, behind-the-scenes peeks, and exclusive offers by signing up for my newsletter (below). Don’t miss out on the scent-sational adventures ahead!