The kooky connotations that surround natural scents are intense. Patchouli, a note heavily relied upon in eco-friendly fragrances, gets a bad ‘stoner’ rap, and whilst we’re all for making a scent choice that’s gentler on our skin and the environment, it seems a tall order to swap our signature Gucci for a scent that smells like grass (especially since it’d be a lotcheaper to roll in the real stuff than shell out cash for blades of it in bottle form).
But whilst natural naysayers may still associate botanical blends with chanting and top-to-toe tie dye, you can in fact make a healthier perfume choice without hitting ‘hippy’ territory.
In fact, with a crop of new natural perfumes that pull their scents from a range of decadent flowers, herbs, spices and essential oils, there’s actually a wide world of eco-friendly eau options that are green in nature without smelling green.
They also have stronger affinity with skin thanks to their natural formulas so once you find a splash that you love, it’ll last longer on skin (and in general, as a single spritz will do). These natural drops offer scent, safety and sustainability, so we’re giving them the literal green light.
LaVanila Laboratories The Healthy Fragrance Pure Vanilla
A creamy concoction that avoids sickly sweet territory in favour of seductive vibes, it teams tonka bean with madagascan vanilla to build out a botanical blend with serious staying power. It’s the grown-up vanilla spritz you’ve spent your life searching for, with the added bonus of its vegan status.
$85 at Nourishedlife.com.au
Recreation Bondi Beach Sun-Kissed EDP
This spritely splash is sunshine in scent form. Inspired by our very own Bondi Beach, it’s a citrus-sandalwood hybrid made with ethically-sourced ingredients and zero chemicals. The bottles are also made from 50% recycled plastic to ease your environmental conscience.
$109 at Recreationbeauty.com
Vanessa Megan MONARCH Pure Botanical Fragrance
Okay, this one does contain patchouli, but hear us out: it’s more hypnotic than hippy. A femme floral and musk mix, it unites a mix of five essential oils (lavender, ylang ylang, rose, geranium and yes, patchouli) to create a pure, plant-based perfume that still feels premium.
$29.95 at Nourishedlife.com.au
One Seed Dreamer EDP
A syrupy scent that gives off delectable gourmand vibes, this one smells good enough to eat (and with a 100% natural blend of ingredients, it almost is). Orange blossom is the opener, but it’s the tangerine and pink pepper mix it dries down to that seals the deal. Delicious.
$99 at Nourishedlife.com.au
Ime Natural Perfume Kleio Elegant
Earthy yet still elegant, this scent could easily be mistaken for a designer drop, and yet the ingredients are all natural. Featuring sweet florals sandwiched between spices and woods, it’ll become a staple in your scent-drobe, but try not to get too attached; slight variations may occur between bottles due to seasonal variations of the ingredients. Now that’s natural.
$85 at Floraandfauna.com.au
Aveda Chakra Balancing Mist Manipura
Bring your balanced energy off the yoga mat and into the real world with the Aveda Chakra Balancing Mist in the scent Manipura. Formulated with organic lemon and lavender, this fragrance makes a soothing addition to any meditation session or as a light and zesty daily scent.
“Chakra 3 notes are energizing and light…I love mixing them all together, applying to the area of the body corresponding to the chakras.” – Jessie 3
$50 at Aveda
In Essence Balance Essential Oil Mist
Infused with orange, jasmine and rose pure essential oils, the In Essence Balance Essential Oil Mist offers a refreshing fragrance while providing potential relief from mild anxiety, fatigue and menstrual cramps.
“This product has the most amazing scent and is my absolute fave for ‘the time of the month’ and the blend of the different scents is amazing and works so beautifully together.” – Littleboxofglam
$29.95 at In Essence
Jurlique Essence Of Rose Roll-On Fragrance Oil
Developed with organically grown rose gallica, Jurlique’s Rose Roll-On offers an uplifting, handbag-friendly and 100 per cent natural fragrance.
$28 at Adore Beauty
I don't wear perfume very often but these look beautiful , and probably smell as good as they sound. When it's time to buy a new perfume a natural one will be my choice.
Same here! I’m actually dipping my toes into making perfume!
Would love to try Vanessa Megan Monarch if I had to pick just one. They all sound lovely.
Haven't tried much natural perfumes must admit. But really would love to try them more often and continue to use them because of how great they can be for our health as well!
Recently finally had a chance to try new VM perfumes at the event. Monarch is divine!
Oooh! How was it Yo?
It's good to know the prices of these. Nourished Life is a great site that ONLY has/sells natural products – good to know
I love Nourished Life! The founder also started an alcohol free beverages site!
I've heard some great things about the LaVanilla range. I have seen it on Adore Beauty and Nourished Life. I like that they have the different versions of vanilla as it can get a bit bland at times.
Me either 🙂
can anybody recommend any good natural deodorants?
Check out Flora and Fauna or Nourished Life!
wow interesting selections
What a lovely change
These sound amazing
Love the idea of getting to more natural surely a healthier perfume choice. The choices seem to be more numerous of late thankfully as earlier versions like was commented and tended to smell like grass.
With the exception of Demeter’s ‘Cut Grass’, I’ve never had a perfume smell like grass!
There are some nice options suggested here, looking forward to checking a couple out.
These scents are all new to me.
Same here!
I wish I could afford them if I could I'd buy all of them.
I am really loving natural perfumes, especially essential oil blends. I didn't know minenssey had a natural perfume out.
I love the LaVanila fragrances.
I’d never heard of them!
These sound wonderful. Will have to try them out.
"The kooky connotations that surround natural scents are intense. Patchouli, a note heavily relied upon in eco-friendly fragrances, gets a bad ‘stoner’ rap" Sorry but have to disagree with the first line, I love Patchouli and use to wear it a lot when I was able to source a really nice one, they are all different. I now just use natural oils that I like and have just recently tried a solid natural perfume which I love.
I find I’m getting sensitive to standard perfumes, so will have to investigate these more natural fragrances
I want to try the vanilla perfume!
Love the LaVanila, One Seed & Ime lines! Le Labo is another great line to try 🙂
That’s happened to me!
One time, after I sprayed it and when out into the sun, I got a rash!
Where do you even get them from?
I love the scent of roses and gardenia.
I especially love gardenias.
Atm in love with synthetics since my perfume allergy is gone. But still use and love IME natural perfume (in purple)
I would wear them all. I do find I need to top natural perfumes up more. I.e. they don’t last as long on my skin.
I haven't tried (or heard of) any of these perfumes, despite belonging to numerous perfume junky Facebook pages. So now I can explore a whole new facet of perfumery. Thank you BH.
I'd love to try LaVanilla.
I love anything with a vanilla or citrus scent.
Me too Onlyoni.
So do I, Ellyloves.
Natio had the most wonderful natural perfume but it was a Limited Edition and has disappeared, never to be reproduced unfortunately. It was perfect.
Isn’t that always the way. You finally find something you love and it disappears. Happens to me all the time.
Monarch sounds lovely. Good price too.
I don't wear a lot of perfume, but I love playing around with my essential oils to create my own fragrances.
Hahaha – I actually wouldn't mind a perfume that smells like grass!! I love the smell when our neighbours mow their lawns.
I’ve been getting into making my own fragrances using essential oils, absolutes and resins. It’s a very fascinating area to explore!
I’d love to try some natural perfumes, as a lot of the chemical ones give me headaches at times. All of these sound lovely. Also, I love patchouli but not straight up! Mixed with rose and vanilla it’s amazing 🌹🌿😍
After new perfume, think I will try and test a few out especially interested in Vanessa Megan Monarch.
Not sure on these
I havent really tried any natural deodorants, but I am interested.