Beauty editors are lucky enough to try a lot of fragrances, testing new launches before they hit the market. But when it comes to ingredients, I personally don’t have a preference for natural, synthetic, or fragrances that use a mix of the two—but I have tried some gorgeous natural perfumes in my time and have a few gems in my collection.
Without doing a total deep dive and getting into the sometimes contentious claims, there are benefits to both natural and synthetic ingredients and, at the risk of being reductive, there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ examples of both. Some of the very best floral perfumes, for example, will rely on a combination of ingredients from naturally-grown flowers and synthetic fragrance molecules to achieve the desired result. What’s more, terms like ‘natural’ and, in particular, ‘clean’ perfumes don’t have set definitions in the beauty industry and, as a result, mean different things to different people.
So, for the avoidance of doubt, the perfumes featured here in this guide are those that use natural ingredients in their formulations—some more than others—and smell incredible (often with some great sustainability credentials to boot). Trust me that these six scents are worth your attention.
The best natural perfumes, according to a beauty editor
1. Sana Jardin Celestial Patchouli
(Image credit: Sana Jardin)
Alongside some synthetics, Sana Jardin utilises natural ingredients and takes steps to ensure the by-product of their floral harvests don’t go to waste. The women who pick the flowers use these to create and sell their own products, such as scented candles. Celestial Patchouli is such a beautiful, complex fragrance with sandalwood. Spicy and woody, it’s got a lot of depth and, in my experience, lingers on the skin long after you’ve first spritzed. The brand does great rollerball perfumes, too—I took one on a summer holiday and so this fragrance will always remind me of that warm feeling associated with not being in the UK.
2. Bastille Pleine Lune
(Image credit: Bastille)
Bastille is another brand that prioritises natural, sustainable and ethical ingredients and has some beautiful fragrances in its roster. Pleine Lune is one of my favourites. Centred around tuberose, it’s clean, fresh and ever-so-slightly powdery. I’m a little bit obsessed—and that’s as someone for whom floral frances aren’t the go-to. I’ve only ever worn it alone but can imagine it would layer really well with other fragrances, too.
3. SUN.DAY Afar
(Image credit: SUN.DAY)
If you like niche perfumes, this brand will be right up your street. Based in Hackney, SUN.DAY uses purely natural ingredients in its fragrance products. With a collection of handmade scented candles, Afar is actually the brand’s first foray into perfume. As an Extrait de Parfum, it’s highly concentrated and packs an intensely warm, spicy punch, opening with a hit of smoky cardamon and wearing through to the fragrant woods. If you want something unique, commanding and attention grabbing, you’ll get on well with this.
4. Ellis Brooklyn Salt
(Image credit: Ellis Brooklyn)
I love the musky, slightly fresh vibe of this fragrance from Ellis Brooklyn—whose ethos is “clean ingredients, sustainable sourcing, unforgettable scents”—and have previously written about it in Fashion’s Digest’s guide to the best marine perfumes. With these uplifting, outdoorsy, sunny qualities, you can tell that it’s inspired by walks along the beach. For me, there’s something nostalgic about it.
5. Hermetica Jade888
(Image credit: Hermetica)
Hermetica’s fragrances are interesting because they are alcohol-free and water-based, designed to moisturise the skin as well as scenting it. Jade888 is one of my favourites—it’s so crisp and clean, like the fragrance world’s answer to a fresh dew drop. Despite featuring notes of pear, lile of the valley and iris, it isn’t largely fruity or floral, just clean, well-rounded and ever-so-slightly sweet.
6. Perfumer H Rain Wood
(Image credit: Perfumer H)
Founded by Lyn Harris—a perfumery icon and the only classically trained female nose in the UK—formulated with synthetic ingredients, many natural ingredients take centre stage in Perfumer H’s fragrances. If you’ve read any of my other perfume features, you probably know that I love woody perfumes and am generally drawn to them more than any other olfactory family. To that end, Rain Wood is right up my street. Juniper, cedar wood and patchouli are married with pepper, myrrh and galbanum for a scent reminiscent of a moody, rainy walk through a damp forest.