When talking about your beauty regime, what fragrance you’re wearing at any given time comes up almost immediately.
Aussies are obsessed with having a “signature scent” and choosing a particular bottle for a very special time in their life — like a wedding — to ensure memories are correlated with that familiar aroma.
But have you ever stopped to think about what’s actually in those fragrances aside from the more obvious notes of “rose” and “sandalwood” that might adorn the bottle?
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Or about what it actually means when most of our skincare and makeup products list “fragrance” in the ingredients?
This was a question Nigel and his wife Yukari Chinnock attempted to answer one evening in their bathroom, reading the back of a deodorant can and shampoo bottle before using them.
To their dismay, both products only list scents as “fragrance”, a word that doesn’t even begin to describe the hundreds of harmful chemicals that might be inside.
“Like most new parents we were eliminating toxins from our life,” Nigel said.
“We got rid of single-use plastics, processed food, chemical cleaning products and then, after using deodorant and shampoo near our baby, I thought, ‘Wait, what’s in this?’
“I started Googling and it just unravelled from there. I couldn’t believe how much the fragrance industry was allowed to hide.”
While the brands you love might list some of the ingredients on their labels, more harmful ones can be hidden behind the loophole term “fragrance”, or not shown at all if deemed their secret IP.
This is actually approved by regulatory bodies, giving brands the ability to disguise dangerous chemicals from consumers.
Typically, a conventional perfume formula may include 20-200 different fragrant materials that make up the aroma, plus the base ingredient and any other additives (such as UV filters and colours).
The ingredient list can include original lab-created molecules that don’t exist in nature, or nature-identical molecules (using the same chemical formula or atomic structure as the natural extract).
In natural fragrances, the ingredient list is simple: a combination of natural extracts for scent, plant oil or water as the base, a natural antioxidant to maintain shelf life and occasionally vegetable glycerine.
Nigel and Yukari’s brand VESCENSE has created 100 per cent natural, water-based fragrances formulated from plants and essential oils that not only smell great but also provide health benefits while you use them.
Designed to be functional and layered to your desired mood or outcome including increased energy, grounding and calm, they are free from alcohol, synthetic ingredients and harsh chemicals.
“It’s estimated that 80-90 per cent of commercial perfumes hide their ingredients,” Nigel said.
“It’s shocking and scary that the fragrance industry does not have the same regulations and labelling rules to follow as supplements.
“Think about how many fragrances you have used in your lifetime, and where you have applied them on your skin?
“You have no way of knowing what has been absorbed by your body or the long term affects of those undisclosed ingredients.”
VESCENSE fragrances are crafted in Byron Bay by Prashanti Lyree, a Certified Clinical Aromatherapist and Green Cosmetic Chemist.
The 100ml water-based mists are available in four fragrance profiles: Earth, Air, Fire and Water, that can be layered and mixed to create a unique scent for the wearer.
Ingredients are sourced from ethical growers in France, Western Australia, Indonesia, India, Somalia, Brazil, Montenegro, Indonesia and Reunion Island, and the brand offers full transparency over its supply chain.
The mists are packaged in premium, sustainable packaging to have the lowest environmental impact while maintaining product quality.
To shop the $149 bottles of perfume, head to the VESCENSE website here.
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