Understanding the Limits of Fixatives and the True Nature of Natural/Botanical Perfumes

As makers of all-natural body care products, we often encounter confusion as to how long the fragrances are supposed to last. A prime example is our best-selling bay rum aftershave, which obtains its signature warm, brisk, spicy scent exclusively from organic herbs, spices, and aromatherapy-grade essential oils and usually lasts about 1 hour. Most commercial bay rums use artificial or "natural" fragrances to achieve a long-lasting scent that can linger for days but may also cause negative health effects. Our bay rum is formulated for sensitive individuals who appreciate the pure aromas of nature that, while more fleeting, offer an authentic scent and body/mind benefits beyond just smelling good. 

"The fact that natural perfumes differ from synthetic perfumes in their longevity and their sillage – the degree to which a perfume’s fragrance lingers and/or disperses in the air when worn – can be a disappointment and a determining factor to those new to perfumes made with botanical aromatic materials. While a botanical fixative will impart longevity and help extend the sillage of a natural perfume, in most cases it will not be as effective as a synthetic fixative. Maybe this difference is actually a good thing.

Perhaps what some consider as the ever-increasing aromatic assault of synthetic perfume ingredients on our collective noses has over time brought out a natural defense, or a numbing down of the nose as it becomes “used” to these new, manmade scent molecules such that primal, made-in-nature materials no longer appeal or seem weak or uninteresting. Natural/botanical perfumes offer an olfactory reprieve and, to many, the return to healthier, holistic aromatic pleasures wherein the importance of longevity and sillage is not so paramount as is a renewed and much needed appreciation of and reconnection with the beautiful intelligence of our natural world." - Eden Botanicals.com