According to du Parcq, a perfumer of this calibre will never use “rubbish” ingredients. “That’s not a method in their creative process,” she says. “Instead, they’ll use beautiful, raw, natural ingredients, although probably in much smaller quantities. They’ll then support those with good quality biosynthetics, which are skin-safe, sustainable ingredients and have great lasting power.” As for biosynthetics, the cost per gram or milliliter is often much less than using raw natural ingredients, so this keeps the cost down, says du Parcq. Conversely, Amanda Carr, fragrance trend forecaster and cofounder of We Wear Perfume, says that niche brands tend to use more unusual ingredients, which can be expensive. (Emma cites orris butter, which she says can be even pricier than gold per kilogram.) “Niche fragrance is also often more intense, with eau de parfum frequently reaching 25% perfume oil concentration — sometimes even 30%,” says Carr. This makes the fragrance last much longer.
