, where our coffee is grown, or what we spray on our bodies, customers deserve transparency in origin and purity.’
Another influential voice in natural botanical perfumes is Vanessa York, of York Perfumery, whose first collection Fleurs du Mal launched in 2015. It attracted a loyal following for its sharp, bitter notes with sweet florals creating a beautiful discord. With literary references and a noir aesthetic, York is storytelling in scent – evidence, and an extension, of her former life as a children’s book editor.
York studied long-distance with the Natural Perfumery Institute in the US. ‘When I started, people still thought naturals were part of the hippie fringe,’ she recalls. ‘But people forget that many synthetics are copies of natural scents.’ Her fascination has made her a passionate teacher so, in addition to her collections and bespoke fragrances, she runs regular workshops raising the awareness of niche botanical perfumes, as well as the power of storytelling in scent.