What are natural perfumes?
Natural perfumes are created from costly and rare botanical aromatics, essential oils, and absolutes. Organic ingredients are sourced whenever possible. Perfumera Curandera products do not contain: synthetics, fragrance oils, dyes, parabens, phthalates or chemical fragrances. Our fragrance materials are 100% pure and natural.
What is the difference between a natural perfume and a commercial perfume?
Mass produced perfumes include synthetic aroma chemicals. When these perfumes list notes of rose or sandalwood for example, they contain very little or NO actual rose or sandalwood. They contain notes created from synthetic aroma compounds, often from petrochemicals which can include phthalates SLS, SLES, PEGS, glycols, petrochemicals, dyes, parabens, chemical fixatives and fillers.
Why are natural perfumes so expensive?
Our perfumes are labor intensive, created by hand in small batches by us, rather than mass produced in factories. Every aspect from creating, formulating, blending, filtering, aging, bottling, labelling, to shipping is done by hand. In addition, the materials used to create our perfumes are very costly. We have several essences distilled exclusively for us in the Amazon in small batches and this is very expensive.
The raw materials used in natural perfumes are some of the most expensive and luxurious essences available, and large amounts of material are required to extract a small amount of essence. For example, 100 kg of orange blossoms yield just 100 grams of neroli oil! In addition, raw materials can be difficult to procure, and prices fluctuate based on growth and harvest conditions which affect availability. We spend most of our budget on creating and obtaining these incredible essences.
What ingredients are used in Perfumera Curandera perfumes?
Our healing perfumes are lovingly created from the finest organic, wildcrafted and sustainably harvested essential oils and rare botanicals in a base of certified organic grain and grape alcohols or oil. They do not contain synthetic or petrochemical ingredients. We spend much of our time creating, researching and sourcing the finest aromatics and ingredients. We work closely with an ethnobotanist in Peru who distills many rare and exotic botanicals from the jungles and mountains of Peru creating essences which are exclusive to Perfumera Curandera. Our perfumes also contain handcrafted tinctures of seeds, roots, flowers and barks gathered by hand and lovingly created by Leanne. Our products are free from parabens, SLS, SLES, PEGS, glycols, petrochemicals, synthetic colors and fragrances. All our fragrance materials are 100 percent pure and natural.
Are the perfumes certified organic?
The carrier alcohol and the carrier oils for our perfumes is certified organic. The botanical aromatics we use are almost exclusively organic or sustainably wildcrafted and/or small yield grown as much as possible. We choose our natural essences based on aroma. Our line is made with approximately 96% certified organic ingredients.
Why are there sometimes subtle differences in color and scent from batch to batch?
Our perfumes are created by hand in small batches and each batch may contain subtle differences and nuances in the fragrance profile. A natural perfume can be compared to wine in that the raw materials in each batch will be affected by a variety of conditions from growth to harvest to extraction. A rose grown in India will have a different profile than a rose grown in Bulgaria or Russia or Turkey. Different harvests of the same essential oils produce variations of scent from year to year according to the unique soil conditions and climates.
Do natural perfumes last as long on the skin as synthetic perfumes?
The sillage of a perfume, that is the degree to which a perfume's fragrance lingers in the air when worn, depends on the accords that create the perfume. A base note heavy perfume will last longer than a heart and top note-based scent.
Truly natural perfumes do not contain artificial fixatives or ingredients and propellants which give mainstream perfumes an unnaturally long life on the skin. Any perfume that lasts all day most likely contains synthetics. Natural perfumes last for a few hours depending on skin chemistry and need to be reapplied at the wearer's discretion. The perfumes do not radiate the same way a synthetic blend will. They will lay closer to the skin of the individual and be more discreet than commercial perfumes.
Our oil-based perfumes last tend to considerably longer on drier skin than the alcohol-based perfumes.
Moisturising with a non-scented oil or lotion before applying perfume can help the scent last longer
Reanointing and layering during the day offers a moment to reconnect and renew. Our perfumes are best experienced by applying directly to the skin. They can be experienced individually but also work wonderfully layered together.
How long will it take to receive my order?
We strive to ship orders as soon as we can, usually within a few days of the order. Special orders may take 6 to 12 weeks depending on availability of raw materials.
Do you offer samples?
As we move into the 2020 holiday season, we are not offering the tiny samples for sale, as we simply do not have the capacity to fill, label, bottle, and ship those as well as all our regular orders.That said we usually try to include sample vials with your order if available.
We are offering a trio of three mini roll-ons for $90.00 which is $15.00 less than buying 3 single minis.
The ideal way to try our perfumes, these mini discovery sets help you to get to know each scent before committing to the bigger 5 or 15 ml size bottles.
We are not able to ship out free samples of our perfumes, as our perfumes are madein small handmade batches 100 bottles at a time and the essences used to create them are rare precious and very costly.
There is no refund nor exchange on perfumes. To find your favorite scent, we encourage you to try the delightful mini roll-ons before placing an order for a full-size bottle. We are offering a trio of three mini roll-ons for $90.00 or $35.00 for one.
What is the best place to store my perfume?
It is best to store perfumes in a cool, dark place rather than in direct sunlight.
What is the shelf life of natural perfumes?
We say one year, but actually they get even better with age and can last for years. Some batches created back in 2008 are more delicious now than then.
With time, perfumes don't go "bad,” merely the top notes tend to dissipate over time leaving a scent with less sillage than when it was first created.
Are Perfumera Curandera perfumes tested on animals?
NO! Our perfumes are tested on people, not animals. We occasionally use some cruelty-free animal products in the perfumes, including beach-harvested ambergris, beeswax, and seashells. Our perfumes are never tested on animals.
Can one have an allergic reaction to natural perfume?
Having an allergy to certain ingredients, perhaps an herb or flower could affect the wearer if the perfumes contain these certain essences. To check if a perfume is apt to cause you a problem, you should conduct a patch test. Place some of the perfume on your inside elbow, cover with a Band-Aid and wait 24 hours. If no redness or irritation appears, and if you have no respiratory distress, it is fine to purchase and use. For this reason, we always recommend purchasing our small size minis before ordering a full bottle. Many commercial perfumes contain synthetic molecules and chemicals that can cause allergies. Our perfumes have not been known to cause any reaction in any of our customers.
Do Perfumera Curandera Perfumes contain water?
Our pure perfumes contain a very high percentage of raw botanicals and are do not contain any WATER.
Known as an Extrait de Parfum,they contain between 20% and 40% of aromatic compounds, the highest concentration of scent, approximately 20-40% of pure organic aromatic compounds in a base of organic grain and grape alcohol.
In the near future we hope to make versions of our signature perfumes in an Eau de Parfum version.
Why are some of the perfumes colored?
Many natural essences are brightly colored, just as many flowers and plants are high in chlorophylls and brightly colored. When working with these botanicals, the perfume takes on its own unique hue. We think this is a wonderful characteristic. If wearing a dark colored perfume, we recommend applying before dressing and applying with care around clothing as they could stain
Do you ever discontinue a perfume? If so, why?
Being a small independent perfume house means we can create in smaller batches according to the availability of aromatic botanicals and our creative inspiration. If we have difficulty in obtaining a particular raw material we may adjust the formula and replace certain ingredients if others are unavailable, or discontinue a scent for a time.
What is your return policy?
We do not generally accept returns on perfume orders. However, if a product was damaged during shipping, or if the perfume has turned before 12 months of the date of purchase - despite following our careful storage instructions - we will replace the defective merchandise in exchange for a new product, and will not charge you for the shipping (however, you will need to ship the damaged goods back to us at your own expense). To qualify for such exchange, you must contact us immediately upon arrival of your order, and the defective product must be returned within 30 days of receipt of the order.
We do everything we can to ensure the quality of our perfumes before shipping them to you, and guarantee their freshness and quality for 12 months from date of purchase, though they should last even longer. Purchasing our mini roll on samples ensures that you can try the scents in small amounts before deciding to purchase a 5ml bottle. We offer a set of 3 minis for $90.00 which is a $15.00 discount difference than purchasing them separately so you have plenty of options to choose from.
We encourage you to order minis first in order to find your favorite scent.
Can an order be cancelled?
Short answer, No. Longer answer, if we haven’t shipped it yet - we can refund you, minus administrative/processing fees of $35.00
Disclaimer
As with any cosmetic, it is wise to patch-test products for sensitivities or allergies before using them freely. If you have any concern about using a product, please speak to your doctor about it prior to use. The safe and proper use of Perfumera Curandera products is the sole responsibility of the user. Perfumera Curandera assumes no responsibility or liability for any condition or reactions that may arise from the direct or indirect use of any of our products, or from any information provided by Perfumera Curandera. Our products are free from parabens, SLS, SLES, PEGS, glycols, petrochemicals, synthetic colors and fragrances. All our fragrance materials are 100 percent pure and natural.
Safety Note
In an effort to provide the safest products possible, we use only Essential oils, Co2 supercritical extracts, Absolutes, Concretes, and Resins that are considered generally safe for external application by most individuals. We do not use oils that have known toxic effects, photo-sensitizing oils, or oils that are known to exacerbate medical conditions. That said, it is widely recommended that pregnant and nursing women avoid contact with all essential oils, and we cannot guarantee that every essential oil we use will agree with your body chemistry, so please indulge in our perfumes responsibly.
As a small artisan studio, we are not set up to accept phone calls at this time, but we will always respond and contact you back promptly by email.