Top three indie vegan perfumers

By Giselle Wedemire

Thanks to my beautiful mom and my effortlessly glamourous great-aunt, I developed a deep and abiding love for perfume at a very young age. As a wee preteen, I worshipped at the altar of body sprays, and in college I upgraded to finer eau de toilettes from Dolce & Gabbana, Viktor & Rolf, and Chloe.

When I became vegan nearly five years ago and focused on making the switch to green beauty products, I was sure that I’d have to settle for natural perfumes that I predicted could only smell like essential oils and patchouli. (No shade: I’d be the first to admit that I’m kind of a hippie at heart – mixed in with some Joan from Mad Men glam and a dash of Zoey Deschanel-esque whimsy. But just because I’m a hippie doesn’t mean I have to smell like one.)

Now, when it comes to vegan perfumes, it seems like everyone and their mom knows about – and reaches for – Pacifica. I feel that. After all, their Tibetan Mountain Temple fragrance makes me feel like I’m a badass yoga teacher.

But I’d like to invite you all to embrace your inner hipsters by broadening your fragrance horizons and supporting indie perfumers who put their heart and soul – along with more traditional fragrance notes, obvi – into each scent they create.

If you’re the type to go against the grain, here are three amazing indie perfumers that’ll leave you smelling glamourous, edgy, and sophisticated any time of the year. 

My vegan perfume collection as it currently stands.
Not pictured: the millions of sample vials I have from indie perfumers.

Southern Comforts: Perfumes for vegans who don't want to smell like hippies

By Giselle Wedemire

As you may know, I've got a huge soft spot for perfume, and am constantly looking for fantastic vegan, cruelty-free perfumes to replace my chemical-soup favourites from my pre-green beauty days. I'm still working my way through my old, not-so-vegan favourites (because it'd be wasteful to just throw them away), but for the most part, I've been using this as an opportunity to broaden my horizons and scope out some solid vegan- and eco-friendly options.

Included in my collection right now are some tried and true favourites from Pacifica and Tulip, but I recently fell down the rabbit hole that is Etsy's vegan perfume marketplace. I found Southern Comforts' quirky shop by complete accident one day, and within a day, I was following them on Instagram. Within a week, I had taken the plunge and ordered their 5 Pretty Perfume Samples deal, which allows you to hand-pick any five 2 ml samples you'd like to test out. (I also tacked on two more sample vials because I am terrible at making decisions, and couldn't limit my sampling to just five scents.)

Since I'm a slut for spicy, complex perfumes that have a light touch of creaminess in their dry-down, I often gravitate towards incense- or amber-filled concoctions that have tinges of vanilla in the background, and it seemed like Southern Comforts had quite a few fragrances that ticked all of my perfume criteria boxes. So, after an excruciating amount of time spent narrowing down the scents I wanted to test-drive, I placed my order and waited with bated breath.

Within two weeks, my order had arrived on my doorstep, and with mounting excitement, I poured the package's contents out onto the kitchen table and stood in awe when I really should have been making dinner. But who can focus on cooking when they've got such a cute (and exciting!) package in their hands?

Not me!

Natural perfumes to unleash your inner goddess

By Giselle Wedemire

You're never fully dressed until you've applied perfume. That's the advice my mom gave me when I was around 10 years old -- right before I was given my very own (and very classy) bottle of Cinderella perfume for my birthday. 

Since then, fragrance has played a big role in my daily beauty routine, and I never miss an opportunity to give myself a quick spritz -- even when I'm at home with the flu. For me, a splash of my favourite scent instantly classes up any outfit I may throw together, even if I'm rocking a lazy day ensemble of sweatpants and a tank top. 

The problem with many perfumes and colognes is that they're synthetic in the worst possible way: they often contain harmful ingredients like parabens and phthalates, which have been linked to hormone disruption and carcinogenic side effects, respectively.

Years ago, I made the switch to all-natural products for all but one aspect of my beauty regimen. I've simply found it too hard to let go of my favourite perfumes (I'm looking at you, Flowerbomb!), but this year I've vowed to kick the synthetic scent habit and stock my dresser with natural perfumes from companies like Grasse Roots Perfumery.

Based in Stratford, Ontario, Grasse Roots Perfumery is a vegetarian (and mostly vegan) perfumery that crafts luxurious perfume blends with pure natural essences and botanicals. Often times, these blends are even made with certified organic essences whenever possible.

I contacted Grasse Roots in an effort to broaden my natural perfume horizons, and they generously sent me samples of each of their pure perfumes to test out. Each one was lovely in its own way, awakening old memories in me with every fragrant application, and I found that natural perfumes don't last as long on the skin as their unnatural cousins. However, there's something to be said for knowing -- and being able to pronounce -- a perfume's ingredients. It's very liberating.

Photo courtesy of Grasse Roots Perfumery