5 Questions You Have When Switching To Alcohol Free Essential Oil Perfume

Fragrance is a highly personal product and it is important to match your personality and lifestyle to how you wear your fragrance. More than likely you have been wearing traditional alcohol based perfumes and eau de parfum. What's the difference? The amount or concentration of oils in the fragrance and the alcohol to fragrance ratio. Eau de parfum has a higher concentration than eau de toilette, making it a stronger fragrance. There is also pure perfume, which has the highest concentration. Both are spray formats. Eau de Cologne, or Cologne which has the lowest concentration of oils can be dabbed and splashed. There is even something called Eau Fraiche, but even that has alcohol.

When you move to a clean perfume and give up your alcohol based fragrance all of the sudden you have to figure out what's going on. What is the concentration? Why is there a roller ball option? How long will it last? What essential oils do I prefer?

1. Why a roll on option?

Like James Bond, who was clear about how he wanted his martini: "Shaken not stirred", with alcohol free essential oil perfume James would need to ask:  Should I spray or roll on? To be clear there is no "winner" when it comes to choosing the best application method for your aroma perfume - it really comes down to personal preference. 

Roll on blends are mixed with an oil carrier. At Adoratherapy we use organic Jojoba. Because essential oil perfume is so much more than perfume it can be used more than one way. The benefit of a pre-blended synergy in a roller ball is you can use it on your neck and wrists like perfume. The roller ball controls the flow of the perfume nicely. This makes it easy to use for pressure point massage so you can focus on areas of muscular pain, tightness, and tension, even your feet.

Unlike alcohol based perfume when you use an oil based perfume rubbing it into your skin is the way to go. Since there is no alcohol to evaporate and no synthetic scent molecules, it's all about absorption and your personal scent and chemistry mixing with the oils.

The perfume masters will tell you don't spray perfume on your clothes or on body parts you will cover. With oils, the opposite is true. The warmth of your skin and the oils release with heat and you will smell great all day. When you remove your clothes you will have a lingering faint scent where you applied your oil. Oil based perfumes are a great way to wear perfume without others knowing you are wearing perfume. This can become a tantalizing scent signature.

Here are the main reasons to choose a roll on option.

• You like to scent your entire body
• You want to use in your bath as a healing ritual
• You like your skin to absorb the oil, even your hair
• You want only a carrier oil and essential oils, nothing else
• You want something to enhance your yoga, meditation or healing practice
• You don't mind touching up and using it throughout the day
• You want to breathe from the bottle
• You are using scent for you and not everyone else
•  You are in a profession where the perfume needs to be subdued, such as nurse, teacher, and the like.

2. Can I still spray?

Let's face it, the hardest thing about giving up traditional perfume is how it makes us feel. Who doesn't have a memory of their mother preparing to go out and spraying herself with her favorite brand. I still can remember the bottles my godmother collected, covered in dust, precious memories of times, places and love stories. So what's a clean perfume lover to do?

The first thing to understand is chemistry. Traditional perfume is designed to spray so that the molecules can aerosolize. Inhaled aerosols and particulate ingredients present different health risks depending on their size. The smaller they are, the deeper they can penetrate into our lungs. Alcohol is the typical base, and even natural alcohol is alcohol. Not only is it flammable but it is drying to the skin. Did you know the postal service prohibits the shipping of perfume by air. Well enough about that kind of clean perfume. Oh but wait, there is still sillage to discuss. Sillage is the term for the trail of scent that you leave in your wake when wearing a perfume. Sprays, lets face it have more. This is a good thing or a bad thing depending on the situation. Doctor's appointment or heading to yoga? Not so good. Date night? Go for it.

At Adoratherapy we use water, a natural emulsifier and preservative, and essential oils in our spray blends and that's it. The cleanest of the clean perfumes and it sprays. Do I hear the applause?

Here are the main reasons to choose a spray option.

• You long for a perfume experience
• You want a faint mist
• You want to spray on you hair and neck
• You want a fresh mist on and around your face
• You want to safely spray in your room around family and pets 
• You will spray in the morning or before going out
• You want a light scent
• You want to refresh on the go
• You don't mind sillage and sharing scent with those around you

3. How long will my essential oil perfume last?

The idea behind alcohol free essential oil perfume is the scent and the benefits. As much aromatherapy as perfumery, the desired outcome is a breath taking moment that anchors you, heals you and provides your limbic system and your brain with a brain + scent connection. Once you create this connection you have the ability to use essential oils as perfume in your daily rituals of self care. Whereas perfume is about outer beauty, more of an extension of putting on makeup, essential oil perfume is about inner beauty and is an extension of your personal transformation journey. How long will it last? It depends! Where you put it, how much you put on, and which oils are used. So what's a girl to do? try them all.

4. How do I understand the benefits of the ingredients not just the scent profiles?

The biggest challenge with alcohol free essential oil perfume is that you are picking not just a scent but a blend of oils that has therapeutic benefits. Let's face it, not all of us have time to become aromatherapists and experts. when I started Adoratherapy and was learning about oils , this was the most intimidating part of the journey. That's why we simplified the process. We made it easy to pick a scent or a mood or a collection. On our website you can shop all of these ways.

5. Is there a difference in price? 

With traditional perfume pricing can range from hundreds of dollars for Perfume to less for Eau de Parfum. With essential oil perfumes there really should be no difference. At Adoratherapy we have made this choice easy. Our sprays and roll ons are the same price. We do offer them in multiple sizes so you have options for sampling, and traveling, and so that you can own a range of scents to provide you with the many mood boosting options you desire.