FRAGRANCE INFORMATION

All of our candles are non-toxic and completely safe. We use them in our home with our children and we would never put their health at risk. We use organic fragrance, natural fragrance, and body safe phthalate free premium fragrance so that we can offer a wide variety of scents to our customers. No matter what type of fragrance is used, all of our candles contain essential oils. The amounts of essential oils used in our candles will not affect pets, including birds.

Natural vs Synthetic Fragrance
The biggest divide between natural and synthetic fragrances lies in the way they are created. Plants, trees or animals comprise the basic elements of natural scents and run the gamut from lilac to sandalwood to deer musk. Synthetic fragrances are created in a laboratory, and although it may not be common knowledge, Mother Nature has absolutely nothing to do with almost two-third’s of the most popular fragrances made today that are used in perfumes and other scented products.

Fragrance oils are composed of many aromatic ingredients. Many of the common ingredients used in fragrance oils include: carrier base, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, and other synthetic compounds. These ingredients can be derived from nature or created by scientific methods. Natural ingredients include essential oils, resins, and absolutes. Ingredients that are man-made, commonly referred to as synthetic chemicals, are also found in nature and can be reproduced synthetically using scientific techniques. The synthetic versions are generally less expensive, more consistent in odor and color, and widely available.

Four Types of Synthetic Fragrances
Per the IFRA (International Fragrance Association) guidelines, there are 3 grades of fragrances produced for today’s fragrance market. However, we have added a fourth option to this list because it's non toxic and better than regular premium grade.

Burning grade is the lowest of the three and should only be used in candle formulations or diffusion.

The second is Manufactures grade which can be used when heavily diluted, in some body care formulations as well as laundry detergent and cleaning supplies.

The third is Premium grade which has been thoroughly tested and meets all qualifications for the IFRA’s standards for use in all skin and body care applications as well as direct topical use.

And lastly Phthalate Free Body Safe Premium Grade. Also referred to as body safe phthalate free fragrance. It's the same as the Premium grade but will not contain any phthalates and can be used in all skin and body care applications as well as direct topical use.

Environmental Working Group (EWG) researchers found more than 75 percent of products listing the ingredient “fragrance” contained phthalates (THAL-ates) which have been shown to disrupt hormone activity, reduce sperm counts, and cause reproductive malformation, and have been linked to liver and breast cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Additionally, studies by Dr. Philip J. Landrigan of the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center, link fetal exposure with autism, ADHD, and neurological disorders.

Just because something is synthetic does not necessarily mean it's bad. However, it's best to find out what's in the synthetic product to make sure it's free of any potentially harmful ingredients. When purchasing candles that aren't made with natural or organic fragrances always choose Phthalate Free Body Safe Premium Grade. This type is non-toxic and completely safe.

Natural Fragrances
Natural fragrances are made up of essential oil, absolutes, true flower essences, extracts, CO2’s and isolates of the natural aromatic components taken from the complex scent of the essential oil. Natural fragrances are made in a laboratory but NOT from synthetic materials.

Natural fragrance oils are blends of isolates that are extracted through the same processes that are used to get essential oils. The difference is that ...

when you extract an essential oil you are extracting the entire scent complex compound

when you extract an isolate you are extracting a single scent molecule

The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) allows an ingredient to be called natural ONLY if it is plant derived. To determine what is plant derived, they follow a strict set of guidelines provided by the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO) protocol.

Perfumers keep their blends proprietary and do not provide information on which natural isolates have been included in their blends or from what oils the isolates have been distilled.

Where once something like cherry, apple, papaya, blueberry or watermelon scents were completely synthetic, it is now possible to create these scents using natural isolates.

The Environment and Natural Fragrances
While there might be a mental tendency to assume natural is better, when it comes to fragrance creation that is not necessarily the case. For example, massive deforestation has resulted from the production of natural sandalwood and rosewood and the utilization of natural musk requires painful extraction from deer and other forest creatures.

Essential Oils
Essential oils would fall under the natural fragrance category but are almost always listed as "essential oil fragrance" rather than "natural fragrance."

The essential oils within a plant are Mother Nature's creations. Powerfully fragrant and concentrated, essential oils are the pure natural aromatic essences from a variety of aromatic plant material including grasses, leaves, flowers, needles, twigs, peels of fruit, seeds, bark, and roots. The chemical profile of an essential oil determines its scent and overall quality.

Essential oils are not only highly therapeutic aromas, but they often provide healing properties or other therapeutic benefits not found in synthetic aromatics.

Drawbacks to Using Essential Oils in Candles

Essential oils are typically much more expensive than fragrance oils and prices can fluctuate based on weather, crops and the trade relationships between countries.

The quality and scent of the oil varies depending on the crop. So the consumer is not always getting the exact same thing even though the product is the same.

While essential oils may provide a good cold throw, many of them provide very little scent when you burn them in a candle. It takes a lot more essential oil to try and achieve the strength of scent from a fragrance oil.

Essential oils, just like any natural plant material, degrade over time, lose potency and eventually their smell. However, when building a scent profile with isolates you can use scent anchoring isolates that will help prolong the scent.

Essential oils do not offer the variety of scents that fragrance oils provide; for example, you cannot get apple pumpkin butter, sugar cookie, coffee, etc.

What are Organic Fragrances?

Organic perfumes have their own certification from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which insures consumers that they are made from ingredients that are tested, assumed safe, pure and free from harmful petrochemicals, solvents, dyes, alcohol, and pesticides. They are also certified by PETA and are considered vegan. According to a recent National Marketing Institute study, consumers have been very open to the use of organic ingredients particularly in personal care products.

Organic fragrances are derived from living matter and are defined as those that are grown and processed under highly controlled conditions that guarantee materials are free from pesticides, heavy metals and synthetic fertilizers. There is one important distinction to always remember with organic products. Natural fragrances are not always organic but organic fragrances are always natural.

Both natural fragrances and essential oils can be certified organic if they meet the requirements.