The Way We Do Things

There is a Japanese belief that to talk about your ethics is unethical, that it's better to get on with what you do quietly.

On the other hand, the British are usually a good deal more questioning (and sometimes downright nosy - in a good way) about the way companies behave, so here is some info about what we do and why.

  • We handmake and bottle all our perfumes at our studio in Hammersmith. The majority of perfume brands have their fragrances made by specialist perfumers to their exact needs. We're a bit different because we love the real hands-on creative part of it all.
  • The only powered machinery we use regularly is our balance for weighing raw materials, so our energy use is tiny. We also have a dishwasher, but it's greener than boiling the kettle to do the dishes.
  • We bottle our perfumes by hand - with a jug, pipette or funnel.
  • We've got ceramic energy efficient heaters for winter because it gets blinking cold and we don't think it's ethical to freeze our colleagues, however we also provide hand knitted woolly jumpers because it's better to put one of those on than to crank up the thermostat. 
  • We like our packaging to be reusable, recycled and beautiful.
  • We will give you discounts for buying a bottle with no cap (code: lidforlife - 5% discount), for buying just the bottle with no cap and no box (code: justthebottle - 10% - applies to 30, 50 & 100ml bottles) and we will give you 25% off when you send your bottle back for a refill (codes: travelrefill for 9mls, fillmeup for 30, 50 & 100ml bottles).
  • Our boxes come from Projectworks London, so transport is minimal and they are 100% recyclable.
  • Our bottles are made in France, then printed in England by Pochpac.
  • Our tins came from a British company, but it turns out they had them made for us in China. At least they travelled by sea, and they're so lovely that we're sure everyone will keep them and use them forever. They're recyclable. Anyway, you live and learn.
  • We ship with Royal Mail, and for Europe we use DPD who go by land and are a carbon neutral company.
  • For the US we have to use FedEx or we can't ship at all owing to the dangerous goods IATA regulations. If we can find a way to ship by sea we will.
  • No EU cosmetics are allowed to be tested on animals, so ours aren't. European companies who boast that their cosmetics aren't tested on animals are just doing it for the marketing. (It's the ones who fight to stop raw materials from being tested on animals who are the good guys, like Lush, Sarah's former employer.)
  • China insists on animal testing cosmetics so we don't sell our perfumes there. (Most of the big guys do; look it up if you're interested.)
  • Our products are vegetarian. Most are vegan, but a couple do contain honey absolute or butter extract. Do contact us if you have any questions. 
  • We use natural and synthetic perfumery materials in our scents, and we follow IFRA (International Fragrance Association) guidelines and EU regulations.
  • The materials most likely to give people a rash are the naturals, because naturals will contain 300 to 600 different chemicals, made naturally by plants.
  • The EU has banned or restricted anything that harms the skin or the environment, bless them. We comply with all their regulations.
  • Perfumery synthetics are around 98% - 99.9% pure; there's really no such thing as a pure essential oil. Using synthetics in perfumery (which has been happening since the 1880s) is like putting baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in your fairy cakes so they rise.
  • If something is wrong with your order we'll fix it, just let us know.