L'Aromatica Perfume is a small indie perfumer based out of the San Francisco Bay Area and run by Loreto Remsing. I seem to remember this company first catching my eye a couple of years ago, as an option for blending custom perfumes, but I hadn't tried any of their wares until I was on a trip to San Francisco and stopped in a small boutique called BellJar in the Mission District, where they had a few of the perfumes displayed on the front counter. I dabbed on a bit of Kulfi and loved it, so it's been on my wishlist ever since then. I just recently decided to place an order for a few samples and see what L'Aromatica was all about! They are vegan, with an emphasis on "botanical" natural perfumery--their perfume offerings page lists which perfumes are all-natural versus partly synthetic.
Packaging:
My package was pretty no-frills--a padded envelope sent first class, with the contents (three sample vials and a business card) wrapped in a cellophane bag and bubble wrapped, but no additional freebies, pretty tissue paper, handwritten note, or anything. I love the graphic design for the company--the geometric logo is lovely, the fonts are classy, and there's a general minimalistic, modern, chic vibe that I appreciate. My GC samples have extra little graphic line art flourishes on the back of the labels (a henna design for Kulfi, and citrus wedges for Hello Delicious) while the back of my Freesia perfume sample is blank. The full sized perfumes seem to come in clear glass bottles (not sure of the dispenser mechanism, but I'd guess a rollerball for the perfume oil and a spray bottle for the eau de toilette), which is not optimal since it allows more light into the bottle to degrade the perfume--a shame since the bottles are so pretty, they should be displayed.
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| The backs of the sample vials |
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| No-frills packaging |
Selection:
L'Aromatica offers a grand total of 18 general catalog perfumes, all of which are listed here. Their Etsy shop offers a few more items--a limited edition perfume called White Freesia, dried herbs, lotions and hair and body washes, and beginner perfume kits with single note fragrance oils packaged together for easy mixing or reference. Perfumes are available as either 5 mL perfume oils, 9 mL perfume oils, or 1 oz eau de toilette bottles; or as perfume oil samples. They don't offer the custom-blended perfume as an option on Etsy anymore, but there is a note on the website saying they still do custom blends.
Samples:
Samples of the perfume oils (including limited edition perfumes) are available in packs of 3 for $10.
Quality:
I haven't had my samples in hand long enough, nor have I tried a wide enough variety of L'Aromatica's perfumes, to be able to speak to their general quality, but I like what I've smelled so far (individual reviews to come)!Cost:
Sample prices are on par with most other indies, but full-sized bottles of perfume are a bit more expensive than average.
- 3 samples are $10
- A 5 mL bottle of perfume oil is $30
- A 9 mL bottle of perfume oil is $56
- A 1 oz bottle of EDT is $60
Customer Service:
I haven't had a need to contact L'Aromatica's customer service. They offer a contact form and an email address on their business card, and can be contacted through Etsy; their 1000+ reviews there seem to be overwhelmingly positive, and the first one I looked at was praising their customer service, so I have no reason to believe there are any red flags about their customer service.
They do offer their own storefront, an Etsy store, and sales through retailers, so you could always order through a trusted retailer rather than from them directly if you have any doubts.
They do offer their own storefront, an Etsy store, and sales through retailers, so you could always order through a trusted retailer rather than from them directly if you have any doubts.
TAT:
The turnaround time was incredibly fast, in my experience--my order was shipped the same day I placed it, and arrived in my mailbox just a few days later. Their site asks you to allow up to 2 weeks turnaround time.
Shipping:
Most packages are shipped first class, with priority or insurance available upon request. Domestic shipping was $1.93 for my package of 3 samples, which I think is very reasonable. International shipping is available: it was estimated at $9.50 to ship the same package to Australia, $6.50 to Canada, or $8.50 to the UK--check the listings on Etsy for the available international options. Shipping costs for a bottle were slightly more for me, estimated at $2.50, which I think is closer to the actual cost of mailing a first class bubble envelope.L'Aromatica will not ship alcohol-based perfumes internationally, for legal reasons, but there's a note that they can create a shippable concentrate that can be rehydrated at the destination with perfumer's alcohol.
While part of the fun of indie perfumes can be chasing after endless and bountiful new releases and exploring general catalogs that span hundreds of scents, there's something to be said for feeling like a perfumer has released a thoughtful, well-edited, well-tested body of work rather than releasing every perfume idea that has ever flitted across their mind--it seems more likely to be an "all killer, no filler" catalog than, say, BPAL's.
L'Aromatica's catalog, while small, seems to span a nice variety of scents, from Oriental gourmands like Kulfi to fresh scents like Seafaring Man, florals like Hello Delicious, masculine scents like Bourbon, and chypres like Chanteuse. They have a few scents that seem to reflect the scents of California--Big Sur, Desert Man, and Madrone--and I'm somewhat regretting not ordering one in my sample pack, as they seem unique and intriguing! I was in a floral sort of mood when I ordered, so I got two florals along with my sample of Kulfi.
If you're interested, keep an eye out here for my thoughts about my samples as I test them out. So far, I like L'Aromatica's aesthetic and my first impressions of them, but I can't give a very informed opinion about their perfumes just yet. Have you tried this company out? Do you have any thoughts, favorites, or suggestions?
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