MNN - Mother Nature Network

In the winter, dusky, warm scents of brown sugar, sandalwood, cinnamon and other spices reign — and they seem to mix perfectly with the heavy knits, leather boots and crispy winter air. But as spring approaches, it feels good to throw off those heavy scents and look for those that are lighter, cleaner, and feel more bright and green.

As an avid scent-lover and perfume wearer from a young age, my tastes have moved towards more natural ingredients, even as I've learned of the high amount of toxins common in most commercial perfumes.

(To learn more, check out The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics' research on this topic).

 

Perfumes that include only natural essential oils and extracts smell cleaner and are safer than hidden toxic ingredients, which have been linked to health issues. 

 

Below find nontoxic, wonderful perfumes to perk up your spring. 

 

Tsi-La Organics are made with food-grade, organic ingredients that are infused with antioxidants and moisturizing oils. Their Fleur Sauvage perfume is one of my go-tos as soon as it gets warmer out; a mix of tuberose, neroli, and Italian bergamot, it reminds me that summer is the season that follows spring. 

 

A Perfume Organic produces five all-natural scents, including the company's signature, Green, which is rosey, ylang ylangy, woody combo. But my personal favorite is Urban Organic, a citrusy lavender and grapefruit that is sweet and tangy — and a bit sexy — all at once. 

 

Strange Invisible Perfumes offers both eaux de parfums and the stronger, pure perfumes, in a plethora of scents, all of which are made from "...certified organic, wildcrafted, biodynamic, and hydro-distilled essences. Our fragrances are designed, hand blended, and bottled within our own natural fragrance house in Venice, Calif." Tosca, a bright but still grounded (by a botanical musk and tobacco leaf) pairing of orange, mimosa, jasmine and basil, is ideal for warmer temperatures and fresh-air days. 

 

Malie Organics makes perfumes and body products (sprays, body butters), all with the company's signature base of "Organic Sunflower Oil, Kukui Nui Oil, Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Hawaiian Hydrosol" and all-natural and botanically derived fragrances. Plumeria, also known as frangipani, the heady, almost mouthwatering tropical flower, is here paired with jasmine, citrus and gardenia, each of which is the opposite of winter, but together is all about spring.