Frequently Asked Questions

What "base" or "carrier" do you use?
We have always used specially denatured professional perfumer's alcohol. This specially denatured alcohol is what is used in nearly all commercial perfumes. For the oils, we use a natural pure fractionated coconut oil; we add no alcohol, silicones, water, or emulsifiers. No sunscreens, preservatives, or colorants are used in our perfumes, just fragrance in a carrier base of alcohol or coconut oil.

Do your perfumes contain parabens or sunscreens or colorants?
No. Nor do our body creams.

Do you use both natural and synthetic fragrance ingredients?
We use many natural essential oils and absolutes, but we also use high-quality synthetic aroma ingredients made especially for perfumery by the top fragrance companies such as Givaudan, Firmenich, and IFF. Synthetics can extend the lasting power of natural oils and work together with them to enhance the scent; the combination of naturals with a light touch of synthetics often makes the best of both worlds. We rely on natural oils for many of our woodsy base notes because they are so beautiful, but we only use sandalwood that is grown in plantations and intended to be a renewable resource. We use synthetic musks, castoreum, and civet to avoid the cruelty issues associated with animal versions of these ingredients. We use no nitro musks. We can blend all-natural scents for you as special request items, and we plan to add some all natural scents to the line.

Do you use animal ingredients or are your products vegan? Do you test on animals?
We do not test our perfumes or lotions on animals, only on ourselves and some friendly human volunteers. :) We do not use animal musks, civet, or castoreum, only synthetic replacements and natural musk alternatives like ambrette seed, labdanum, and angelica root. The only animal ingredient currently used in our perfumes is beeswax absolute in some fragrances (check the list of notes to see and if it is not listed then it is not used). Some of our lotion products use silk protein, which is not vegan, but if it is used it will be listed in the ingredients so you can easily check for it.

Should I get oil roll-on or alcohol spray?
This is personal preference. Oils tend to last a bit longer on the skin, but they can have less sillage (the amount they waft around you). Alcohol-based perfumes tend to have more sillage but not last quite as many hours. Sonoma Scent Studio sprays are quite concentrated though (parfum strength), so there's not much, if any, difference in lasting power between the oils and sprays. It comes down to whether you are a dabber or a sprayer. If you prefer to dab, you can also get the half ounce alcohol option with splash cap. When you spray, you usually apply more scent so it can seem stronger. If you are unsure which format you might prefer, you could get a few samples in each form to try (oil vs alcohol). Only a few scents are available in oil form.

What scents might men like?
Some scents men have enjoyed and/or women have reported liking on the men in their lives are Fireside Intense, Incense Pure, Ambre Noir, Winter Woods, Jour Ensoleille, Wood Violet, and Egyptian Musk. Champagne de Bois has a nice sandalwood note and some spicy clove and is not floral, but the aldehydes make it just a bit more on the feminine side of unisex, though that will vary from person to person. Sienna Musk is woodsy and spicy and unisex, though it has some sweetness. The driest scents are Fireside Intense and Incense Pure.

I'd like to get a scent that used to be on the list but isn't listed right now -- is that possible?
Maybe, yes. Just send some email to info@sonomascentstudio.com to find out if the ingredients are still in stock.