OF EAU YOUR OWN
SALLY WOODWARD-HAWES FOUNDER AND CHIEF PERFUMER AT AROMANTIK
I first became interested in the world of fragrance and its connection with memory when I opened an old cosmetics box filled with my mum’s perfumes years after she had passed away. It was a very Proustian experience. I was instantly transported back in time and it was as though she was right there beside me. I knew then I wanted to make perfumes.
I already had an interest in making natural skincare with plant-based ingredients and essential oils and I started focusing more on the fragrance of the products. At that time, green beauty was in its infancy and there were very few natural perfumers – even worldwide. There are more astronauts than perfumers, so it’s already a very specialised field.
Merchants Of Menace was one of the first fragrances I ever created. It took me more than two years. I wanted to create a natural musk fragrance. The scent you wear says a lot about you and what you want to present to the world. The men and women who wear Merchants Of Menace are usually creative – whether that’s in a professional or personal sense. They’re usually quite unique and tread their own path. I once went into a store and the sales assistant followed me around the whole time. I started to think she thought I was trying to steal something, but just as I left she chased after me and asked me what perfume I was wearing.
MORE NATURAL SCENTS: 1. Dreamer,
$85 for 30ml, ONE SEED, oneseedperfumes.com 2. Jasmine Neroli Geranium Oil Perfume, $39.95 for 30ml, THESEEKE, theseeke.com 3. La Fleur De Marrakesh, $110 for 50ml, SAMUEL GRAVAN, samuelgravan.com 4. Cobalt Amber, $190 for 50ml, ABEL, thelaborganics.com.au