Perfume for the Planet
Frances Shoemack, founder of global natural perfume house Abel, chats candidly about why her business, founded in Amsterdam, has come home to Wellington and Abel’s new fragrance Cyan Nori that’s inspired by the ocean as well as protecting it.
Meet Abel’s Frances Shoemack
Where does the name Abel come from?
It's a bit cheesy, but Abel Tasman was the Dutch explorer to discover New Zealand. Subsequently one of my favourite parts of New Zealand, the Abel Tasman national park is named after him. As a Kiwi setting up a business in Amsterdam,
I loved this little connection. Plus it felt like we were embarking into uncharted waters creating a 100 per cent natural perfume when everyone said it wasn't possible.
What inspired you to begin a fragrance company, and natural perfume in particular?
It was really that I fell in love with the artisan/niche perfume world and when I couldn't find a fragrance within that category that worked with natural ingredients and a sustainable/ethical mindset, I started to consider if it's a something I (with some help from experts) could do.
What do you love most about perfume?
Its ability to enhance and enrich day-to-day life, to transport you. There is something so luxurious about a spray of your favourite scent, and if it's made using natural ingredients there will be genuine mood enhancing/therapeutic benefits too.
What are the challenges of creating a natural perfume?
You don't have the same 'tools' available in a synthetic perfumer’s palate – synthetic fixatives to ‘stick’ perfume to your skin, UV filters and stabilisers to protect from the sun and keep the fragrance stable. We have to work harder, smarter and generally spend much more money on the ingredients (the plant-derived musk we use in Cyan Nori is 15 times more expensive than its non-biodegradable synthetic counterpart). Recipe reform
Abel is calling for industry reform on ingredient transparency in order to protect people and the planet. Fragrance-labelling laws are decades old to ‘protect trade secrets’, but in an era where knockoffs are the norm, these laws are acting as a ‘hide all’, says Shoemack. In particular, Abel is highlighting the prevalent use of non-biodegradable, fossil fuel-derived musk and its impact on the world’s oceans.
What are the benefits of natural fragrances?
So many benefits both for the wearer and the environment and likewise, some genuine negatives of the non-natural alternative.
Most synthetic fragrance molecules are produced from fossil fuels – a non-renewable resource – and many of these molecules have also shown to be non-biodegradable. Which means anything not absorbing into your skin, washes off in the shower and ends up in our oceans where they accumulate in aquatic life. Others are known hormone disrupt ors, and many people get headaches or asthma from synthetic scent molecules.
On the other hand, plantderived ingredients all have their own wonderful therapeutic value. So often we hear from customers “White Vetiver makes me feel energised”, or “Golden Neroli is so grounding”.
For us the proof is in our customers who message to tell us they’ve discovered Abel after 10 years of not wearing perfume (due to varying reasons – environmental concerns, allergic reactions, asthma, and most commonly, headaches). They are so grateful that through Abel they can again enjoy one of life’s little pleasures, without the compromise.
Why did you decide to work with New Zealand master perfumer Isaac Sinclair?
Starting out, I was a young (late twenties) Kiwi girl in Europe, if I was going to pull this off, I knew I needed to find an ally in our master perfumer. I discovered Isaac through a YouTube video of him where he was talking about how perfume is like wine (my background is winemaking)… it was a bit of a eureka moment! Later I found out he’s the only master perfumer from the whole Australasia region EVER, and lives in Sao Paulo.
How do you work together?
Previously Isaac would travel to Paris 4-5 times a year and I’d join him there so we could meet in person. That already had to change when I moved home to New Zealand in January, but since then, everything has been thrown out the window! We’d been working on our latest scent Cyan Nori since mid 2019, but it really took on a life of its own during New Zealand lockdown earlier this year. It’s an ocean-inspired scent – literally inspired by the ocean outside my lockdown window – and the responsibility we have as brands and consumers to protect it. Our years of working together meant we could both really “get” this scent working from home between Sao Paulo and Wellington!
What is your first olfactory memory?
I grew up on a farm in South Canterbury, and my parents have always had an amazing vege garden. My first scent memory is the dark, damp visceral smell of fresh soil.
You had a background in wine before moving into perfume...
I studied a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology at Lincoln University, and cut my teeth at Villa Maria Winery (mostly in Auckland) where I was awarded a winemaking graduate role. I worked in several roles transitioning more into the brand side of things before we left for Amsterdam 10 years ago.
What brought you back home and why Wellington?
We landed back here in January and chose Wellington because it’s such a cool little city. Loads of culture, amazing food, community and we can live out by the beach in what feels like a little fishing village, but I can still ride my electric bike into the city for work in less than half an hour.
How many fragrances are in the Abel stable?
We capped our Vita Odor collection at seven in an attempt to go against the tide of never ending “stuff” in the world! This meant that to launch Cyan Nori we had to remove Red Santal (our first creation) from the collection. We also have a collaboration fragrance – Nurture. We created this scent especially for new and expecting mothers with a Dutch organic childrenswear brand Gray Label.
Cyan Nori is the newest and “born” in New Zealand. How does this differ to your other scents?
The way it came to life was just in such a different world to our other scents, it’s hard to compare. This mission to change the industry and protect our oceans is as important as the scent. Everything about this scent flowed… from the ingredients, to the mission. I feel like Cyan Nori came to us, not the other way around.
What are your tips for taking care of your perfume?
Avoid humidity, temperature fluctuations and direct sunlight (storing in the box is always a good option). Don’t save the last drop! Just like a wine, the higher the oxygen-to-liquid ratio inside the bottle, the more quickly the liquid will develop… so enjoy that last bit.
Where do you personally love to apply perfume?
I love to wear on both my pulse points and in my hair (so you get that “wafting” experience throughout the day). Perfume really opens up with the warmth of your skin, especially where the blood is closest to the surface, so wearing on skin is definitely the most dynamic and beautiful place to wear scent. Your fragrance will last longer on hair and clothes.
Do you advocate having many scents to choose from?
I’d never recommend excess of anything, but I think so long as you use them all, having more than one perfume in your world is a lovely thing. You wouldn’t wear the same clothes for the same occasion or eat the same food in different moods, so it is for perfume. I choose a scent that matches or enhances my day, mood and general vibe. I also love to layer fragrances, – my favourite combination is Green Cedar on my skin and Golden Neroli in my hair.
“Cyan Nori is a vibrant electro-pop scent inspired by Wellington’s ocean expanse and the responsibility we have as brands and consumers to protect it.”
Abel founder Frances Shoemack.