by Reza Ganjavi
I asked L’Erbolario a straightforward question: do its men’s perfumes contain synthetic fragrance, or are they entirely natural? I used Vetiver as the example.
The company did not answer directly at first. It described its perfumes as more than 80% natural and referred to vegetable alcohol, natural ingredients, Italian production, sustainability, dermatological testing and heavy-metal monitoring. It also stated that natural odor materials are sometimes combined with “natural-identical or synthetic components.”
I then asked whether that meant its perfumes contain synthetic fragrance. The company replied that it uses “a mix of naturalidentical and natural substances.”
I asked one final question: “So naturalidentical is another word for synthetic, am I right?”
L’Erbolario answered: “correct.”
That is the key point. Its perfumes can contain synthetic fragrance components, including components it describes as “natural-identical.”
After L'Erbolario's first lengthy response, the point was put back to the company plainly: the short answer appeared to be that it used synthetic perfume components, including in Vetiver. The company was invited to correct that conclusion.
Its reply avoided the word synthetic and said that it used "a mix of naturalidentical and natural substances."
The next question removed the remaining verbal shelter: "So naturalidentical is another word for synthetic, am I right?"
L'Erbolario replied: "correct."
That single word is the factual center of this story. The company uses synthetic fragrance components. The rest of the exchange shows how much verbal decoration can be wrapped around a fact that consumers could have been told in the first sentence.
The phrase "natural-identical" is tailor-made to soften how synthetic material sounds in perfume marketing. It places the word natural directly in front of a laboratory-made ingredient and can give that ingredient a botanical glow.
The correspondence eliminates any semantic escape route. L'Erbolario itself confirmed that "natural-identical" meant synthetic in the question presented to it.
Consumers reading "natural-identical" may hear natural. The correspondence establishes synthetic. That gap gives the phrase its softening effect.
This is putting lipstick on a pig: keep the synthetic component, describe it with a term beginning with the word natural, surround it with flowers and sustainability language, and make the synthetic origin harder to see.
L'Erbolario emphasized that its perfumes were formulated with more than 80% natural ingredients. That whole-bottle percentage does not disclose the natural-versus-synthetic composition of the scent mixture.
The company's current Vetiver ingredient list begins with denatured alcohol and water, followed by "parfum (fragrance)." The fragrance blend is grouped under that single umbrella term. A whole-product natural-origin percentage cannot reveal what proportion of the fragrance blend is natural or synthetic.
L'Erbolario did not explain how the "more than 80%" figure was calculated, whether it included the alcohol and water, or what share of the fragrance concentrate was synthetic. The large percentage creates a natural halo around the finished bottle while leaving the defining scent mixture opaque.
L'Erbolario's emails supplied no percentage for the synthetic share of the fragrance concentrate, no natural-versus-synthetic breakdown, and no direct use of the word "synthetic" until the customer forced that term into the exchange.
The company also stressed that its products are made in Italy. That fact has no bearing on whether an aromatic molecule came from a plant or a synthesis process.
A synthetic fragrance component manufactured or blended in Lodi remains synthetic. Italian geography cannot convert laboratory-made aroma chemicals into botanical extracts.
"Made in Italy" may communicate origin, craftsmanship or brand identity. It contributes nothing to the answer sought by a customer asking whether a perfume is all-natural.
The response also invoked tolerability, allergens, protected species, low extraction yields, dermatological testing and checks for eight heavy metals.
Those points may explain why a manufacturer chooses synthetic materials. They do not change the materials' origin. Safety testing does not make a synthetic fragrance natural. Heavy-metal monitoring does not reveal the synthetic share of a perfume. Sustainability language does not answer whether the product contains synthetic odor components.
The company could have said: "Yes, we use synthetic fragrance components, for the following safety and sustainability reasons." That would have been clear. The actual sequence delivered the green and scientific halo first and provided the direct admission only after repeated questions.
Even the email signature urged the reader to consider environmental impact before printing. The green framing was immaculate. The answer to the actual question remained buried.
L'Erbolario's official Vetiver page currently lists "parfum (fragrance)" as the third ingredient. European cosmetics rules allow perfume and aromatic compositions to be identified under the umbrella term "parfum" or "aroma."
That labeling convention leaves the natural-versus-synthetic composition of the fragrance mixture invisible to an ordinary consumer. The customer-service exchange gave the company an opportunity to supply the missing clarity. It produced another round of natural-sounding language.
The official page also surrounds the product with badges and assurances concerning testing, packaging and the absence of animal-derived ingredients. Those claims occupy visual space. The page does not tell the shopper, in equally plain language, that the perfume uses synthetic fragrance components.
The criticism is focused: L'Erbolario wrapped a direct synthetic-origin fact in natural-sounding language. Consumers may choose or reject synthetic fragrance for personal, environmental, allergy-related, philosophical or purchasing reasons. Accurate origin information supports that choice.
A company that builds its identity around herbs, flowers, roots, woods and natural beauty should expect questions about synthetic fragrance. The honest answer belongs at the front of the response, expressed in ordinary language.
European cosmetic-claims rules emphasize truthfulness, evidential support, honesty, fairness and informed decision-making. A competent authority would determine legal compliance in any specific case. The correspondence shows why those principles exist: technically accurate fragments can still leave the fact requested by the consumer obscured.
· What percentage of the Vetiver fragrance concentrate is synthetic?
· Which fragrance materials in Vetiver are plant-derived, and which are synthetic?
· How was the claimed "more than 80% natural" figure calculated, including the treatment of alcohol and water?
· What percentage of the fragrance concentrate itself is natural?
· Does the Vetiver note come from natural vetiver oil, a synthetic reconstruction, or a mixture of both?
· Why did the opening customer-service response avoid the word synthetic?