Transparency, Not Taxonomy

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Below is a master index of every raw material used in one of Chronotope’s perfume formulas—a list the brand offers not as a means of decoding those formulas, but simply for the sake of transparency.

Nor does Chronotope offer this information in order to differentiate between which materials are “natural” and which are “synthetic.” As hundreds, if not thousands, of scientists, historians, theorists, and philosophers across the globe have noted for decades, making such a distinction is not only philosophically unstable—it’s scientifically incoherent.

All matter, and especially all the fragrant matter that finds its way into perfume bottles—from North Indian vetiver to the finest Provençal lavender to Ambroxan—exists somewhere along a spectrum of cosmic, “natural” transformation and so-called “synthetic” human influence.

Mother Nature may grow and breed roses on her own—but she never does so in parallel rows as far as the eye can see. Likewise, she never plucks their petals for the sole purpose of boiling them to extract their fragrant oil. Even if the roses in question were organically farmed, surely much of their life process is entirely synthetic.

Catwoman (1992) is an iconic character. Viola from that one Shakespeare comedy movie (1998) is not—but her actress is. And both these actresses, along with hoards of others out to sell you something that smells, would love to never inform you of these realities becasue fear—a by-product of misinformation—sells, nd they’ve got perfume and candles (that smell like kitty) for you to buy. So, they assume, you’re better left in the dark.

<< A field of Bulgarian roses—perhaps even those used in Spite EdT

Chronotope would rather just tell the truth. In perfumery, a fragrant material is a means of translating experience into scent. As such, its degree of perceived natural-ness matters far less than the qualities of its sensory effects: how it smells, what feelings it evokes, what it can (and more commonly, cannot) contribute to compositions, and what wearing experience it provides once it’s applied to skin, hair and clothing as part of a finished perfume formula.

A partial organ of select materials, in various states of dilution, laid out during the development stage of a new Chronotope perfume formula >>

To reflect this, we’ve organized the raw materials that are represented in Chronotope’s fragrances by what actually matters about them in regard to perfume, which is not their natural-ness or synthetic-ness. Nor is it whether they are safe or not—because when dosed in a formula appropriately, as they are in Chronotope’s formulas, they are all safe.

(While we’re here, remember that even water is deadly if it gets in your lungs. Risk assessment requires considering context and quantity.)

Instead, the materials in the index are organized, very simply, by their scents—because scent is what they have to offer perfumery.

Everything else is marketing.

Index Updated on 26 October 2025