Interviews

Providence and Perfumes: An interview with Charna Ethier

08/03/11 17:42:21

By: Jodi Battershell

PROV•I•DENCE: n. (1) the forseeing care of nature over the creatures of the earth. (2) luck, fate, fortune. (3) Rhode Island's biggest little city.

These three definitions all apply to the story of Charna Ethier, the "nose" and owner of Providence Perfume Co., a rising star in the natural perfumery industry. Founded in 2009 after motherhood shuffled Charna's priorities, and capitalizing on her unique background with nature and the beauty industry, Providence Perfume Co. has grown in just two short years to a multi-line company whose scents have earned awards, accolades and a growing following of loyal customers.

Rhode Island, New England

These three definitions all apply to the story of Charna Ethier, the "nose" and owner of Providence Perfume Co., a rising star in the natural perfumery industry. Founded in 2009 after motherhood shuffled Charna's priorities, and capitalizing on her unique background with nature and the beauty industry, Providence Perfume Co. has grown in just two short years to a multi-line company whose scents have earned awards, accolades and a growing following of loyal customers.

Charna’s background and the creation of Providence Perfume Co. both suggest that providence or the hand of fate has indeed pointed all her life towards a career as a natural perfumer.

“I never even considered not doing natural perfumes,” she begins. A child of hippie parents, she grew up on a commune in Unity, New Hampshre, where she spent a lot of time outdoors and in nature.

She describes an early attempt at natural cosmetics: “I picked berries and used to rub them on my lips. I peeled bark off trees and pretended I had a store where I would sell it.”

She started her career in publishing but eventually moved to a job with botanical beauty company Aveda. One of her duties was to create custom-blended perfumes for Aveda customers, using a pre-defined selection of essential oils to which oil or alcohol would be added.

“People would like a blend but want it doctored with a drop or two of vanilla that wasn’t in the formula,” she recalls. “I saved their custom formulas.” Her hands were tied in regards to the ingredients made available by Aveda, but she was already thinking, “When I do my own company, I want to use osmanthus from Japan, jasmine from India. . . .” Aveda offered a promising career, but after her first child, Charna had a revelation. “I was balancing in a handicapped bathroom stall, trying to use a breast pump, and I realized it was time for a change.”

Providence Perfume Co. was born. The company's first fragrance, Ginger Lily, was offered for sale in 2009, and it remains Charna's personal favorite.

Charna sent a beautiful package of samples for me to try in preparation for our interview. It is clear that she pays the same care to the design and packaging of her products as she does the ingredients. She is quick to credit her graphic designer, Daniel Gagnon, for the professionalism of her labels, photos and printed materials. Charna’s background in publishing came in handy for copywriting and designing her website. The combined results provide the best possible showcase for these luxury artisan perfumes and body care products.

Oud. Pink Lotus flower. Indolic mushroom. Coffee flower. Galangal. Wormwood. Some of perfumery’s most exotic (and often, most expensive) ingredients were included in the Providence Perfume Co. scent samples I received. Being her own boss has allowed Charna the freedom to use those special and rare essences that were not available to her before. Jasmine has become a particular favorite, and she was delighted to discover the different varieties—Sambac, Grandiflorum—when she began her natural perfumery studies. "It can be used to enhance any perfume," she comments, and she puts it to excellent use in Divine, Lei Flower and in particular, Indolice, a unique chypre perfume in which the jasmine unites and softens the sharper scents of mushroom, oakmoss, spikenard and frankincense.

“Technology and interest are spurring new ingredients, too,” says Charna. “There are so many more natural perfumers now but I welcome it.” The demand from natural perfumers has made available exotic natural ingredients that were never produced before, such as elderflower, linden blossom and clover. “Clover comes from a little purple flower. I grew up surrounded by them and I’m excited to make a scent for summer with clover,” which she describes as having a hay-like aroma.

She has also discovered new possibilities for the classic perfumery technique of tincturing, which helps recreate the scents of natural ingredients that do not give up their scent for extraction as an essential oil. Strawberry and peach are two examples. In a nutshell: Charna adds freeze-dried strawberries to alcohol, and over time, the alcohol takes on some of the color and aroma of the strawberries. Her Osmanthus Oolong perfume—“my clients’ favorite,” she notes—makes use of peach tincture. The tinctures provide color and a unique effect in the perfume. Charna explains, “a tincture presents the note as both a top note and a base note. You can smell it again as the fragrance dries down.” In some fragrances, her natural tinctures become the diluent to which the other perfume ingredients are added, taking the place of alcohol or oil.

Having the freedom to choose and create the best possible ingredients has made Charna more aware than ever of the possible restrictions that could be imposed by the industry’s self-appointed watchdog, the International Fragrance Association (IFRA). The U.S. is not subject to IFRA regulations at this time, and Charna hopes it will stay that way. “It would just stifle my creativity to be told we can use only a miniscule amount of oakmoss. The regulations are very strict. Just because a perfume is natural doesn’t mean it won’t sensitize. Anything can be a sensitizer. But it’s sad to lose those great old perfumes.”

Charna is a Professional Perfumer and member of the Natural Perfumers Guild, and participated in their 2010 “Outlaw Perfumes” project, in which natural perfumers highlighted many of the essences that are blacklisted by the IFRA. Charna’s entry, Gypsy, was inspired by the classic children’s book Madeline and the Gypsies, and contains mostly blacklisted ingredients, including oakmoss and costus. It’s a gorgeous spicy floriental on me and one of the best arguments I know for allowing consumers to make the choice of what perfume ingredients they will allow on their own skin.

Just over halfway through the year, it is clear that 2011 has been a busy year and Providence Perfume Co.’s star continues to rise. Charna launched a line of scented body oils and solid perfume balms in the Spring. Her newest perfume, Eva Luna, was introduced in June as part of the "Shakespeare Perfume Project." Inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Eva Luna makes use of some unusual notes, in particular a carrot seed top note. “It has a musky scent but gets more carrot-y when it’s diluted. I added mimosa, which has kind of a water-cucumber scent and combines well with the carrot.” These notes might suggest a garden salad, but Charna's skill as a perfumer is evident in this beautiful earthy floral perfume which often graced my wrists this summer.

Charna has been hard at work on a patchouli-based scent for another perfume project, Monica Miller's Perfume Pharmer and the Patch Test Bunnies: Peace Love and Patchouli. “The requirements were that the perfume must be 25% patchouli--wow!--and be eau de parfum strength. After much blending and aging, I'm happy with the result,” she says. The new perfume highlights rose, saffron and tea in addition to patchouli and is called Rose Bohème. It became available on August 1.

And... Providence Perfume Co. has just signed a distribution deal with organic grocery giant Whole Foods! A selection of Providence Perfume Co. perfumes will be available at Rhode Island store locations starting in mid-to-late August, with distribution expanding based upon sales.

In spite of her busy schedule, Charna has found time to conduct another series of natural perfumery classes, scheduled for September 17th in Boston. Charna taught classes last May and is committed to sharing her passion and expertise with students at all levels. The Boston sessions include a class for beginners and a more advanced class for students who already have a background in natural perfumes. Students can expect to learn about botanical ingredients, tincturing, dilution, and standard formulation guidelines. One thing she emphasizes in her classes is the importance of building from the base up. Charna has found that people often love the top notes or heart notes of perfumes, but don’t care for the ingredients that go into the base. “Perfumes need that foundation or cornerstone. If you’re not conscious of the base, the perfumes fade too quickly.”

A lovely hand-written card arrived with the box of samples I received from Charna, and it contains a few sentences that perfectly summarize what Providence Perfume Co.—and really, what the entire naural perfumery movement—hopes to achieve. Charna wrote, “I want as many people as possible to get to smell osmanthus flower, real buttery tuberose, exotic coffee flowers and tonka beans. It’s so sad to think about kids growing up never getting to smell a real lilac or lavender. I call them the ‘Glade Plug-In’ Generation.”

To learn more about Providence Perfume Co. fragrances, see our encyclopedia or visit the Providence Perfume Co. website and Charna's blog. Please click here to enroll in Charna's natural perfumery classes in Boston on September 17, 2011.

Editor's note: the Peace, Love and Patchouli contest was incorrectly attributed to the Natural Perfumers Guild. The contest was run by Perfume Pharmer and you can read more about the entries on their website. Fragrantica regrets the oversight.

Image of coffee flower by Wim Jas

Author: Jodi Battershell (NebraskaLovesScent)

Fragrantica Editor & Writer
jodi@fragrantica.com

DarkViolet

Beautiful article, thanks.

I love Providence Perfume's phylosophy and the descriptions of her scents, there's always so much to learn from those who live to create beauty... you can really feel the passion they put in their work and they would surely deserve a larger audience.
I only wish it could be easier to find natural fragrances in stores :(

Aug
06
2011

michael

Hi NLS-
Thank you for submitting this informative and well researched article. I live in western Mass. and on the weekend of 8/20 I will be staying at my son's home just north of Providence and will definitely visit this perfumery.

Aug
06
2011

OlfractalInfemme
$OlfractalInfemme$

Charnas lush and complex fragrances are exceptional and will make you rethink your concept of natural perfumery. She's also a delightful pearson!

Aug
05
2011

jazz444

As a New Englander, I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even know this company existed, but am going to make up for it! Some really interesting compositions...

Aug
04
2011

NebraskaLovesScent

Thanks, everyone!

@findtheriver: most of the scents in the collection are unisex. Don't be afraid to give them a try! :-)

Aug
04
2011

naheed

What a well written review,Jodi! I read every word of the interview with a lot of interest and your description of the fragrances has made me want to try them. I am so glad to read and know more about natural perfumery.

Aug
04
2011

findtheriver