Let’s get something off our chests. Perfume making materials and “fragrance oils” for soaps and candles ARE NOT THE SAME THING!!!
You’ve probably noticed a wave of inexpensive “perfumes” flooding the market. Cute “witchy” branding, trendy names, and a surprisingly low price tag. But have you ever stopped to wonder how they manage to bottle that “luxury” for less than a latte?
Spoiler alert: it’s because a lot of them aren’t perfumes at all. They’re room sprays wearing couture.
At Exuma Fragrance Co., we handcraft every perfume with a deep respect for the artistry and chemistry of true perfumery. That means building our scents from the ground up—layer by layer—with essential oils, absolutes, isolates, accords, and carefully chosen aroma molecules. It takes time. It takes training. And yes, it costs more. But the result? A fragrance that evolves with your skin, tells a story, and was actually designed to be worn on the human body.
So, What’s the Problem With Candle Fragrance Oils?
Fragrance oils designed for candles and soaps are a whole different beast. They’re made to throw scent into the air or cling to cold-processed soap—not to interact with the heat of your skin, your body chemistry, or the complex sillage and drydown that real perfume is known for. They’re loud, flat, and often smell artificial. Why? Because they weren’t created for perfumery. They were created for wax and detergent.
But here’s the kicker: they’re cheap. Dirt cheap. And that’s why a lot of brands use them. It’s a shortcut—plain and simple.
We’ve seen the ingredient lists (when they bother to disclose them). We’ve smelled the synthetic strawberry milkshake “oud” and the sugar cookie “sandalwood.” We know the difference—and we know you do too.
Skin Safe? Phthalate free? Vegan? – Companies that make fragrance oils are in the business of selling more fragrance oils. They use popular buzzwords to try and normalize their products’ usage in perfumery. But just because something can be used for something, that doesn’t mean that it should be used for that purpose.
If we mixed Coke and Sprite together in a bottle and gave it a name like “vampire’s bloodbath” and a cool looking label, did we really create a new beverage? It’s no different than mixing fragrance oils that somebody else created and passing the mixture off as an original product.
Crafting Fragrance Isn’t Fast, and It Shouldn’t Be
At Exuma, we believe perfume should be made with intention. Not dumped into a bottle with a fancy label and a marketing budget. Our process involves:
- Essential oils and absolutes sourced from real plants, not just ideas of them.
- Molecules chosen for nuance and performance, not mass-market mimicry.
- Time to macerate, age, and evolve—because great perfume doesn’t rush.
We don’t cut corners. We don’t use fragrance oils made for candles. And we’ll never insult your nose with something that smells like it belongs in a bath bomb.
The Takeaway?
Not all indie perfumes are created equal. Just because it’s “handmade” doesn’t mean it’s crafted with care or with the right materials. When you wear a fragrance from Exuma, you’re wearing the real thing—something built with structure, complexity, and soul.
So the next time you see a $10 “perfume oil” that smells like “Birthday Cake Noir,” do your nose a favor and check the ingredients. If it was made with the same oils they use in scented kitty litter or wax melts… maybe skip it.
Perfume is personal. It should be intimate, layered, alive. Anything less? That’s just smoke and mirrors.