Peace Perfumes, The Seven Virtues: Doing Good While Smelling Good

I have been interested in The 7 Virtues Peace Perfume line since I first heard the story of its origination, when Barbara Stegemann went on Dragon's Den (British counterpart of US Shark Tank) to pitch her idea around 2010. The seed was planted when Barb's best friend, who had volunteered with Canadian forces to teach Afghani civilians how to source clean water, was wounded in an attack. Barb vowed to try in some way to help bring peace in whatever way she could to Afghanistan. She believed women could use their buying power for influence, and came up with the idea of empowering farmers who were growing orange flowers to harvest the oil, rather than the more common and lucrative crop of poppy flowers grown for the opium trade. Barb believed that by paying the farmers market value for their oils, which was more than they could make from the poppy crops, she could do her bit to help. Here is a link to Barb's initial pitch, which is both passionate and compelling.



Barb got her financial backing and was able to extend her business model of paying a fair market price to farmers in other war torn countries or countries hit by catastrophe and poverty, enabling them to earn a living and provide local jobs. She maintains that the quality of oils she is able to source in this way are high quality and the fragrances meet clean brand standards, as well as being organic and free of many known irritants.

In 2017 Barb got additional help when she was one of just ten women out of a field of 1800 applicants to be accepted into Sephora's new Accelerate program which mentored female entrepreneurs interested in the beauty business. The 7 Virtues line was rebranded, the perfumes reformulated and given brighter, jazzier labels to appeal to Sephora's younger consumer base. The brand also appeals to socially active consumers who want to use their dollars to help improve lives of those less privileged in other countries.

I don't fit their younger profile, but I appreciate that these oils were sourced by Barb working directly with the farmers in these disadvantaged countries. In addition to the orange blossom for Afghanistan, here are others:
-- Vetiver sustains farmlands devastated in Haiti's 2010 earthquake.
-- Patchouli provides Rwanda survivors of the 1994 genocide with wages higher than from growing coffee, thus providing money for shelter and education
-- Rose production frees Afghani families from the illegal opium trade.
There are more but you get the idea.

But how do they smell? I'll be honest. Even though I'm convinced of their mission, I won't buy something I don't like. I started with the Peace Blend Box, which has a small spray of the first seven fragrances. Another fragrance has been added that I haven't tried, Blackberry Lily which is a gourmand and I believe is exclusive to Sephora. I will also admit I can be a little bit of a niche snob, and if it is inventive and impossibly hard to obtain it earns my respect. But there are a lot of days I just want to spray a perfume that smells good and that I don't have to think about if I in the mood for it today.

These aren't complex scents but the oils seem of good quality, something the nose just seems to discern, and some of the scents definitely have that "mood lifting" feeling. I enjoyed wearing them and I will give short impressions of each perfume, and if anyone is interested, I have listed them in descending order, starting with my favorites.

Jasmine Neroli

Jasmine Neroli surprised me with its opening. I love the scent of jasmine and find its fragrance very uplifting. I have both fragile and heavy-hitting jasmine perfumes in my collection, but this perfume manages to differentiate itself. I smell a soft amber in the opening; it smells soft and plush, like jasmine sprigs buried inside a cashmere shawl. Anyone who finds jasmine too "in your face" should try this version. The amber almost has a powdery musk smell and it comes across very gently. The neroli brightens the scent but is certainly not a big player on my skin. Texturally the scent feels puffy, like falling into jasmine scented cotton balls. Other notes include honeysuckle and labdanum. The labdanum adds a bit of sweetness and accentuates the amber smell. This is like a holistic anti-anxiety medicine. It says, "Chill, come lay in my scented cocoon!"

Patchouli Citrus

Now we go to the other end of the scented spectrum. Patchouli Citrus could be called "Patchouli for Dummies", like those "how to" books for Dummies that were so ubiquitous a few years ago. But that would be a misnomer because you would be anything but dumb for wearing this scent. Patchouli Citrus could be thought of as a patchouli for beginners as it is light and very non-threatening to those who have been afraid to dip their toe in the Patchouli pool. But I love patchouli and I find this a great representation of this note. The citrus is a nice touch, brightening up what can be a darker scent. At first spray I get the black pepper, the citrus notes, and a touch of floral in the form of geranium. The patchouli is green, aromatic, and a little sweet. When it goes into the base notes, the cedar and moss are what I smell most, along with the patchouli. This would be a great "blue jeans" scent, and by that I mean casual and easy to wear. 

Vetiver Elemi 

Vetiver Elemi is a pleasant and relaxing aromatic that I really enjoyed wearing. Vetiver is usually a side player in perfumes and many don't appreciate when it's the main performer in the perfume. It can come across as too strong or stringent but here it is gentle, and the mood it projects to me is clean and pressed. Vetiver Elemi imparts that fresh sterile clean feel I sometimes get with lavender, although its smell is very different. The bergamot and grapefruit give a tart opening, the the elemi emphasizes with a citrus and slight pine note. The vetiver feels green and not quite as dry as it normally appears. The scent is not big and sits close to the skin, but it makes me feel more "put together", as if I've given my hair a brush and ironed my shirt, rather than just spraying a perfume.

Orange Blossom

This was the scent that launched the brand, although it may have been reformulated for the Sephora rebranding. It opens with a lot of citrus, as if you've dug your fingernails into the skin of the fruit as you try to peel it open. The orange blossom flower comes in and smells very natural. I have a lemon tree in my backyard so I know the natural scent when it blooms, and this is very similar. The scent stays pretty true to this model during its wear on my skin. It is lovely while it lasts, but it doesn't last as long as the previous scents I've listed. Don't expect an Elie Saab or similar big orange blossom perfume. This is all about the nature scent of the orange blossom.

Vanilla Woods

This is a very nice vanilla, slightly sweetened with pear and caramel, warmed with amber, then grounded with a little wood scent. It smells comforting and warm, as I tested it on a cool rainy night. My favorite part of this scent is after it has been on the skin for some time and the sweet gourmand notes fades as the vanilla becomes more floral and soft. 

Rose Amber

This was another scent that surprised me. Because of the freshness and naturalness of the other scents, I expected the rose to be a fresh and realistic one. It is realistic and the rose note is beautiful, but this is a deep red rose, dark and mysterious. The amber gives the rose an opulent depth with wine and jam-like aspects. 

Grapefruit Lime

This is beautiful, bright, but fleeting on my skin. In their copy for the scents, it is suggested that you combine the fragrances, a la Jo Malone style. But I am not the least bit interested in combining scents, which is for what I think this one would be particularly useful.

There was not one of these scents that I didn't like. Again, they aren't trying to compete with niche scents and their price point reflects that. Longevity is average with the exception of Grapefruit Lime, which I've noted. Right now Sephora is having their twice yearly sale with the code SPRINGSAVE but you have to be in their Insider program and it is almost over.

If you are intrigued by this project you can get more information at The 7 Virtues website. You can also buy the perfumes at Sephora's website.

I purchased my own Custom Box of samples. Photos are from The 7 Virtues website.